Tire Life
This seems to be a problem with late model Fat Boy's. I talked to my friend yesterday that has one, and he only gets about 5,000 at the most out of the 407's. He has a 401 on it now with a little better mileage, but it is down to the wear bars at around 6,500 miles. My 99 Softail Custom with 402's, has 9,000, and looks like it will go another 8 or 9 thousand. Neither one of us rides very hard. We agreed that we ride our Harley's like we drive our cars. LOL
A friend of mine works at a tire shop. When I went to get tires for my wife's bike he suggested a tire called Full Bore. 2 years and 10,000 miles later they still have about 50% tread left. I'll be buying them for mine next time.
I'm on my second rear Dunlop due to a flat with the original on my 2011 Fatboy at 2000 miles. I have 6000 on the bike now and both front and rear are about shot. I just ordered the Michelin Commander II's and will be running them as soon as the snow goes away!
I'm not too sure what the magic formula is, but I've put 35K miles on my 09 Fatboy in just over 2 years and I'm on my 4th rear tire and 2nd front. Most of that mileage was 2 up. Unless I was riding to work or she was sick, she was on the back. As of 1K miles ago, she's got her own Heritage so no more 2 up for me.
The stock rears last about 10-12K miles, and the fronts get twice that. I think it went 12K, 24K, 33K, and I switched it when the wear bars were just starting to get action. On this tire, which is only about 2K miles old and looks brand new, I upgraded my rims to 18". So, it's the 200/18 on rear & 140/18 on front, both Dunlop/Harley. I get nitrogen every time unless they don't offer it for some reason.
I do a lot of day & weekend trips, i use my front brake heavily, i downshift pretty much every time i slow down, and I'm a speed demon but don't do burnouts. The only thing in my "riding style formula" that I can point out is that due to downshifting & front brake usage, I'm rather easy on the rear tire. I would imagine that's where the wear time goes the most. Rear braking has got to be a killer on the tire that's receiving power.
The stock rears last about 10-12K miles, and the fronts get twice that. I think it went 12K, 24K, 33K, and I switched it when the wear bars were just starting to get action. On this tire, which is only about 2K miles old and looks brand new, I upgraded my rims to 18". So, it's the 200/18 on rear & 140/18 on front, both Dunlop/Harley. I get nitrogen every time unless they don't offer it for some reason.
I do a lot of day & weekend trips, i use my front brake heavily, i downshift pretty much every time i slow down, and I'm a speed demon but don't do burnouts. The only thing in my "riding style formula" that I can point out is that due to downshifting & front brake usage, I'm rather easy on the rear tire. I would imagine that's where the wear time goes the most. Rear braking has got to be a killer on the tire that's receiving power.




