I'm about to replace the front tire on my XL1200C this week and the shop I'm going to stocks Dunlop, Metzler and Avon tires. Since the prices are fairly equal, the question is what is the best choice for tread wear?? I've had my bike for about 10 months and the front tire is nearly worn out at only 7800 miles. It's the stock Dunlop 402F. It also has some dry rot cracks as well. The shop said I should replace 2 rear tires to each front tire and that the expected life of a rear tire should be 8-9k. If this is correct, why did my front wear out so quickly?? I should mention that I bought the bike used with about 1200 miles on it. Any opinions and suggestions are welcome.

 

My next set most likely will be Bridgestones, since I work for the company..

 

there is something definatly wrong if the tire wore out at 7800 miles and is dry rotting what year is it?
I got 14,000 out of stock dunlops on the front . now im running metzler 880s and there is a big difference in cornering and holding the road in wet conditions.. I have run bridgestone tires on my dirt bikes with good luck and I cant see why there street tires would be any different , avons I cant comment on.

 

It's a 2005. When I took a measurement in the center of the tread with a digital caliper I got a depth of .056". The wear bars are nearly even with the tread depth right now and they're worn evenly (i.e. the center is not worn more than the outer edge of the tire). According to what I've read the minimum depth is 2/32" or .0625. I'm alsocurious as to why they're so worn at 7800 miles. BTW, I'm not riding aggressively, though I do passthru the twisties quite often...

 

Stop. You're comparing apples to oranges. On most bikes it is true that the rear tire will go before the front tire. This is not the case with the 1200 C (note: Custom model). The front tire is considerably skinnier than comparable bikes and because the contact area on the ground is much smaller than the normal front tire, it is going to wear out faster. Other things to consider is riding style, braking style and how often you check your air pressure.

On my 1200 C I got 10,000 out of the front and 15,000 out of the rear. Harder tires will last longer and give less traction. Softer tires will wear faster and give better traction. It's all a trade off. I stuck with Dunlop. Up till now they've served me well.

 

I replaced my stock tires on my last bike with Avon Venoms.They are fantastic tires. Looking forward to putting them on my Sporty soon when the stock tires go.

 

I got over 15,000 miles on the stock Dunlops. And even then, the front was still in good shape. The rear wasn't totally worn out, but it was getting close to the wear indicator. Due to the Strike, I couldn't get the size Dunlop I needed for the rear, so I put Metzeler 880s on. I now have over 7,000 miles on the Metzeler tires, and I love them. As was said, they hold in the corners and wet roads much better than the Dunlops.

But for the me the real determining factor will be how many miles do I get from them. After 7,000 miles they still look practically new, but we'll see how they look at 15,000 miles.

 

I've run all 3 , I liked the Avon Venoms the best, the Metzelers were a close 2nd

 

I agree with 'whaap' I have a 2000 1200-C with 8.200 miles and that skinnier front tire is worn more then the back, but not by much. I think Im still good for about 2000 more miles. I would think you should get more then 7.800 miles out of them.
When I replace my front, Im going with a 19" rim and 90-100 tire, it will fit with out any mods, but it is a snug fit on the sides. It will lower the front by about 3/8" but it's not noticable. Im told it will handle better and last longer, as far as to what kind, I cant help on that, I dont know what kind I will get at this time...

 

Hmmmmmmmmm, https://www.hdforums.com/m_1733954/tm.htm
Check out this thread, damn y'all look around a little, I did all that dang work fo y'all to ask the same ****in questions over and over and over again Damn!
And if you get more miles from a rear tire than a front tire something is WRONG with your MC.