Replacing Stock Tires
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 812
Likes: 8
From: Cowtown, USA
At first I thought that people were fibbing when they said they only got a few thousand miles out of stock Dunlops. But now I think that it depends on road conditions, how you ride, your weight etc. I have never had to replace a stock Dunlop before 12,000. I think they are a great tire.
Road Master
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 2
From: Virginia
My stock Dunlop rear has a little over 8100 miles on it and is nearly toast. I bought the bike with 6111 miles about a month ago and the tire looked pretty good at the time, altough I didn't measure the tread depth. I guess the 2k miles I've put on it have been hard miles. I weigh 225lbs and ride the bike hard. Lots of pulls to redline through the gears, lots of twisties, lots of fairly aggressive braking using both front and rear brakes. I do drag the rear brake pretty often to scrub speed setting up for corners. I've also monitored and adjusted tire pressure on a weekly basis, as necessary.
I've got a Metzeler ME880 on the way. Should be sitting on my front porch when I get back from vacation.
I've got a Metzeler ME880 on the way. Should be sitting on my front porch when I get back from vacation.
Last edited by inswva; Jul 27, 2010 at 10:02 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 175
Likes: 1
Tire mileage depends on whether you have spoke rims or mags. The spoke rims run hotter and get less mileage.
I had over 10,000 miles on my sporty and had 5/32's tread left.
My 2009 softail had 6,000 miles and was down to 2/32 tread left. Did a lot of research on replacement tires. I really liked the ride on both bikes with the stock Dunlop tires.
My Dunlops were made in the USA. The Metzlers were made in Germany but now are made in Brazil.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...es-brazil.html
I had over 10,000 miles on my sporty and had 5/32's tread left.
My 2009 softail had 6,000 miles and was down to 2/32 tread left. Did a lot of research on replacement tires. I really liked the ride on both bikes with the stock Dunlop tires.
My Dunlops were made in the USA. The Metzlers were made in Germany but now are made in Brazil.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...es-brazil.html
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 407
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco
Just replaced the stocks at a little over 13k miles, although I could've done it 1,500 miles ago, they were really toast by the time I replaced them. Knowing nothing about tires, the guys at CA choppers in SF suggested I stick with stock. They said I could get stickier tires, but they wouldn't last nearly as long. They also said there are plenty of comparable tires: metzlers, Avons, Venoms, and a couple others I forgot. I never had issues with those so I stuck with stock.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
From: saratoga county NY U.S.A
I think tire wear has something to do with where you live too....My bro-in-law lives in TX and the roads(pavement)are coarse\ruff as opposed to NY where we have pretty smooth roads(minus the potholes)...he goes through a lot of tires down there...
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
From: saratoga county NY U.S.A
I'm not sure but, I don't think you can go much bigger than stock because the bolts holding your directional lights.(unless you use a re-location kit).You can get aftermarket wide tire kit which usually comes with swingarm and fender(ect.)..If you do a search you should be able to find something..wish I could offer more info...
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 363
Likes: 0
From:
I'm not sure why the back tire doesn't last longer. I don't ride hard. I'm 210lbs. I ride a lot of twisties to see my boy every weekend. About 320 miles per weekend. Lake Berryessa, Pope Valley, CA. Great ride. For me it's not only the Journey but the Destination as well.
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