Tire Mileage: A Tangle of Factors
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,596
Likes: 9
From: Cherokee Co. Georgia
MAN,,,,, REALLY!!! I wanna jump up and scream BS! Okay, I guess I do ride a lil aggressive, part of the time. I dont ride it like I stole it, dont ride like my *** is on fire! (usually) I do ride twisties alot, ride alot of slab too though. I keep a close eye on air pressure. I ride 2 up bought half the time. Are you guys that are claiming to get 20K out of a rear tire counting you trailer miles???? I dont change brake pads till every other rear tire change, usually get 3 tires out of front pads. I just cant drank that 20K with 4 or 5/32 left cool-aide. Dont think its possible. I get 10 to 12k out of a rear tire. Change em out when they get to the wear bars. Dunlop American Elite,, Sorry,,, gotta say it B___S___!
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
From: Central New Jersey
Sorry your a doubter..but you can sma if you think I'm slinging the shart. Speak of what you know. Plenty of others putting on big miles. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not lived it.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 2,283
Likes: 4
From: nebraska
I have rode close to a quarter million miles on my three Harleys .
I think the most important factor in tire life is maintaining tire presure at the max printed on the tire side wall and even one or two pounds more .
So having an acurate gage $$$ no cheapys is important .check often.
My 2008 FLHRC came with a new set of dunlop 402s i got 11,000 out of thr rear tire .
That seemed not so great i was getting 15,000 with Metzlers 880 on my 76 FXE.
My front 402 has 15,000 on it now and still looks good .
I have a Dunlop e3 on the rear now so far with 4000 miles on it it looks new .
If you have a crapy cheapo gage, you could be running 5lb or 10lb low .
This will shorton the milage life of your tire .
I think the most important factor in tire life is maintaining tire presure at the max printed on the tire side wall and even one or two pounds more .
So having an acurate gage $$$ no cheapys is important .check often.
My 2008 FLHRC came with a new set of dunlop 402s i got 11,000 out of thr rear tire .
That seemed not so great i was getting 15,000 with Metzlers 880 on my 76 FXE.
My front 402 has 15,000 on it now and still looks good .
I have a Dunlop e3 on the rear now so far with 4000 miles on it it looks new .
If you have a crapy cheapo gage, you could be running 5lb or 10lb low .
This will shorton the milage life of your tire .
Last edited by baust55; Nov 26, 2012 at 11:57 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,596
Likes: 9
From: Cherokee Co. Georgia
Brother,,, I am really not meanin to be disrespectful to anyone here,,, but I have been reading threads like this a long time. The last set of tires I bought were from a local MC tire dealer. This man has been selling nothing but MC tires sence the early 70s. We had a long conversation about MC tire longevity because I was concerned about not getting but 10 to 12K out of what was suppose to be a great tire. The Dunlop AE. He told me that he has read these threads and talked to many people making the same claims. He said he will ask the person how many miles he puts on the bike per year, then how long the tires have been on the bike. Then ask aprox. what month and year did the person purchase the tire. When the tires are removed from the bike, the DOT numbers show that the week and year the tires are made do not come close to coinciding with the story. What Im saying is, is it possible that alot of people forget calling there dealer and sayin "Hey, yall come get my scoot & put a new set on."?? The MC tire dealer I used says it dont matter how you baby the thing, you say you get 20k out of a rear MC tire, you prolly forgot the last time you changed it or your FOS one. I tend to agree.
Last edited by DHubbs; Nov 26, 2012 at 11:26 PM. Reason: left out a word, punctuation.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,846
Likes: 173
From: Simi Valley, CA
Brother,,, I am really not meanin to be disrespectful to anyone here,,, but I have been reading threads like this a long time. The last set of tires I bought were from a local MC tire dealer. This man has been selling nothing but MC tires sence the early 70s. We had a long conversation about MC tire longevity because I was concerned about not getting but 10 to 12K out of what was suppose to be a great tire. The Dunlop AE. He told me that he has read these threads and talked to many people making the same claims. He said he will ask the person how many miles he puts on the bike per year, then how long the tires have been on the bike. Then ask aprox. what month and year did the person purchase the tire. When the tires are removed from the bike, the DOT numbers show that the week and year the tires are made do not come close to coinciding with the story. Im saying is, it possible that alot of people forget calling there dealer and sayin "Hey, yall come get my scoot & put a new set on." The MC tire dealer I used says it dont matter how you baby the thing, you say you get 20k out of a rear MC tire, you prolly forgot the last time you changed it or your FOS one. I tend to agree.
I know there were never any other tire changes as I do them myself and have owned the bike since new.
The rear American Elite I replaced the 407 with now has 16,025 and will easily reach 20,000.
Last edited by 2black1s; Nov 26, 2012 at 11:52 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,510
Likes: 23
From: Connecticut
I've got a Road Glide (2007, bought by me in 2011) -- same size Dunlop tires as on the '05 Ultras.
I bought the bike with 7,300 miles on it and original tires (to my knowledge).
I had the rear changed out earlier this year, and got 13,300+ out of it.
I know the Ultra has more weight over the rear (Tour Pak, etc.), but you should be getting more than 4-5k out of your rear tire...
Could there be any kind of alignment problem (even a small one)?
I bought the bike with 7,300 miles on it and original tires (to my knowledge).
I had the rear changed out earlier this year, and got 13,300+ out of it.
I know the Ultra has more weight over the rear (Tour Pak, etc.), but you should be getting more than 4-5k out of your rear tire...
Could there be any kind of alignment problem (even a small one)?
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 5,282
Likes: 2
From: Northwestern Nevada
Brother,,, I am really not meanin to be disrespectful to anyone here,,, but I have been reading threads like this a long time. The last set of tires I bought were from a local MC tire dealer. This man has been selling nothing but MC tires sence the early 70s. We had a long conversation about MC tire longevity because I was concerned about not getting but 10 to 12K out of what was suppose to be a great tire. The Dunlop AE. He told me that he has read these threads and talked to many people making the same claims. He said he will ask the person how many miles he puts on the bike per year, then how long the tires have been on the bike. Then ask aprox. what month and year did the person purchase the tire. When the tires are removed from the bike, the DOT numbers show that the week and year the tires are made do not come close to coinciding with the story. What Im saying is, is it possible that alot of people forget calling there dealer and sayin "Hey, yall come get my scoot & put a new set on."?? The MC tire dealer I used says it dont matter how you baby the thing, you say you get 20k out of a rear MC tire, you prolly forgot the last time you changed it or your FOS one. I tend to agree.
Nobody here can tell you why you have such crap experience, but that don't make us liars. Hell, lots of crap could account for the difference including road material, psi, riding behavior, engine breaking, speed exhibitions, and improper bike maintenance...etc.
Look at your **** and stop worrying about us.
Last edited by Glockmeister; Nov 27, 2012 at 05:35 AM.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Southpaw Super Glide: A Left-Hand-Drive 1979 Harley FXE Built to Fit the Rider
Verdad Gallardo
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,897
From: Bedford UK
For as long as I've been keeping records (or can find them) I've been getting 4k-5k on rear tires on my '05 Ultra. I've gone through 13 rear tires (Some Dunlops, many ME 880's), and run them all down to the cords (save your speeches on that subject, please). That means I've got to change out my rear tire about twice a year. I'd like to see whether that is typical.
But..
Here's the trouble. Not all bikes weigh the same. So I should only compare with Ultras. Older Ultras have narrower tires than the '06 and newer ones. Not all riders are as heavy as me (250). Not all riders check their tire pressure regularly, nor do we all run the same pressure. Riding style is a factor too, but it's hard to measure and hard to tell how big a factor it is. Additionally, town driving may be harder on tires than touring. Finally, men are liars, and make outlandish claims about their riding style (apparently we all think we're Matt Maladin) as well as their tire mileage.
But..
Here's the trouble. Not all bikes weigh the same. So I should only compare with Ultras. Older Ultras have narrower tires than the '06 and newer ones. Not all riders are as heavy as me (250). Not all riders check their tire pressure regularly, nor do we all run the same pressure. Riding style is a factor too, but it's hard to measure and hard to tell how big a factor it is. Additionally, town driving may be harder on tires than touring. Finally, men are liars, and make outlandish claims about their riding style (apparently we all think we're Matt Maladin) as well as their tire mileage.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17,143
Likes: 6,165
From: SE Michigan
I think one aspect of rear tire wear is not well understood: Shifting.
I wonder if very subtle differences in how you shift can affect tire wear. I think very slightly imprecise shifts can result in barely perceptible skids or skips that add a lot to tire wear.
Just a thought...
I wonder if very subtle differences in how you shift can affect tire wear. I think very slightly imprecise shifts can result in barely perceptible skids or skips that add a lot to tire wear.
Just a thought...