Life expectancy of tires?

[Johnny_Namakan]

I was curious what the life expectancy of motorcycle tire is? I know it depends on a lot like brand, style of riding, etc., but what is a good average to use? I'm on my second bike, which has 5100 miles on it, and my first bike I traded in after 5400 miles, so I haven't had a bike long enough to need to change tires. I assume they're nothing like a car/truck tire getting 45-65,000 miles. Reason I ask, is my new bike, as mentioned has only 5100 miles, and the rear tire looks bad already. I don't ride hard, never have doen a burn out in my life. I do ride double a lot, if that matters. I have had to lock'em up and skid for awhile, but only once. Anyway, my rear tire has already lost its center groove and is basically bald in the center and only has grooves left on the edges. Does this sound way too early for a tire replacement which would lead me to believe something was wrong with its manufacturing, or does this sound about right for tire wear? Tonight I will take a picture and post it to show the wear I am seeing.

[Eric Wettschreck]

That doesn't sound wrong. Depending on the bike, and the tire, some will last 4000 miles, others will last 8000 miles.

If your bike is shaft drive it will wear the rear tire quicker.

If you are bald, replace it. I myself have skimped out and taken the cheap route on my car tires. I figured if one of them blows, I can handle getting to the shoulder on 3. On a bike it's a whole different ball game. If you've never had the pleasure of a tire blowing on you then good for you. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

It's a good idea to replace the front when you replace the rear, also.

[CrappieAttitude]

If you are already noticing significant wear, I would replace it ASAP. The interesting thing about motorcycle tires is that once you are at a point that you are noticing wear, they go pretty fast from there.

Tire wear totally depends on how aggressive you are and how soft the tire is new. I personally run a softer tire on the rear of my bike, because I like the feeling of them sticking to the road .Some tires may go in to the 10-15,xxx mark before needing replacement. I haven't been riding enough in the past few years to have to worry about it, however when I was putting the miles on, I remember getting about 7000 miles out of the rear and about 10-12,000 on the front.

[fishinrush]

CA,

Ask your Dad, I hear he goes through a few sets each year

[SM1]

I replaced my rear tire last summer at 10K. This was on a v-star 1100 with a dunlop tire. There was still some of the center groove left but it was time to replace. Same as above, no burn-outs or any noteable skids on this one.

The front tire still has plenty of groove left so no need to change it just yet.

Cant wait to ride, looking to upgrade so I need to get that all done in the next month or so.

[Phred52]

I also replaced my rear tire late last summer. I had just under 8k on it and I figured I'd do it then, rather than wait til this season. What impressed me the most, was the handling improvement!! I guess the other tire wore so slow that I didn't notice the degradation in the handling. Next time I won't let it go til the tread is all but gone! I replaced with an OEM Bridgestone on a '98 Yamaha Virago 1100 Special. Phred52

[Johnny_Namakan]

Well I never did get that picture taken like I had hoped. I did look at my tire again and yeah it definitely needs replacement. The tire is a Bridgestone but it's an odd size that nobody seems to make. It's a 170/70 16H. Bridgestone and Yamaha must have made a deal or something. I searched the web for hours checking all kinds of different bike tire sites and only one tire would come up on all those sites......yup the same darn bridgestone that I have on my bike. Nothing against bridgestone but i was hoping to try a different tire and see if I could get more miles out of it than 5K. I called my dealer and had them search for tires. They said that Dunlop made a tire the same size or I could go with the same bridgestone again. Prices were identical so I just told them to order me another bridgestone. The prices I found for the tire were about $165 on average but my dealer is charging me $295 for mount, labor, etc. $232 for the tire and the balance for shop costs. So, long and short of it is new tire is getting put on next Thursday......hope it's not snowing otherwise it may be an adventure getting the bike to the shop. But at least I now know when my first ride will be .

[Hafnutz]

Yikes! That stealer is sure proud of that tire. There are a lot of independent shops around that may be less. You can usually bring your wheel in with the old tire on it and they will dismount/mount, balance a new tire for around $25.00. Or you can get the new tire by mail order and put it on yourself.

[CrappieAttitude]

 Originally Posted By: Johnny_Namakan

The prices I found for the tire were about $165 on average but my dealer is charging me $295 for mount, labor, etc. $232 for the tire and the balance for shop costs. So, long and short of it is new tire is getting put on next Thursday......hope it's not snowing otherwise it may be an adventure getting the bike to the shop. But at least I now know when my first ride will be .

You would probably get a better rate if you pull the wheel off yourself and bring in just the rim and tire. The labor rate kills a guy on something like that. I would check on what the price would be for that.

CA

[Johnny_Namakan]

You would probably get a better rate if you pull the wheel off yourself and bring in just the rim and tire. The labor rate kills a guy on something like that. I would check on what the price would be for that.

They did tell me that if I just brought the tire in by itself that it would only be $208.86, which isn't too bad considering that the web sites all quoted around $165 but then add in freight and your probably pushing $200 for the tire. It's just that my bike has hard saddle bags that I would have to remove then remove the drive belt (which probably sounds harder than it is), etc. I would need some sort of bike/ATV lift as well so I figured, ah what the heck I'll do my part to help stimulate this economy. So anyway it looks like labor will be about $85 added to the tire cost.

[BoxMN]

It is a bit late now, but at a shop in south metro, they have "Feb. half rate days" where they only charge 1/2 the normal shop rates. Pretty nice. I got a new Dunlop for my 94 Magna a couple years ago, but I need a new rear pretty soon. Though since I don't ride as much, I might even get another summer out of it I got about 11k out of my original front Dunlop, but it was pretty thin pickins and I should have changed it sooner.

My rear is now at about 13k and still original, but getting thin. Still some miles left, but I will change it and get the same tire, probably. I only do burnouts in the garage in the winter so haven't really been a tire abuser.

[Tinkhamtown]

I ride a 2003 Harley Softtail Heritage Classic and get 10000 to 12000 on my Dunlop rear tire and 20000 on my Dunlop front. Planning a trip around Lake Superior this August.