bad rear tire mileage

[largecar91]

I have an 03 Ultra. I have always run stock HD Dunlops. I can never get more than 8000-10,000 miles from a rear tire. I don't do burn outs or abuse them in anyway. I am not packing a bunch of gear and we are not large people. Most of my riding is done solo(back and forth to work). I put on around 14,000 a year and I have about 69,000 miles on my bike. 2 rear tires a year is terrible!. I have the tires mounted on the rims and then install the wheel and tire myself as I have for the past 35 years. The wheel runs true and swing arm bushings are good. I read about people getting 16,000 on a rear tire. What am I doing wrong???

 

[Bodeen]

On my 03 Road King, I get 9K on Avon Venom rears. I think your mileage is in the normal range. Keep changing tires, riding and enjoying. I don't think many here are getting 16K.

 

[Dswartz]

8,000-10,000 sounds normal to me for an Ultra. What kind of pressure are you running? I've heard that having too much pressure can increase wear on the center of the tire because the extra pressure does not allow the tire to flex properly. Personally I always adjust my rear tire everytime I carry passenger. Increase it when riding two-up and drop it when I ride solo. It's a pain but I dont like riding around with over inflated tires while riding solo. Just a thought.

 

[Hoople]

I read about people getting 16,000 on a rear tire. What am I doing wrong???

My guess,,,,, at 16,000 miles there is no tread for rain in the center area of the tire. That's not for me. I'm at the middle of my 3rd rear tire with 20,000 miles on the bike. I got a little more milage out of the factory stock Dunlop tire but I like the softer compound of the ME880's in the rain. I think what your getting for milage is not far from normal.

It also depends where you live. In ElPaso Texas where it rains 3 days a year, I might push it further.

 

[Breeze3at]

I was never able to get more than 8 K on a D402 rear on my Electra. My riding habits are like yours. I often wonder how some people are able to get 15 K on a rear D402 on an E.G. No problem on my Dyna, but not the E.G. I'm now on a Dunlop Elite 3, which most reviews say are good for 15 K on an Electra Glide. So far i like everything about the E3 except "no whitewall", I really miss my narrow white stripe. Price is comparable with D402.

 

[texas tom]

I agree with other posters ,your wear is normal ,for my 07 EGC I have tried several diff brands got the most mileage from dun`s a little less from metz,tried pirelli tires was lucky to get 6k but really nice handling tires,now my next experiment is the mich comm 11`s. OK only have around 1k on em at this point really happy with the handling rain curves good,they claim double miles from other brands if I can get 12-15K from them...ill never buy any other brand,well see in about a year....

 

[largecar91]

I run 36 psi in the tire. I live in Ohio. 95% of riding on paved roads. I know gravel roads eat them up a little. I guess I'll just order another new one and ride. Thanks

 

[Udawg]

Guys, I have 14,000 on an 11 Limited and wouldn't consider changing the rear tire right now. It looks like it has 1/4" deep tread left in the center. I run 40/40 since I bought it. I run the canyons and interstate but definitely not a speed demon.

 

[DakotaRob]

When I had my 07 E Glide, 8-10K was all I could get out of the stock Dunlop tire.

HD redesigned the frame/suspension on the touring bikes in 2009, and with the new Dunlop on those models, you can a lot more miles out of the rear tire. I just changed mine at 15K, could have gotten at least another 2500 out of it, but didn't want to push it since I was doing a 3000+ mile road trip.

 

[HogDoc Olliday]

I am getting around 10K on mine too. Sounds about right.