Rear tire life

greenbarn · June 05, 2016, 08:32:12 AM

Quote from: Tfrank59 on June 02, 2016, 00:35:04 AM
I have no doubt that my tires are original tires. I bought my bike with under 5K on it and the tires were barely worn. But it is an 06 and those tires are now 10 years old so well at least the back one needs replaced

I would replace both of them, without hesitation. Any pain you feel in seemingly "throwing away good money" will soon be out weighed by the improved handling and the peace of mind you gain.

tj · June 04, 2016, 20:46:10 PM

Quote from: Tfrank59 on June 04, 2016, 15:01:38 PM
I've been pretty happy with Bridgestones (not expensive), which were the OEM for my other bike a Honda and this Drifter. however I just bought a Dunlop to replace my rear tire -- we'll see how that is.

I have the dunlop 404 and the 555 on my aero 1100...been happy with those.

Tfrank59 · June 04, 2016, 15:01:38 PM

I've been pretty happy with Bridgestones (not expensive), which were the OEM for my other bike a Honda and this Drifter. however I just bought a Dunlop to replace my rear tire -- we'll see how that is.

tj · June 04, 2016, 06:46:49 AM

a lot of people all over the world use commander 2's, for all sorts of bikes. they are a very popular tire. I did some research prior to buying them, people said wonderful things.

in my case, the front tire is out of round and produces a bit of a wobble at 60-80kms. the rear tire is better but still out of round.

I also thought it was very odd. then i googled commander 2 wobble and found many topics.

there are replacing it under warranty...but I have that sour taste in my mouth from these tires.

gdrudd13 · June 03, 2016, 07:56:15 AM

a lot of us on here use the Commander II's with no problems, so that's rather odd.

tj · June 03, 2016, 06:30:32 AM

lol...2 lemons

CDNRatMan · June 02, 2016, 20:06:09 PM

I had thought I scored really well when I bought my Drifter a 99 also and it had really nice full treaded tires on it, and WWW which I really liked, Maxx's and thought good no need to spend the funds. Bought the bike in the end of Aug. That weekend replaced the sprockets and chain as they were worn badly and original. Rode 800kms to my sisters and I had to fight the bike on the curves, messed with the tire pressure, messed with the shocks, messed with the way I loaded it. Coming home was the same issue, then thanks to the fantastic brain trust on this forum, and a good education from Mr. Tire himself GreenBarn, I learned about tires, mine were original, and once I replaced them, wow what a difference.......lol......so much to learn and so little time.....

Old Drifter · June 02, 2016, 17:22:57 PM

I just took off the original tires from my recently aquired 1999, 6250 miles (Bridgestone Exedras). The date codes were 50th week of 1998 for the front and 48th week 1998 for the rear. I replaced them with Michelin Commander II's. I also replaced the rim strips and tubes. Bridgestone recomends a 6 year max use on their tires regardless of miles.

CDNRatMan · June 02, 2016, 12:18:14 PM

Tj should have bought them from Pete's in Montreal........

Troll · June 02, 2016, 08:58:22 AM

I have over 20,000 miles on my current commander...just fine. You must have gotten a lemon...

tj · June 02, 2016, 06:44:52 AM

20,000 kms on my dunlops

2 kms on michelin commander 2's...out of round, had to be replaced. crap tire!

jmbo · June 02, 2016, 06:19:53 AM

Most auto tire manufactures say six to ten years is max age. The NHTSA has yet to weigh in on this but their British and Japanese counterparts put the limit a seven years for cars and most of the cycle sites I visited say six years is max for a cycle tire regardless of tead condition.

You might want to check the manufacturing date code on the sidewall. The tire might be older than the bike and a ten year old tire might not be up to snuff especially on wet roads.

Tfrank59 · June 02, 2016, 00:35:04 AM

I have no doubt that my tires are original tires. I bought my bike with under 5K on it and the tires were barely worn. But it is an 06 and those tires are now 10 years old so well at least the back one needs replaced

jmbo · June 01, 2016, 21:37:04 PM

I bought my "99"er with 12K on the clock. At that time I was not sure when or if the tires had been replaced. At 15K I pulled it apart of paint and got a real good look at the tires. The back was worn and needed replacement. The front looked good but I thought I would check the manufacture date. Holy crap! They were both originals. Actually they were manufactured in '97, two years before the bike was made. That means the tires were seventeen years old. This was confirmed by the guy who swapped out the tires. He has a b.... of a time popping them off. When it comes to tires looks don't mean beans if they are as old as Grandpa's socks. Check the age. "New" tires aren't always new. Every tire has a manufactures date. The rubber in tires hardens and cracks over time. This is especially cycle tires and as we all know cycle tires rely on their compound to get us through the twisties.

Troll · May 28, 2016, 07:58:54 AM

Happy with my Commander IIs...36 rear, 26 front, 20,000 miles on this set, so far. I check pressures and tread depth religiously. Looks like about 1,800 miles for each 1/32 of wear. They should last until I replace them before the Drift-In in Arkansas..(this is my second set. I ran the front tire of the first set @ 28, as per the owner's manual, and it wore in the center a bit too fast. I dropped the pressure 2 psi and it's working just fine).

kw-retrorider · May 28, 2016, 04:51:17 AM

Another data point....I'm running Dunlop 404s on my 800. Bought the bike with 10k on it and put new tires on it then. Have 25k on it now. Changed the rear tire at 21K, just before Drift-In 2013. If I wasn't making the long trip, probably could have gone a little longer....so 11K on that rear tire. Keep my pressures per the book at 28psi front and rear.

I ride one up and about 2-3k miles a year. I understand the Dunlops are softer compared to other tire choices. I have just stayed with what came on the bike.

CDNRatMan · May 27, 2016, 12:42:10 PM

I did complain to the Metzeler Rep at the bike show in Jan that I only got 26000 kms out of my 880's and he near hit me......I had them on and was running 40 psi in the rear and 38 in the front, switched to 888's this winter and have them aired to 38 rear and 36 front, will see how they hold out, and WWW makes a huge difference to.......

gdrudd13 · May 27, 2016, 07:58:15 AM

10k out of a rear tire isn't that far out of ordinary. Age can sometimes play a role and make a tire wear faster as well, and each tire is different. Some wear out faster than others. On a motorcycle the rear tire will wear a lot faster than the front though.

Tfrank59 · May 27, 2016, 06:46:28 AM

So I'm within just a few miles of turning over 10K on my girl, and my rear tire is done (although my front tire still has quite a bit of life left). I shared that with a friend who rides a gold wing, and he had a huge question mark about that. And my other bike –also a big Honda– gets me about 13 or 14K per rear tire, and I think that girl tears 'em up pretty quick. So my question is how are your guys rear tires holding up--is 10K about right for a drifter 800? I'm thinking no, I should get more life than that, but it no doubt depends a lot on the type of riding you do – I'm doing mostly city and rural roads, not freeways, and all solo. I've been running her about 35 PSI for the rear. I imagine the brand of tire has something to do with it too – OEM was Bridgestone on there, and I just purchased a Dunlop for the replacement.