Motorcycle Tire Wear
By 36 Special on Feb 8, 2009 in Motorcycle Parts and Repairs
I was reading an article earlier about a guy replacing his tires after 5000 miles. Now I may be wrong but that is just a little soon to be replacing a stock style tire off of a Harley Davidson. So what are some of the causes of premature tire wear. Focusing on the back tire I can think of three right off the bat;
- Using too much rear brake and no front brake.
- Low or high tire pressure.
- Spinning the tires
The first two are easy to cure, when coming to a stop you should be using the front brake in conjunction with the rear. The front brake should be getting more use also, after all it is the most effective at stopping you because 60-80% of the weight when stopping is transfered to the front wheel. Be warned though, if you are trying to slow down or use your front brake in a curve it can be fatal but it also causes you to use the front tire out quicker.
Low tire pressure will cause your tires to wear unevenly and prematurely. The contact for a tire is designed to be a certain area for each tire. If the air pressure is too low it will increase the contact patch but it will also put parts of the tire that aren’t meant to be on the road all the time in that situation ( think sidewall). If your tire pressure is too high it will decrease the contact patch and then you have only a small percentage of the tire contacting the road which not only causes it to wear faster but will also increase your chances of breaking traction when you need it the most.
As for spinning the tires, well if that is why you are wearing out tires then you should at least realize that if you are going to do it be prepared to pay. One other thing you may not know though. When you spin the tires not only does the tires wear from the contact with the road surface but the heat created will also break down the tires faster of increase the rate at which they will wear. Essentially it will make them a softer compound for a little while and it will have possible long term effects to the tires. Not telling you not to have fun, just want you to be informed.
My last set of tires I ended up with a little over 10,000 miles out of them. That is about right. Some people may get a little more and some just a little less but if you follow some of these tips you should be able to save a trip to the bank by getting a few more miles out of your tires. Now with saving money in mind, when it does come to replacing your tires don’t be looking at the cheapos like you do in your Yugo, you need to buy quality tires, remember you only have two instead of four, if one fails it is bad. I went with Metzlers when I replaced mine and I love them but each of us has our own preferences just choose wisely.
Until next time ride safe.
7 Comment(s)
By Mr. Motorcycle on Feb 9, 2009 | Reply
I being the guy that wrote the article you refer to should clarify that the rear tire in question does still have some tread left, it is just very low, and I want fresh tires for spring. If I had to I suppose I could milk out another 3-5k out of them, thus making them 10k at replacement, but bald and in my opinion dangerous. Mind you my 5k is only an estimated mileage used on the rear, before I choose to replace it.
I do occasionally spin my rear at a stop light if the road is wet, and crossing painted white blocks for crosswalks, etc. It does let loose but I don’t sit there and do burn outs deliberately or anything like that. I just wish they would get more life that’s all.
By Kenny Lee on Feb 9, 2009 | Reply
I put a new Dunlop on the back of my bike last year. The air pressure was right and I didn’t spin it. I only got 6,000 miles from it before it was bald. I was very disappointed in the wear. This year I will go with a better tire. I felt like I wasted my money with the last one.
By 36 Special on Feb 9, 2009 | Reply
Wouldn’t trying to dime you out, just trying to help others mange tire wear. Thanks for visiting the blog.
By James on Apr 8, 2009 | Reply
Recently had an accident when riding a borrowed bike. The bike fell to the left after I tried to make a quick stop only going around 15mph. I found out after that the front tire was bald. Could this have caused the accident?
By 36 Special on Apr 8, 2009 | Reply
It sounds more like you may have had the wheel turned slightly while using the brakes. That is the fastest way to lay a bike down while performing slow speed maneuvers.
By David on Jul 20, 2009 | Reply
Is there a tire wear indicator? I’m running on Dunlop Elite 3 tires. 10,000 miles plus. Should I be working on replacements now?
By Andre on Oct 18, 2009 | Reply
My god, you guys get 5000miles out of your tyres and you are complaining, I have a Yamaha XT660R (with road tires) and I dont feel I ride it that hard and I only got 1800 miles front and rear out of a set off Pirelli Dragons, every time I ride it I can see the tread dissapearing, even with my new set of Bridgestone Battlax tires, tire preasures are right. Just dont understand where they go?
Its odd with the front tire its not the middle that wears its the sides, middle still has lots of tread by the time I dispose of them, what am I doing wrong?