09 ultra rear tire milage?

[Rem]

anyone replace a rear tire on their 'o9 ultra yet? how many miles did you get on it? I have almost 7 k on mine and i'm getting ready to go on a trip that will be about 3500 miles.... i'm wondering if i need to replace now (and loose some milage on this tire) or if i can expect ~11,000 good miles on these new tires? just looking at current tread, it will be close but may be doable. note: this is just about the new '09 tires, not older ultra milage in general. tia, rem

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[doggie]

I just got mine replaced before going on a big trip at the end of the month. The 180 only had 5000 mi on it and was pretty square, but lots of tread left. I do not think it would make 8000 mi. When changing it, it also had bad cupping starting to show. Not a good tire. Hopefully someone else will make a better tire to replace this.

[ranman469]

i`m at 10,000 with tread left and still going. my front looks worse than the rear.

[Deuces R Wild]

can't you just get a tread depth reading and compare to new to tell how much you've worn them already and assume you'll use about 50% of that wear.

example... first 7K you used 4/32 of tread. Assume you will use at least 2/32 more over your 3500 mile ride. Then decide if 6/32 of wear of total wear would be worth risking on your trip or not.

[jcbpa]

A little over 10 on my 08, which weighs in at close to 10500 with hard bags, full trunk, chrome wherever I could afford to put it, and a Dead Center Fairing. As for me... if I were doing a long trip and had any doubt, I'd change it before I left. Better to do it now than get stuck in some downpour with a flat 50 miles from a dealership.

[iclick]

Originally Posted by Rem

anyone replace a rear tire on their 'o9 ultra yet? how many miles did you get on it? I have almost 7 k on mine and i'm getting ready to go on a trip that will be about 3500 miles.... i'm wondering if i need to replace now (and loose some milage on this tire) or if i can expect ~11,000 good miles on these new tires? just looking at current tread, it will be close but may be doable. note: this is just about the new '09 tires, not older ultra milage in general.

Buy a spare wheel on Ebay and mount a new tire on it. Install that new tire on the bike and keep the original for later when you can use up the mileage remaining on that tire. I've done this with the last two bikes I've owned and it works well for me. I found a new take-off wheel from a dealer in CA with a new tire fitted for $220 on Ebay, which is a bargain considering the new tire alone was worth >$100. I have a new E3 mounted and balanced on my spare wheel now ready to be installed on the bike at a moment's notice...well, more like an hour's notice.

[iclick]

Originally Posted by Deuces R Wild

can't you just get a tread depth reading and compare to new to tell how much you've worn them already and assume you'll use about 50% of that wear.

+1. Tread-depth gauges are available at any auto-parts store.

[iclick]

Originally Posted by Rem

anyone replace a rear tire on their 'o9 ultra yet? how many miles did you get on it? I have almost 7 k on mine and i'm getting ready to go on a trip that will be about 3500 miles.... i'm wondering if i need to replace now (and loose some milage on this tire) or if i can expect ~11,000 good miles on these new tires? just looking at current tread, it will be close but may be doable. note: this is just about the new '09 tires, not older ultra milage in general.

Buy a spare wheel on Ebay and mount a new tire on it. Install that new tire on the bike and keep the original for later when you can use up the mileage remaining on that tire. I've done this with the last two bikes I've owned and it works well for me. I found a new take-off wheel from a dealer with a new tire fitted for $220 on Ebay. I have a new E3 mounted and balanced on my spare wheel now ready to be installed on the bike at a moment's notice...well, more like an hour's notice.

[jberg]

Every town in the USA has a Harley dealer. You could probably plan a tire replacement mid-trip. Call ahead to make sure the tire is in stock and see if you'll need an appt.