I just had my rear tire replaced on my Sporty last October at the local Harley dealer. So far I have put, at most, maybe 4-5K miles on it. I was looking at it this morning and was rather alarmed at the amount of wear the tire has already. From the look of things, I might be having to replace it again in a month or two... WTF!?!

I ride normally. That is, I don't spin the tires or anything like that. I kinda wonder if the tires they are forced to order from their suppliers might be different that what we might order ourselves from someone like Motorcycle SuperStore or whatever.

 

What does the wear pattern look like? Maybe your pressure was off. I had Michelins put on my bike, got on board, rode about 400 miles thinking, "Wow, these tires are great! Ride real smooth." Got off at the end of the day, looked at the front tire and nearly took a crap. It was f&%#%^ed. Checked the air pressure and it was about 22psi. The dealer went good for it when I got back.
I know, I know, but that was the first time I had tried Michelin tires on my bike and I was comparing it to the Michelins I ran on my car. They ran softer, but that was normal. Guess my ASSumption was a big mistake.

 

Tire's have a shelf life believe it or not and everybody including the retailers are bargain shopping today . New tires that have been sitting for too long or stored wrong will breakdown and wear out fast sometimes in a bad way . Check the rubber when buying next time good tires will have that dull look , be pliable and have a strong smell . Old " New stock " will have a harder almost glazed look , feel harder and little rubber smell , had an old hotrod builder run me through this years ago and damn if it hasn't proved out true .

 

You shouldn't have to be guessing at the mileage. The dealer will have written that on your invoice. Also you would be well advised to keep a maintenance log.

My Dyna's rear tire was replaced @ 9,000 miles, but should have been done @ 8,000. How many did your last 1 get?

 

The age of the tire is on the tire. Look for 4 numbers in a row, for example 3210, this tire was made the 32nd week of 2010. No need to guess.

 

With Dunlops, I would usually get 8,000 miles from the rear. I have been running Michelin Commanders the last two years and have been getting 9,000 from them.

 

Didn't know that one -- thanks for sharing.