You only need to change the rear Michelin if you ride
your Ultra like a Moto GP bike in the mountains like
I do...............

if you ride like your typical average Ultra rider you
should get about 8 or 9,000 miles out of a Michelin
rear. I posted this all ready if you go back and reread
my posts.....

Enjoy and ride safe my friend...

 

Metzelers are GREAT tires and stick very well in wet
or dry, they last longer the the Michelins as well. So
you can't go wrong with them. On the other hand if
you ride the wheels off your Harley like I do you will
find the extra stick of the Michelins one heck of alot
of FUN"

Good Luck what ever you choose my friend...

 

I have always found that tires are worth the extra money. You will never know what you are missing until you try a different set on your bike. As well as realizing that tires are the only part of my bike that touches the ground. Give that some thought.

 

 

I sure wish I could get that many miles out of any tire. So far I just hit the 15k mark and my first rear was replaced at 7k and then the second one at 12k. That's only 5k for a tire and that was well past the wear bar in the center almost completely bald.

I come coming down out of the mountains will help some, but I'll have to see what kind of mileage I get on this tire before I make any tire change decisions.

 

I have good luck with my Dunlops 20k on the fronts and 17k on the rear.I also
had Metzler 880's on my last bike and was getting15k on the front and 12K on
the rear. I don't think I would change from Dunlops.

 

Have several Ultra and Classic owners that ride regularly with us, and we all get similar mileage out of the OE Dunlops.16-18,000 out of the fronts and 8-9,000 from the rears.90 % of our riding is two-up since our ladies enjoy it as much as the guys! And most of us are meticulous about keeping air pressures in check. I could push 10,000 out of the rear on my former Road King Standard taking it to the wear bar. Being in the mountains, I can't imagine any more from tires than this.

As 211Chuck stated, your riding style usually determines the outcome. Tire pressures are myfirst priority before a ride; and you can't compare the mileage on a Softail or Dyna to one of these Ultras when loaded for serious touring.

With only 1,000 miles on these new Michelins I still stand by the fact they are a great handling and super smooth riding tire. And I honestly expect to get similar mileage from them as compared to the OE Dunlops.

Again, take your air pressure settings seriously!

 

I think my biggest issue was that until about 3 weeks ago I was out in WV and rode the mountains on a daily basis and I ride hard, scraping pegs on a regular basis on my Eglide classic. It doesn't help the matter that I'm 260 and my normal bag load is probably easily 40-50 lbs for routine riding...I stayed prepared for cold and roadside repairs since in WV there are sometimes that the nearest house may be a few miles from where you break down.

 

st john:

Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to come across one of the grated bridges I think your referring to. I did spend about 30 miles on a four lane that the outside lanes had been milled down about two inches prior to resurfacing. And honestly, the Michelins handled like a charm! Yes the bike had some wiggles, but the control was never in question.

As stated, I'm only into these new tires ~1,000 miles and don't want to overstate my impression. I'm sure there are other brand tires that will satisfy your needs, but I'm 110% satisfied with the Michelins at this point.

IMO, recommending a particular brand of tire is getting like recommending a particular exhaust, or a particular brand of oil! [sm=bicker.gif]

Good luck with your decision!

[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

Corn:

Your make a good point! Many times I have replaced a tire(s) before leaving on a trip to unknown regions. IMO, a tire withgood tread will be less prone to a puncture that one that's worn to the bars. And it's much cheaper for me to change out tires locallythan to pay an out of town dealer to do it.

We have two very small footprints of rubber supporting ourselves, our passenger, and our beloved scooters! Give them the care they deserve.

[sm=exactly.gif]