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Tire life - typical?

R

r65_steve

Member
I bought this R1150R last summer and have ridden it about 2300 miles. The rear tire is at the wear bars, but the front is still good. These are Battleax BT-023s that were installed in 2017 (two owners ago). Piecing this together from my riding, the guy I bought it from and the owner before that, it looks like they have about 9200 miles on them.

Not bad, right?
 
In the first 250,000 miles Voni put on her R1100RS she averaged 8500 miles per tire front and rear.
 
It does sound about right but you have to take into account mileage varies a LOT rider to rider.
- Some use the front brake a LOT more than the rear. They tend to wear tires evenly.
- Some like to accelerate HARD on takeoff, others ease away. They tend to wear out rears quickly.
- Some check their pressures EVERY time they ride. Their tires tend to last a bit longer as they avoid cupping and other problems that occur with incorrect pressures.
- Some live in States like Oregon where chip seal roads are common. These and other rougher road surfaces use tires up faster
- Some hardly ever ride their bikes and their tires get hard and cracked. This tends to affect mileage in a bad way as well.

So those are just off the top of my head; I'm sure there's more. I note that Paul Glaves stated Voni's mileage as an average and that's the best way to look at it. Newer tires have really tough compounds used in the center region of tires now and this helps eek out more mileage which is a great improvement!
 
happy wanderer said:
I note that Paul Glaves stated Voni's mileage as an average and that's the best way to look at it. Newer tires have really tough compounds used in the center region of tires now and this helps eek out more mileage which is a great improvement!
Click to expand...

Indeed. To elaborate, Voni used Battleax BT54 tires exclsuvely for the first 250,000 miles on her R1100RS. The average life front and rear was 8,500 miles. Front wear was fairly consistent. But on the rear she got a high of 14,100 miles and a low of 6,100 miles not counting any tire with an early life puncture.
 
PR4's on the GT got 7k front and the rear likely had another 1K left.

Heidenau K60 scouts on the GS1200 trip to Ak. last summer saw 8K on both with 1500 miles left on either when I just replaced them upon returning.
 
I think the word "typical" only applies to one rider - you. We all have different riding styles and what is typical for me may be far off what it might be for someone else. One thing you can be sure of though - new tires you can buy now are better than the tires from 3 years ago and you will "typically" get more mileage from them. :)
 
BC1100S said:
I think the word "typical" only applies to one rider - you. We all have different riding styles and what is typical for me may be far off what it might be for someone else. One thing you can be sure of though - new tires you can buy now are better than the tires from 3 years ago and you will "typically" get more mileage from them. :)
Click to expand...

That's what the manufacturers claim in order to justify higher tire prices. But my own experience suggests that tire mileage hasn't kept up to the propaganda. I have a buddy that has a very accurate gauge to test rubber density. Interestingly he has never been able to quantify any difference in hardness in any so called dual compound tires like Michelin or others. Make you wonder what real and whats propaganda. The tire prices we pay are quite real though.
 
Blacque Jacque Shellacque said:
That's what the manufacturers claim in order to justify higher tire prices. But my own experience suggests that tire mileage hasn't kept up to the propaganda.
Click to expand...

My "typical" experience has been that the mileage improvements claimed are real. :)

And I'm paying about the same or less than I did for tires 5 years ago.
 
Last edited:
So riding style has a lot to do with what a rider needs for tires.

I have a R1200RT but I will probably ride it more like an old man on a Harley, meaning not too fast, not to hot in the corners, but lots of miles. I'd really like to get more than a year out of a set of tires, so I need something that will go 15,000 or so miles a year. The Dunlop American Elites on my 900 pound Ultra Limited go that far year after year.

I don't need a soft sport tire, but a more durable tire for these Texas shark-skin roads.

What would you suggest?
 
wichitagreg said:
So riding style has a lot to do with what a rider needs for tires.

I have a R1200RT but I will probably ride it more like an old man on a Harley, meaning not too fast, not to hot in the corners, but lots of miles.
Click to expand...

Will you wear Crocs? Cause the guys I just passed today one of them was. :doh :rolleyes :)
 
The road surface on which one rides is also a factor that contributes to tire wear. Chipped stone packed down by vehicles is harder on tires than asphalt.
 
happy wanderer said:
It does sound about right but you have to take into account mileage varies a LOT rider to rider.
- Some use the front brake a LOT more than the rear. They tend to wear tires evenly.
- Some like to accelerate HARD on takeoff, others ease away. They tend to wear out rears quickly.
- Some check their pressures EVERY time they ride. Their tires tend to last a bit longer as they avoid cupping and other problems that occur with incorrect pressures.
- Some live in States like Oregon where chip seal roads are common. These and other rougher road surfaces use tires up faster
- Some hardly ever ride their bikes and their tires get hard and cracked. This tends to affect mileage in a bad way as well.

So those are just off the top of my head; I'm sure there's more.
Click to expand...

Some riders are heavier than others, and some heavy riders also carry a lot of gear.

It seems that weight plays a very large role in tire life, especially on the rear.
 
That sounds about right. I have a BT023 on the rear of my FZ1 with about 8500 on it and it is getting close to the end, maybe another 1000 or so. That is on a much lighter, also much more powerful bike, and includes a handful of track days.
 
txcnb said:
That sounds about right. I have a BT023 on the rear of my FZ1 with about 8500 on it and it is getting close to the end, maybe another 1000 or so. That is on a much lighter, also much more powerful bike, and includes a handful of track days.
Click to expand...

The mention of track days brings to mind an interesting experience. I was taking Reg Pridmore's CLASS course at Heartland Park Topeka on a Friday. I normally used a Metzeler ME88 Marathon rear tire on my mighty and powerful K75. But for this track school I mounted the much stickier ME55. I bought and mounted the tire on the Thursday preceding the Friday track school. Then we went riding to, in, and from the Ozarks on Saturday and Sunday. Engle Motors in Kansas City was closed Monday, so I had to wait till Tuesday to buy a replacement for the worn-out ME55. My check for the 1st tire hadn't even cleared the bank yet.
 
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