Best tyres for mileage?

[crocket]

Which are the best tyres for mileage on my 1981 R65 T/shock. Years ago I had a Continental (?) extra tread (8mm) rear on a R65 and got over 10k . Bet you cant get them now. Got Conti Go on now nearly worn out at 3k !

[Bob_Roller]

Metzler Lazertec series tires on my R65's, get about 8-10,000 miles (13-16,000 km) on a rear and 10-12,000 miles (16-19,000 km) on a front .

Michelin Macadam and Bridgestone Battle Axe tires seem to favorites for high mileage/kilometer life tires .

[Barry]

I have 8500 miles on a Metzler ME11 front with a predicted life of 13,000 miles with 2mm of tread remaining. My rear is to early to tell.

I wouldn't be happy either with 3000 mile tire life and tend to associate that with super bikes. I used to get that out of the rear on my Z900. Scary to think it had 82HP, weighed 560lbs and used the same tire sizes as an an airhead 4.00 rear and 3.25 front.

[Semper Gumby]

Michelin Pilot Activs.  I don't know that you will get more than Metzler Mileage but I really like the handling!

Of course my favorites were the Macadams ...

[Tzigane]

I'm always very happy with the life of Bridgestone BT45's.
I did 13.000 km on a heavy GTR1000, similar on a K100. They should work very nicely on a R65 too!

[Air4Life]

Metzeler ME 77 Vintage Line Rear Tire?

[Justin B.]

Probably the longest wearing I've used was the Dunlop Elite II followed by the Macadam...

[steve hawkins]

I recently spoke to my tyre fitters about Conti's and he said that the manufacturer have gone back to a harder compound due to complaints about longevity.  So I have gone with another conti rear.

It has to be said that longeveity is as much about your ridng style and the roads you are using the bike on, than the compound.

If you go out on the highway and maintain a more or less constant velocity, you will get far more out of your tyres than if you are on the windy roads with lots of acceleration and deceleration.  

You cannot compare two differnet riders, with two different tyre choices, doing two differnet journeys, in two differnet parts of the world.

And everyone else will have their favourites....What colour should I paint my bike?

Cheers

Rev. Light

[rwait]

Kris - I have had three sets of ContiGo tires over the last three years with each set lasting at least 8,000 miles.  I usually do two long rides, 2,500 miles plus, per riding season and lot's of 100 - 250 mile weekends.  

One thing I read this winter (can't find the link at the moment) was that modern tires should be run at the tire manufacturer recommended rating vs. the older (1979 R65 in my case) motorcycle manufacturer rating.  I now run my tires at a minimum 36 psi and up to 38 or so on the rear. (Ratings that I found on the Continental site).  As expected, handling is much more crisp, but I really don't notice much added harshness in the suspension.  

I just completed a 3,100, 10 day ride through the deep South in the U.S. with new ContiGo's.  At this point the tires have lot's of tread left.

I can't say that they are the longest lasting tire, but perhaps the fast wear you experienced was due to the tire pressure being were too low, causing added heat and premature wear?

Randy

[steve hawkins]

Randy - Excellent points, well made.

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