Tire mileage

[davidpdx]

 I am wondering what kind of mileage folks are getting on their tires. I have just 6700 miles on a set on Metzelers and the back is getting to where it look in need of replacement. Most of the miles are highway with some over 70 mph over the coarse of 2 years. Always kept the air between 35 and 38 psi splitting the difference between what the owners manual says and what the tires say. The edges of the rear tire have plenty of tread but the center is near gone and with the wet season here, I will replace it for traction.  

[Ed Miller]

That seems about what I get.  Sometimes the front tire lasts longer than the rear.  It's one thing that keeps a 45 mpg bike from being quite as economical to drive as a good mpg car.  BMW parts prices are another.

I'm trying out a pair of Pilot Activs, and as they aren't worn out yet I don't know what I'll get on them.  I think they went on last November but I had some down time in there, too, so I haven't been riding my normal 8 - 9 thousand miles per year.

[Barry]

I'm having trouble wearing out Pirelli City Demons.  At 10800 miles the rear is getting close but hasn't squared off anything like as badly as the previous Metzeler. If that seems a high mileage it has very rarely seen above 60 MPH.

[Bob_Roller]

I've had Metzeler tires on my '81 R65, since 1987 .

I've used the ME33 / ME99, now Lazertec  series .

I average 11-13,000 miles, 17-20,000 km on a front and 9-10,000 miles, 15-16,000 km on a rear .

I keep the pressures in the 35-40 psi, 2.4-2.7 Bar range .

[Tony Smith]

I'm having trouble wearing out Pirelli City Demons.  At 10800 miles the rear is getting close but hasn't squared off anything like as badly as the previous Metzeler..

I am so glad to hear that. As a result of them being the only tyres I could buy a matched pair of in Australia (albeit form two different suppliers) on the day I went looking for tyres, my r65 is wearing Pirelli City demons too.

I did have some history on them, the Enfield I rode a few months back was fitted with them and I liked them a lot. At least now I have an approximate useage point to decide what to buy next, but this far I'd want to be convinced that any alternative was a lot better before I'd go with a different brand, only thing I might do next time is hang out for a 3.50 front instead of the 3.00 I fitted.

[davidpdx]

Thanks for the feedback. Barry, do you feel that the Pirelli City Demons handle as well as the metzelers?

[Barry]

do you feel that the Pirelli City Demons handle as well as the metzelers?  

I felt the Pirelli was much better but that's bound to be the case moving from an old tire to a new. Doing a new back to back comparison would be the only way to tell for sure and how many riders will ever experience that. I have no complaints at all in the dry and have pushed it to my foot touching down.  In the wet I'm too much of a coward on the bends to qualify a judgement.  They say in the wet a tire retains 70% of dry grip so I'm must be taking it much too easy to push the limits. On the other hand I've never fallen off.

The 4.00 rear at 116mm wide is a very easy fit past the brake shoes and at 675mm diameter it's as big as any of the 4.00 tires to maintain the correct gearing which can't be said for the 110/90's.  The new tread depth was a full 7mm. From what I remember Pirelli's were easy to mount on the rim and relatively easy to seat the bead.  

[Barry]

I might do next time is hang out for a 3.50 front instead of the 3.00 I fitted.  

3.25 and 4.00 city Demons seem to be still available from some retailers over here but I notice they are no longer listed on the Pirelli web site. Only 90/90 for the front which would be OK but for the rear nothing bigger than 3.50 which is no good. I don't know when that change happened so if the correct sizes can be found it might pay to check date codes in case of old stock.