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Front and rear tire wear

I have a question concerning front and rear tire wear. In a few posts I read earlier in the archive, I noticed that some were saying that usually they replaced the rear tire two times before they replaced the front tire. I have an EGC that is just about in need of replacing the rear tire but the front has lots of tread left and is in great shape. Is that a problem or is it ok to hold off on the front as long as I replace the rear with the same tire? I am running Dunlops. I did not think to ask the original owner what kind of miles the treads had on them. I bought the bike with 13K on it and it is now over 20k. The wear bars on the rear are not showing yet but I am sure its getting a bit squared and I am riding with the wife more.

Thanks in advance,

Brad
 
I got 3x the use of front over the rear...

and finally decided to get away from the Dunlops.

I put Metzeler 880's on BOTH front and rear, and the Road King fells like it lost 100 pounds! She DIVES (nicely) into corners, and runs great in the rain.

That being said, i have no idea what kind of mileage they will give me... I ride HARD (no skids or burnouts, but still HARD!). I was on my 4th or 5th rear dunlop for my 2nd front. I have only had the M-880's on for 2 months, and they are JUST now wearing the cactus spines off the outside edges...

On the other hand, the wife might not like the deep curves you can take with the M-880's... and IF you switch to them, I suggest you get a good 50 miles under your belt solo... the bike will act VERY differently. I thought mine was too wierd at first, driving 30 mile home after switching them... but by the time I got home, I fell in love with them and WON'T go back to Dunlops!!!
 
Smitty (Top)... while I respect what you are asaying, is your statement based on your useage, or 2nd and 3rd hand comments?

Not picking on you, but I have had peaople tell me all sorts of stuff in life... which was dead wrong! But they heard it from a friend of a friend, etc.

I trust REAL life experience and comments much more that heresay. and before I TELL someone my opinion, I make sure that it is MY opinoin (and not someone elses's SPECULALTION...)

I personally have run dunlops, and dislike them... and wear them out too quick.... NOT on the sides, but right down the middle. The last ones had cords showing and was slick (no tread) down the center. and it had 5 to 6 thousand miles on it. NO hard braking, NO burnouts, etc. Personally, I think they suck!
 
My personal experience has been Dunlops are a harder rubber than others so they tend to last a little longer, but Harder=less grip. The Metzlers, ME 880 Marathon, are stickier in the curves by wear out quicker, Avon Venoms even stickier and wear even quicker.
The New Dunlop E3's so far are great, stick real nice.
Keep in mind, my opinions have no association with price. I don't care what they cost, it's my (EDIT) on the line.
 
I have 20000 miles on my FLHRC and have replaced two rear tires and one front tire. I replaced the first rear at 10,500 or so miles. I would say this is pretty average

I just replaced both this weekend. The front had 1/64 inch and the rear had almost 3/64 inches left. I had a brakes to do on rear so I went ahead and replaced all of them at the same time since my scooter was going to be on the lift and it was a long weekend.:newsmile021:

BTW: I think the wear on my Dunlops was pretty good considering all factors. No problem with ride quality, traction, etc....
 
I just replaced the front and rear with the Met. 880s. I did notice a difference in the way the bike rides vs the dunlops I removed. One thing I did notice is that the 880s make more road noise than the dunlops. Has anyone noticed that? or is it that the tires are just new. I noticed sometimes it sounds like a faint whistle in the rear on the left side. It like comes and goes. Not sure if it is the different type of road or if it is just something making the whistle nose as the wind rushes by the bags. It didn't do that before.

Any thoughts? It is an 05 EGS with 32,000 miles.
 
I Have the Metzler 880, and I notice the whistle your describing on the white pavement on the freeway here. It goes away on the black asphalt.
 
I have used Dunlop, Metzler, Avons and Firestone. My roadking has Metzlers on it now and the mileage isn't too bad you need to run them with 42-44 lbs of pressure in the rear and 40 in front. Definitely 2 rears to 1 front with any tire. The Avons I like they handle well not as great for wear. The old Dunlop touring tire I really don't like bike handles better in my opinion with the Metzler or Avon.
The new bike has the new Dunlops on it and they handle great, they change the design and it reminds me more of the Avon. We'll see what type of wear they give. :s
 
I just got in from changing out the rear tire on my Dyna. Stock Dunlop K591 got 10300 off of it before the wear bar started showing. Wore out right down the middle. Replaced it with another K591 didn't really want to change.
 
That K591 is a good tire and seems to have a deeper thread than other Dunlop. I had them on an FXR and I thought they were great handling and traction was great too.
 
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