Has Anyone Else Tried This To Estimate Miles Left On Tires?

[Byron]

I've got a little over 5,000 miles on my '06 now so I went and ordered a new set of tires to be ready when replacement time it there. I was trying to figure out how much longer the OEM Dunlop's would last me so here is what I came up with.

I used a caliper (digital in this case) as a depth gauge. I measured the total depth of the rear tread near the center. I came up with .1490". The Dunlop site list the tread depth for the rear tire at .28125". So I subtracted the first number from the second and ended up with .13225" of tire worn off in roughly 5,000 miles. To get how much was worn off per 1,000 miles I divided my first result by 5 which gave me .02645" per 1,000 miles of use. I then subtracted the minimum of 2/32" (.0625) from my remaining .1490" which leaves .0865" of useable tread. Divided that number by .02645" (wear per 1,000 mile figure) and end up with 3.2703 or a little over 3,000 miles of useable tread.

My question stands, has anyone done this and were your calculations close to reality?

Looks like I may be good for about 6 more weeks before needing the change.

[willd]

assuming road conditions, riding style, etc don't change significantly over those 3000 miles.

Seems like a good way to estimate. Best way I've found is to get down on one knee, get within an inch of the tread and look :) Or when the ***-end of the bike steps out one too many times :D

[nm6r]

I was able to successfully and fairly accurately estimate the remaining life on a set of oem Bridgestones by knowing the original tread depth, how many miles were on the tires and measuring the remaining tread. Most tires wear faster as they approach the end of their life so exercise some caution in your estimates.

The oem Bridgestones seemed to wear linearly. The Metzelers wear really fast toward the end of their life. I don't know about the oem Dunlops or the Michelin Pilot Roads.

Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif

[dduelin]

I was able to successfully and fairly accurately estimate the remaining life on a set of oem Bridgestones by knowing the original tread depth, how many miles were on the tires and measuring the remaining tread. Most tires wear faster as they approach the end of their life so exercise some caution in your estimates.

The oem Bridgestones seemed to wear linearly. The Metzelers wear really fast toward the end of their life. I don't know about the oem Dunlops or the Michelin Pilot Roads.

Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gifRay,

What Metzelers did you run on your ST? I know that you are not happy with the PR's but how did they compare to Metzelers if you ran them?

[Actionfigurejoe]

I'm partial to the OEM Bridgestones. The original rear tire lasted 9000 miles with maybe 500-700 remaining. I had to change it out early because of a trip. This second rear tire has 8000 miles with maybe 1000 left.

[Bones]

In my experience tires decline at an increasing rate. I've had 4 sets of tires on my '03 (new ones last Monday). In my experience, all of them (BT020, Z6, and PR) wore smoothly and evenly for the first 2/3 to 3/4 of their useful life, and then went downhill very fast from there.

I put 9k on the BT020s, 6k on Z6s, 10k on PRs -- and probably should have replaced all of them sooner. I'm realizing that the wear bar indicators going flush is a sign that you're past due for new sneakers.

[Gonzo]

Byron,

Did you make multiple measurements and average the results and did you measure only over the wear bars?

I have just at 3000 miles on my new '06 ST now and I have been researching tires already and I plan to do the Z6/880 combo after reading every single post on tires here.

Looks like swmoto is the place to get them at a reasonable cost. I have not decided where to take them for R/R yet.

I was glad to read that all the tires seem to wear fast near the end. Not because they wear, but because it is good information.

Why don't you come over to my house this weekend and we'll check out your new muffler setup. I still owe you a breakfast.

gonzo

[Buckeye Rich]

The Z6/880 combo seem popular but I just read where Metzler is making an 880 for the front now. I ran 880's on my Concours and they were an excellent long lasting tire.

[Slider13]

I just got new sneakers (avons) put on yesterday for upcoming trip. Happy to finally get the dunlops off the bike. It had roughly 9600 miles with severe cupping in the rear and the fronts were okay. Best guess, the front has about another 2000 miles left and rear about 1500. Mostly straight and flat riding here in Illinois.

Slider13:04biker:

[Byron]

Gonzo,

I measured the total amount of tread left, not at the wear bar. I took a couple of measurements and used the lowest figure. Shoot me a PM with the details for a get together this weekend, both days open so far.

Like Slider13 I picked up a set of the Avon's. I got them from JC Motors (http://www.jcmotors.com). I checked the price at SW Moto but with JC being local I picked them up there and even after paying taxes paid about $5 less. I didn't really save that because I had to drive there and pick them up but I got to lay my hands on them before paying which is something I like to do :D .

[STArnie13]

I have had a lot of good luck estimating the tread left on tires of my bikes. That is except for the ST1300. My original tires looked to have a couple thousand miles left so I figured they were good for a 1200 mile trip. After about 350 miles the front was going bald on the left side. Hopefully the Z6 will be easier to judge. Since Metzler has the 880 for the front now I will likely try that whatever the Z6 does. :03biker:

[NormanPCN]

I just got new sneakers (avons) put on yesterday for upcoming trip. Happy to finally get the dunlops off the bike.

Welcome to the club. I got rid of my Dunlops early. I did not want to wait and I also went to Avons. Nice tires. Went through three sets. I have since started trying other tires just to know what is out there so I can compare.