20,000+ miles from a tire r12gs update

This is an update from my tire lifespan. I keep reading about the life averages you all have been getting (some bragging about short life, some bragging about long life)
My 06 r12gs, just replaced the front tourance tire. It had 22,416 miles (not kilometers) on it.
The old karoo went 9165 miles.
The me880 had 25281 miles on it when I replaced it for other reasons, but still had legal tread left.
I have rode 49 states, 7 provinces, keep tires at 36 f, 42, psi rear.
stock suspension, rider weight 260, 99% solo and never take the engine over 4,000 rpm unless I'm on the highway in 6th gear.
I'm happy.
max

I sure would like to see a picture of that tire.

Never over 4000 RPM?

Where's the fun in that? I'd rather buy tires.

congrats on the tire longevity. on a side, i spend almost no time under 4k rpm

You probably ride like my grandmother , bless her soul. Congrats on your tire longevity. I took my stock Continental Trail Attacks off my 09 GSA after 14,000 miles, they could have gone a bit more, but for $250 I don't have to wonder when one will let go.....with obviously unpleasant results.

front tourance tire on my GSA 23k kms on mexican and Texas termac and is tost with a lot of craks on it but still have some tread left.

Right now I'm going to try the Pirelli Trails for the road and wait for the Kenda big blocks review to decide witch tire choose for the off road
Kenda or TKC
Stock suspension, solo rider, 210 pounds and never change gear before 4K rpm

That's the whole secret as I rarely get below 4k myself I roast a rear karoo in typically 1500-1700 miles

I rode with a guy just like you once.

That's amazing! I mean the part about never taking the engine over 4,000 rpm.

On my 05,, I replaced the original rear Tourance at 14,100 miles and the original front at 22,100

Those are my averages for my '07 GSA.

Outstanding mileage. There was a guy on a HD forum that replaced his front tire after 40,000 miles. He said it was still OK but he went ahead and replaced it anyway.:eek1

4000 rpm's WOW. :eek1 I don't usually get over 6500 unless I'm riding with sport bikes. Then I try to stay off the rev limiter. I have a K60 on the front with 14,000m right now and the rear k60 went 7000m. The stock Battle Wings only went 8000m on F&R.

in first gear i like to take it slow up to 4k then whap it wide open just long enough to get that front tire a few feet off the ground then grab second and see how long i can keep her on the road (or spin the tire depending on road surface and temp). i figure if i keep that front tire off the ground i'll get more miles out of her. the back tire on the other hand doesn't have a shot.

on thing i recently became aware of in the last 3 months.

i got 8k MILES out of a (rear) tourance MAX, that is with about 8 steel cords showing when removed after a trip, riding solo (150lbs) and just a top box most of the time. tkcs 3k, avon distanza 4k, battlewing 4k

4 months ago i put a brandy new tourance (rear) on (my friend put a continental trail attack at the same time) bike weight in at 900-950lbs most days for the life of the tire, we did freeway at 90mph and 115*f we did fire roads with shale, peg dragging regularly, deathvalley mountain passes (or tried to) we made it from PA to Costa rica (12,500 miles) the trail attack had about 1k less miles and looked slightly worse, both R1200gs but my bike did wheelies almost everyday his did not.

also i believe the OP with 24k miles on a front, all three of the v stroms that went to panama with us came back on the same fronts as they left with (just over 20k miles) now as we all know stroms have horrible front brakes so i'm figuring that helps alot in from tire life.

morel of this long post? Tourances are very good tires, but as i heard another inmate speculate about, i think the more weight on the tires the better, to a point of course. helps them stick to the pavement better.

also i like running my tires closer to 32ish up front and 36ish in the back (used to run high psi) i find i get better grip, better feel, better ride, and i believe better tire life with more universal ware across the tread.

just my .02c. not that anyone asked

ONCE!:huh

Jim

Wow, I just looked at my tach - and low and behold there are actually numbers below 5000 RPM!

Who knew.

lol. Exactly what I was thinking. "I'm out." I understand there is a tire wear price to pay for rding the way I ride, and some small adjustments may be in order, but "never over 4000 rpm"? Shoot me now.

never over 4000 rpm? 9000 miles on a karoo? I bet your rings aren't seated yet

not to make it personal, but I see and test ride hundreds of boxers a year since 2000 and on the 1100/1150's it would be very apparent when test riding someone's bike as to how they rode it. The ones that were babied were by far the most sluggish, buzzy and not so fun to ride, almost souless. However get a guy who is aggressive and maintains the bike, now that's a good boxer to have. I've had to put new rings in multiple used GS where the previous owners babied them, rings never seated and cylinders glazed over, nothing a hone and a few hundred bucks couldn't fix.

Not wearing out your tires before 8k is down right un-amaricun!