Another tire question.

[tlm]

I have been lurking and reading here for a few months. All of you are extremely knowledgeable and somewhat crazy. I think. Now I have a question. I bought my 2002 RSMV this past May. I put new Dunlop 404 tires on it when I got it. I have a little over 6000 mile on them and the rear is almost slick. Is this the normal life for this tire? I have Dunlop E3's on my '85 Goldwing and I seen to remember getting around 10,000 on them. Thanks.

[cowpuc]

Hi Tim

While I did like the handling on the 404's I have ran on Tweeks, I also found them to wear very fast - no doubt a LOT faster then the E2's I was used to.. I actually wore a brand new 404 down to the carcass on a trip out to Sac to visit the kids,,, playing in the desert - tire was gone in Moab with 4k on it... FYI,, I discovered Full Bore tires this last season in another on the road tire gone situation - CHEAP (70 bucks) and ended up getting 5k on it - I would go Full Bore before I went 404... Or better tires if cash was not an issue...

[tlm]

Thanks cowpuc. I'll do some more research and decide what to get next.

[saddlebum]

Hi Tim; That does seem a little premature but a lot would depend on the type of riding you do and the climate temperatures of the area your riding in. The warmer the weather is the softer and more prone the tires are to wearing.

Having said that here is a little food for thought when you are buying tires based on the miles you get out of them, keeping in mind the hardness of the rubber is a big factor in tire life but can also be a trade off for traction and road grip.

I will give you an example My bike had Dunlap EII tires on it and the traction was great. I am not sure what the millage was when they where installed but according to the person I bought the bike from they were relatively new. Based on that I suspect I got about 8,000 miles on them. When I replaced them I again replaced them with EII tires. Ironically I got 25,000 miles out of them and when I replaced them they still had plenty of tread. So why did I replace them? The reason was I was getting horrible traction that continued to get worse. One year coming home from the New York rally I slide over half a lane while going around a ramp on a dry road and I started noticing my back end slipping out more and more. I suspect the rubber compound had been changed to a harder compound than my 1st EII's and got even harder with age. I now run EIII's. and the balance between tire wear and traction seem to be quite acceptable. As a matter of fact I can lean the bike over under normal paved road conditions and scrape foot pegs without loosing traction (not that I make a habit of it).

Edited December 8, 2014 by saddlebum

[V7Goose]

Hello Tim - in direct response to your question, your mileage from a Dunlop D404 was fairly typical. That is just an average tire, not a really BAD one like the Brickstone, but nothing particularly good about it either.

 

I have done a LOT of very detailed testing and reviews of most of the available tires for this bike, but most of those posts are 3-5 years old. I have well over 100,000 miles on my 2005, so that has given me the chance to burn through a lot of tires! And since I change my own, I am able do do more comparison testing than some are willing to do. May I suggest you do an advanced search specifically for posts by me containing the word "tires". There is a lot of reading available, and in those threads you will find many differing opinions (not just mine) about different tires which will let you form your own ideas on where to go next.

 

I am not trying to suggest that my personal opinion is any better than the others, but I do think you will find that I have posted way more detailed facts about why I hold those opinions than most of the other contributors. Those facts are the only way you can decide if you think a posted opinion makes sense to you.

 

Good luck,

Goose

[tlm]

Saddlebum, I like the EIII's ok except I'm uncomfortable on them in the rain. Just a personal hang up I guess. I loved them on my wing on dry roads. Seem to have the right amount of sticky and sturdy. V7Goose, I will look for your threads.

[saddlebum]

I agree with you on the rain part but it does improve after a time. Like I said the EIII's (at least as far as I have noticed) seem to take a little more time to scrub in then what you would like.

 

With regards to V7Goose. He is very inquisitive when it comes to these bikes (maybe other things as well) and tends to dissect with keen interest much of what goes on with the bikes, always looking for answers. So do look into his threads and not just about tires.

[ricksbike]

I run Avon venoms on my 92vr--I`ve seen alot of negative comments on them,but I get between 10--12,000 out of the rear and 20,000 out of the front,they seem to work real well for me---I tried a set of Conti-tours last year and only got 6,000 miles out of them,tried to save a few bucks and ended up spending twice as much because I had to buy two sets of tires in one year.

[naturbar]

I run Avon venoms on my 92vr--I`ve seen alot of negative comments on them,but I get between 10--12,000 out of the rear and 20,000 out of the front,they seem to work real well for me---I tried a set of Conti-tours last year and only got 6,000 miles out of them,tried to save a few bucks and ended up spending twice as much because I had to buy two sets of tires in one year.

+1 on the Venoms - makes front end of bike feel 100 lbs. lighter...fwiw

[saddlebum]

I have tried the Venoms on my 1st gen and ended up with a really bad tail wag at about 60 mph and I was not the only one from what I understand. I did notice excellent wet weather handling and really smooth ride however, at least up until I hit 60 mph. It was only a month after I bought them that I started noticing side wall cracking, took them back to the dealer and he swapped them out no questions asked even gave me the E3's at my request. Once the E'3 were on the bike the wag went away.

[Cowboy]

Tim,

I have posted a few times concerning the D404WWW. Many things come in to play with the tire wear. It is in my opinion that Dunlop continues to change the compound that is used in the D404. Example is the first three sets I was able to get between 9500 & 11200 on a set of tires. Then a steady drop in mileage, 7500, 6100, Then i changed to the all famous E3 which got only 8900 miles. I know some people have gotten double that. I personally found that the E3 after the first 2500 miles began to sound like a John Deer Tractor in the curves. Curves are all I ride living in North Georgia! Next tried the Avon Venom for four sets. wide range of tire wear on that set also. I have changed the rear shock and had new front fork springs added and replaced all the bearing on the bike.

Last set of Avons got 10120 miles. I since have went back to the D404WWW front tire wore out before the rear which I have never had happen. Then I have found that the date codes on the D404 was a year apart. The current D404 WWW rear tire has 10200 on it and should get another 1000 miles out of it. I already have the new D404 WWW ready to install.

Bottom line is:

1. What type of roads do you ride?

2. What temperatures the roads are?

3. How much throttle you use on the starts and the amount as you leave the apex of curves.

4. How much you use your brakes?

5. Tire pressure Tire pressure seems to vary for every tire and every rider here on the site!

6. Bike weight with luggage/rider/ passenger / trailer

 

Ride safe and never let anyone influence what you feel under your own bike.

 

AKA Cowboy

[Venturous Randy]

I have tried the Venoms on my 1st gen and ended up with a really bad tail wag at about 60 mph and I was not the only one from what I understand.

I also had the tail wag 1 up from about 65 on. Other than that, I loved the Venoms. I now run a Venom on the front and an E-3 on the back and believe this is the best handling set up for my 83. I have put about 150,000 miles on this bike and have tried several brands of tires.

RandyA

[ricksbike]

I have noticed that air pressure makes a huge difference with the Venoms--I run 36 front and 40 rear any more and it really feels twitchy,never had a handling concern.:)

[tlm]

Most of the roads I ride are flat and straight. Not many curves around here. The temperature here this summer averaged mid to upper 90's. All of my riding has been local except one ride to Big Bend. About 1100 miles total. Solo with minimal gear. I run 40psi front and rear. I do tend to use the rear brake more than the front.

[Max]

I have Dunlop E3's on my '85 Goldwing and I seen to remember getting around 10,000 on them. Thanks.

 

I've got 30,000km (18,600mi), 2up, on current E3's with a few mm. tread remaining. Could probably squeeze another 3K, but

they're slated for replacement with E3's early spring.

[aharbi]

404's are a light tire and wear quick. I have never ever gotten 25K miles out of a rear tire on any bike with any brand tire.

[MikeWa]

I have been lurking and reading here for a few months. All of you are extremely knowledgeable and somewhat crazy. I think. Now I have a question. I bought my 2002 RSMV this past May. I put new Dunlop 404 tires on it when I got it. I have a little over 6000 mile on them and the rear is almost slick. Is this the normal life for this tire? I have Dunlop E3's on my '85 Goldwing and I seen to remember getting around 10,000 on them. Thanks.

 

Tim

In my opinion that is low mileage. My D404s have always lasted 10k to 12k miles. If you ask me why your mileage is low I am afraid I have no answer. Perhaps weather, road conditions etc. All I can do is guess, with no way to verify anything. You might ask a local dealer what their experience has been with these tires.

 

Mike

 

Mike

[Yammer Dan]

I got almost 4k on 404s. 3700 I think it was and thread was hanging out.