How many miles to expect on OEM tires?

I bought my NT in March with 3600 miles and now have 5700 miles. I have a trip to the Catskills in a little over a week that will add another 1500 miles or so, then off to the big trip down south where we'll ad another 4500 miles. The tires don't show unusual wear, but I don't think I'll get another 6000 miles out of them.

How many miles did you get on your OEM tires? I'm trying to decide if I swap them out on the road to Georgia or if I should do the work before I leave.

Maryann

It depends on a lot of factors, but most of us didn't get very good tread life on the OEM Bridgestone 020s. I think I replaced mine at about 6,500 miles.

It is very inconvenient to replace tires in the middle of a trip. I've done it twice now, once in Alaska and once in Little Rock last week. Very few shops stock our size tire so I had to call ahead to a shop I'd be near in 4 or 5 days and have them order a tire and schedule a time to mount it.

Yep. Mine only went about 8000.

Mine also showed plenty of wear at 5000 so you may get more mileage. I'd definitely replace before your longer trip.

You usually pay a premium price when you have tires replaced in the middle of a trip. The other factor is your OEM tires are now more than 5 years old so it would be wise to change them now.

If these are the original tires they would be at least 5 years old. Tires experience varying degrees of breakdown due to age.
As I recall, when I noticed that the front tire started to cup, it got worse pretty fast. I changed both tires at 5300 miles in the middle of a trip due to a sheet metal screw through the rear.
I would swap them 100 - 200 miles before the trip and not worry about them.

I replaced the OEM tires at 8,700 miles. They were not worn out yet but the front was cupping so badly that I replaced both front and rear with Michelin PR3's

My OEM tire had a couple thousand miles left on the rear when I replaced them both at 6K before a trip in 2010. On my 21,000 miles Epic Post-Retirement Ride to Alaska, the Four Corners of the US, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador, I replaced the rear in Gainesville, FL, at about 12,000 miles, and my front in Connecticut at Twisted Throttle at about 19,000 miles. I think the front would have made it home but they had the tire and were working on the bike anyway, so I decided it made sense to do it there.

I changed the front tire at 6500 miles, I did not feel safe riding on it, it let go twice when cornering hard. Change the rear tire at 11,500 miles.

I think I changed mine out at about 8500. So far, when I change tires, I change both front and rear. I'm changing out my PR4s next Tuesday. I've gotten 17,000 out of them. The front tire could go farther, but the rear tire is flat and badly worn.

Terry

I really envy those of you who can get 15 to 17,000 miles or better out of a tire. The only way I can do that is the spare on my trailer that has never has been on the ground.

I should qualify that statement. I did get 15,000 out of a Pirelli angel on the back of my Fjr. That is the only time I topped 10,000 on a rear tire.

Not long. They are Hyper-sport rubber and have a life measured in minutes. Get something more touring and you will still be happy with both wet and dry performance.

I got around 7,500 out of the rear, the front is still to be replaced (and I need to ride more)

Seagrass

A new set of PR4's are on their way. I've had tires changed on the road before, but it takes a big chunk of time out of our travels. Thanks for all your input.

Maryann

you might have missed a sale on tires from motorcycle-superstore.com good until 5-29, using a code of either 10% or 15% off brought down a rear PR4 to $144.49 and I also bought a front tire

I am not sure this thread needs another comment.....but I just wore my rear tire out last weekend while riding double with my wife at Suches, Georgia. The OEM tires are 7 years old and I thought I had enough tread to get through the rest of this summer. The temperature was up in the 90's, and I was riding the curves in a "festive" manner - faster than the Harley riders but slower than the sport bikes. In 2 days of riding we completely scrubbed off all the tread on the rear tire and coated the rim and swing arm with rubber dust - the tire had just a bit more than 5,000 miles on it. I believe the accelerated wear was a result of the heat, riding double, hard riding in the curves, and the rubber being a bit old. The Pirelli PR4 set is ordered!

6,000 on the rear tire. Had to replace before passing inspection.

My OEM tires might have had 1K miles left on them when I left on my first long trip back in '10. I replaced them before I left.

If you going on a long trip less then the life of a set of tires, I would suggest installing new tires. I think most get 8k to 10K on their tires, so if you going more then that you be changing tires on your trip. Which can be at best inconvenient, and may require planning on getting tires from a dealer and perhaps a delay of a day or more. I think most ride 2k to 5K on a long trip.

I removed my worn out OEM tires yesterday, and I was surprised to discover that the tires were not 2010 model year like the bike is. The back tire code was 3409 which makes it 8 years old - the front tire code was 3108 which makes it 9 years old!

If anyone is still riding around on the OEM Bridgestones - be careful as they are long past the 5 years that most people consider that motorcycle tires should be replaced.

I rode a few miles on the new Michelin PR4's, and they sure do ride nicer than the old worn out OEM Bridgestones!