I have read a lot of posts about short tire life on a rig. Also, I have read several comments about tire wear being a good indicator of improper set up. Here is why I am pleasantly confused:
I bought a FLHRSI with a TLE with 3,000 miles on the clock with stock Dunlops. It was completely screwed up with regard to set up. Toe in was OK but, the bike was leaned into the side car and the side car wheel had a bunch of camber (there were no set screws in the rear mount). It pulled pretty badly. I put another 3,000 miles on it since sorting it out. The rear tire shows a fair amount wear and is squared off. I suspect it will need to be replaced in the next 500 to 1000 miles. The front looks great with lots of tread depth and the side car tire looks like it’s nearly new! Is this normal and what one would expect in 6,000 miles?
I don’t know what to expect for tire life as I came from the sport bike world where I would be delighted to get 3,000 mile out of a rear!
6,000 miles is not unusual wear for a rear bike tire on a rig. Especially if it was foul rigged for 3,000 miles. Front tire wear and sidecar tire wear are much better.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
If you get 6,000 miles on the rear tire out of a Harley/TLE rig with a Dunlop, that's about average. The only way to beat that would be to get a special rear wheel with a car tire.
Originally written by gnm109 on 5/14/2007 7:57 PM
If you get 6,000 miles on the rear tire out of a Harley/TLE rig with a Dunlop, that's about average. The only way to beat that would be to get a special rear wheel with a car tire.
Since I put the car tire on, my rear wears like iron, but it has caused the sidecar tire to wear much faster than it used to. Thankfully, that's the cheapest of the three and the easiest one to change.
Originally written by SidecarMike on 5/14/2007 7:44 PM
Originally written by gnm109 on 5/14/2007 7:57 PM
If you get 6,000 miles on the rear tire out of a Harley/TLE rig with a Dunlop, that's about average. The only way to beat that would be to get a special rear wheel with a car tire.
Since I put the car tire on, my rear wears like iron, but it has caused the sidecar tire to wear much faster than it used to. Thankfully, that's the cheapest of the three and the easiest one to change.
If your sidecar tire is wearing faster than normal, check the toe-in and check the frame for level, sidecar wheel for vertical. When the frame is level, sdecar wheel will be vertical, of course.
Good luck.
It steers fine, and goes down the road great. Toe is at about 3/4 inch and the frame is level.
Personally, I think the wide flat tire on the back of the bike grips well enough that the light sidecar tire slips on aggressive turns. I still get about 6,000 miles out of the sidecar tire so I'm not complaining.
Like I said, the sidecar tire is the cheap one. I bought the bike with 5,800 miles and half worn tires. I replaced both at that time. With 30,000 miles on the bike I've got lots of tread left on my second front tire, the second car tire on the back still looks new and the fifth sidecar tire is getting near replacement.
That was very helpful, Mike. My rear Avon is getting a flat profile but still is ok.
The 205/60 Triple Tread is waiting in the wings. The sidecar wheel is not vertical and I'll correct that. You're right, the sidecar tire is the cheapest and by far the easiest to replace.
Gosh, I must have my rig set up all wrong. My sidecar tires will rot and fall off before they ever show ANY wear. I can't imagine wht it woudl take to actually wear out a sidecar tire. And I get 10,000 out of Dunlop 491's on the rear of the bike. Maybe I should set my rig up as per HD factory specs so I can cut my tire life in half. I'm running Kenda Challengers on the front of the bike and get 8000 miles out of them up there. If I'd caugh up for the front 491 I'm sure they'd outlast the rears even.
Originally written by Lunatic on 5/15/2007 4:03 PM
Gosh, I must have my rig set up all wrong. My sidecar tires will rot and fall off before they ever show ANY wear. I can't imagine wht it woudl take to actually wear out a sidecar tire. And I get 10,000 out of Dunlop 491's on the rear of the bike. Maybe I should set my rig up as per HD factory specs so I can cut my tire life in half. I'm running Kenda Challengers on the front of the bike and get 8000 miles out of them up there. If I'd caugh up for the front 491 I'm sure they'd outlast the rears even.
I've yet to wear out a sidecar tire. They will rot though.
