Dunlop Elite 4 Tires — First Impressions

[Zteve]

Throttle and rear tire wear are inversely proportional.

[GaTeach]

This may be unbelievable, but Teach's rear E4 is on display at Cycle World in Athens, GA. 22,000 on it. I have a pic somewhere, but not on this pc. She loves the darn things.

Yeah. I really do love them. You can tell from the pic that it's not all highway miles. Mostly backroads in the mountains. But I don't get on the throttle when I'm taking off. It's just not the way I ride usually.

[STRaider]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but was wondering how far down most ride their tires. I have right at 11,000 miles on my E 4's, and they need to be replaced. The rear still has a little groove left, but is well into the wear bar.

Do most ride unitl there is no groove, or replace when the wear bar is still visible? I wouldn't do more than a day ride close to home on these, but am I giving up too soon?

[53driver]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but was wondering how far down most ride their tires. I have right at 11,000 miles on my E 4's, and they need to be replaced. The rear still has a little groove left, but is well into the wear bar.

Do most ride unitl there is no groove, or replace when the wear bar is still visible? I wouldn't do more than a day ride close to home on these, but am I giving up too soon?

If your riding will keep you near home, you could take 'em down to the barest rubber.
However, most of us use the bike for 100+ rides and that would not be best.

Another take:
Since you are at the wear bars AND you know that - it's time to replace them.
You would be kicking yourself if you had a blowout after knowing that your tires were "technically" worn out.

It's your comfort level.
If I had a small trailer ready to pick me up, and I wasn't scared of a blowout ruining my bike, I would intentionally ride them down.
But I don't, and I am scared of a blowout ruining my bike - saw a pic yesterday of a rear tire blowout basically removing most of the ass end of a B.

Risk management - comes in all shapes and sizes.
What's in your wallet? Lol.
Cheers,
Steve

[2wheelsforme]

The purpose of the wear bars is to tell you that it is time for new tires, maybe safe to putt around town I guess. I think the limited amount of rubber still on the tire makes it susceptible to heat which also makes the rubber wear faster. Thinner tread also makes it more likely to be damaged by a sharp object and of course the reduced traction should be considered. Extending a tire from 10K to 11K is really not a lot of savings. I have not always felt this way and took chances more often when I was younger and wore then into the treads a few times.

[3Chief]

I've worn several sets of Mezzlers beyond the tread on my VTX with no ill effects. I wouldn't do it with any other brand of tire though.

[Brasco]

The purpose of the wear bars is to tell you that it is time for new tires, maybe safe to putt around town I guess. I think the limited amount of rubber still on the tire makes it susceptible to heat which also makes the rubber wear faster. Thinner tread also makes it more likely to be damaged by a sharp object and of course the reduced traction should be considered. Extending a tire from 10K to 11K is really not a lot of savings. I have not always felt this way and took chances more often when I was younger and wore then into the treads a few times.

I came close to disaster when I left on a trip with a rear OEM Stone at 12,000 miles wear. Rear looked good with relatively decent tread life above wear bar. Took the bike into Hell's Canyon in eastern Oregon -- temps in high 90s -- and that tire burned up in no time. During a morning pre-ride inspection found a six inch strip of thread showing down centre of the tire. Personally, if you're at that 11,00 to 12,000 mile mark and heading out on a trip of any duration -- especially one in high temps -- I'd be thinking seriously about new rubber before leaving. Amazing how fast the tire wears as it gets close to the end of it's life. Won't make that mistake again.