Dunlop TT100 mileage

What kind of miles are you getting out of your rear tire?
I just noticed that it's time for me to order another one already and the riding season has just now gotten underway.

Between 4000 and 4500 miles is when I have to replace mine, and was curious as to how long others can make theirs last.

For years the routine has been to rotate the front tire to the back after I've replaced 2 rears ( a complete new set about every 14000 miles).
My stats:
40. PSI
Usually two-up w/loaded saddlebags
occasional Rocky Mountain dirt roads

The combination of our weight and gear is probably about 400 lbs. which is obviously quite a bit on that skinny tire, but I think that much of the wear
occurs when I'm riding alone and taking off from a stop as it's pretty easy to break the rear tire loose.
Lotta Torque about Norton!

Just replaced a rear tt100 on my Bonneville at just under 4000. Solo riding, no luggage, 32 psi.

Sounds about right for tire mileage. 40 lbs pressure is an awful lot but you do have a lot of weight there. What is the tire max pressure rating? I think the manual had 26/26 for normal riding just as a reference point.

Pressure has a lot to do with it.

Lower pressure means better compliance with the road surface and a larger contact patch too but all that compliance and the bigger patch generate more heat and that heat makes it softer and it wears quicker.

I'd say 4000 is good for that tire, especially since it has that big groove right down the center and a lot of open area between the tread blocks but then that open area allows the blocks to cool . . . .

4500 miles out of a Dunlop TT100 with riding conditionso two -up with luggage looks normal to me.
I never got more than 5000 miles out of the TT100 tires.

Possibly a bit off topic, but since I changed to Avon Roadriders, I never looked back at the TT100's
Not really more milage, but remarably better handling.

Mark sounds like you are getting excellent mileage about down to the cords which only risks easier puncture a bit more than otherwise. I have to climb Mt's a lot so even taking care not to throttle up any more than needed to flow into traffic and never using engine drag to slow nor rear brake but on grass and Grit so easy can't really drag tire to wear, I get ~4000 miles then cord showing in most out of round part of patch band. On my SV650 I can get about the same on race only compound rear but only ~2000 our the center so have to limit most throttle up on fairly far over leans and tend to zig zag in wide opens plus avoidence of much rear drag downshifts. If I kick up heels enjoying wasteful racer behavior on SuVee extra traction [which is relative term to me on all corner cripples] center goes away in under 1000 miles and edges still show some the real racer melt texture left. 40 PSI is actually very nice and secure on decent roads and definitely helps lower iso threshold and depth of isolation. My down dirty way to set tires w/o gauge is kick heel edge in as deep as expected major road texture with front always 2-3 lb less or when steering gets best light and easy sense.

I have never been accused of not getting my moneys worth out of a set of tires...... I'm poor and a cheapskate.

40 - rear / 35 - front
That's the way it's been for nearly 70,000 miles. Always works so I see no need to be changing it now.
25/28 psi feels like they're going flat.

It's good to hear that everybody gets close to the same mileage.

Mark said:

I have never been accused of not getting my moneys worth out of a set of tires...... I'm poor and a cheapskate.

40 - rear / 35 - front
That's the way it's been for nearly 70,000 miles. Always works so I see no need to be changing it now.
25/28 psi feels like they're going flat.

It's good to hear that everybody gets close to the same mileage.

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There has been nothing that I have ever used that beat the Continental TK 17 rear tyres.

How about 15,000 UK miles on the rear :?:

Note; do not use Continental TK tyres on the front if you want grip :!:

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/t ... K16-17.htm

If fitting a hard tough long wearing rear one must be a bit careful on swinging the 90' slow mild lean turns to enter road lane from gas stations or inter sections not to give much throttle or may spin rear right down. The down side of hard tough long wear tire on front was spot on to me. A bit soft side air pressure helps spread wear and relieve some the long tough wear tire side wall road texture transmission. If road surface moist be even more feathery on controls.

Peter R said:

4500 miles out of a Dunlop TT100 with riding conditionso two -up with luggage looks normal to me.
I never got more than 5000 miles out of the TT100 tires.

Possibly a bit off topic, but since I changed to Avon Roadriders, I never looked back at the TT100's
Not really more milage, but remarably better handling.

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Yes, agreed, the Avons are very good, of later design, several generations of design later; there are later Dunlop and Michelin equivalents to the Avons but they doesn't offer them in our sizes.

The TT100 however, as with the K70 before it, is still quite functional - in its niche. The K70 is a semi-knobby, for the bike that traverses dirt or gravel, or dirt or gravel on top of asphalt/concrete for maybe 30% - 50% of its use. The TT100 too, with its similar open block architecture, can traverse dirt or gravel for maybe 10% - 30% of its use. The later tires, such as the Avons, they aren't for dirty roads at all.

Our grandfathers would have had no use for our modern clean pavement tires, they saw too many miles of slippery road. If I lived in a poor country or a rural area where I had to travel mainly on poor or dirt roads, to get to the highway for short highway runs, then I'd be on K70s.

There is another aspect to the K70 and the TT100/K81 - they are very forgiving tires, because of the blocks out on the edge, they have a wider margin of error, those blocks wobble and walk, the tire talks to you sooner, they get loose and start to slide sooner but they tell you about it, where the more modern tire does that later, talks less, gives less notice, more abrupt when it lets go.

Hi. Here in Colorado we have some pretty rough pavement and lots of great curves. I get less than you on my rear tire and swear by the Dunlop brand.
Lots of folks in the Norton Colorado club use newer tires and run 18" rims. They also claim that they get more miles of use. I have had great times with my 19" Dunlops but only get a few thousand miles out a rear tire.
Mike

hobot said:

If fitting a hard tough long wearing rear one must be a bit careful on swinging the 90' slow mild lean turns to enter road lane from gas stations or inter sections not to give much throttle or may spin rear right down. The down side of hard tough long wear tire on front was spot on to me. A bit soft side air pressure helps spread wear and relieve some the long tough wear tire side wall road texture transmission. If road surface moist be even more feathery on controls.

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The Continental TK 17 rear tyres was hard wearing but not bad for leaning into bends wet or dry, I would ride fast with these on a wet road, as I had the confidence from being an ex-clubman’s road racer, so I knew just how far I could dare push them.

What size tyre do you use on an 18 inch rim? Do you end up with the same ratio etc in order for the speedo to be accurate.? I am using a 100-90 road rider on the back of my 850 with 19 inch wheel and the 21 teeth front sprocket. I noticed the revs were much the same as my 750 with the worn 400x19 continental and a 19 teeth front cog. I lost the advantage of the 21 teeth cog with this set up.

The 18" tires are somewhat taller profile so maybe 1/2" lower and between 2-3 inches less circumference so only a handful percentage points lower roll ratio. Police are not supposed to bother just 10% over speed limit. I've switched 19 to 18 back to 19 in a day d/t flats to mainly notice 19" a bit looser on sharp slow corners on THE Gravel than 18" but otherwise can't tell which is which thank goodness. Quality of tire compound makes more ride and handling difference than rim dia. There is some benefit to the fast change rear wheel.

they get loose and start to slide sooner but they tell you about it

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If that's the cause of them feeling like they were running on ice going over whitelines and feeling terrible over grooves I will stick with the Roadriders. The tt100's were on my bike when I bought it, they lasted a week before a set of roadrunners went on.

I've never gotten more than 4500 miles on any of the brand of tires I've used over the years.

kommando said:

If thats the cause of them feeling like they were running on ice going over whitelines and feeling terrible over grooves I will stick with the Roadriders. The tt100's were on my bike when I bought it, they lasted a week before a set of roadrunners went on.

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Yes, here in So California we used have course "rain grooves" and they played heck with that center groove of the K81s.

lwmcd1 said:

I've never gotten more than 4500 miles on any of the brand of tires I've used over the years.

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As I stated in my earlier post, when they were available the Continental TK 17 rear tyres
lasted 15,000 miles, I did this about 10 times, the UK despatch riders in the big city’s loved them :!:

http://www.motopsychos.co.uk/conti-tk-1617-506-p.asp