I'm the proud owner of a 2010 softail custom. I was wondering how many miles I should get on a set of tires. The rear tire  I blew out at about 3,000 miles so never got to wear it out . Just had it in for the 5,000 mile service and they said I needed a new front tire. So  I got one,same one that came with the bike.Dunlop408 21 inch. I don't ride hard or fast(most of the time anyways) But 5,000 miles and its worn out.They said 2/32 tread depth left.Am I getting reamed or is this normal to be needing new rubber every 5,000?

Depends on the tire and size, your weight etc. Bonnie used to get 10000-12000 out of a rear Dunlop on her Road King. I run Metzlers or Continentals and get around 5000-6000. Usually two rears for every front.

On my royal star I got over 9,000 miles on the back tire. Took in for a new tire the mechanic came out to where I was and ripped me a big one for waiting so long. He told me the rubber so thin that a small rock was stuck in it. I figure it this way, If I can buy a car tire that will last for 80,000 miles I should be able to get a motorcycle tire that will last at least that long. I know it doesn't work that way. On MDBikerGal bike a C90T she runs Dunlops and has over 9,000 miles on the rear tire and still looking good.

Anders that sounds sooo wrong. Even with a softtail custom and it's 21" skinny tire I think should get more than 5000 out of a tire. My 93 wide glide would get 8k to 10k. Either something is wrong with your front end, or you brake too much on the front and or you was ripped off. 2/32 is definitely time to replace, in fact the PA state insp rules say 3/32". Did you actually see the tire and was it that worn? And was it worn evenly.

I only got about 5000 miles out of a Pirelli back tire. Of course, that was pulling a trailer half way across the country and back. Switched to a car tire and expect to get around 40 -45 thousand out of it.

there are so many aspects to tire wear like everyone else has stated..riding styles weight, pressure,weight and such..i run metzlers on my electra-glide and with a more aggressive riding style, i still get 6-7000 miles on a rear and like 10-12000 on a front.

Interesting topic ~ I have almost 10K on my rear Dunlop and it's 'due' for replacement. The front tire is fine. I notice most of you who have posted are riding on Metzlers... a friend of mine recommended them to me. My reason isn't for wear though ~ it's stability. He (is a cycle mech) said he noticed a lot of Harley riders with Dunlops get some weird 'action' out of the tire. Our freeway system sucks in quite a few places and sometimes my bike handles like a dream, other times it's a bearcat (tossed around). Another bud who's a Dyna guru thought it might be my Memphis windshield acting like a 'sail' ~ would really appreciate your points of view on this ~ before I go by a Road King or something... HA HA!

I bought my Suzuki cruiser new, with Dunlops on it, got about 5500 out of them. No real hard riding, just quite a bit of 2up riding. I Just replaced the Dunlops on my Harley today with same tires. I guess i'll see what kind of mileage i get with these. I believe we should be getting more than 5000 miles on them..

BTW my Suzuki only weighed 450 pounds. So weight wasn't a big issue with it.

Did you check the year it was manufactured? There are a lot of old tires on shelves sold as new.

Sidetrack has a good point there. There was a story on news, a while back.

Very true ~ unfortunately, the U.S. doesn't have 'standards' governing 'born on dates' for tires (like beer? ~ ha ha!) unlike our brethren in other locals. I have run across this in my profession (dealing with Class 8 trucks) ~ it seems the only profession that has a standard is firefighting apparatus...

lot of valid points here, age, weight, riding style, air pressure and tire composition might be at play here, if dunlops are a softer tire, grip great but not long lasting, i had 6ply touring tires on my last bike, at 8k miles they still looked great, factory tires went 12k. but i kept them up, never let the pressure drop, made odd wear patterns and mushy feeling where handling is considered.

Date of manufacture is stamped on the side wall of the tire. From my understanding the longer the tire sits on the shelf the weaker the rubber becomes. Different reports for shelf life runs from 3 to 6 yrs. After that the tires are unsafe. I just bought new Dunlops for my bike and called around and went to different shops before purchasing. Most places were surprised I would ask about the manufacture date and most tires on the shelves were old, up to 10 yrs. I finally found tires on the shelf 5yrs old. I didn't really want to purchase them, but I had checked with everyone I could up to 60 miles away. I figure there on the edge, but they were "newer" than any others I could find.

Backing up Sidetrack here is a link to tire date info...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

As for tire wear. Since my riding style is kind of laid back  I don't need the stickier tires available so I opt for durability. I have always used stock Dunlops on Rex (04 King). I generally get 12K to 14K from the rear and 18k to 20K on the front.

front -5000 rear -3000

My bike 12k rear 22k front
friends Dyna, 12k front 23k rear
Go figure...

15,000 on OE Bridgestones with 4/32. I am not first away but do run freeways with the traffic. Also use engine brake downshifts and even brake front/bear.

Rex, my riding is pretty laid back too, but i get no where near 10,000 miles. I'm riding the same Dunlops that come on bikes new.