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Dunlop Trailmax D609 replacement?

Yep, and windshield threads, and seat threads, and brake pad threads, and torque wrench threads, and .................
People seem to be more passionate, protective, or emotional about their tires, than seats or windshields. People seem more apt to be critical of other rider’s tire choices.
 
Oddly enough, tires and oil can be objectively measured to clearly understood standards unlike seats or windshields.
Where does one read any more about a tire on the tire label beyond the specifications that I might, in a similar way, be able to read on an oil bottle? Oil is oil for the NC, if it meets Honda’s specifications. Tires go by size and weight capacity, speed rating, which wheel, and intended use, such as street, dual sport, dirt, etc. Not much other tire information is given by manufacturers, except unverifiable marketing nonsense.
 
Where does one read any more about a tire on the tire label beyond the specifications that I might, in a similar way, be able to read on an oil bottle? Oil is oil for the NC, if it meets Honda’s specifications. Tires go by size and weight capacity, which wheel, and intended use, such as street, dual sport, dirt, etc. Not much other tire information is given by manufacturers, except unverifiable marketing nonsense.
Motorrad tire reviews and Bike tire reviews both use blind test methodology. The UK version of MCN also conducts tire comparisons. Under copyright you might have to pay to read these.
 
For what it's worth, I had Shinko 804 front and 805 rear tires on my bike in preparation for a long ride I was planning up the Dempster Highway. I put only 1,500 to 2,000 miles on the Shinkos and absolutely loved them.
The only reason I switched to Motoz Tractionator GPS rear and TKC80 front was for longevity in getting me there and back with no tire problems.
I did that trip, although a little short of Tuktoyuktuk, but did 7,000 miles on that Motoz/TKC80 combo. At this point both of them have over 10,000 miles with some good life left - not a lot, but some.
But back to those Shinko 804/805 tires. They were great on the highway, wet or dry, and great on my muddy road.
My little 2 cents worth about tires.

However my wife will ride her Honda Dunlop OEM tires around the city this summer after picking up her new NC750X, but will swap out to the Continental TKC70 Rocks rear and TKC80 front that is pre-purchased and ready to mount.
When the highway miles transition to highway then mud miles later after my wife gets over her Chemotherapy, she wants better dirt road grip than the OEM tires have to offer.
 
Motorrad tire reviews and Bike tire reviews both use blind test methodology. The UK version of MCN also conducts tire comparisons. Under copyright you might have to pay to read these.
How big are these operations? I did not read the reviews you mentioned. For street tires, AmericanMotoTire lists 47 available tire brand/model choices just in the NC’s one rear tire size. Toss in dual sport tires and there are even more choices. My concern is that to physically test and review all those NC compatible tires in all road conditions would seem like a huge task. To test all street tires made for all motorcycles would be an enormous undertaking. I may be wrong but I suspect, like Consumer Reports usually does, they can only test a limited sample of available products.

It seems that on automobile tires there was some attempt to standardize a rating system for tires, as seen with the Temperature, Treadwear, and Traction ratings on the sidewall. I do read and compare those ratings, but in the end I don’t think that effort to rate the tires proved very helpful for the consumer. It would be nice if all motorcycle tires were all performance rated in some standardized fashion, but I don’t see it being practical or doable.
 
I read a variety of reviews on the Shinko 705 last night. They ran from light weight bikes to the big BMW's. The comments were pretty consistent and complaints were mud and deep sand mostly. As I was reading them I had the same thoughts expressed by Greg above and came to the conclusion that it's pretty much a crap shoot when picking a winner on bike tires.

I run 285/75Rx16 10 ply on my F250 and have had mixed results on tires buying pretty much top of the line tires. The latest ones are retreads recommended by my concrete guy. They have almost 40K now and not hardly any wear at all. Great traction and mostly no wear...I think the semi drivers may have it right even though they do throw a tread once in awhile.

My point is there are soooo many variables applied to tires kinda like oil and other stuff that rating or grading tire performance is very difficult and may result in a less than objective result...what works for you is the right tire...YMMV.
 
I think a conclusion can be drawn from forums about different tires tried on the NC750X. First of all, take a guy like me, I check my tire pressure often, keep it a pound or two above the factory recommend pressure, and ride on the same type of roads all the time. So if I get 3000 miles out of a Dunlop D609, and then get 7000 out of a Avon Trailrider, the means the Avons got twice the mileage. Does that mean that Joe Blow in Arizona will get the same mileage? No, but it means that he will get double the mileage out of the Trailriders then he would out of the D609s.
 
So I am replacing my Dunlop trail max front tire at 10,500 km with a Dunlop road smart III I replaced the rear Dunlop trail max at 8000 km with a Dunlop road smart III as well. I found the trail max tires to be pretty good for my riding and not so bad of mileage for me compared to the mileage I have heard others replacing theirs at. Hoping to get a little more mileage out of the road smart III tires. He is a photo of my front tire just before replacement. I’m not a tire expert so what do you guys think? Looks to me like I am replacing it at the right time right???BD27683A-6E46-4B9E-BE94-E594606CA124.jpeg
 
Motorcycle tires have tread wear bars or indicators molded into the tread to indicate when minimum1/32" tread remains. I don't know how Dunlop marks the tire to indicate where the wear bars run across the tire but you should see a series of marks on the sidewall spaced evenly around the circumference of the tire. Find one of those and look across the surface of the tread to find a small raised spot in a tread groove. When those are flush with the rest of the tread the tire must be replaced. I can't see a TWI in the picture but it's close to that time. This link has a picture of Dunlop's tread wear indicator on a tire.

 
Motorcycle tires have tread wear bars or indicators molded into the tread to indicate when minimum1/32" tread remains. I don't know how Dunlop marks the tire to indicate where the wear bars run across the tire but you should see a series of marks on the sidewall spaced evenly around the circumference of the tire. Find one of those and look across the surface of the tread to find a small raised spot in a tread groove. When those are flush with the rest of the tread the tire must be replaced. I can't see a TWI in the picture but it's close to that time. This link has a picture of Dunlop's tread wear indicator on a tire.

More often than not, front tires may have enough tread left except for isolated areas due to cupping. So replacement may be necessary before the wear bars are reached.
 
More often than not, front tires may have enough tread left except for isolated areas due to cupping. So replacement may be necessary before the wear bars are reached.
Good point. That’s why TWIs are distributed all around the tire. A scallop or flat spot may coincide with a wear bar or two and the tire may still not need immediate replacement.
 
Thanks all got my new tire on today and the old tire had 1/2 mm tread left before the wear bars. Had a complete inspection done while the Honda dealership had it and they said everything was in great condition. Just peace of mind for me when I’m out there riding. Thanks for all the input. Ride safe
 
Other than wearing quickly, these tires at least handle nice :p. I hope to get 3000 out of them. I'm at 1400 miles on my 2019 and I'm pretty surprised at how much wear the front is already showing. Those miles represent a lot of canyon and twisty riding, so it makes sense the front is wearing fast. I'm going on a road trip over Memorial Day weekend and will probably put around 1300 miles on round trip. Guess I'll be buying new tires after I get home.
So did you wear your tires out yet?
 
So did you wear out those tires yet? It has been so warm in Wisconsin I have 2500+ miles on the new Avons.
The tread is now gone in the center at 1790 miles on the stock Dunlops (I have two other bikes to ride). I have a set of Avon Trailriders to install.

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