i have a honda rebel 250, i have about 9k on it. the rear tire aside from being dirty looks new, front tire is showing cracks but they are hairline cracks. the bike is a 2007. i ride it extremely carefully . about 45-50 mph
Hairline cracks on a year old tire? It usually takes years for that to develop. A light little bike like that can easily go 10,000 miles on a set of rubber, and twice that in the right circumstances. My GSX-R burns them up in about 3-5,000 miles depending on the season and how I am riding at the time.
On my Japanese bikes (up to a Honda CB650) the only reason I ever changed a front tire was due to age and weather cracking, except for the one time I decided to try a different tread pattern. They just didn't seem to wear. The rears on those bikes went a little over 10,000 miles. On My HD I had to change the front at about 12,000. I believe it's due to the weight of the bike. I run Dunlops on the HD (for now). I ran Dunlops on the others until I changed to Cheng Shin. There should be no need to over inflate your tires. The pressure spec. is slightly higher for high speed solo riding or carrying a passenger.
That little bike should easily get 25,000-30,000 miles. I can get 30,000 out of the front tire on a full dress 1000cc Kawasaki. I expect the same out of the front tire on my 960 lb 1300cc Kawasaki dresser. I already have 13,000 on the rear Dunlop touring elite. As far as little bitty cracks, don't worry about it. If the cracks are big enough to see the fabric, the it's definately time to change. Those little cracks are from the lighter petroleum fractions in the rubber evaporating and causing the rubber to harden. If anything, I expect the rubber to dry out and crack enough to require replacement before the tread ever gives out.
