K1200LT Replace one tire or two?

[gregschultz]

I pull a ZZ trailer about 2,000 miles a year behind my 2002 LT. This reduces the tire life of my Metzler's by one half. Should I go ahead and just replace the rear tire twice as often or change both even though the front one looks new. Seems like once I tried just chaning the rear and my ride was lousy. Any thoughts?

[jeff49783]

I don't have any trailer experience, but I have had uneven tire wear. None of my many bikes have used the tires at the same rate, though.

I recommend changing the tires as needed, not necessarily together. I believe discarding the front when it still has a useful life would be cost prohibitive and not the best use of resources. Run it until it is approaching a safety issue (bad handling, worn past service life, dry rotted, etc.) then replace. It would arguably be safer to change the tires individually anyhow, since you'll only have one new tire to "scrub in" at a time.

Best Wishes

[BobZ]

I would definitely only replace tires as needed as long as your not changing tire characteristics (brand, profile, etc) on the replacement.