How to get better mileage on a rear tyre

Q. I have a Harley XR1200X with Dunlop Qualifier tyres that I am very pleased with. The rear is getting close to the end of its life at 2200 miles.

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If I fitted a Dunlop RoadSmart tyre to give me more mileage would it affect the handling?
Mcd, MCN forums

A. Tyre mileage is always a discussion point between riders, with some getting double the mileage of others on the same tyre on the same bike.

A big, torquey V-twin is lovely to open the throttle hard on. But if you do gas it off the lights, or stand it up mid-bend to give it another heap of throttle, you’ll get through your rear tyre more quickly.

The motor doesn’t help with tyre wear if you ride the torque curve through the gears either.

But the good news is that the sports-touring RoadSmart on the XR1200 will give considerably more mileage than the Qualifier and Dunlop has approved it for the bike, but only as matched pairs so they can’t vouch for the bike’s stability with a Qualifier front/RoadSmart rear combination.