I'm starting to think that alot of people change tire prematurely. I can see changing early because you use them on the track, but for commuting, 5000mi seems kind of early. If any has pics of tires they took off after so little miles, I would love to see them.
There are so many variables on tire wear that threads like these are rather pointless. Putting a blanket statement that 5000 miles on a tire is too early is a tough call. On my M3's I was down to the tread bars by 4500 miles. The road conditions here in the NC are rather nice as compared to the tar in SC and parts of Va.
On my Avon Storms I got right at 7000 miles out of them. I am hoping to get more than that out of my PR2's.
In my honest opinion tires are not something to try and "stretch out." Too much rides on too little. Consider this, the contact patch on a typical MC tire is about the size of a soda can... I am personally not willing to risk my life and some one elses in the attempt to get more miles. Once Im close to the bars they come off.
Not only does your riding style take effect things to consider are
-air pressure and how often you check
-road surface
-road temps
-proper balancing
-rider weight
-overall bike loading
-Suspension set up
Everyone's style is different so these numbers can be all over the place. My suggestion is to keep trying different tires and keep a log of how many miles you get out of each of them. In that log keep a list of pro and cons of each tire as well. Things like cold weather traction and wet traction. Bike feel and lean angle.
My personal goal is to get 8000 miles of a rear tire. In addition I would like a tire that is good in the wet and warms up quickly.
So far I am happy with the PR2's they make the bike much more nibble feeling and the lean angle is nice. I have drug the pegs more one these tires than with the storms and the M3's, but at the same time my abilities as a rider have improved as I moved through that list.
The Avons were a great tire, they had amazing grip but made the bike feel heavy as opposed to the PR2's. The Avons were extremely slick when they were new.
If I get 8000 miles out of the PR2 will they be my tire of choice? No. Gotta keep trying new things...
Just my .02
-bryan