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[Rocketman69]

Ok....I've gotta be that guy.  But hey...at least I'm not asking about which oil you use, right?

Just spent the last hour and a half searching old threads for any decent info, and haven't found anything useful.

I KNOW some of you have switched to the American Elite tire on your '09+ baggers.  I'm hoping a few of you have even done so on a CVO with a 19" front and 18" rear.

What I need to know is this:  How many of you have worn them out so far?  How many miles did you get?  Comparing them to the stock 407/408 setup....more or less miles?  Cupping?  Other issues?

I've put about 100,000 miles on between 4 bikes, three of them 09+ tourers with the stock 407/408.  On my 09 SG, I got just about 19,000 out of the stock rear tire, and replaced it with a USED rear that I bought of a forum member who claimed to have about 3,000 miles on it.  That one lasted me another 18,000.....so that's 21,000 and it was just at the point where I was flush to the wear marks.  Noisy as f$%*...sure.  Not handling as well as they did the first 5-8000 miles.....absolutely.  But they did their job for a long time.

I'm lucky if I can squeeze 8,000 out of the non dual compound 240mm rear on my Rocker C......but the touring tires last.

BUT....I'm at close to 40k on the '09, and 17k on the '12 CVOSG....and both need tires.  Sick of the noise, want sustained decent handling throughout the life of the tire.

Everyone seems to be in the Commander 2 and American Elite crowd....but nobody seems to post any results past the "well, I"ve got about 2000 miles on her so far, and no issues" post.....so what do you got?

I'm all ears!

[harleychef2011]

I got the Commander tires on my '10 Road King a couple years back.  I got almost exactly 10k miles on the stock tires and switched to the Commander tires (cost issue) and only got 8k out of my rear with really bad cupping.  I then went to the Dunlop Elite and got 12k out of the front and 10k out of the rear with no real issues.

I just had to get tires again on my 14 CVO Road King...got about the same (10k) on the rear.  I'd recommend going with the Dunlop product that is at least co-designed with Harley, personally.  But I'm really weird about stuff like that!  Ha!

[muddypaws]

I get 15,000 on the rear with the Elite.

[skratch]

Everyone seems to be in the Commander 2 and American Elite crowd....but nobody seems to post any results past the "well, I"ve got about 2000 miles on her so far, and no issues" post.....so what do you got?

well, I've got about 5000 miles on her so far, and no issues....  does that help?

[Rocketman69]

I got the Commander tires on my '10 Road King a couple years back.  I got almost exactly 10k miles on the stock tires and switched to the Commander tires (cost issue) and only got 8k out of my rear with really bad cupping.  I then went to the Dunlop Elite and got 12k out of the front and 10k out of the rear with no real issues.

I just had to get tires again on my 14 CVO Road King...got about the same (10k) on the rear.  I'd recommend going with the Dunlop product that is at least co-designed with Harley, personally.  But I'm really weird about stuff like that!  Ha!

I'm confused.....you said you only got 10k out of the stock Dunlops.....8k with bad cupping on the Michelins.....10k without issues on the American Elites....and you recommend going back to the stock Dunlops?  10k on a D407 is pretty premature for replacement, at least in my book.  Did you just replace them due to cupping, or were they worn out.

I get 15,000 on the rear with the Elite.

How much did you get out of the Stock Dunlops?  Is that 15k an improvement for you?

well, I've got about 5000 miles on her so far, and no issues....  does that help?

Not at all!  LOL!

[skratch]

sorry i couldn't help

i got 20k out of the original set, still had some tread left but changed them due to cupping.  these new american elites are wearing nicely.  5k and no cupping yet.

[muddypaws]

How in the hell do you ever get 20,000 miles on a rear tire?

[Timbuck2]

I have never been able to get a lot of mileage out of my back tires like my buddies do.  Not because of the lack of tread but because of the cupping.  11K is the best I have been able to get so far....ever.  So when I was looking for a replacement I researched all of the of the threads on tires.  It came down to the Commander II or the AE.   I found a good deal on the AE's and decided to give them a try. I bought front and rear tires. I was told to run the AE's at 40psi.  I always check my tire pressure, but I have made it a point to REALLY watch my tire pressure on these new tires and checked it religiously.   I have always maintained 40 psi or above on this new tire.  I have 4K on the tire and the center looks nearly new yet.  BUT, the left side of the tire is starting to cup just like all of the other Dunlops I have had. 

I do ride with a BSR most of the time with a bit of gear so I would like to think that is why my tire mileage suffers?

I you are getting 20K out of your stock tires, don't change a thing.

Tim

[skratch]

I may have got 20k out of the tire, but I really wanted to change it at the 17,500 -18,000 mark due to cupping.  it wasn't cupped horribly, but it did 'howl' when going around corners.  I would really notice it on the interstate.  either when changing lanes, or long sweepers, it would kinda 'wiggle' a little bit in the rear.  not to any kind of extreme, probably not enough noticeable to anyone riding/driving behind me, but I could feel it.  so at 20k, with a roadtrip in the near future, I went ahead and switched them out.

with 5k on them now, I don't notice any signs of premature cupping.

[Jswerve]

How in the hell do you ever get 20,000 miles on a rear tire?

I get 20k on my rear tire as well. 

[mark]

My factory Dunlops cupped at 15k, but would have made it to 20k on tread wear depth.

[harleychef2011]

I'm confused.....you said you only got 10k out of the stock Dunlops.....8k with bad cupping on the Michelins.....10k without issues on the American Elites....and you recommend going back to the stock Dunlops?  10k on a D407 is pretty premature for replacement, at least in my book.  Did you just replace them due to cupping, or were they worn out.

The MOCO states that the Dulop "Harley" tires (branded) have better compounds...yada...yada...yada... and are "thicker" than the American Elites.  My dealer in Scottsdale has a "cross cut" of both tires...who knows if its accurate or just a sales technique.  If you dont mind paying a small amount more (like $100 or so) for the "stock" tires....thats what I would do.  I'm a little OCD about having stock parts to get the performance "designed" to go with the bike. 

To answer your question on the '10, yes, I had cupping and cord exposure on the stock tires (that came with the bike) at 10k miles.  The Commander tires were much less expensive, but I didnt enjoy the handling as much and got WAY less mileage out of them (same cupping and wear).  If you are looking to save a few bucks, you can get the American Elites, which are "co designed" with Harley as an after market Dunlop tire.  Supposedly the "same" tire (tread, etc.) as the 407/408 but less money.

It just boiles down to how much your peace of mind and safety is worth to you.

I call B$#%!@t on 20k tires... there is no way you can get that many on a bike tire and be safe!

[Jswerve]

The MOCO states that the Dulop "Harley" tires (branded) have better compounds...yada...yada...yada... and are "thicker" than the American Elites.  My dealer in Scottsdale has a "cross cut" of both tires...who knows if its accurate or just a sales technique.  If you dont mind paying a small amount more (like $100 or so) for the "stock" tires....thats what I would do.  I'm a little OCD about having stock parts to get the performance "designed" to go with the bike. 

To answer your question on the '10, yes, I had cupping and cord exposure on the stock tires (that came with the bike) at 10k miles.  The Commander tires were much less expensive, but I didnt enjoy the handling as much and got WAY less mileage out of them (same cupping and wear).  If you are looking to save a few bucks, you can get the American Elites, which are "co designed" with Harley as an after market Dunlop tire.  Supposedly the "same" tire (tread, etc.) as the 407/408 but less money.

It just boiles down to how much your peace of mind and safety is worth to you.

I call B$#%!@t on 20k tires... there is no way you can get that many on a bike tire and be safe!

Do the American Elites finally have an 18" rear tire option?

[skratch]

I call B$#%!@t on 20k tires... there is no way you can get that many on a bike tire and be safe!

call bs all you want.  i was at 20k and still had a lot of tread above the tread wear indicator.  and the cupping was not near as bad as some i've seen with less mileage.  i could have probably got 2 or 3k more out of them but was getting ready to go on a 3k road trip and didn't want to worry about having to change while on the road.

Do the American Elites finally have an 18" rear tire option?

yes they do.  about fricken time eh?

[grc]

.................................
To answer your question on the '10, yes, I had cupping and cord exposure on the stock tires (that came with the bike) at 10k miles.  The Commander tires were much less expensive, but I didnt enjoy the handling as much and got WAY less mileage out of them (same cupping and wear).  If you are looking to save a few bucks, you can get the American Elites, which are "co designed" with Harley as an after market Dunlop tire.  Supposedly the "same" tire (tread, etc.) as the 407/408 but less money.

It just boiles down to how much your peace of mind and safety is worth to you.

I call B$#%!@t on 20k tires... there is no way you can get that many on a bike tire and be safe!

Actually, you got that backwards.  The Harley branded D408/D407 were co-designed by Harley and Dunlop, and the American Elite is Dunlop's own design.  Many of the early issues with the Harley branded tires were caused by Harley's insistence on a particular tread pattern that Dunlop disagreed with but as we all know, when it comes to big contracts suppliers often cave in on design and engineering issues.

As for your attempts to infer safety issues with the American Elite version, I'd love to see you try to back that up with some facts.  If anything was unsafe I'd suggest it was the Harley branded tire that was down to the cords at 10k miles.  It sounds like you're just spouting the BS you got from the Harley dealer, and we all know how accurate and honest they tend to be.  But by all means keep drinkin' that Kool Aid.

Btw, several people have indicated getting 15k to 18k miles on the rear tires.  I'm guessing they were people who religiously maintained the tires, didn't overload the bike, rode the bikes conservatively, and didn't let the cupping bother them.  Many others have changed them out at as little as 8k miles due to the cupping issue.  If you want to pay Harley extra for tires, by all means keep right on giving them your money. 

Jerry