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[Cowboy2]

Hello Friends,

Cowboy here in Oz, with BIG BLUE... Heavy Tourer, about the heaviest HD has ever done and I love it...  When I was killing time waiting that loooooong 4 months for BIG BLUE to come, someone said I needed to just go for long ride... heh he..  Well, I am enjoying it so much I have hit 4600 kms in 8 weeks... Which brings my question up:

I have Harley Davidson "Dunlop" tyres front and rear on this 2011.5 Ultra.  Is that the tyres you run?  
What mileage should I expect out of them before they need to be replaced?

Is there a better, or safer, or longer mileage tyre?

Bless you all in America, Cowboy in Oz

[Heatwave]

Hello Friends,

Cowboy here in Oz, with BIG BLUE... Heavy Tourer, about the heaviest HD has ever done and I love it...  When I was killing time waiting that loooooong 4 months for BIG BLUE to come, someone said I needed to just go for long ride... heh he..  Well, I am enjoying it so much I have hit 4600 kms in 8 weeks... Which brings my question up:

I have Harley Davidson "Dunlop" tyres front and rear on this 2011.5 Ultra.  Is that the tyres you run? 
What mileage should I expect out of them before they need to be replaced?

Is there a better, or safer, or longer mileage tyre?

Bless you all in America, Cowboy in Oz

I have a 2010 SE Ultra. It has Dunlop tires as well. I got 8000 miles out of the 1st rear tire but I've gotten closer to 12,000 miles out of the 2nd rear tire. I got 20,000 miles out of the front tire. I'll be replacing both this winter at the same time I get my 20,000 service work done. I hope that helps.

[JDOFLHRIDER]

I have a 2010 seuc and rode 20,000 miles on first set and still had some miles left but was leaving for a trip.
tires wear is great on the new bikes   jdo

[Cowboy2]

So the Dunlops are stock tires in the U.S. heh?

Mine are branded Harley Davidson, no problems, I like them.. I was just curious if there was something better I should be running as I can see some wear at 4600 kg now.  But great tyres in my book.  I just did not know if there was a better tyre I should be running like some Michelin or something...

[Limited Lou]

Dunlops are the tires for stock Ultras here in the USA. 408F front, 407 Rear. I have a 2010 Limited and got 32,000 on front and 25,000 miles on rear. I now have Dunlop American Elites on and expect about the same mileage..  Hope this helps..  Last time I checked not much on the market.

[Cowboy2]

Thank you for that "Limited Lou" and you are sure not limited by my Standards...   

That is a very good mileage report on the stock Dunlops.   The people getting less must be riding very hard, or be really big people and riding hard, something like that...  Two up might be the extra loading causing more wear as well.

That is certainly a good report, thank you, and I have renewed confidence in my HD tyres on my Ultra...  Cheers from Australia...   

[DESERTBEAR54]

Cowboy2
                I have a 2010 SEUC BLUU that I love and yes you can get allot of miles out of the Dunlaps but the bike get's a little squirrelly after the tires get worn. I love a set of new tires on BLUU when I can afford them!! Its always a shock when I change them out plus I had a nail in my rear tire after I had just put a new one on. No I don't have the tire warranty!!

[Heatwave]

Thank you for that "Limited Lou" and you are sure not limited by my Standards...   

That is a very good mileage report on the stock Dunlops.   The people getting less must be riding very hard, or be really big people and riding hard, something like that...  Two up might be the extra loading causing more wear as well.

That is certainly a good report, thank you, and I have renewed confidence in my HD tyres on my Ultra...  Cheers from Australia...   

115hp and 120ftlbs probably didn't help the wear time on my Dunlops:)

[Limited Lou]

115hp and 120ftlbs probably didn't help the wear time on my Dunlops:)

Yea, with those numbers it would be hard for me to ride normal, power does feel good..

[T-Hawk]

Dunlops are the tires for stock Ultras here in the USA. 408F front, 407 Rear. I have a 2010 Limited and got 32,000 on front and 25,000 miles on rear.

Not to burst any bubbles, but sometimes it's not the tire, or how hard someone rides...  The pavement system here in Alaska is pretty unforgiving when it comes to tire mileage, whether it be on a motorcycle or in a cage.  Even my Tahoe only gets about 25,000mi on what is supposed to be 40,000mi tires.

The best mileage I got from my Wide Glide was only 8,900mi (factory OEM replacements) on the rear but still had good tread on the front, so maybe another 1,000 or so.  Three sets of tires in three years and only averaged 7,900 +/- miles... and I always changed my front tires regardless of how much tread was left.

Rough roads seem to be all over, not just Alaska, and the pavement mix is critical to some degree when it comes to the abrasiveness against the rubber.  The mixes here in Alaska have to account for some pretty extreme temperature differentials and precipitation of all kinds.  The smallest crack one day, is an axle breaker the next.

I'm currently sitting at 6,500mi on my new CVO Ultra and hope to get at least another 2,000mi before I do a change out for a haul down to Texas next Summer.  While riding on the Lower 48 highway system, I should be able to get down there and back before having to change out again.

Tire Pressure and Balance are very important to higher mileage than possibly one manufacture over another, unless the tire is specifically designed for higher mileage... but then you may notice a decline in performance too...

Just my two cents, as today, that's about all I have to offer. 

[Limited Lou]

Not to burst any bubbles, but sometimes it's not the tire, or how hard someone rides...  The pavement system here in Alaska is pretty unforgiving when it comes to tire mileage, whether it be on a motorcycle or in a cage.  Even my Tahoe only gets about 25,000mi on what is supposed to be 40,000mi tires.

The best mileage I got from my Wide Glide was only 8,900mi (factory OEM replacements) on the rear but still had good tread on the front, so maybe another 1,000 or so.  Three sets of tires in three years and only averaged 7,900 +/- miles... and I always changed my front tires regardless of how much tread was left.

Rough roads seem to be all over, not just Alaska, and the pavement mix is critical to some degree when it comes to the abrasiveness against the rubber.  The mixes here in Alaska have to account for some pretty extreme temperature differentials and precipitation of all kinds.  The smallest crack one day, is an axle breaker the next.

I'm currently sitting at 6,500mi on my new CVO Ultra and hope to get at least another 2,000mi before I do a change out for a haul down to Texas next Summer.  While riding on the Lower 48 highway system, I should be able to get down there and back before having to change out again.

Tire Pressure and Balance are very important to higher mileage than possibly one manufacture over another, unless the tire is specifically designed for higher mileage... but then you may notice a decline in performance too...

Just my two cents, as today, that's about all I have to offer. 

No bubble busted here, I don't think were talking about the same tires.. New CVO ? 8,500 ? Roads must be terrible..

[Shovelhead]

In my humble opinion, when it comes to tires, it is less about price & longevity and more about performance & ride.

That being said , every tire by AVON is far superior to any tire from Dunlop.

[Cowboy2]

T-Hawk,

Agreed on the roads, Australia is probably about like Alaska...  Except around the main major cities, most of the so called highways are a bit of patch work quilt.. heh he

This is probably a lot of the reason after 4700 kms now, in the 8 weeks since my BIG BLUE 2011.5 arrived in Australia, I am seeing some signs of wear, hence this Post...

Anyway, agreed, 

Small price to pay for the greatest HD I have ever driven in 40 years of HD and eight bikes... !!  You have good taste in scooters...   

[T-Hawk]

Cowboy and Limited, the majority of the paved roads in Alaska all have the feel of a well graded dirt road.  There are a few nice stretches of 'new' pavement here and there, but give them a couple of years and they'll be potted and heaved.  I think that's the worst part... all of the frost heaves.  When the soil underneath the pavement freezes and pushes up the road surface, it makes for some interesting riding.  There's a section of what used to be really nice pavement as you enter into Anchorage that has actually rutted, but not chipped, from all of the heavy traffic.  It will grab you and hold you in that rut until you forcefully steer out of it.  Gives a whole new meaning to Cruise Control. 

I'm coming up on 7,000 miles with the new CVO Ultra and the factory tires (Dunlop) seem to be wearing quite nicely.  I may actually get to Texas next Summer without changing them first.  But lucky for me, Canada does have a few Harley shops here and there, so if I get started and need to swap them out, I'll be able to do that at the appropriate time.