Dunlop-3

[aldridgekennedy]

Sorry if this is on another thread ( i did not find one). Stock Stones suck......6K miles and rear is about gone on my 2010 nomad.

I've researched a lot on subject and have decided to go with Dunlop E-3s.

So my question........Is there any consenus on size??? From other forums and blogs it seems most folks are split b/t the 160/80/16 or the 180/65/16. I'm inclined to try the 160 as it may have a larger contact patch and will correct speedo. (BTW...i have e-mailed Dunlop and asked their opinion....will advise what they say)

But hey what the heck do i know........thoughts/suggestions/criticisms/ complaints etc.??????

[VulcanE]

A 160 is a more narrow tire than a 180, so I don't think it has a larger contact patch, but I would suggest a 180/70-16.

[aldridgekennedy]

Thanks for the thoughts.....I thought the same as you when i started looking into this but Other sites were saying the 160 had a larger contact area because it was a bias tire and sat flatter on the rim.

Not sure now.......What are you running?

[VulcanE]

Me personally, I like the ride and handling of the radials over the bias tires. Of all the motorcycle tires I've ran on my Nomad, I like the Avon Cobras best. But, I now run a car tire on the rear, a Goodyear TripleTred in size 205/60-16 (now have over 10,000 miles on it), and on my second Avon Cobra front tire. I can't comment on the Elite IIIs, cause I've never ran them. I do know that I've got a very nice "contact patch" though...... http://s2.images.proboards.com/cool.gif http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[schoeney]

I am running E-3's Bias and love them but the only comparison I have is the original OEM stones (they were terrible).

So far I have 13,000 on the rear E3 and it is holding up great. I have the 160. I only have about 3k on the front.

[aldridgekennedy]

13K is fantastic. I was hoping to hear that kind of durability. Like you i was very disappointed in the OEMs.

Can you offer any insight as to why or how the 160 would be preferable to the 180? Thanks.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I have over 6,000 miles on my rear Dunlop Elite III and it still looks brand new. I have about 5,000 on the front and can't determine any wear. I am looking for 15,000 to 20,000 out of them. If you take care of them and keep the proper air pressure it can happen. They are great tires. Much better than the Bridgestones. On all the Hondas I owned they came with Dunlops. Plus the Dunlops are made in the USA.

[rayski271]

my last e3 i got 21,000 out of the rear

[aldridgekennedy]

alabamanomadrider and rayski: That makes me feel good about the decision to go to Dunlop.

What size rear did ya'll go with. I have the 2010 model with a 170/70 Stone. After reading and listening to others I may have decided to go with the 180/70 Dunlop given the size of my rear rim.

Any brilliant insights you can share?

BTW......I've ridden my entire life (at least so far) and this forum has saved me so much time and money in mistakes it's ridiculous. Thanks for all the help.

John

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I replaced the rear Bridgestone that had 9523 miles on it. I replaced with the Dunlop Elite 3 180-R70-16 and I now have 15,990 miles on the bike. Which means I have 6,467 miles on the rear tire and it shows no visible signs of wear. When it is time to replace tires many more miles down the road it will be with Dunlops.

[rewindgy]

Never was a fan of Dunflops - a local Dealer talked me into the new E 3's after my Avon's seperated - so far I am way impressed! Good mileage - handle good in the rain - only thing is they do howl abit in the corners - I guess that means they are working!! I am running the same size as the 1500 Wing runs and it works fine.

[waterman]

I have run a Dunlop E3. Good tire. Much better than the Brickstone. I got 5500 out of the stock, 9,000 out of the E3 which I replaced early since I was going on a 3000+ mile trip and didn't want to chance it. I now run the darkside and won't go back.

[yoda]

I had a E3 bias in a 160/80 16 and was very happy with it. It corrected the speedo error somwhat, handled great in all conditions, and had 17000 miles before I replaced it. It did howl a lot when cornering, but I would have gone with that if the E3s were not backordered when I needed to replace them. I ended up with Avon Venoms in the same size. So far I like them as well, although the front seems to be more sensitive to road iregularities than the E3.
As an aside, the rear lasted longer than the front for me, which is odd...
I suspect it is because my commute is fairly short, and the brakes get used harder than some folks bikes.

[schoeney]

13K is fantastic. I was hoping to hear that kind of durability. Like you i was very disappointed in the OEMs.

Can you offer any insight as to why or how the 160 would be preferable to the 180? Thanks.

I cant help with the size question....I have only used the 160

[wiz]

When I was in Key West and a piece of tread came off my 11,000 mile veteran Avon Cobra, the only tire in town was a GL1800 size E3 Radial. No complaints with the E3 so far. I have the 180/60 but given a choice I would go with the 180/70 for my '07 - not sure about the sizes for the 2010. Like others have said, once you go radial you don't want to go back.

[aldridgekennedy]

Thought everyone would find this interesting. Please see Dunlop's reponse to my question about replacment tires for my 2010 Nomad. Even after explainig that i would put dunlop radials on both front and back, they said no way.

Good morning John,
Unfortunately, we do not have fitment for your motorcycle.

We do not have tires that will work together on your motorcycle.

I will have Rob Mydzian, Consumer Affairs Representative call you.

regards,
Virginia
Consumer Affairs
Dunlop Motorcycle & ATV Tire Division

Goodyear/Dunlop Tires N.A., Ltd
PO Box 1109
Buffalo, NY 14240
Ph: (800) 845-8378 Fax: (716) 879-8425


Re: Dunlop Tire Contact Form Submission

[aldridgekennedy]

Ok, I'm obsessing over this..........Rob just called from Dunlop. Their position is that the Nomad was made with Bias tires in mind and radials should never be used on it.

He did go on to recommend a couple of bias Dunlops to replace the bridestones. (the K555 rear to be exact). The K555 is 170/70B/16.

I understand their liability issues but still put a lot of store into ya'lls experience.

Just out of curiosity now, the 2 nomad riders who crashed from front end wobble, what tires were you running?

[schoeney]

I did not crash (knock on wood) but I did get the bad wobble if I let my grip off the bars when my old OEM Bridgestone front tire was cupped and worn. Since the E3 bias I have not had wobble issues when I let my grip off.

[yoda]

I did not crash (knock on wood) but I did get the bad wobble if I let my grip off the bars when my old OEM Bridgestone front tire was cupped and worn. Since the E3 bias I have not had wobble issues when I let my grip off.
I had the exact same experience, the Stones would wobble with my hands off the bars. The E3s never did even after they were worn out, and my Avon Venoms don't either. I currently have about 4000 miles on the front Avon, and it still seems good.

[replay13]

I might try a E3 next, it depends on how much more I get out of the tire I have now and tire prices. I got just over 6,000 miles out of the stock Bridestone Excedra on my 2010 Nomad. I replaced it with the new Excedra Max. I have a little over 6,000 now on the max and unless it starts going away fast it looks to have another 2 or 3 K left in it. I know wear factors in a lot of variables, but I've been riding about the same roads on the new tire.

[aldridgekennedy]

replay13

Thanks for the post. I just bought the exedra max yesterday. Waiting on them to be delivered. How do you like the handling qualities of the max? Any other aspects of the tire (good or bad) you could share?

Thanks for your time.

[replay13]

replay13

Thanks for the post. I just bought the exedra max yesterday. Waiting on them to be delivered. How do you like the handling qualities of the max? Any other aspects of the tire (good or bad) you could share?

Thanks for your time.



They handle good, I can't tell any difference between the stock exedra and the newer max. Tread pattern looks the same. I got mine from motorcycle superstore for $139.99 and free shipping.
I don't see a max listed for the front, but the stock exedra has lasted over 12,000 miles now.
I was just looking at the front axle bolt today, looks like I need a 22mm hex socket. I looked around at a big tool store and couldn't find one. They could order one for about $40 and it was a 3/4" drive, so I would need to buy a 1/2" to 3/4" adopter too.
So off to Ace hardware and bought a 14mm bolt and two nuts. The head of the bolt is 22mm. Jambed on the two nuts and welded them in place... it don't look that good but I think it will work, and less the $4 total! I can use a socket and my torque wrench on the welded on nut.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/Replay13/AxleHexBolt.jpg