Dunlop tires?

[jmb]

Has anyone tried the D206 it comes in the 170 size? also will a 180 run on an 07? The stock Bridgestones don't wear very long on mine i've tried two sets.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Can't help you with the Dunlop issure but I have a question. How many miles did you get out of the Bridgestones? My Nomad is an '08 with the original Bridgestones on it and I currently have 6700 miles on the bike and the tires. Was just wondering what I can expect in miles.

[Cajunrider]

Gene, I got right at 10,000 miles on my rear Brick and 13,700 on the front. Both were cupped badly.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by jmb

Has anyone tried the D206 it comes in the 170 size? also will a 180 run on an 07? The stock Bridgestones don't wear very long on mine i've tried two sets.

Yes a 180 fits just fine, which is what most people buy after the stock Bridgerocks wear out. I ran 180's until I switched to a 195....car tire.

[jmb]

I got about 7500 out of them, I ran 40 pounds of air in the rear and ride two up most of the time. I live in the mountains of N.C just a few miles from Deals gap, so I ride curvy roads most of the time. Don't know if that makes a difference. Got about 10 out of the front.

[macmac]

Gene, I got aboyt 7,000 on tread wear on that junk, but hit it about now in time for that year, and rode to 9,000 on it. That tire is junk and has been since day 1.

When you replace it anything will be better. I got around the 13,700 on the ft junker too, and replaced that with a D 251 radial.

The combination of a CT Dunlop SP 5000 in 195/60 R 16 and the ft D 251 radial in a stock mc tire size is the cats behind if you ask me.

I breezed right by any 180 mc rears and am happy of it.

[claybuster]

Originally Posted by jmb

Has anyone tried the D206 it comes in the 170 size? also will a 180 run on an 07? The stock Bridgestones don't wear very long on mine i've tried two sets.

I currently have 10,000 on my 07 Nomad. The stock Bridgestones have worn very even, no cupping at all. They start a slight howling/humming noise when leaning into turns between 7,000-8,000 miles but it is not bad and you don't feel anything. The rear tire has just reached the wear indicator marks on the tread. The front tire still looks like it will go 2 or 3 more thousand before reaching the wear indicator. It has about 1/16" left before reaching the wear indicator. I ride mostly 2 up (350 lbs total weight) with 40 psi in both tires and 20 psi air in the rear shocks. Rebound set on # 3.
Here is something to consider, I've talked to many guys on the Delphi Forum that have alot of experience with Dunlop tires on their Nomad's. The Elite 3 Dunlops receive many more good reports then bad reports.
Elite 3 comes in Radial and Bias tires and neither come in the 170 size that we have on the rear of our 1600 Nomads. The front stock size tire we have is available in Elite 3 Bias tire only not in the Elite 3 Radial. Alot of people move up one size on the rear to 180/70R16 Radial and stay with the stock front size in Elite 3 Bias which is 150/80-16. It is acceptable to run a radial tire on the rear with a bias tire on the front but not the other way around.
Through many discussions I've had with other Nomad riders, many of them ran the Elite 3 Radial, 180/70R-16 and got anywhere from 9,000 to 14,000 miles on the rear tire. Several guys I spoke to that originally moved up to the 180/70R-16 Elite 3 Radial actually tried going down one size from the stock 170 tire to the Elite 3 Bias tire in 160/80B-16. This is the Bias tire used on the 1500 Goldwings. It was really surprising to hear their mileage actually double. I spoke to two different guys that got 22,000 and 24,000 miles out of the rear Elite 3 Bias 160-80B-16. Another said he had 18,000 on his at the time we talked and he still had alot of tread left on the rear tire. All of them said they were sold on the Bias vs the Radial. If you go Dunlop's website and look at the tire specs for the Bias and Radial you will notice the 180/70R-16 has 10/32" tread depth and is rated to maximum load of 910 lbs. @41 psi.
The 160/80B-16 Bias tire even though it is 1 inch narrower then the 180 Radial, has a tread depth of 11/32" and a max load rating of 992lbs @ 40 psi. Interesting isn't it. Take a look also at the recommended rim size for both tires, the 180/70R-16 shows a 5" wide rim and the 160/80B-16 shows only a 3.5" wide rim. One of the guys that got 23,000 miles on his 160 Bias said he only got about 13,000 miles on the 180 Radial. He told me he did some research on tires and wheels and a tire size of 180 and even the 170 tire that is stock on our bike is really to wide for the width of our stock rear wheel. Because of this it causes the sidewalls of the tire to bulge more then it really was designed to but the 160 did not bulge on our stock rim. He said he was convinced the 160 tire is actually the better fit and handled extremely well on dry and wet roads. I haven't measured our rear rim width, but what he said makes enough sense to me if our rim is really to narrow for the wider tire.
Based on my discussions with the other guys I am switching to the 160/80B-16 rear before next riding season and moving to the Elite 3 150/80-16 Bias on the front.
Good Luck with your decisions however many guys are running wider car tires in a 195 series width and I haven't heard many complaints yet.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Lots of good information in this thread. Thanks to all for your input on all of the tires.

[metalman]

I got about 16,000 out of my first two (and last) OEM Bridgestones. I'm now using a 195/60-16 car tire and it seems to be wearing quite well. I have a stock size Avon Venom rear tire, turned backwards on the front and it makes the bike round curves better than ever. I am very happy with the combination.

[dogdoc]

I got about 10,000 on my stock stoners, changed them to Avons but they still had probably 2,000 on the rear and probably 5,000 on the front.

[jamiep24]

Just glad I got rid of the rear Stone, squeezed 10,000 out of it. Front won't be too far behind, probably get another 2 or 3 out of 'it.

[bobzinger]

I had 206's on my Roadking and it handled like crap. Once I switched to the Venom X and later the Dunlop Elite 3 it was much better.

[wantakaw59]

Great post Clay!! Can't wait to hear how the bias ply works out for ya next year!! I am a Dunlop fan (6 rears on Honda), and only tried one Metzler rear. Got much more mileage (2500 more) out of the Metz., but didn't feel it was as "sticky". That could have just been in my head though I suppose.. I usually go through a rear a year, and SHOULD experiment more with different brands..jim

[ringadingh]

I switched to Dunlops this season, I have a Cruisemax on the rear which feels pretty good so far, Ive only had it on about a month so far, The front is a D404 which Ive had on all season and its holding up quite well also. I chose these particular tires because the are available in whitewalls, and limit my selection quite a bit.

[patmahoney]

I switched to Dunlop 404's (which has a similar tread pattern to 206) from Metzler 880's three weeks ago, I have since put about 1800 miles on them and I love them. Since putting them on I have been through heavy rain, on gravel roads, on some pretty beat up roads, on the interstate and on country roads; they have been good to great in all conditions. Can't speak to total miles, but considering the price, if they give equal miles they were the right choice.

Right up to a week before I was going to go with the Avon, but decided to give the Dunlop a try, glad I did!