Ultra Calssic Question

I will be getting a 2012 or 2013 Ultra Classic in the next several months. I currently have a GoldWing and was only getting about 8,000 miles on the rear tire which is why I went Darkside. And I especially like the security of a runflat. Now I can get 20,000 or better on a rear tire. I've read where people are getting nearly 20,000 on their Harley's MC tire.
My question is if you can get 20,000 miles on a MC tire why are you going darkside? Just wondering is it the cost of the tire, or the safety aspect of a car tire or what?

Freakin' Flower Sniffers. Ain't no WAY you gonna get that while RIDIN' that thang!!!

I have 21,000 miles on my H-D tire right now & still have plenty of tread, BUT I can get a new CT for my ULTRA at half the price Harley wants for there Donlap 407 OEM tire, HD(hundreds of dollors) I love my bike but wou't give my hard working money to them if I can help it. I have A no-mar classic tire machine & a balencer so why do I need to pay H-D for a tire.

Thanks Joe that's what I figured. I didn't realize OEM tires were that much more expensive.

joearizona wrote:I have 21,000 miles on my H-D tire right now & still have plenty of tread, BUT I can get a new CT for my ULTRA at half the price Harley wants for there Donlap 407 OEM tire, HD(hundreds of dollors) I love my bike but wou't give my hard working money to them if I can help it. I have A no-mar classic tire machine & a balencer so why do I need to pay H-D for a tire.

Have you mounted a CT with that no-mar classic yet? I have one too and have done a ton of MC tires with it. The one CT I attempted to mount ended up going to Les Schwab
They only charged me $10, but I'd rather do the next one myself. If you have any tips, I'm all ears...

No I haven't done a CT tire for a MC yet. I have done all my car tires on the car rims, But never on a MC rim. But I will soon. I have also done my chevy truck tires they were a little hard but I did get them done.

joearizona wrote:No I haven't done a CT tire for a MC yet. I have done all my car tires on the car rims, But never on a MC rim. But I will soon. I have also done my chevy truck tires they were a little hard but I did get them done.

Looking forward to hearing/seeing how it goes for you.

I don't know how long the HD tire lasts but I run a Michelin RF on my 12 Ultra, when you switch you immediately notice the bike is a lot smoother and it handles much better at low speeds. I feel a lot safer with the michelin than a bike tire, especially on wet pavement. They are a bit of a pain to mount due to the stiffness of the sidewall. My friends use RF tires as well and we have mounted quite a few, getting the bead to seat can be fun, last time I mounted mine we sprayed the bead with silicone lubricant and it popped right on.

Silicone seems to do well; I've been using "tire shine", (silicone base?) for my mounts, since it makes rubber slippery according to their warnings!
I got my bike at 4400 miles and the stock Dunnies were on it...it seemed to have a problem with traction...eventually changed the front out (mine is an '05)
and noticed a much better result on tar snakes, but not nearly as good as my present Shinko 777, and when I put the Vredestein on the back, the difference
was phenominal. The Dunnies were cracking a bit from age, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with the slippery feel, but Bridgestones and Shinko's have
proven to be so much better, I'd really care less about mileage when I'm facing a ditch at 75mph and on the boards.
Screw longevity (although it's a plus) , go for handling first. You'll never regret it.
I think Dunnies suk for this, even tho they last a while. BTW, mine was disintegrating at about 7k. Slower riders will have different results.

I totally agree with you quadancer, its all about the traction for me. I put a metzeller 880 on the front of my 10 Ultra and it felt like it had better grip than the dunlop have been thinking of swapping the front dunlop out on my new bike for this reason

NOT a Metz fan due to a few problems since they went to Brazil but I feel like it's a kept secret on the Shinko 777's - and I NEVER thought
I'd ever proselytize a Chinese or Japanese product, but these things are downright sticky. I've tortured mine, that's for sure, including
panic stop practice. It WILL slide, but you gotta really grab a fistfull first.

Cant find that tire in a 130/80 - 17 to fit my 12 ultra

Do you mean you can't find a 130/80-17 tire or that a 130/80-17 won't fit your bike?
Just put in the tire size you want and see what comes up
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/0/0/Motorcycle-Tire-Finder/Tires.aspx?WT.ac=All_Tires_-_Footer_1_05.07.12_TFBanner
Very good reviews for this tire

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/14/72/961/6158/ITEM/Michelin-Pilot-Activ-Rear-Tire.aspx

ROD

They don't make a Shinko in that size which is what my bike takes on the front