09 Front Tire Fiasco....

[smithbrl]

My question to Dunlop Sent On : 10/19/2009 6:15:47 PM From : Cecil Smith Comments : I would like to buy an Elite 3 tire for the front of my 09 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic Motorcycle. The D407F tires are terrible for wear. I had to replace the first one at 10000 miles and now at 16000 miles the second one is looking pretty bad. When will you start making Elite 3 tires for the Harley Ultra? Dunlop's reply: Cecil, Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your Dunlop motorcycle tire questions. Unfortunately, there are no plans at this time to expand the tire size selection of the Dunlop Elite 3 tire model. We're very sorry. However, we do hope to be able to introduce an alternative replacement tire model for these vehicles sometime during the Spring of 2010.

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[bmaier]

ha, Retrop, good news amid all the horror stories. If I get 20K out of the rear like you that will be great. Right now it looks like I possibly could get that many miles, I was just starting to think about it because of the stories of cupping and short tread life.

[FLTRKER]

It is strange that 2 road kings from the same dealer- sold about a month apart can wear so differently. My buddy's tire is junk after 12,000 miles and mine is kinda okay at 10500 miles. His has a lot of cupping and visble to the eye from a distance. You can't see any wear on mine but can feel the uneven wear.
His has lumps-bumps- but not mine. we both will need new tires next summer- his will need mounted before he rides in the spring-(april) and mine about end of Aug.

[bman7163]

Just bought my 2009 SG on July 31st and it came with the D407 front tire. My buddy has a 2009 RK that he purchased in September of last year. He had mentioned to me to keep an eye on my front tire from the beginning. He had a D407 on his bike and had the cupping issue but could not get anywhere with the MOCO or the dealer.

Well last Sunday I put around 400 miles on my bike with around 5800 total on the OD. I had been keeping an eye on front tire and it had started cupping. I called MOCO first thing Monday morning to ask them about the tire issue. They straight up said contact your dealer. So I went to the dealer right after work and talked to the service department. I told them that I took a trip Sunday through some twisties and had been experiencing some vibration and movement in the front end. I then told and showed them how bad my tire was cupping. I wanted to get pics of the tire but didn't have my camera on me. The service person asked how many miles were on the bike. I told them around 5800 and somehow they thought I said over 10,000. They said that the tires were being replaced under warranty but I may have too many miles. I then told them again only 5800 and they said oh we can take care of it then. They said come inside and I will see if we have any D408's in stock. They had one in stock and asked if I could come in the next day and have this issue taken care of.

Took my bike to the dealership yesterday and they mounted up a new D408 and even washed my bike at no charge. Was very happy with the turn around and hopefully the rest of you have the same luck.

Dealership also mentioned that I should soon be receiving a letter from HD MOCO on this tire issue and to just ignore it now that mine had been replaced.

The dealership is Hales in Mansfield, Ohio 419.522.8602

[Jerry L]

Thanks for the info, bman. BTW, from the little I can see of the bike in the pics, looks like a really nice SG you got there! How about some pics showing the entire bike? Really liking the front fender, would love to see the whole thing.
Jerry

[bman7163]

Here ya go Jerry! Older pic of the bike. Will post more soon! Been riding too much and not taking any pictures. Have put 6000 miles on the bike since July 31st. Haven't even made it out of the state of Ohio yet.

[Jerry L]

Wow, Bman! That bike is sharp! Really nice. Is that a California Kid paint job from Harley? Really looks good! I've never seen one on a actual bike, much less a SG. Nice!
Jerry