The night dragon tire was installed on my bike in November of last year. I read several reviews the tire and all appeared good. My first impression of the tire was that the compound was too soft and would not allow for that many miles before having to be replaced. After installation the first ride, the tire was slippery almost to the point or like riding on ice. After about the first twenty-five miles or so it seamed that the tire was getting sticky but remained slippery to some extent, and it took almost a hundred miles before I was comfortable that the tire was not going to slide out from under the bike when pitched deep in a corner.
After the first hundred miles I felt like this was a far superior tire to anything that Dunlop has to offer. I watched the tread wear and it did not change for the fist three thousand miles. The thread depth was 6/32” (or 3/16”) new and at the three thousand mile mark the measured thread depth was only down to 5/32”. I thought to myself that I had finally found a tire that would last, but that would change. It seamed that every thousand miles from there on the thread depth would decrease by 1/32”. I am currently at just over seven thousand miles on the tire and the thread depth is dangerously close. Now I don’t normally push a tire to the breaking point, but at the same time I wanted to at least make it through the summer and replace the tire in the fall, that way I had a new tire for my riding through the wet and cold season.
Now some will say that tire life is all in the tire pressure, and I can agree, I checked the tire pressure every ride for the first week or so, and then several more times through out the life of the tire, it never lost a pound, the pressure stayed consistent at 41 psi. Others will say that tire life is controlled by the amount of throttle you give the bike starting off, and rest assured there was never any time that I spun or smoked the tire (yet anyway) now I do tend to take off a little faster than some. Then there are those who say that tire wear is controlled by braking or hard stops, once again rest assured that when I apply the brakes 80% of my stopping force is done through the front brake.
My overall impression on the tire is that Pirelli has created a tire that sticks like fly paper, although; it is a little too soft after the initial break in. Other than when the tire was new, I never felt like the tire lacked grip. Would I purchase this tire again? I can not honestly answer that at this time. Would I recommend this tire to a friend? Yes, but I would also give them my opinion on the tire life and grip. My biggest problem with the tire is the wear after the initial break in, my only other complaint would be that this tire being a 180 series tire, it did not look it under the bike.

BTW
I just ordered the Dunlop Screamin Eagle GT502 180/60B17 tire for the rear. I will try it out and see what I think of it

 

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to a comparison to the SE.

 

Nice write up and I would agree with your assessment except in my experience the tire came in very fast and stuck like glue in under 25 miles and that I never expected a softer compound tire to give me more than or equal to the Stock Dunlop.
That said, my Dunlop k591 over the counter replacement only went 7K compared to the 11K the O.E k591 gave me. So in reality, the softer better handling ND is almost comparable to the over the counter Dunlop k591 as I now have 6.5k on my ND and it still has not quite reached the wear bars but is only, at most, a 100 miles away. I would replace it with another except the extra width and cost does not justify it, other than the exceptional handling. I think I will get comparable handling and increased wear out of the Avon Storm 2 Ultra 160 that I am going to try next. If I don't, I will probably go back to the ND.
The ND is $172 shipped and someone posted recently the SE was $241 shipped so I don't see the point in spending that much more on approximately 4mm of total width between the ND and SE and neither of these will you ever come close to using the full tread, so the expenditure is on looks only. The 160/70 Storm 2 Ultra is 166mm, dual compound and is $145. I could care less about the fat tire look, especially since I am always looking at some else's rear tire if I am not in front and the only time I see the fat tire is when it is parked. I was all wrapped up in the fat tire look, but why pay extra for something I will not use and for someone else to look at while riding, it just does not make sense to me anymore. To each his own.
CB

 

I love the way the Night Dragons stick and handle. I've used Metzelers and Dunlop 591's, and neither hold an even close 2nd to the ND's. I experiment with air pressure and when I use 36F / 40R, these tires are at their worst for handling and stopping...especially panic stopping. Running 32F /36R gives a great ride and stops on a dime..well maybe a quarter. I've never gotten more than 7k safe miles out of any tire. These are at 4k and I'd guess they'd be good for another 2k...maybe. My front is wearing more than my rear and I think that's a reflection of the lowered front putting more weight bias on the front. It handles great, though.
Ron

 

I just ordered the GT502 (The Screamin Eagle Tire) for 172 plus shipping from Zanotti

https://www.zanottimotor.com/shopping/partLookUp.html
Part Number 43197-04B

 

$241 was probably the tire w/kit. GT 502 $214 shipped from Latus, so it is still a good price, but Zanotti is still around $20 more than the ND shipped for 4mm of rubber you won't use.
CB

 

Nice write up

I was going to give the ND a try after my first SE180 but I have been very happy with the wear and handling of the SE. I have a new set of SE tires sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. I currently have 13k on the rear tire and while it does need replaced it still handles very well.

I had a wear issue with the SE front. It got a weird wear pattern on it after my Iron Butt ride. Local Indy says it looks like the tire pressure got a little low and running that many miles at once caused it, so I am replacing it and see if the 2nd one wears better.

As far as price no one around here will mount a tire not bought from them and the price difference from the local Indy isnt enough to sway me one way or another.

 

That is what I am searching for, as said in my review I thought that I had found it in the night dragon because the first 3K it looked great.
I have a friend that owns his shop, I know he will mount the tire, BUT I don't know if I will get the deal as if I bought it from him. As far as saving $20.00 on another night dragon, if the SE tire gets the kind of mileage for me as you got then the extra $20 is well worth it (13000 minus 7000 divided by $20.00 equals Almost another ND tire)

 

I wouldnt count on getting as many miles as I did. I seem to get really good mileage for some reason but the handling at higher miles is what I like about the SE180. I replaced the stock tire at 10,500 and it felt very slippery in the corners starting at around 9k.

I would of replaced the tires already but just havent had a chance to pull the wheels off. I ordered the rear back in june before the Iron Butt ride to replace when I got back. When I have had time I went riding instead lol

 

bberck is the only one who purports to get that kind of mileage from an SE 180, at least that I have heard, definitely the exception to the rule. I could see it if you constantly ride winding well maintained roads, but if you mostly ride straight flat roads, even to get the twisties, no way. Long distances also kill the tire because we have a lot of weight on the rear and when it heats up it wears faster and if you like the twist the throttle getting around cars etc., it really wears on it. If I thought I could get 12/13K out of a SE180 I would buy one.
I hope you get that kind of mileage so please report back.
CB