I may not have sense but I'll compare miles with anybody, and not just fair weather miles.
point is , I've had no real problems with them on the wide glide although I am on avon right now, and the FXR loves them . I know many many people that swear by dunlop so thought it would be a good question to throw out there...........

if people think that the ones who ride dunlop are clueless......they might want to look around a bit more

 

I'll be trying the Avons this summer when I cross the border on my annual tour Stateside. The front and rear Dunlops are wearing about the same now and I know I can pick up a pair way cheaper.

 

Read one of my earlier post's you'll see something about dunlops and who prefers them and that's an observation from a lot of yrs not a weekend at the bar , I spent 17yrs living on a bike all across the east and midwest in all conditions including snow a few times . That is what I base my preference on not what my " buddies " are doing and like I said lighter bikes like the FXR Avons are the best I've found .

 

17 years ??....I've got a decade on ya lol.. i've road in every state but a few , for several years a shovel was the only thing I owned for transportation... that said

I do not like avon venom and will never run them dry rotting traction losing bitches again...when I quit pushing the envelope , I want it to be because I finally got some sense, not because my tires make me **** my pants to each his own, but I'm going metzler

 

That was 17 yrs on the eastern half of this continent I went over the 40 on two wheels mark a while back and well in excess of 500,000 , we ride what works for each of us . The OP asked opinions and that what he got .

Can't figure which tires you had that gave you so much grief but I've had individual bad ones from a few brands that went to hell quick , just bad rubber is how I looked at them . I'm twisty freak look at the way my sled is setup , I get into the foothills out here and the only speed limit for me is traffic I'll push the edge and then some if the road is a good one .

 

ohhhh...well in that case , ya ...you got me beat on the miles lol.................

the venoms I'm running now...2 years old , front 21 inch is dry rotted, rear looks ok....was running 75/80 in eastern tn in a heavy rain, front and rear both lost traction ....bike literally shifted/slipped a foot left....wife was staggered behind me ( on dunlops no less) she asked me at a gas stop what happened..she just seen bike break free....
second time in light rain , sweeping left curve in southern IL ....front tire lost traction...damn near put me on a soft shoulder....I've backed off since then when the pavement is wet , I just don't trust them

 

If you have weather rot going on get them off the bike man don't wait your *** costs way more than new shoes for baby , put it in perspective .

Bad dated tires maybe ? That's really off for any tire to dry rot that fast . I've got a set of the Venoms 21 & 16 on some 80 spokes I pulled off an stuck in the attic gotta be 12+ yrs old and had 8,000 plus miles on then that still show no signs of aging aside from normal wear patterns . Most of that mileage was in weather in the hills out here and up the coast to Cananda . Sucks from where your standing with them no doubt . Do what ya gotta do but I'd sure like find the root cause behind your tire failures , can't help that part it's the mechanic in me .

 

is there a way to figure out the manufacture date of a tire ?? the front is on spokes , the rear in on a fatboy solid....do you think spokes can somehow increase the chances....like moisture being able to get on the inside....just grasping

 

Go to the Avon web site they have a tech section and there is a way to read the date codes on the tires I just can't recall of the top , sure you know that goes . Can't see spokes having anything to do with it , to get tire rubber to break down it takes sunlight ( UV rays ) or heavy chemical exposure like road salt or lots of ozone like being stored too long in a non ventilated warehouse . If you had been around that much salt the rest of the bike would have shown you something long before the tires . You do have to run a bit more air pressure in them that others I keep a solid 40 fr & 42-44 r in mine or they fell off when damp out .