It's been a while since we discussed tires here. As I promised, 6 months ago after switching from the original Dunlop tires to Metzler tires, I have a comparison between the tires after some miles have racked up.

For the new members, (and those that don't remember) a little history:

At 12,000 miles I noticed the upcomming need for tires, so I started shopping around. I was fairly happy with the original Dunlop 401 tires, but was a bit shocked at the price. I discovered a very similar tire Dunlop 404 that was much less expensive. I tried to find out the difference between the 401 and the 404, besides that the 401 says Harley-Davidson on the sidewall. I got lots of responses on this forum, and other places, but could never comfirm any major difference in the composition of the tires, or the tire ratings. That included getting the specs from the manufacturer, and a couple of phone calls to Dunlop customer service. All they could tell me for certain, was the 401 was a "better" tire that was made exclusively for Harley-Davidson. Duh, it has Harley-Davidson made into the sidewall, and we all know those exclusive words come with a price. In the end, it didn't really matter. Due to the strike, I couldn't find anyone, other than HD stealers that had the size Dunlop tires that I needed. So, I ordered a pair of Metzler 880 tires. And I replaced the Dunlops at around 15,000 miles.

Now, the comparison:

The Metzler tires have a softer ride. That wasn't a surprise at first, but after 12,000 miles on the Metzler tires they still have a softer ride. The Metzler tires handle much better on the twisties. They make the transition from straight line riding to a quick sharp turn much more smoothly. They just seem to roll over on the side without any change in the handling of the bike. Dry road braking, I don't notice much difference. Straight line wet road braking they are a bit more slippery than the Dunlops. Wet road cornering the Metzler is superior. Wet road corner braking (yes sometimes you've gotta do that) the Metzler is better. As far as tire life, when the Dunlops had 12,000 miles on them, I was shopping for new tires. The Metzlers look almost as good as new after 12,000 miles. I might be wrong, but I think they will easily last for 20,000 miles withoutpushing the safety of my riding.

I think the reason for the big difference in wet versus dry road braking mostly has to do with the tread pattern. The Metzler really doesn't have any tread in the center of the tire, while the Dunlop has that pretty effective back and forth center tread pattern. It might also have to do with the weather conditions I've been riding in over the last 6 months. We're in a SEVERE drought. Consequently, on the rare occasion that I ride on wet roads, I'm dealing with the significant oil deposits on the road being raised to the surface by a light rain shower. Never enough rain to wash those oil deposits off the road, which makes for some pretty slick roads.

Back in the Spring, when we discussed this, several forum members had switched from the Dunlop 401 tires to the Dunlop 404. I'm wondering, if you have enough miles on the 404 tires to give a similar evaluation?

 

If you check the Dunlop site they have full information dealing with the differences between the D401 and D404 tires.

Besides the country of manufacture, some of the differences are;

D401is a Bias Belted tire, while the D404 is a Bias Ply (non-belted tire).

The 150/80B16 shows the following spec's for each;

The D401 has a diameter of 25.45", while it is 25.35" for the D404.

The D401 has a width of 6.15", while it is 5.81" for the D404.

Tread depth is 10/32" for the D401, while it is 9/32 for the D404.

And of course the cost of a bias ply tire will be less than that of a belted tire, but you also need to consider the type of mileage you can expect from each.

I haven't done a search on previous threads, but I remember some that have used both stated that the mileage they got with the bia ply D404 tires was much less than when using the D401/402's.

I've been using the D401/D402's on my bikes for about as long as I can remember, and don't see any reason to go with anything else.

They aren't that expensive even though I change them more often than necessary (every 10,000 miles), and I run them year round in all conditions. The tread compound is a good compromise that allows them to give both good performance and decent tread life.

Never had one problem at all, and I figure that if it's not broken, why fix it.

 

I switched my bike over to the 404's this year from the orignal 401-402"s.....1700 miles so far so I cant say anything about them so far.....I got 11,700 miles from the 1st tires...I could of got a lil more miles from them but I was heading to Bike week and wanted good rubber under me for the trip....but Im a 300 pound rider too so I know that makes some difference

wayne

 

I got 18k outta the original factory tires on my Sportster..front was the Harley 401 Dunlop and rear was a 571 Dunlop with Harley Logo.Just changed over to 404 on back (got another 401 for front on sale cheap as the 404 for front) and it seeems to hold better than the 571 did in sharp tuurns..think they "ride" about the same..though I plan to play with the tire pressure this weekend at Raceway to see how that efffects things. Just my .02 worth.

 

I'm right with ya sportypig! I love my ME880s I've got about 10000 miles on mine with minimal signs of wear.

 

When ever my Dunslops wear out I'll go with the ME880s.