I can't find a Dunlop AE 180/55-18 anywhere, and it is looking like December before they'll be available again. I learned over the weekend that there is a certain type of nylon used in theses tires that is not available, just like a lot of materials and goods these days. Has anyone here had success in finding AE's recently?

 

Yeah, it sucks. Being discussed here…

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/new-r...-for-sale.html

 

I guess I might have to slap the C3 back on that I removed when the front C3 became intolerable. Bummer.

 

Seems I swapped out my 180/55B18 for a 195/65R16 at just the right time. Seems the front 130/70b18 is also getting harder to come by. I ordered one a while back and it showed up.

 

Just had an American Elite MU85-16 installed last Thursday. I called my usual installer mid week and he said they had 1 left in stock. He said it's the container ship shortage that's causing all these delays. I don't know what the truth is but it seems so many consumer products are either out of stock or hard to find these days.

 

That doesn’t make sense if the tires are made in the USA. Why would there be a shortage other than the materials to make the tires are coming from overseas?

 

The majority of rubber trees used in tire manufacturing are concentrated in SE Asia, primarily Thailand. There are other raw materials used, as well. They include synthetic rubber (60% of motorcycle tires are synthetic rubber), carbon black, silica, plasticizers, steel and textiles.

So, yes, they are made here, but getting the rubber here has been a challenge because of shipping container shortages and logistical challenges in getting the rubber and other materials to the tire manufacturers. I read it’s supposed to get worse before it gets better.

 

This article does a good job of breaking down the problem even though it is a few months old.

"Natural rubber is traditionally shipped to tire and auto component makers by ships. Michelin Tire has resorted to air freight shipments as a workaround.

Thailand and Vietnam are nations that typically feature large natural rubber suppliers."

Then there's this.

"A supply-chain crisis has been brewing off the coast of Southern California for many months as massive freighters wait for dock space to open up. California ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach account for about one-third of US imports. "

"Some of the container ships have been waiting off the shore for weeks, pushing back delivery dates and driving up the cost of transportation. Of the ships waiting to dock, half of them are what Marine Exchange calls "mega-container ships" or ships with the carrying capacity of 10,000 TEUs."

So there seems to be lots of moving parts to this problem but one thing that looks certain is that this problem of supply and demand isn't going away anytime soon and is certainly going to fan the flames of inflation.

 

I put in an order for a new AE front tire months ago. Every time I ask I'm told a big shipment is on the way....uh, huh. Thankfully I had plenty of life left in the front tire, and still do. Worst case, I go with whatever is available, if the need arises.

 

thats weird. why arent the ships docking?