Rode to work Thursday about 50 miles...it was great!

Thought I'd look into tire replacement after reading some posts here. Called my dealership and said I was ready for the 15,000 mile checkup and had not yet replaced tires.

Their immediate advice was that on an Ultra the rear tire should be replaced between 8,000 and 10,000 miles and the front with every other rear tire replacement.

Also said something else: I should ignore the MOCO's owners manual recommendation on replacing tires in pairs and on their tire inflation directions. Instead, I can save some money by using the replacement mode noted above, and that I should always go with the tire manufacturers recommended inflation rate shown on the tire itself. As an example, my manual says to inflate rear between 36 and 40 psi and front at 36 psi. Dealer service veteran says to run per tire mfr specs at 40 psi both front and rear.

Interesting advice. The Ultra is now at the dealer for the 15,000 mile tuneup and a rear tire replacement. Rode in Saturday. Also going to replace the derby and timing cover with the live to ride version.

Never stops does it??

bj

 

Unfortunately, NO..........

They say that tires should be replaced in "pairs" because handling is affected by two different gripping tires. BUT if they wear at different rates anyway,(which they obviously do) then that old theory doesn't work in our cases..

 

I had good results using the spec in the manual...36/36 solo and 40/36 2up.
the original rear was replace at 15700 and the front at 33000.
Hope you got a price for the tire change prior to the work.Sometimes the dealers price on tire work will dig deep into your pockets!

 

Your right it never stops, myself I always run per tire mfr specs.

 

Replacing tires in pairs is just dumb. The rear always wears faster than the front. I go with the 2 to 1 schedule. I think the key word here should be MATCH tires when replacing.

 

As posted earlier, I got 12,000 on my first rear and 11,000 on the second. Had the front changed at that time. Since then I had a flat so ride till I start to worry about them. Main thing I remember now, is when I was younger, I was complaining about the price of a new tire for my bike. An older HD rider, I worked with said,
WHAT IS YOUR AZZ WORTH !

 

Amen...my butt's worth different thinks to different people

For sure, I'll keep an eye on the tires from now on...more than I did before. And, yeah I know I'll be paying for the dealer to dismantle everything and put it back together. I'm hoping since the 15,000 mile checkup is pretty comprehensive, that I'll get a bit of relief. Also, right now the dealer service shop is slow, so I didn't even need an appointment.

Hope they appreciate this work and charge accordingly. My 10,000 mile checkup set me back about $350 including the dyno check with the race tuner

 

I use 40psi rear, 37psi front--cold. Dunlop has told me that I should see best mileage at the tire's max inflation, although increasing it from HD's specs may give a slightly firmer ride. I've never found the ride harsh at these pressures, however.

I don't bother pumping the front up past OEM specs since these tires last forever anyway. I've traditionally gotten 30-35k on D402 front tires and this present bike looks like it will follow this pattern. Now at 25k the front tire will be good 'til the rear is ready for replacement in about 8-9k miles.

There is no problem using different tire brands or models on the same bike. I now have a D402 on front, E3 on rear, but will change to an E3 on front when this present rear tire is replaced. I'm getting almost double the tire wear with the rear E3 that I got with the D402 with no decrease in performance either in wet or dry. The E3 is a winner, IMO, and I am not looking back.