Ok so i have been pondering this for awhile now. Why is it that the mother company does not put radial tires on the touring models??

 

Good question, one I've often wondered myself. Let me take it one step further and ask....why don't more owners who are replacing tires opt to go with radials over biased?? Is there some inherent handling quirk that manifests itself with the addition of a set of radials?? I would imagine MoCo doesn't offer them because of the additional
cost.

 

So what would be the big advantage of running Radial over Bias??? Not sure i follow.

 

From working in the commercial tire world for a few years, I can tell you the benefit of radials over bias... is less rolling resistance in the radials, which ment better fuel mileage... and a better ride.
Im not sure why the motorcycling community as a whole has not brought radials main stream... a very good question.

 

Had a set of radials on my last bike (A Vic) and did notice a better ride, but they were Metzlers and pretty soft. Only lasted about 10K.

 

This is to Notgrownup!! Most all automobles use radials now, they did it for a reason so why not motorcycles??
I can tell you without a dought that the radials ride way better than bias!!

 

I've heard from friends they ride better. I have thought about changing,but just never did. I don't see how the price would stop the MOCO. They will just add the price to the bike.

 

I have about 200 miles on my new Avon Cobra's which are radials and they ride way smoother then the old Dunlops!!

 

Maybe the traditional bias ply tires but the way they make the B series now with the cross ply compared to radial??? Gold wings use elite III Radials and the mileage is worse than the Elite III bias cross ply on a Electra Glide??? I still don't believe that radial tires in today's market are any better than cross bias ply...Some are getting 15000 or more on Dunlops Bias Elite III...I have yet to see a radial do that...Rolling resistance????...With all the **** i have added to my bike to enhance the performance all i want is more mileage/Longevity...I think most of us don't care if they are radials or Bias ply tires...Either way the Manufacturers are the ones winning this game because we are at their mercy aren't we? If they come out with a radial that get 20000 miles for my flhtc I WILL BUY IT.

 

I ran Cobra Venom on my last bike and loved them , best tire I ever rode on , when I got my 2011 I was going to switch to the Cobra Venom but they didn't have them in my size to match , they had a front radial and a rear bias , they had a rear radial that was close and would have fit but when I called Cobra they told me not to use the rear radial because it had a lower load rating than the bias in my size , they suggested I run a bias Venom on the front and a bias Cobra on the rear , I decided to stick with the Dunlops and wait and see if they release more sizes