Recommended tires..

[Voyager_1700]

I currently have 17000 miles on my '09.. I'm looking at a second back tire and the first front tire..
I'm not happy with the life span of the Bridgestones only getting 8500-9000 miles.. I had an '05 Nomad and had 13,500 on the orginial back tire.. I'd love to hear what tires people have replaced with, why and the tread life they are getting from them..
I figure since I'm gonna do both.. I might as well look into a different brand..

Thoughts.. Input.. Advise.. Please..

For the record.. I ride solo 99.9% time.. Usually back country rodes.. occansional highway trip pushing 75-80 ish MPH..(I know that melts the rubber away..)

[TheAudiDoc]

Dunlop Elite 3's.........be warned the front may shimmy at 25-40 with hands off the bars....they wear well...i have 11,000 on my rear with 40% tread left...only have 4k on the front...i ride 90% 1 up

[Voyager_1700]

Dunlop Elite 3's.........be warned the front may shimmy at 25-40 with hands off the bars....they wear well...i have 11,000 on my rear with 40% tread left...only have 4k on the front...i ride 90% 1 up

Thanks. Are you running OEM size. I was reading and never heard of it on a bike. But I have to ask. They are Bias-ply correct. I was reading on a forum about Vulcans running on radials. I never heard of radials on a bike... Is it me ?

[David (N. Alabama)]

Dunlop Elite 3's.........be warned the front may shimmy at 25-40 with hands off the bars....they wear well...i have 11,000 on my rear with 40% tread left...only have 4k on the front...i ride 90% 1 up

Thanks. Are you running OEM size. I was reading and never heard of it on a bike. But I have to ask. They are Bias-ply correct. I was reading on a forum about Vulcans running on radials. I never heard of radials on a bike... Is it me ?

Some bikes are designed for radials, some for bias ply. The Voyager 1700 is designed for Bias Ply.

When I bought my Dunlop Elite 3 tires for the Voyager they did not make an OEM size for the rear. The tire I am running is slightly taller and slightly narrower. The stock size is 170/70B16. The replacement is 160/80B16. The benefit of this new tire is that the slightly larger diameter corrects for the speedo error, and the slightly narrower width on the OEM rim means the tires has a slightly flatter profile which means you get a larger contact patch all the way until your floorboards scrape.

[Voyager_1700]

When I bought my Dunlop Elite 3 tires for the Voyager they did not make an OEM size for the rear. The tire I am running is slightly taller and slightly narrower. The stock size is 170/70B16. The replacement is 160/80B16. The benefit of this new tire is that the slightly larger diameter corrects for the speedo error, and the slightly narrower width on the OEM rim means the tires has a slightly flatter profile which means you get a larger contact patch all the way until your floorboards scrape.

I guess I'll get a little more clearence before the boards scrap with the "taller" tires..I'm already dragging them all over the states...

Hey.. thanks for the info.. I found the tread about the Dunlops.. and I never heard of a rim made for Radils or Biad ply.. (I've been inthe auto industry for 25 yrs.. motorcycles.. shy of 10 yrs riding.. but I always but a new bike before I put on tires..that was just timing) It's a whole new learning experience.. Thanks for the input...
I've been reading up on the Pirelli MT66's thoughts comments on them?

[David (N. Alabama)]

No experience with the MT66, but I have read that having a center groove on the front tire can cause the tire to track grooved road and tar snakes more than a tire without a center groove.

How much air are you running in the rear shock? Sounds like you might benefit from some additional air in the rear shock and/or changing your cornering habits.

[TheAudiDoc]

Dunlop Elite 3's.........be warned the front may shimmy at 25-40 with hands off the bars....they wear well...i have 11,000 on my rear with 40% tread left...only have 4k on the front...i ride 90% 1 up

Thanks. Are you running OEM size. I was reading and never heard of it on a bike. But I have to ask. They are Bias-ply correct. I was reading on a forum about Vulcans running on radials. I never heard of radials on a bike... Is it me ?

Some bikes are designed for radials, some for bias ply. The Voyager 1700 is designed for Bias Ply.

When I bought my Dunlop Elite 3 tires for the Voyager they did not make an OEM size for the rear. The tire I am running is slightly taller and slightly narrower. The stock size is 170/70B16. The replacement is 160/80B16. The benefit of this new tire is that the slightly larger diameter corrects for the speedo error, and the slightly narrower width on the OEM rim means the tires has a slightly flatter profile which means you get a larger contact patch all the way until your floorboards scrape.

yea what he said lol beat me to it again David

[Voyager_1700]

Great.. turns out I'm going for the Dunlops.. Got some great prices..
106 for the front
160 for the rear

While I'm on my maintance kick.. How long (time/miles) should I be able to get out these spark plugs.. @ 20-25 a pop I'm hoping for more than a year or so.. geez

[TheAudiDoc]

the manual says check em at 15k and replace em at 30k.....i bought a pair online for $25 that included shipping...i'm gonna change em this winter at 20k http://www.sparkplugssource.com/shop/



take the tires off yourself...it's easy....don't let some shop hose you for 2 hours of labor to do the rear....takes 10 min to remove once the bike is up on a stand

[Voyager_1700]

thanks.. yeah that's the same site I found for the plugs..
I'll look into a stand for it..

[Danh]

While on our trip out west I had to replace my rear ME880 at 5000 miles what a piece of crap tire stay away from them.
My next rear tire will be a darksider as they were good enough for my dad's Harley and a lot of friends have gone that way and are happy.
Dan

[Voyager_1700]

take the tires off yourself...it's easy....don't let some shop hose you for 2 hours of labor to do the rear....takes 10 min to remove once the bike is up on a stand

Man.. they got me coming or going..

Here's the scoop..
If I carry in the tires ($290 from internet) & rims
They'll charge me $80.00 to mount both tires..
If I buy the tires from them.. $345.. they'll pull the rims and mount the tires for $80.00

Is it really worth the effort for a savings of $50.00

But here's the kicker the gets me..
They'll charge $20 a caliper to do brakes while in there..

They make it so tempting to say screw it.. just do it..

[TheAudiDoc]

get the quote in writing if you let them do the tires....my dealer wanted $150.00 labor .....do the pads your self....they might take you 30 min to to all 3 calipers...i mounted my tires my self on a car tire machine and the dealer balanced them for free...

[Turbo4x4]

While on our trip out west I had to replace my rear ME880 at 5000 miles what a piece of crap tire stay away from them.
My next rear tire will be a darksider as they were good enough for my dad's Harley and a lot of friends have gone that way and are happy.
Dan

Heck, I would have been happy to get 5000 out of my rear ME880. All I got was 3600. Piece of garbage.

[dirtslinger1200]

It must be the weight of the Voyager making the ME880 wear so fast. I used those tires on my 1999 Suzuki 1500 and they did great. I would get at least 16,000 out of the rear and over 20,000 on the front. Alot lighter bike though.

[1st one]

I would say that the Voyager (2009 & newer) are the heaviest touring bikes around. Weighed my bike at a highway scale the weight on the rear tire with me on the bike is 330 kg's (726 lbs) this includes my riding gear I weigh 226 lbs. Now add a companion say 140 lbs plus more riding gear and you will end up with 407 kg,s (896 lb,s) includes riding gear. Have I mentioned luggage yet?

Remember the type of riding you do has a big impact on tire performance for example. Hwy or Urban, Speed & distance traveled, air temp whether its (Very hot or rather cool), weight on rear tire & tire air pressure in that tire.

All of these factors are there every day you ride and will heat up your back tire, soft compound (stock tire) hard compound (E3) big difference. I have a 160/80B/16 E3 on the rear it has 17,000 kilometers on it and tread depth is now between 4 & 5/32nds inch I know that I could hit 20,000 but why push it. I am putting on Avon Venom's front & rear with reinforced construction 160/80HB16 & MT90B16 I make it a policy as well, before every ride to check tire pressures front an rear (rear tire is a Es and the max is 40 lbs it has never been less and never over 42 lbs).

Why am I getting a way from the Dunlop E3? only because of the research that I have done & read on the Avons and by what I have read the Avons should perform as good or better as their max load capacity is 28 lbs more

Remember tire heat is a tire killer so keep that air pressure up
__________________

[TheAudiDoc]

just back from Degrey Lake and the rear tire(E3) is down to 3-4 32nds....i figure 3000 more mile and it will be done with....I have 13,000 miles on it now so I guess 16,000 is not too bad on such a heavy bike..... I will probably put another E3 on and keep watching for reviews of other tires and possibly switch brands next time i need both tires around 35000 miles... oh yea it was hot there too

[namkraps]

While on our trip out west I had to replace my rear ME880 at 5000 miles what a piece of crap tire stay away from them.
My next rear tire will be a darksider as they were good enough for my dad's Harley and a lot of friends have gone that way and are happy.
Dan

Danh if you go to the darkside make sure the tire you choose is a run flat. I went to the darkside and didn't get a run flat, so at slower speeds (0-10 mph) there is some wobble that takes some getting used to. At highway speeds you can't tell any difference from a MC tire. Also choose a tire that has rounded corners instead of squared corners. I used a 205/60/16 fit fine

[1st one]

Another great front tire for 1700 Voyager is a Metzler 880 I changed mine out at 27,000 kilometers and there was no cupping on the sides and it was siting at 5/32nds in. tread left

[Turbo4x4]

Another great front tire for 1700 Voyager is a Metzler 880 I changed mine out at 27,000 kilometers and there was no cupping on the sides and it was siting at 5/32nds in. tread left

1st one,

Don't know how you ride, but I'm a pretty conservative rider, and only got 3600 miles out of the Metzler 880. I replaced the Metzler with a Dunlop E3, which is wearing far far better. Don't waste your time on the Metzler. It's a piece of garbage.