Motorcycle: $290 nail finds new home

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Arrived home from work Monday evening and noticed a shiny rock in rear wheel (I thought) once bike was in garage. Tried to flick it out with a key, no dice. Grabbed a pair of needle nose pliers and pulled it out then loud hissing sound. Yep, a nail. Wonderful since bike (2016 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited FLHTK) only has 12,000 on odometer. Next morning removed wheel and took to Indy Dealer. Surprising they took wheel into work shop and replaced with new tire within 35 minutes! Installed wheel w/new tire once I returned home and back in business. I chose the Dunlop American Elite over the OEM Harley-Davidson due to cost and positive customer write ups. Just thought I'd share.

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So was that 12k on the original tire? That would be a new personal mileage best for me by far for a tire on a bike.
 
Dunno a thing about motor cycle tires, is 12 K miles pushing it for a bike? 290$ for a new tire Holy disposable income Batman.Take heart that you are supporting your local economy. Wow! Too 'spensive for this ol' gaffer. I'm spending my hard earned social security on silly luxuries, like a top plate, glasses and hearing aids ,roof. Stuff like that.
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Originally Posted by andyd
Dunno a thing about motor cycle tires, is 12 K miles pushing it for a bike? 290$ for a new tire Holy disposable income Batman.Take heart that you are supporting your local economy. Wow! Too 'spensive for this ol' gaffer. I'm spending my hard earned social security on silly luxuries, like a top plate, glasses and hearing aids ,roof. Stuff like that.
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The reason this roofing nail punctured my tire was it made it's way between the actual outside tread and inside the groove. A hole in one. It happens. Average miles for a rear tire on a touring Harley Davidson can vary: let's say 12,000 to up to 20,000 miles. The aftermarket Dunlap tire itself was $240 (the OEM HD Dunlap was $307), then labor for changing new tire and balancing. Part of the game of riding with the big boys toys.......
 
I wold love 12K miles out of a rear tire. I usually have steel showing in less than 8K. I have to admit, the sides are worn too, and there have been many jumps to light speed.

yes, mc tires are a ripoff. That is why the darkside exists. Google motorcycle darkside.

Rod
 
That's good mileage for a big bagger. My Dunlop American Elite went 10,500 miles before I replaced it last summer with a Michelin Commander ll on my Superglide.
 
Originally Posted by FlyingVan
I would NEVER plug or patch a motorcycle tire. Good call on replacing the tire.


In fact it is illegal in some countries to patch or plug a MC tire. Some years ago when high speed tires cost a lot more than today I had a brand new Z rated rear tire get a 1" finishing nail and had to buy a new tire, the tires had less than 50km on them. Talk about having a bad day.
Some guys would say plug it at home but here is the rub. If you have an accident even if not your fault or it was not the fault of the tire, the insurance will not pay a penny as you were driving with an illegal repair and the bike had no business being on the road in the first place.
 
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MC tires....Look into "dark side". Guys are running auto tires at 1/2 the cost and 2-4x the mileage with most having no issues. They are not putting them on Sport bikes but on Goldwings etc that cover flat straight roads and are tired of having to plan on new tires mid-trip as part of their trip planning.
 
All tires are a compromise.

If sacrificing handling and grip at anything other than straight-line riding are acceptable, putting a car tire on a cruiser or touring bike is probably an okay choice. Yes I've ridden a few bikes with a car tire on the rear. In every case it affected the handling, and not for the better. BUT, yes you can get more miles out of a car tire. I've always preferred handling and grip over long life of the tread, so running a car tire would never be a choice for me.

Before any 'darkside' rider posts videos of people running car tires on a bike on a twisty road, I've seen them already. It can be done, but it's still a compromise, that doesn't deliver as good of grip and handling as a bike tire can.
 
Originally Posted by rekit
MC tires....Look into "dark side". Guys are running auto tires at 1/2 the cost and 2-4x the mileage with most having no issues. They are not putting them on Sport bikes but on Goldwings etc that cover flat straight roads and are tired of having to plan on new tires mid-trip as part of their trip planning.

Key words being "most having no issues" ! You give up a lot of cornering grip/stability with car tires. I personally would never run a car tire on a motorcycle.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Originally Posted by FlyingVan
I would NEVER plug or patch a motorcycle tire. Good call on replacing the tire.


In fact it is illegal in some countries to patch or plug a MC tire. Some years ago when high speed tires cost a lot more than today I had a brand new Z rated rear tire get a 1" finishing nail and had to buy a new tire, the tires had less than 50km on them. Talk about having a bad day.
Some guys would say plug it at home but here is the rub. If you have an accident even if not your fault or it was not the fault of the tire, the insurance will not pay a penny as you were driving with an illegal repair and the bike had no business being on the road in the first place.


Fortunately, I do not live in that sort of nanny state.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
All tires are a compromise.

If sacrificing handling and grip at anything other than straight-line riding are acceptable, putting a car tire on a cruiser or touring bike is probably an okay choice. Yes I've ridden a few bikes with a car tire on the rear. In every case it affected the handling, and not for the better. BUT, yes you can get more miles out of a car tire. I've always preferred handling and grip over long life of the tread, so running a car tire would never be a choice for me.

Before any 'darkside' rider posts videos of people running car tires on a bike on a twisty road, I've seen them already. It can be done, but it's still a compromise, that doesn't deliver as good of grip and handling as a bike tire can.


Actually, from ACTUAL veteran darksiders, they are unanimous that it is better when braking and MUCH better in wet conditions.

The 2 darksiders I know switched for capacity reasons. One was tired of changing oil and rear tire every 5K miles, the other had 2 rear tires fail due to heat buildup on long trips. (Fortunately, no crash.) One now runs a Michelin winter tire, the other an Eagle Ultra Grip.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
In fact it is illegal in some countries to patch or plug a MC tire..


It's not illegal to plug (we call it string repair) here in NZ, but is for emergency repair only - we pick up the string repair on inspection and then it needs a proper repair. This is because of unseen internal damage - removing the tyre for a puncture the internal structure of the tyre can be inspected. I've seen this particularly with motorcycle tyres, being narrower - a long nail can cut the cords internally. For car tyres it's mainly damage from running flat (motorcycles generally don't run for long with a flat tyre) and you can see this damage better from the inside - it'll look good externally, and be toast on the inside. As someone who repairs tyres, I think it's a good rule.
 
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by 02SE
All tires are a compromise.

If sacrificing handling and grip at anything other than straight-line riding are acceptable, putting a car tire on a cruiser or touring bike is probably an okay choice. Yes I've ridden a few bikes with a car tire on the rear. In every case it affected the handling, and not for the better. BUT, yes you can get more miles out of a car tire. I've always preferred handling and grip over long life of the tread, so running a car tire would never be a choice for me.

Before any 'darkside' rider posts videos of people running car tires on a bike on a twisty road, I've seen them already. It can be done, but it's still a compromise, that doesn't deliver as good of grip and handling as a bike tire can.


Actually, from ACTUAL veteran darksiders, they are unanimous that it is better when braking and MUCH better in wet conditions.

The 2 darksiders I know switched for capacity reasons. One was tired of changing oil and rear tire every 5K miles, the other had 2 rear tires fail due to heat buildup on long trips. (Fortunately, no crash.) One now runs a Michelin winter tire, the other an Eagle Ultra Grip.


I'd be on my 5th tire at 5k miles on my most powerful bike.

As for the "veteran darksiders", I think that's just what they tell themselves and others to justify the compromised handling, and being cheap.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by 02SE
All tires are a compromise.

If sacrificing handling and grip at anything other than straight-line riding are acceptable, putting a car tire on a cruiser or touring bike is probably an okay choice. Yes I've ridden a few bikes with a car tire on the rear. In every case it affected the handling, and not for the better. BUT, yes you can get more miles out of a car tire. I've always preferred handling and grip over long life of the tread, so running a car tire would never be a choice for me.

Before any 'darkside' rider posts videos of people running car tires on a bike on a twisty road, I've seen them already. It can be done, but it's still a compromise, that doesn't deliver as good of grip and handling as a bike tire can.


Actually, from ACTUAL veteran darksiders, they are unanimous that it is better when braking and MUCH better in wet conditions.

The 2 darksiders I know switched for capacity reasons. One was tired of changing oil and rear tire every 5K miles, the other had 2 rear tires fail due to heat buildup on long trips. (Fortunately, no crash.) One now runs a Michelin winter tire, the other an Eagle Ultra Grip.


I'd be on my 5th tire at 5k miles on my most powerful bike.

As for the "veteran darksiders", I think that's just what they tell themselves and others to justify the compromised handling, and being cheap.

Nothing to do with "being cheap"...they do it for weight capacity and safety reasons. Loaded for travel, the rear tire on many touring bikes is at (or over) its weight limit.
 
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Originally Posted by 02SE
All tires are a compromise.

If sacrificing handling and grip at anything other than straight-line riding are acceptable, putting a car tire on a cruiser or touring bike is probably an okay choice. Yes I've ridden a few bikes with a car tire on the rear. In every case it affected the handling, and not for the better. BUT, yes you can get more miles out of a car tire. I've always preferred handling and grip over long life of the tread, so running a car tire would never be a choice for me.

Before any 'darkside' rider posts videos of people running car tires on a bike on a twisty road, I've seen them already. It can be done, but it's still a compromise, that doesn't deliver as good of grip and handling as a bike tire can.


Actually, from ACTUAL veteran darksiders, they are unanimous that it is better when braking and MUCH better in wet conditions.

The 2 darksiders I know switched for capacity reasons. One was tired of changing oil and rear tire every 5K miles, the other had 2 rear tires fail due to heat buildup on long trips. (Fortunately, no crash.) One now runs a Michelin winter tire, the other an Eagle Ultra Grip.


I'd be on my 5th tire at 5k miles on my most powerful bike.

As for the "veteran darksiders", I think that's just what they tell themselves and others to justify the compromised handling, and being cheap.

Nothing to do with "being cheap"...they do it for weight capacity and safety reasons. Loaded for travel, the rear tire on many touring bikes is at (or over) its weight limit.


Stock size M/C tires are rated for more than the GVWR of any motorcycle they are speced for. If these people you know are overloading the Motorcycles, then they have even more issues than using a poor-handling car tire. Putting a car tire with a higher load rating on a bike, doesn't raise the GVWR of the rest of the bike.

Every 'darksider' I've ever talked to, all stated how proud they were to be saving money with their car tire choice, despite the handling deficit.

But it's a free country, they can make whatever ill-conceived choice they want...
 
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