tires for 18" wheels

[jimmyray11349]

i am running the CVO agitator 19/18. I just replaced my rear with 15k on them and the only 18 I could find was Dunlop 180/B18 OEM from Indy. There are lots of 18's out there for rear in radial construction but if you have bias ply front u need to run bias ply rear.

[akjeff]

May not be popular with a lot of folks, but I've had very good performance thus far, from plain old OEM Dunlops, on my 18's front and rear.

Jeff

[skratch]

Originally Posted by akjeff

May not be popular with a lot of folks, but I've had very good performance thus far, from plain old OEM Dunlops, on my 18's front and rear.

Jeff

the issue most folks have with the oem dunlops on the front is the sidewall cracking. seems to be a crapshoot with whether or not yours is gonna be the one to crack, and is the moco gonna do the standup thing and replace it or do you have to fight to get it replaced. some folks just don't want the hassle.

[Roadie09]

Originally Posted by skratch

the issue most folks have with the oem dunlops on the front is the sidewall cracking. some folks just don't want the hassle.

This is the real issue with the OEM tire. The actual mileage is great, as long as the tire runs long enough to wear out before the side wall cracks.

This issue only seems to occur with the 18" OEM front tire.

[Ozoneman]

Originally Posted by akjeff

May not be popular with a lot of folks, but I've had very good performance thus far, from plain old OEM Dunlops, on my 18's front and rear.

Jeff

Me too! I just replaced my 18s and I had 21,600 miles on the front and back. The front actually could have gone 2K more.

[akjeff]

Originally Posted by Roadie09

This is the real issue with the OEM tire. The actual mileage is great, as long as the tire runs long enough to wear out before the side wall cracks.

This issue only seems to occur with the 18" OEM front tire.

I think the advent of the internet forums, tends to blow such things out of proportion. Im not saying there may not be a problem, but having just a handful of people post the same thing on multiple forums, and pretty soon, it snowballs into a "chronic problem", that is happening to "everybody". I've gotten very good service from factory Dunlops, thus far.

Jeff

[Roadie09]

Originally Posted by akjeff

I think the advent of the internet forums, tends to blow such things out of proportion. Im not saying there may not be a problem, but having just a handful of people post the same thing on multiple forums, and pretty soon, it snowballs into a "chronic problem", that is happening to "everybody". I've gotten very good service from factory Dunlops, thus far.

Jeff

I am not sure it is chronic, but it did happen to my tire. I put way too many miles on the bike to run the risk of tire problems on the road. If I did not have a problem with the OEM tire, I would be like you and still using it. The OEM 17" front I previously had lasted approximately 25K miles, that is good mileage by my standard.

I personally am not advocating a group action against HD or any other such thing, but I would recommend keeping an eye on the 18" version starting around 10-12K miles. Once the small cracks start to appear, they start to open up rather quickly after that.

[jim540]

I have a 2011 RGC with around 6000 miles on it and I noticed the 18" front tire has some cracks around the sidewall close to the bead.