Dunlop Elite 4 Tires — First Impressions

[gadgeteer]

Avon front, E-4 rear. 10k miles looks, rides, handles GREAT.

[olegoat345]

I've always had great luck with AVON's … they make a set just for the GW. Call AVON USA for their P/N. Got mine from Dennis Kirk, $303 F&R delivered.

[STRaider]

I’ve put about 2k miles on my first set of Dunlop Elite 4 tires and I do not like them as well as the Bridgestones that came on the bike. I had tried almost all available tires on my 2002 GL1800 and had concluded years ago that my preference was the Bridgestones, but I thought I’d give the Elite 4s a try.

Observations:
—A slight wobble in the 35-50mph range. Not significant, but you can definitely feel it. My OEM Bridgestones were Rick stable at all speeds throughout the 10,500 miles I put on them.
—Really bad on tire snakes. That was one of the things that I did not like with the Elite 3s so I was hoping the Elite 4s would be better. They aren’t. Hot tar snakes make for a scary feeling. Bridgestones were much better.
—Too much movement on grooved pavement (grooves parallel with the direction of travel). Makes the bike move around to much. Never had this issue with the Bridgestones.
—Handling. The F6 handled great in curves with the Elite 4s. Felt very stable in twisties, high-speed sweepers, and rolling down the highway (if not grooved). Rode a little on damp/wet roads and they seemed to handle the water well. 107 deg temps no problem (except for the tar snakes). Handling as good as but no better than the Bridgestones.
—Expect that the Elite 4 mileage will exceed the Bridgestones, but we shall see. My previous experience with Elite 3s resulted in better mileage than Bridgestones, but the Dunlops also cost more than the Bridgestones.

So, as of right now I expect I’ll go back to the Bridgestones when the Dunlops need to be replaced. My assessment of the Bridgestones is that they provide the best overall characteristics and value for GL1800 bikes.

Your results may be different, but these are my impressions.

I have Elite 4's and like them, but reading through your post, I have to agree. I do like the handling through turns, as when I ride, I try to get off of highways, looking for lots of backroads and corners. I will say I have hit some tar snakes and noticed much more of a loose feeling with the E4's, even though I didn't attribute it to the tires, just didn't make the connection. I'm at about 10,000 miles and need to replace them very soon. I don't want to come out and call Bullshit on everyone claiming 19,000 and 20,000 miles on tires, but I just don't see how this is happening. The only thing I can think of is the area ridden (better pavement), slower speeds, not much acceleration? I've never been close to 20,000 miles on a set. I would love to know the secret. I check my air pressures almost everytime I get on the bike. Running 42 rear and 41 front.

[olegoat345]

Helped a buddy in his MC shop & found Dunlop's have a very hard / stiff sidewall compared to other brands. They tend to wear in the center more so too, perhaps because the sidewall's not flexing. I think all HD's come w/ Dunlop 402 w/ HD's name in the sidewall.

[P.Sutton]

I have Elite 4's and like them, but reading through your post, I have to agree. I do like the handling through turns, as when I ride, I try to get off of highways, looking for lots of backroads and corners. I will say I have hit some tar snakes and noticed much more of a loose feeling with the E4's, even though I didn't attribute it to the tires, just didn't make the connection. I'm at about 10,000 miles and need to replace them very soon. I don't want to come out and call Bullshit on everyone claiming 19,000 and 20,000 miles on tires, but I just don't see how this is happening. The only thing I can think of is the area ridden (better pavement), slower speeds, not much acceleration? I've never been close to 20,000 miles on a set. I would love to know the secret. I check my air pressures almost everytime I get on the bike. Running 42 rear and 41 front.

I have 14k on my rear e4 at the moment. I am leaving for stugis next week and visually it looks like I will have enough tread, however, like you I have never had a tire last nearly this long on any of my other bikes. It definitely makes me nervous knowing how many miles are on this tire but then I peek under the fender and try to believe what I am seeing. I am on the fence about replacing it early (simply to ease my disbelief) or letting it ride. Have a week to decide.....

[wjduke]

This may be unbelievable, but Teach's rear E4 is on display at Cycle World in Athens, GA. 22,000 on it. I have a pic somewhere, but not on this pc. She loves the darn things.

[GaTeach]

This may be unbelievable, but Teach's rear E4 is on display at Cycle World in Athens, GA. 22,000 on it. I have a pic somewhere, but not on this pc. She loves the darn things.

Yeah. I really do love them. You can tell from the pic that it's not all highway miles. Mostly backroads in the mountains. But I don't get on the throttle when I'm taking off. It's just not the way I ride usually.

[STRaider]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but was wondering how far down most ride their tires. I have right at 11,000 miles on my E 4's, and they need to be replaced. The rear still has a little groove left, but is well into the wear bar.

Do most ride unitl there is no groove, or replace when the wear bar is still visible? I wouldn't do more than a day ride close to home on these, but am I giving up too soon?

[53driver]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but was wondering how far down most ride their tires. I have right at 11,000 miles on my E 4's, and they need to be replaced. The rear still has a little groove left, but is well into the wear bar.

Do most ride unitl there is no groove, or replace when the wear bar is still visible? I wouldn't do more than a day ride close to home on these, but am I giving up too soon?

If your riding will keep you near home, you could take 'em down to the barest rubber.
However, most of us use the bike for 100+ rides and that would not be best.

Another take:
Since you are at the wear bars AND you know that - it's time to replace them.
You would be kicking yourself if you had a blowout after knowing that your tires were "technically" worn out.

It's your comfort level.
If I had a small trailer ready to pick me up, and I wasn't scared of a blowout ruining my bike, I would intentionally ride them down.
But I don't, and I am scared of a blowout ruining my bike - saw a pic yesterday of a rear tire blowout basically removing most of the ass end of a B.

Risk management - comes in all shapes and sizes.
What's in your wallet? Lol.
Cheers,
Steve

[P.Sutton]

Changing out my rear E4 today. Sticking with the same thing. I am very happy with the tread life and performance of this tire. 15k miles with some life left, but with a big trip coming I am going to swap it out.