Dunlop Elite 4 or Avon Cobras

[Jimmytee]

Anyone have experiece with either of these tires on a Wing? The Elite 4s are brand new tires.

[opas ride]

Anyone have experiece with either of these tires on a Wing? The Elite 4s are brand new tires.

I have the new E-4 Dunlops on my F6B and so far so good....but, the mechanic that works on my bike and many, many, Goldwings over the years, has Avons on his GW and really likes them..Great handling, good wear, and very good in rain so he says,....Had I known he was a huge fan of these tires perhaps I might have tried them.....Both seem to be excellent tires and I doubt you will go wrong with either....Ride safe

[seadog]

I have heard really good things about the elite 4 and right now have one on order for the back of the F6B. I had elite 3's on the M109R Suzuki I had and they never did anything like lose traction or anything that I thought was out of line and l Like running curves and they held up well. Now the new 4 is suppose to be better with a harder center and softer sides for traction when leaning it over. So the wear should be better and its cornering ability should be spot on. I definitely like the look of the tread design on the new 4. I think it's really going to be the right tire for my F6B.
Don't get me wrong I have nothing but good things to say about Avon tire also, they have always been up to the task and a lot of guys run them and like how they handle and their longevity. I have friend that have run them for years but have nobody I know now that has them on the F6B

[Steve 0080]

I ran a set of Cobras on my Rune. Handled real well and stuck good in the wet...did not last long though...

[Jimmytee]

I've got experience with the Avons on my Valkyrie. They have been a good tire and stick like baby s#!t on a blanket. Never got great mileage out of them, About 9-9500 or so. When it comes to bike tires, I usually wear my fronts and rears pretty evenly and just prefer changing both. This last spring, I picked up a item in my rear Cobra on the Valk and decided to try DS with a YH Avid Envigor. There have been pluses and minuses in my book, and I'm not yet ready to do that on the F6B

Anyways, I've ran three sets of the OEM Bridgestones getting around 9500 on the first 2 sets, but now with the third set I'm about at the wear bars at only 7 k.

I went down to my Honda dealer and was going to go ahead and tell them to bring me in a set. Figuring that I'm going to need them before the Rally. I was talking with Ray, their head mechanic, and he asked why not put on Dunlops. I have not been a fan of Dunlops, but he told me about their new ELite 4s and they have those in stock. I started looking for reviews on line, but they're so new , there wasn't much on them. I know the Cobras would perform, but it would be nice to get a little more mileage. I am an aggressive rider, so cornering performance is a must, but that also means my tire wear surely suffers some becaus of this. The 7k on my current tires throws me though. In June, I went to Inzane and rode a lot of rough roads in WV,Pennsylvania and Maryland, so that may have played a factor in the 7 k this time too.

[dmize]

I have had really bad results with all OEM tires.
Best for my wings have been E3's. Best for my cruisers have been Avon Venoms....Got 14,000 out of the rear on my VTX1800C
FTR the OEM's I have delt with are Elite 2's on first GW, Bridgestones on the newest GW and ANYTHING made by Metzler.....FJR 1300 trashed its Metzler at 3,000 and the Raider shit canned its by 2,000 miles

[Jimmytee]

What air pressures do you run?
I've owned and still own many of the same bikes mentioned and I always get at least 10k out of any brand, front and rear.
Just sayin.

I run 40 plus psi in the rear and no grandma chicken strips on my tires.

Not intending to poke at you, just curious.

Jim

My Chicken Strips consist of a very thin line at the very edges of my tires. Maybe 1/8" Oh , I run 41 psi cold in the rear on the F6B with the stones. On my Valk with the Avons, I run the rear at 42 cold. front 40 to 41. Avon wants 42. However, right now I am darkside on the Valk.

I ride very aggresively Never have I got 10 k out of my tires. Close, but not quite. Now I don't run them until they're bald either like I have seen some do. That bike is heavy and I'm not petite. I want my tires in really good shape. I'll just put it this way. recently I and three other "spirited " riders were taking sweepers at 95 -100 mph dragging pegs and throwing sparks. Man it was a blast.

[Dirtstiff's F6B]

I just replaced my oem stones with 15k+, with the new Dunlop E4.
They are hiped to wear very well.

For me, the jury is out.
I can't say they handle any better or worse than the oem stones, aside from my perception they are better in the rain.
Oh, did I mention they are considerably noisier than the stones.

J

[Jimmytee]

I just replaced my oem stones with 15k+, with the new Dunlop E4.
They are hiped to wear very well.

For me, the jury is out.
I can't say they handle any better or worse than the oem stones, aside from my perception they are better in the rain.
Oh, did I mention they are considerably noisier than the stones.

J

I'm inclined to give them a try. However, trying the Cobras on the F6B also has me thinking. How does your front end feel. I read one review, not many reviews available yet, where the reviewer complained of some front end wobble he attributed to the new Elite 4.

[Dirtstiff's F6B]

I'm inclined to give them a try. However, trying the Cobras on the F6B also has me thinking. How does your front end feel. I read one review, not many reviews available yet, where the reviewer complained of some front end wobble he attributed to the new Elite 4.

Jimmie,
The review could have been mine. I definately have a pronounced front end wobble 35 to 40 mph. The oem stones had a very slight wobble, same speed.
I of course, have checked neck bearing, pinch bolt and brace bolt, torque
The tire and rim were mounted and installed by someone I trust, so.
I'm going to throw some dynabeads in the front to see what that does for the wobble.

Jim