Where can you buy the Ohlins 2-2 for 5ish?
I'm interested in a pair myself.

 

We're your Dunlops worn out? Or did you compare a new tire to a new tire?
New rubber should ALWAYS feel night and day different than worn out tires.
It's hard to believe the American Elites are that different than the HD branded Dunlops.
As I understand it, Dunlop cannot sell the HD branded tires so they sell replacements. While they don't say "Harley Davidson" on them, I doubt they would do any more than make insignificant changes to be able to sell to the public through independant supply chains.
Bob

 

http://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com...?id=32191#gf_1

Look at the difference just in tread depth. 1/32 to maybe as much as 6/32 more rubber. Compounds are much better on the Elites than the worthless OEM tires. Go look at other brands of tires. It is very rare one gets good or even above average tires on a new bike, car, truck, trailer or semi tractor. They are always light on tread depth, never the best wearing or longest lasting. OEM tires are made to rip the consumer off on purpose. I knew just looking at the OEMs on my RK they would have to be replaced just because of the shallow tread depth. Those OEMs would be suicide tires in the rain. False hope faded fast as I hoped they would soon show they have some stickum. Still as greasy as the day I rode the bike home from the dealer.

 

The OEM D408/7 series is a major improvement over the older 402/1 tire.
HD specified it's design and tread pattern and contracted it to Dunlop for production.
It's major innovation was it's game changing dual compound which is a Dunlop formula.

The American Elite has a smarter tread pattern that wears much better without the typical OEM scalloping, but uses the same dual compound as the OEM, and unlike the OEM is available in normal market.
As told to me and many others by a Dunlop engineer(s) and mentioned here many times over.

You'll find that the Elites and OEM run pretty close in mileage. That is if your OEM does not start cupping. Thanks HD.

 

They will likely become more compliant with miles. Riders give up on seats and suspension without giving them enough seat time. Pun intended.

 

Not defending the "morons" but, engineers, stylists, and bean counters fight constantly. Hundreds of decisions are made on all aspects of designing a bike that looks and sounds like a Harley. Safety is number one (liability) then style, comfort, ergonomics, cost, handling, weight, suppliers, time, design costs, EPA, CAFE and many more. When the dust settles what you see on the showroom floor is the product. There is a balance that has to be maintained cost, style, sales etc. Not morons, they have been doing this for awhile. Engineers make decisions based on what they know and work in a narrower box then most riders. You say it rides poor, they will explain why it rides that way in no less then 30 minutes. If you ask an engineer to design it the way you want it, they will explain why you should not in no less the 60 minutes.

 

Doesn't a good tire depend on what "you" are looking for? Some people want a high mileage tire and others might want a tire that is sticky for better traction. Other people might want a tire that handles rain/wet conditions better. It's all a trade-off.
I'm pretty sure most sport bike riders and sports car drivers place the handling potential of a tire far above it's mileage. Some of these vehicles are coming equipped with the best tires currently available.
You do bring up an interesting point. Passenger car tires are required to have a Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG). I'm not sure why motorcycle tires aren't subject to the same standard.

 

Interesting note,
The only way to evaluate tire grip is to ride on a known road, riding on a bike with 50+% tread life remaining. Get temps and pressures to normalize.
Take the same turns, slow, medium, and sweepers at speeds where the actual traction is broke. Repeat for 3 iterations.
Replace tires on a same weather day with whatever and repeat the testing process.

The real challenge or issue here is to actually bring a bike to its traction limits but that is the only way to evaluate tire grip. In other words you have no clue as to stickiness/grip unless you find the limits of adhesion. Any opinion comparing old worn out tires to new ones or to state which tire feels stickier is basing apples to oranges. New (properly spec'd) tires ALWAYS feel better than old worn out tires.
Bob

 

And you better be absolutely certain that your medical insurance is up to date.

 

Ive just installed adjustable Ohlins level 2
FANTASTIC best $700 spend on my bike that and a SE air cleaner $300
Two up riding adjust preload 2 turns
Solo down two turns
Rough load damper adjuster 2 clicks down .
smooth road 2 turns up
GUYS THESE REALLY REALLY MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE
bought them from Howard . He pre set them up . FANTASTIC IMPROVEMENT