Ive posted this on the Dyna forum already but thought it's worth posting here as well to get some more opinions, so...

I've got an 06 Street Bob with a wide glide front end and I'm going to put a 17" rim on the stock front hub to take a Fatboy 140/75R17 tire. The rear has the standard Dunlop 160.

So my question is for the new front wheel should I fit...

- Dunlop - same brand as the rear which would seem to make sense although lots of people seem not to rate this tire.
- Michelin Commander II - seems to get the best reviews
- Pirelli Night Dragon - cheapest (in the UK) and I've always thought Pirelli tires are good quality
- Metzeler - I've no opinion on this one
- Avon - same as Metzeler

Any help appreciated, thank you.

 

so wait.. you're asking about tire opinions? there's a million threads on that already. Personally, I went through my first set of dunlops after 8500-9000 miles. i switched to Commander II's because I got them on sale.. front and rear both for $245 during one of last year's christmas sales. I really like them. Do i notice a "huge" difference between them and the dunlops? not really.
my old man always ran Metzeler's.. great tires but his always seemed to wear down very quickly because they're soft.
The Pirelli's I've always heard good things about, but no personal experience.
That's all i can really tell you.

 

Always use the same brand tire for front & rear.

It has more to do with the tire's compound that effects handling and less to do with matching the names on the sidewall.

 

Yes, there was a clue in the title.

There's a million threads about everything on here, forums are like that, but I couldn't find one asking or answering this question.

Thanks for the input.

 

I'm not sure I agree with the need to have both tires from the same maker, I'd say at least as many people I've heard from disagree as agree.

I'm also not sure that same manufacturer means same compound, presumably they make a number of different compounds and combine them in different ways for different tire types and sizes?

 

I'm having the Michelins commander II mounted at this time ( front and rear ) on the 2008 Fatboy
but I believe in a difference where you live south CA or a cold area to choose a soft or hard compound
I have the Metzelers on my 98 Fatty theyre OK to ( not to soft, good milage )

 

The American tyre manufacturers tend to favour a harder compound, which in the (generally) warmer climate, gives enough grip with decent wear. But in Europe, particularly the colder/wetter parts like the UK, those tyres don't grip as well when cold. The European manufacturers (Avon/Metzler etc) make tyres that grip much better in our climate. The Americans will probably find the grip excellent but the wear rate unacceptable. I don't imagine that us Brits will have the same wear problems for the same reason...

Still got the stock Dunflop on the front, Avon on the rear.

 

Same here. Michelin C ll on the front, Dunlap E3 on the rear. No problems.

 

Ok, here is my opinion based on personel experience of using them on a 2011 Fatboy Lo. Of course I started with the 17" wheels front and back and they are radials. The rear dunlap wore out in 3500 miles and the next one made it about 4k. The front made it through the first two rears fine and I tried a Metzler on the rear the third time and it was the worst for wearing it out and I got rid of it around 3k. The front was doing ok but changed it out with another Dunlap just cause and I went to a car tire on the back out of frustration. It wore like iron, stopped and started great but I didn't like the cornering much. It had plenty of grip but you had to muscle it through the corners because it wanted to stand up all the time. In the twisties it gave you a workout for sure. After 10k on this tire the Mitchlin Commander lls came out so had them put on front and rear. I've got over 5k on this rear and am happy with the rear but not so much with the front. Didn't like the feel of the front and lost confidence going through the twisties. I'd picked up an 18" PM wheel on ebay and put a 13" brake disc and 6 piston caliper on it so thought I would give it a try. Metzler was the only one who claimed they had a 18" radial tire of the right size so ordered one and it when it showed it wasn't a radial. I tried it anyway and didn't like it. It followed tar snakes and ruts way too much. Was getting bummed but researched 18" radials and the closest thing I could find was a Dunlap E3 radial made for a Gold Wing. It was a 130/70R18 and a bid smaller than I wanted but am very happy with it's performance. I'm back to rubbing the floorboards in the twisties. The dunlaps in 17" and 18" on the front have been good to me. On the back not so good.