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Saw the Pirelli rep 2 weeks ago at Ron Ayers Motorsports and told him about my experience with the Dragon on mY FLHTC...told him they rode good but 5000 miles and they were shot...he said they were not designed for longetivity but performance... the ME880 was a longer lasting tire that is almost the same feel....The ND was really smooth on my bike but 5000 miles i can't afford that...
You should be running at least 42psi on rear.
Maybe with a lighter bike you can get 6000 miles...enjoy.

 

I put the night dragon on my night train I don't feel the cracks in the road like I use to with the Dunlop and the bike handles great .. Very happy with this tire and it's peformance

 

I have had the ND's on my deuce for about 3000 miles and they are great. I notice a little wear but not to much yet. For all you Deuce riders their 180/60/17 fit perfect with no mods!

 

ND"s are my #2 tire. Great traction and wear. Went through 3 of them on my rear. Didnt like them on the front and went back to the ME880. Now I run the Mich Commander II's. Same traction but these last longer.

 

I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or add to this one...

I just installed a set on a 2007 FXSTC. I went with the 90/90-21 front and the 200/55-17 rear.

I just got them put on yesterday.
Initial thoughts.

1) The rear tire required a lot of balance weight. 20grams on one side and 35grams on the other that means the tire at that point is 55grams lighter than the other side. seems like a lot. The front required 30grams to balance again a lot more than the Dunlops I have had on before.

2) Even thought the front tire is slightly larger than the stock MH90. When I first got on the bike after having the tires installed I felt like I was riding down hill. The rear tire is taller than the used 407 Dunlop that came off. I felt weird for the first few miles. I now wish I would have measured the circumference of the front and rear tire before changing them.

3) Ride. I haven't checked the tire pressures but the ride is harder than the 407s. I normally run 40psi front and 38psi rear. I'll have to check them and report back.

4) Cornering, obviously a huge difference between the ND and the Dunlop 407/402. The tire has a more rounded profile (sport bike tire like versus the flat profile of the Dunlops) which makes trying into the corner much easier. There is a nice twisty road 1 mile from where I had the tires installed. I did not push it as I need to get the mold release off the tires before pushing to hard. BUT... The bike turns into the corners much easier and mid corner corrections take MUCH less effort.

5) The bike is a bit less stable or you could say the bike is more agile. Take your pick! As above the bike turns and corners better but straight line stability is reduced, it is a trade off.

So wear... we will see but this is what I have been getting on the Dunlops
402 front and rear - I wear out the front and rear in 9000 miles.
407 rear - I wear out the rear in 6000 miles ( I change front and rear together, but front is 402 and would last to 9000 miles)
I don't do burnouts.
One problem in comparison going forward... I changed the cams from stock to SE255 cams, one week before I put these tires on. The bike accelerates faster which means I'm asking more from the rear tire.

As you can see above wearing out the front tire in under 9000 miles means I like to ride twisty roads. I push the bike reasonably hard (I have to replace the primary drain plug every 2 oil changes as that is the first thing to grind when turning left). I do tend to feel the front end wash out/ slide when pushing hard through the turns. I'm hoping the ND have a bit more grip and eliminate this issue.

For all that are worried about the cost of tires versus wear. I think it depends on riding style. Where I ride and how I ride it is more important to have tires that stick than long wearing, $300 for a set of tires is much cheaper than damaged chrome, a paint job or my life!!!!

 

It looks like I will have to try these after my ME880's wear out. Mileage is less of my concern as well. A sticky tire that handles good is what i am after. I like the Cofmmander II's, I like the Metzeler's. Metzeler has come out with a new tire as well that is similar to an 880 but a "high mileage" tire. ME888 however it is only available in limited sizes as of right now. Michelin has also released the Commander II's in lots of new sizes that were not available last year.

 

Night Dragons have been great tires. I am planning a trip from Iowa to California on the tires. They already have about 3-4K on them.

Overall, great tires.

 

Update:

As posted above I put a 90/90-21 on the front and 200/55-17 on the rear.

I don't remember and I did not measure "new" tread depth but I believe the rear was around 6mm. I thought I found that information somewhere... but can't find it again.

I measured the tread depth the other day after 3000miles and I have 3.9mm in the center and 5mm just off center and 5.2mm on the outside just before the tread gets shallower as it goes towards the edge.

What I have noticed with both the D402 and D407 rears the rear would spin more coming out of the corners. As mentioned above I had the stock cam with the D402/407 and change it a week before the ND. I now have SE255 and I think there is more bottom end available. I would have thought the tire would spin more. The ND doesn't spin like the Dunlops on corner exit.

I think new front is 4mm. I did not measure the front as it looked good. I was a bit more interested and concerned about the rear. As mentioned before I tend to replace front and rear together. The front doesn't seem to be wearing as fast so I might be able to get 2 rears to 1 front with these tires.

Disclaimer... I have not tried Commanders or MEs