Harley Davidson Sportster Tire Review: Options and Recommendations

You are passionate about your Harley Davidson Sportster, so you will want to get the best tires for your bike. Harley enthusiasts are always more than casual about their particular model and they look for the best parts for them. Many different companies manufacture tires for the Harley Davidson Sportster and it’s a safe bet that one of them will be a great choice for your motorcycle.

Motorcycle tires are very important. In fact, in many ways they are more important than tires on a car. That’s because a bike is much lighter than a car and rather than four tires for stability, your Harley Davidson only has two. The Sportster is lighter even than some of the other Harleys, so this is even more true of this type of bike. Those two tires are what keep you from sliding when you hit some gravel. They will make the difference between taking that turn and wiping out. That makes the tires a very important piece of safety equipment on your Harley Sportster, so you should make a careful choice when buying tires.

Avon Gripster

The Gripster has a deeper tread pattern. This will not only allow it
to grab more of the road, but it will also make the tire last longer.
These tires should cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 to
$150.

Avon Roadrunner

The Roadrunner’s tread is designed to make driving on wet pavement
safer. They also help a lot on cornering. The Roadrunner will probably
be priced somewhere between $150 to $210.

Avon Roadrider

The Roadrider is designed to create the maximum amount of tire in
contact with the road when your tire is at an angle. This definitely
makes it safer on turns. Figure on paying up to $150 for this tire.

Bridgestone Spitfire

This is a tire that’s designed as an around tire for balanced
riding. That means that if you don’t do a lot of special needs riding,
it might be a good choice. This one should be cheaper than any of the
Avon tires.

Dunlop Roadsmart

The Dunlop Roadsmart is designed to help with wet driving and also
provide superior handling in general. You can probably expect to pay
more than $125, but less than $200.

Metzeler Roadtec

This tire is designed specifically to provide superior handling at
lean angles. It should be priced in the same neighborhood as the Dunlop
Roadsmart.

Michelin

If you go to your Harley Davidson dealer to buy tires for your
Sportster, you will probably be getting Michelin tires. They are the
“stock” tires for Harley Davidson and the advantage they convey is that
they bring you to the factory specifications and handling. You’ll
probably pay somewhere in the same vicinity as if you bought one of the
last couple tires listed here.

Never discount the importance of good tires on your Harley Davidson
Sportster. If you buy a cheap tire to save a few dollars you might
regret that decision in a skid on the road somewhere. Get a good tire
(and one that’s best for your type of riding) and you can be confident
to truly enjoy the road on your Sportster.