Haven't purchased tires for any of my Harleys so this is a first for me. The 19 Street Glide is sticking around so she is in need. Looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance........

 

Sticky at the cost of longevity - Avon Cobras or Shinko 777

Long life, quality tire - Michelin Commander 3

That's my opinion, rooted in evidence with the Commander 3 rear tire that is nearing replacement on my bike. I'd have to look, but I know it's 20k miles give or take a smidge. I've had Commander 2, Metz 888, and American Elites. None have come close to the C3.

 

Dunlop American Elite

 

AE all the way

 

AE's till we see how they perform after they move production to south east Asia.......
And hopefully the C3's have had their issues cleared up so we can buy them again if the NEW AE's suck.....

 

The rear AE’s are bad to “cup” on my bike.

 

Just a FWIW.... to share some motorcycle tire info.....

The Tonowanda (Buffalo), NY plant that used to make the Dunlop American Elite tires was closed down. There are no more American made motorcycle tires.

The Parent company is Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI). They acquired the Dunlop Motorcycle Tire Brand from Goodyear in 2015. SRI made some upgrades to the Tonowanda Plant, which was making about 2800 motorcycle tires a day. Apparently the upgrades/changes weren't enough and SRI closed the plant, rather suddenly, in November. Sadly it was a shock to the employees of the plant.

SRI already had plans in place, and have started production of the American Elite replacement tire, but unfortunately in an overseas plant.

I bought a new set of American Elite tires for one on my Softails on 12/24/24. My tire guy knew of the closure of the Tonowanda Plant, and that the American Elite tires were no longer going to be produced in America. At that time, he hadn't heard what the name of the replacement American Elite tire would be, or where it was going to be made. He told me his supplier had a rather large supply of American made, American Elite tires in his supply house. He said it would "be awhile" before he ran out of them.

Another tire vendor I know, said he went to the Drag trade show in Kentucky, January 25th. He said that Dunlop Division of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, is still making American Elite Tires. They are going to call them the "America Elite2" tires. He couldn't remember if they were being made in a plant in Thailand or Indonesia.

The Dunlop reps had one of the new American Elite2 tires for display. The vendor reported that the AE2 tires looked to have a "much more rounded profile, and looks like it ought to stick pretty well." He said Dunlop reps are claiming they will get better mileage than the current America Elite tires.

Sorry for all the second hand info, but the two tire vendors I quoted, I have known for some years and they have always shared good info in the past.

I am not pleased that the American Elite tires are no longer going to be made in the US.

I was also pretty PO'd the way they closed the plant suddenly, leaving the rather long tenured, skilled, and loyal work force suddenly without a job.

I have, however, used American Elite tires since changing to them from the "Goodyear Eagle A/T" tires on my old '80 Lowrider in about 1988-1989. I currently have them on all four of my HD bikes: 3 Softails and 1 Bagger.

Since there is no other American Made motorcycle tires, I will probably give the new American Elite2 tires a try, before moving on to another make/model of tire...

 

Have never had a sidewall or tread crack on a Michelin, BUT has anyone installed a Commander III FRONT tire in the last 6 to 12 months and dies it vibrate and/or buzz? Dunlop AEs seem to have a lot of happy customers, any sidewall or tread cracks in the same time frame?

 

Avon cobra for ultimate grip in wet or dry.

Continental Conti Tours for good all around performance and a smooth ride.

 

After running stock Dunlops for 14 years on five bikes I decided to make a change.

When the dealership quoted me $800.00 for two tires installed I knew it was time to shop and hopefully find a better option for both performance and price.

My research showed that Michelin had fixed the early issues on the Commander III and I read and watched a lot of good reviews. On top of that I got a great price from Dennis Kirk which made it a no brainer. Front and rear delivered to my home for $445.00. I installed them myself.

I’ve had them on my RG for 7 months and have about 5k miles on them. They have seen twisties, interstate, wet and dry conditions. My impression is they are MUCH better than the stock HD Dunlops. I plan to add them to my SGS when the time comes.