New Tire Recommendations?
I'd Highly recommend the night dragons. Much better than anything else I've ran, they're the best mix of traction and wear. I've actually gotten better wear with night dragons than I did with commander II's and the commander II's are pretty easy to break traction with and O.K. in the rain at best.
They're a huge improvement over the scorchers in the handling and traction department, and slightly better for wear. I think the scorchers and commander II's from Michelin are just too hard to last with aggressive driving habits and the harsh starts and burn outs just eat them quick since they're made for long highway runs IMO. I'll say guys who seem to just take long rides up and down the interstate have better wear out of most any tire but the commanders especially. I'll give up a little wear for good and predictable traction, the commander II's would never be consistent in slower speed corners where if you got on the throttle hard they might grip, or the might start sliding, and I pretty well know when my night dragons are going to start a drift on me.
Last edited by 2500hdon37s; Feb 14, 2017 at 06:23 PM.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,056
Likes: 251
From: Connecticut
I run my tires a little longer than most and swapped mine out at just under 10k miles. Realistically I probably should have swapped them out at 8k. BUT, last year Pirelli improved the Night Dragon for higher milage. At least that's what the company says. Assuming it's true I'd say 10k out of the rear tire is very realistic.
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Tourer
Joined: Jul 2013
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From: 29575
I didn't know Pirelli had a fan club, lol. The last time I looked around the Night Dragons were regarded as low mileage so I will have to check those out again. I average 7k miles on the back so anything more than that is just gravy and would help justify spending a little more.
Thanks to JekylllnHyde for the tip on the Shinkos. I tend not to cheap out even if I am planning on trading bikes but if it is a decent tire I wouldn't have a problem with it.
A lot more information here than hours and hours reading on manufacturers websites.
I also forgot to ask what size you folks are running. I have a 180/55 now and like the profile.
Thanks to JekylllnHyde for the tip on the Shinkos. I tend not to cheap out even if I am planning on trading bikes but if it is a decent tire I wouldn't have a problem with it.
A lot more information here than hours and hours reading on manufacturers websites.
I also forgot to ask what size you folks are running. I have a 180/55 now and like the profile.
Last edited by Lucky Doug; Feb 15, 2017 at 07:02 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 10,907
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From: Galt's Gulch - MI
The Pirelli Night Dragons have quite a fan club here in the Dyna forum; they are that good 
I can't speak to long term mileage, I tend to change mine out around every 6k or so, not because they've worn out but rather I like the feel of new shoes; I'm always over the top when it comes to maintenance and I'm a rather aggressive rider in the curves so I see frequent tire changes as part of the price of admission; I've got a new set of Night Dragons sitting here to spoon on her before spring.
The Wide Glide runs a 180/60-17 rear and the front is a 90/90-21. One thing to consider if you do go with Night Dragons. Due to their more rounded performance oriented profile you need to be more mindful of your tire pressures. On my front I run 40 - 42 PSI and on the rear 42 - 44 PSI. As you get used to the Night Dragons you'll begin to detect how even a 1 or 2 pound change in pressures alters the handling and feel of the bike; but don't run them too low, they'll handle poorly and tire wear is greatly accelerated...
I can't speak to long term mileage, I tend to change mine out around every 6k or so, not because they've worn out but rather I like the feel of new shoes; I'm always over the top when it comes to maintenance and I'm a rather aggressive rider in the curves so I see frequent tire changes as part of the price of admission; I've got a new set of Night Dragons sitting here to spoon on her before spring.
The Wide Glide runs a 180/60-17 rear and the front is a 90/90-21. One thing to consider if you do go with Night Dragons. Due to their more rounded performance oriented profile you need to be more mindful of your tire pressures. On my front I run 40 - 42 PSI and on the rear 42 - 44 PSI. As you get used to the Night Dragons you'll begin to detect how even a 1 or 2 pound change in pressures alters the handling and feel of the bike; but don't run them too low, they'll handle poorly and tire wear is greatly accelerated...
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,056
Likes: 251
From: Connecticut
I didn't know Pirelli had a fan club, lol. The last time I looked around the Night Dragons were regarded as low mileage so I will have to check those out again. I average 7k miles on the back so anything more than that is just gravy and would help justify spending a little more.
Thanks to JekylllnHyde for the tip on the Shinkos. I tend not to cheap out even if I am planning on trading bikes but if it is a decent tire I wouldn't have a problem with it.
A lot more information here than hours and hours reading on manufacturers websites.
I also forgot to ask what size you folks are running. I have a 180/55 now and like the profile.
Thanks to JekylllnHyde for the tip on the Shinkos. I tend not to cheap out even if I am planning on trading bikes but if it is a decent tire I wouldn't have a problem with it.
A lot more information here than hours and hours reading on manufacturers websites.
I also forgot to ask what size you folks are running. I have a 180/55 now and like the profile.
Keep in mind what I said in my other post. The new Pirelli Night Dragons are designed to get more miles. I read that Pirelli said up to 20% more tire life. They're actually called Night Dragon GT's. Here's an article about them.
http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2015/11/19/...-more-mileage/
Last edited by JekyllnHyde; Feb 15, 2017 at 11:15 AM.
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