Pirelli Night Dragon
 

I need to pick a new tire to order tomorrow. I am thinking of trying the Pirelli Night Dragon. I have done a ton of reading and it looks like its also designed to fit a 4.5 inch rim.

I can find threads were several people say they were going to try them but none were anyone actually did.

Anyone

I am also interested in this tire but I haven't been able to find much (if any) user feedback.

I found lots of reviews which were all good as far as handling went but none from people mounting the 180 on a Dyna.

I finally scrubbed off the rest of my rubber and I am going to try and get my Night Dragon mounted up tomorrow, I'll post about the fit as soon as I get it on, I hope it fits! I should take the wheels off now, but I am on the :icon_couch:
CB

BBerck, you probably have to be a guinea pig and just do it. I'm sure lots of people would be interested to know the outcome. It's nice t have an alternative to the SE GT502. I have also emailed Pirelli and they say it was designed to fit a 4.5" rim. Pirelli is a well-known company that has been around for a long time. I doubt they'd put their name on something that is sub-standard. At least I hope they wouldn't.

Dragon Tire
 

BBerk,
Yup, you're gonna have to be the guinea pig. Unfortunately I saw your post about the Pirelli tire about a week after I ordered a new SE180 thinking there was no other option.

So keep us posted, we'll be watching :icon_munching:

Still debating right now but leaning towards just getting the SE for now and this winter giving the Night Dragon a try if the reviews stay good. I plan to do wheels before next spring so will replace both tires at that time.

Well I will let some one else be the Guinea Pig I ordered the SE 180.

My buddies Duece looks good with the SE 180 on it and was only $45 more than the Night Dragon. I know I wont have issues with it, so it was worth the extra $.

I hope the Night Dragon turns out to be a good alternative. I figure this one will only last through the rest of this year anyway. Then it will be time for a front as well and can go with the Night Dragons front and rear if they turn out to fit good.

Installed the Night Dragon rear and it fits with no problems. I also used the wide tire brackets and SS button head bolts, they actually route the wires much better. I replaced the front with a Night Dragon too. I have not ridden on them yet, I'll post when I get some miles on them.
CB

That looks great, I'll be needing a new tire pretty soon, I think I may go Pirelli.
I'd like to see the SE 180 beside the Pirelli just for reference.

It just came out fairly recently didn't it? I was gonna try one on my EG but not enough feedback here either..

looks great. cant wait to hear some feedback on how the perform. keep us posted.

Looks good man. I look forward to hearing how they handle and what kind of wear you get.

If anyone is going to run the Night Dragons Pirelli recommends 44psi in the rear and 36 in the front, just an FYI
CB

First impressions of the Night Dragons
 

:icon_woot:
Took it for a good rip today and all I can say is that a new set of tires really improves the handling! The only tires I can compare these Pirelli Night Dragons to are the stock Dunlops so I can't and won't say they are better or worse than any other brand than the stock dunlops I have been running. I have never felt more confident cornering with these new tires. I never felt the stock front tire was sticking, always felt like it was going to slip at any moment so I think the biggest improvement was the installation of a "good" front tire! The rear definitely sticks much better out of a corner, I could always feel the stock K591 (both of them) slip on acceleration out of the corner and this is just not evident with the Night Dragon. Straight line stability is extremely good too, they do not follow the grooves or ruts in the road as the stock Dunlops did. There are also no clearance issues at all with the 180 rear. The jury is still out on wear.

IMHO, the stock front Dunlop D401 is CRAP and I don't recommend running the front to its limit, when you need to replace your O.E rear, replace the O.E. front at the same time! I wish I had, I would have had 7K of much more enjoyable miles. One thing I don't understand why they run the D-401 on the front and a K591 on the rear, they should at least run a front K591 to match as I believe the K591s are a better or stickier tire Than the 401s. That said, the Night Dragon is superior to the stock K591/D401 combo for cornering and straight line stability, IMHO.

Hands down these are quality set of tires that I doubt anyone would be disappointed with.
:icon_biggrin:
CB

Good to hear. Now thinking about these in addition to Avon Venoms.