Night Dragons
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 388
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From: Chicago
Night Dragons
Having a fatboy is such a drag when it comes to tires. Especially the rear tire. The stock dunlop is very poor in terms of performance from my experience and does not last long enough in my opinion. This being the case lead me to try a different brand. I had heard good things about Night Dragons. So after some search on the internet I found a good deal on front and rear. So $300 for the tires and another 200 for the install and away i went.
When brand new these tires where great borderline awesome. Turning was such an ease and joy now. They instantly made the stock dunlops seem silly for the poor handling. These tires performed well into the first 1500 miles of usage. This is where things took a turn for the worse. I then went on a 5500 mile adventure from the Midwest to the west coast and back. By the time i made the west coast the rear tire had a good amount of wear in the center and a nice flat strip. This cause a slight change in performance but still better than the dunlops. Well by the time the journey was over the belt is showing on the center section of the tire and it has a shade under 7000 miles.
So if you want a good handling tire the Night Dragons are the tire. As for wear length I would recommend finding another brand. Now only a month after install I need a new rear.
Any one with a good recommendation that handles at least decent and last almost 10,000 miles?
When brand new these tires where great borderline awesome. Turning was such an ease and joy now. They instantly made the stock dunlops seem silly for the poor handling. These tires performed well into the first 1500 miles of usage. This is where things took a turn for the worse. I then went on a 5500 mile adventure from the Midwest to the west coast and back. By the time i made the west coast the rear tire had a good amount of wear in the center and a nice flat strip. This cause a slight change in performance but still better than the dunlops. Well by the time the journey was over the belt is showing on the center section of the tire and it has a shade under 7000 miles.
So if you want a good handling tire the Night Dragons are the tire. As for wear length I would recommend finding another brand. Now only a month after install I need a new rear.
Any one with a good recommendation that handles at least decent and last almost 10,000 miles?
I got 10k out of my stock Dunlop white wall rear tire in 12 months, and it's hot here mostly all the time. It also depends on how you ride.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,056
Likes: 251
From: Connecticut
I have the Night Dragons on my Softail with the 200mm rear. Had them almost 2 months and have over 2k on them and so far they're wearing well. These are the best tires I've ever run on a cruiser. I never expected to get a lot of miles out of them and I'm ok with that. It's no secret that softer compound tires will wear quicker but ride a hell of a lot better. If I get 7k out of them like you I'll be thrilled. If I get less, I'm OK with that too. I'll take a great ride over tire life any day.
I'm wondering what tire pressure you were running them at. I run 40 to 42 in the rear and 38 to 40 for the front. On my Dyna I have Metzler's and have over 10k on them with still plenty of miles to go on them. I consistently run them at 38 on the front and 40 in the rear. When I first got them people told me I'll be lucky to get 8k from the rear. I know I'll get 12k out of them at the very least...more likely 15k. Thinking maybe I'll get 10k out of the Night Dragons.
I'm wondering what tire pressure you were running them at. I run 40 to 42 in the rear and 38 to 40 for the front. On my Dyna I have Metzler's and have over 10k on them with still plenty of miles to go on them. I consistently run them at 38 on the front and 40 in the rear. When I first got them people told me I'll be lucky to get 8k from the rear. I know I'll get 12k out of them at the very least...more likely 15k. Thinking maybe I'll get 10k out of the Night Dragons.
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,593
Likes: 11
From: Mass/NH
I have good results with both dunlop and metzler. Running dunlops now. Be careful, I had a tire delamination with a veerubber on the back...not funny...dunlops are almost half the money of the metzlers and made in usa.
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 388
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From: Chicago
Thanks guys for the feedback feel free to keep it coming.
I find it interesting that people are ok with such low mileage out of there tires. at 7,000 or less is 2 set of tires a year if I ride as much as I can. you would think with car tires getting 40,000 plus mile you could get a good performing motorcycle tire that at least gets 10,000 with no issues.
I also feel the 200mm rear tire is a misfit as i know guys running 180's on baggers getting 12K on dunlops.
I find it interesting that people are ok with such low mileage out of there tires. at 7,000 or less is 2 set of tires a year if I ride as much as I can. you would think with car tires getting 40,000 plus mile you could get a good performing motorcycle tire that at least gets 10,000 with no issues.
I also feel the 200mm rear tire is a misfit as i know guys running 180's on baggers getting 12K on dunlops.