NOT FOR Iron or Nightster Owners
#1
NOT FOR Iron or Nightster Owners
I've really been waiting to say that after reading all the Nightster or Iron ONLY threads around here lately. This thread is for you folks that have regular Sporties, the ones that aren't slammed or get a kick out of dragging your frames on the ground. This does require vertical fender clearance.
I posted a thread a little over a year ago about successfully mounting a Metzler 880 160/80-16 on my Sporty. Since then I have been through two of the 160 Metz tires on the rear and I've been extremely happy with their performance and mileage with both tires going between 15,000 and 16,000 miles on each one. That is far better than the first two stock Dunlops I ran which went between 10,500 and 11,000 miles, not to mention the Metz having much better handling characteristics.
In the past year, the bagger guys have been raving about the "fairly new" Dunlop Elite 3 tires, with many claiming to be getting 17,000 to 20,000 miles out of the rear. Not bad given the weight of a bagger, and I suspect the mileage should be even better on the lighter weight Sporty.
Well, I mounted my last Metz 880 the first of April and here it is 7 months and 14,000 miles later. I have a trip coming up next weekend and didn't feel like pushing the last 2K miles out of the current Metzler, so I decided to go ahead and replace it.
The short and sweet bottom line is that a Dunlop E3 160/80-16 does and will fit on your Sporty without modification. I installed it today without any problem. The E3 is cut slightly narrower the the stock 401/402 series Dunlop tires which is what allows the 160 to fit, and it is supposedly been designed to compete against the popular Avon and Metzler tires.
Note: The E3 does have a taller profile that the stock 401/402 Dunlop series, so if lowering the bike is your thing, this is not for you.
I'll try to post back in 6 months or so (that should be about 12,000 miles) and let you know how these things are performing and holding up.
I posted a thread a little over a year ago about successfully mounting a Metzler 880 160/80-16 on my Sporty. Since then I have been through two of the 160 Metz tires on the rear and I've been extremely happy with their performance and mileage with both tires going between 15,000 and 16,000 miles on each one. That is far better than the first two stock Dunlops I ran which went between 10,500 and 11,000 miles, not to mention the Metz having much better handling characteristics.
In the past year, the bagger guys have been raving about the "fairly new" Dunlop Elite 3 tires, with many claiming to be getting 17,000 to 20,000 miles out of the rear. Not bad given the weight of a bagger, and I suspect the mileage should be even better on the lighter weight Sporty.
Well, I mounted my last Metz 880 the first of April and here it is 7 months and 14,000 miles later. I have a trip coming up next weekend and didn't feel like pushing the last 2K miles out of the current Metzler, so I decided to go ahead and replace it.
The short and sweet bottom line is that a Dunlop E3 160/80-16 does and will fit on your Sporty without modification. I installed it today without any problem. The E3 is cut slightly narrower the the stock 401/402 series Dunlop tires which is what allows the 160 to fit, and it is supposedly been designed to compete against the popular Avon and Metzler tires.
Note: The E3 does have a taller profile that the stock 401/402 Dunlop series, so if lowering the bike is your thing, this is not for you.
I'll try to post back in 6 months or so (that should be about 12,000 miles) and let you know how these things are performing and holding up.
#2
#4
#5
#6
Just to clarify, I did not move away from the Metzler 880 because I was dissatisfied. The mileage and performance of the 880's in my opinion, is great. Far superior to the stock Dunflops.
I decided to give the E3 a try because of the rave reviews they were getting over in the Touring section. That, and along with the continued cost increases lately on both Avon & Metzler tires. The best price I could get on a Metz 160/80-60 was $173.00 delivered. That's up from $150.00 a year ago.
The Dunlop 160 E3 was $151.00 delivered.
I decided to give the E3 a try because of the rave reviews they were getting over in the Touring section. That, and along with the continued cost increases lately on both Avon & Metzler tires. The best price I could get on a Metz 160/80-60 was $173.00 delivered. That's up from $150.00 a year ago.
The Dunlop 160 E3 was $151.00 delivered.
#7
Trending Topics
#8
#9