Elite 3 tire dilemma

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Mar 28, 2011 | 10:22 PM

iclick

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From: Baton Rouge, LA

Elite 3 tire dilemma

I'm one of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the Elite 3 tire for older bikes ('08 and earlier), but I now have one concern. Whereas my rear tires have been wearing very well indeed, 20k on my first and my second wearing at the same rate, the first E3 front is shot at only 18k miles. WTF? I always got 25-35k out of D402's, but 18k is not acceptable. I've always kept pressure at 37# cold on the front, 40# on the rear. Who would've thought a rear tire of the same model would outlast a front on a Harley!? It just doesn't make sense.

I'm now wondering if I shouldn't replace the E3 front with a D402, which is something I thought I would never do. OTOH I don't like the groove tracking of the D402 and it's almost worth the lower mileage to be without it with an E3. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I may go back to the E3 rear, D402 front arrangement I ran before the present pairing.

Anyone else run into this dilemma?

Mar 28, 2011 | 10:29 PM

eathomps

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Are you being serious? 20K on a rear tire? Dude, you are not spending anywhere as much on tires as most everyone on the board. I get 14K on an E3 rear and consider that darn good. Still on my first front and expect about 20K judging by how it is wearing, which is better that the D(whatever) H-D that was on it. Given the milage you're getting, you should ask yourself which gives better handling/ride and go with that one and not worry about the 2K milage difference.

Mar 28, 2011 | 10:41 PM

iclick

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From: Baton Rouge, LA

Quote:

Originally Posted by eathomps

Good points, and I always thought the handling was superior with the E3's. Yes, 20k on a rear tire is amazing, especially since I was getting 10k with the D402's before it. I'm leaning toward going with an E3 again, but I don't like the mileage I got on the first one. OTOH, I do almost all routine braking on the front, which may explain some of the wear disparity, but I did the same with the D402. With my old Evo I got 12-14k on D402 rears and 30-35k for fronts, but I probably did more braking on the rear wheel on that bike. I started emphasizing front braking to give the rear tire a break and extend it's durability. Maybe my habits are equalizing the score more than I thought.

Last edited by iclick; Mar 28, 2011 at 11:05 PM.

Mar 28, 2011 | 10:45 PM

Mr Cujo

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Joined: May 2009

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From: Covington, Ga.

I'm over 25k on my front E3, with plenty more to go.
Given the current rate, I should easily get to 30k, probably closer to 37-38k.. but I run 40 psi instead of 37.. I wonder if that can be an issue?

'07 Ultra - FWIW

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Mar 28, 2011 | 11:10 PM

iclick

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Joined: Sep 2005

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From: Baton Rouge, LA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Cujo

I'm over 25k on my front E3, with plenty more to go.
Given the current rate, I should easily get to 30k, probably closer to 37-38k.. but I run 40 psi instead of 37.. I wonder if that can be an issue?

Maybe the E3's like higher pressures.

Mar 28, 2011 | 11:15 PM

smithbrl

Road Warrior

Joined: Oct 2008

Posts: 1,692

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From: Denham Springs, La

Bob, I remember you said you installed taller rear shocks. I don't know much about how it would effect front tire mileage, but I have a lowered front end and standard height rear and was wondering if it could cause things like this to happen.

A higher rear end may shift weight to the front and give you poorer tire mileage. If this is true there would be less weight on the rear and give you better tire mileage on the rear.
Cecil

Last edited by smithbrl; Mar 28, 2011 at 11:22 PM.

Mar 29, 2011 | 12:37 AM

dgretz

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Joined: Jul 2007

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From: NoCal

On my 5th E3 rear and range from 12-14K, on my 3rd E3 front and get 20-22K (found the front to be no better than the 402 front from a wear point). However, 402 rear on 3 of them never got above 10K

I run 42-43 psi, Dunlop tech data says to run 40psi