Been looking at the Dunlop E3 tires. And I've found that there is a regular E3 tire and there is a E3 bias ply tire. Does anyone know what the difference is? And is it worth the extra $50 bucks for the regular?

 

Our bikes have bias ply tires from the factory.

This is the one you want:
http://www.jakewilson.com/p/52/-/347...otorcycle-Tire

 

I have the E3's bias ply on my 07 Road King. I was happy with the ride and durability.I have about 12000 miles on the set. The rear is pretty close to needing replacement. The front still has plenty of tread but is cupping badly and now rides like crap With the front cupping issue. I'm going to Michelin Commander II's once these are done.

 

The "regular" E3 must be the radial version. All of my experience has been with the bias ply version and I don't remember anyone in any forums talking about the radial version. I have found the bias tire to be quite satisfactory for my riding. Despite all that you may read about the E3s being great on grate bridges and not following ruts or seams in the road, EVENTUALLY they do. For me they were wonderful for about 10,000 miles and then the standard annoyances began with the ruts and seams. My past experience is that the annoyances start at around 5,000 miles on other tires. My front E3 is showing almost no wear at 23,000 miles, still so close to the new 5/32 tread depth that my gauge hardly shows any change. My first rear tire was the victim of a nail at 18,000 miles. It still had 5/32 out of 11/32 left so if wear remained constant, I expected around 30,000 miles out of that one. Oddly, the new rear tire decreased the the rut and seam following considerably, I had always believed it was just the front tire that caused that.

To get this kind of mileage out of these tires, I obviously don't ride too hard or aggressively and am especially cautious on wet pavement. These tires have never given me any surprises as far as loss of traction goes. I typically run the max sidewall pressure PLUS 4 psi front and rear and have never experienced any cupping with these tires. For those who are uncomfortable with the higher pressure, I have no idea if my gauges are accurate, read a little too high or a little too low so the extra pressure allows for a gauge which reads too high and I still have enough air to allow a little seepage between checks. If my gauges are accurate, the added pressure doesn't seem to be increasing tread wear significantly.

There is only one thing I don't like about these tires and it may just be the rear, as I didn't notice the front in this respect. When wanting to patch the nail hole in the rear tire, I found the inside of the tread area had almost a waffle texture or like a window screen cross hatching making the seal of an inside patch doubtful. If you are lucky enough to run the full mileage without a puncture, this would make no difference. Lots of folks recommend against patching cycle tires anyway. I replaced the rear E3 with another and have no particular desire to change brands from tires which have given me excellent service.

 

Awesome thanks for the info guys. I really had no idea which one that everyone was talking about.

 

Was not aware there was more than one E III type. It did however last much longer than the Michelin MC II. Just put on a Metzler 888 rear and hoping for better results.

 

I have the E3's (I believe bias) on my Classic. They have 10k on them now and look new. They handle better than anything I've had to date, and as btsom said, I run them with a little more air in them than it says too.

 

I only have about 6,000 miles on my bias ply e3 rear tire .great tire .

Cupping is usually due to frequently running under inflated.
for longer tire life,safer , better handling ride buy a quality Air gage ....cheapos can often be off buy 10lb .

be sure to check pressure frequently and keep the tire at the max listed on the side wall.

I run mine I or 2 lb over . I got 11,000 out of my last 402 , hopping for more out of the e3 .

 

Bias = HD
Radial = Goldwing

I went through two pair of E3 bias rears. About 15K on one and 17K on the other. Really liked them.

Trying the MC II's right now. So far I like them as well, but I only have about 6K on them with good wear so far.

 

You'll need the bias-ply tires. The radial sizes offered don't fit your bike.