seriously....tire made in '01
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,459
Likes: 2,896
From: Oklahoma
I got 30,000 trouble free miles out of my front D402. At that point i installed front and rear E3 and have been happy with them. I have put 26,000 on the front tire and it shows no measurable wear from the 5/32 original tread depth. At that rate, it will "age out" before it wears out. Some people complain about noise from the front E3 but with my ears it takes a good imagination for me to believe I hear it.
I got 18,000 miles on the first E3 rear tire when a nail got it. I had 5/32 remaining from the original 11/32. The inside surface of the tread area had a cross hatch texture that made me suspect a patch would not be dependable. I have no idea how other manufacturers' tires look on the inside. I replaced it with another E3. I have started to think about a D402 for the front and an E3 for the rear because they would war out in about the same mileage, just a random thought for the moment. According to my son who was a tire tech for several years, 12 years old is very old for a tire. The rubber gets hard and slippery and he has seen the bead cables rust to the point they broke when dismounting a tire of that age. You are wise to change it.
I got 18,000 miles on the first E3 rear tire when a nail got it. I had 5/32 remaining from the original 11/32. The inside surface of the tread area had a cross hatch texture that made me suspect a patch would not be dependable. I have no idea how other manufacturers' tires look on the inside. I replaced it with another E3. I have started to think about a D402 for the front and an E3 for the rear because they would war out in about the same mileage, just a random thought for the moment. According to my son who was a tire tech for several years, 12 years old is very old for a tire. The rubber gets hard and slippery and he has seen the bead cables rust to the point they broke when dismounting a tire of that age. You are wise to change it.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 27,097
Likes: 4,676
From: Frozelandia, Minnysota
I bought a used (all my bikes are used) Sportster a few years ago with "new" tires - and there was no wear on them. The dates were both 10 years old, so I tossed tires that didn't get used. Old tires seem to be normal with used bikes, especially with Dunlop tires since they seem to last forever if you don't actually wear them out, but I'm not saying those dried out hard rubber old tires handle very well. Bought a trail bike just last month that had a '93 knobby on the front. That's my record for oldest tire on a bike I've bought. Wasn't high mileage, but that old, I pulled the wheel bearings, too, and they were dry and rusty - that's a sign of someone using a car wash/pressure washer on it, will force water and grit right into the wheel bearings, if they're exposed at all. Or maybe someone just liked riding in creeks... Just a heads up about new bearings: a lot of them sold by bike shops are just fancy packaged Chinese bearings. I've seen KML (Chinese company) bearings in All ***** and Moose Racing packages. If you want a premium American bearing, search bearing wholesalers on the internet, you can find all the brands, and sometimes the best cost about the same. I always pry up a seal and check that it's actually been greased (very rare if not, but not happens!), though I've never found an American made that wasn't ok. I also spin them by hand a few times to make sure the ***** or rollers get coated before putting a bike load on them; the factory often just squirts a bit on one side and never turns them, so the first time you move on them, they're dry for a bit. I've changed thousands of bearings, have seen a lot of bearing horror stories that were avoidable with a little care.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,034
Likes: 128
The Pit Possee link you provided shows it to be out of stock currently.
On the other hand I think the stealers charge 1/2 hour labor to replace front wheel bearings if you take the wheel in. So, that would be about $50.00 + price of bearings, give or take a little. Considering you don't have a jack or the puller you might be money ahead to just have the dealer do it. and be done with it. They will have the old pressed out and the new pressed in before you can finish a cold drink and take a comfort break.
On the other hand I think the stealers charge 1/2 hour labor to replace front wheel bearings if you take the wheel in. So, that would be about $50.00 + price of bearings, give or take a little. Considering you don't have a jack or the puller you might be money ahead to just have the dealer do it. and be done with it. They will have the old pressed out and the new pressed in before you can finish a cold drink and take a comfort break.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
