[mbake11]

I am buying my first set of new tires this weekend and was told to get the Dunlop Elite 3's by the Honda dealer. What do you think?

 

[Badrider]

Hi mbake11, are you riding a 1800 or 1500?

 

[L2R]

http://www.goldwingowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5041&highlight=elite

 

[Radarsdad]

I replaced both stock tires on my '08 last November. A couple friends said to stick with the Dunlops and a couple said go with the Bridgestones. I asked a very Wing-savvy salesman his opinion and he said "buy the "Stones"... hands down!"

I did buy the Stones and the difference was like night and day (compared to the OEMs). I've put 3000 miles on them so far and love the way they perform. I would not hesitate buying Bridgestones again but I'm sure the Dunlops E3s are great tires as well. JMHO

 

[detdrbuzzard]

both my wings roll on dunlop e-3's

 

[willmax]

I use the E-3's.

 

[Dookoo]

E3's have been good to me. My brother bought the new Stones in 70 profile. I will ride when I get a chance to compare differences. He likes them but has never had E3's.

 

[Rambler444]

I have a 2001 1800A I just aquired, and I was thinking about the Metzlers m880 , I ran those on my kawasaki vulcan nomad 1500, was gonna check them out for the wing, so whatdo yaou think about this I have had no problem with them on my old bike ,

 

[Chopin]

I have a 2001 1800A I just aquired, and I was thinking about the Metzlers m880 , I ran those on my kawasaki vulcan nomad 1500, was gonna check them out for the wing, so whatdo yaou think about this I have had no problem with them on my old bike ,

I have Metz M880's front and rear. About 11,000 on the rear and about 5,000 on the front. The rear has good tread left and the cupping is visibly and audibly noticeable. The front cupping is still superficial. I do a lot of highway miles and it seems to be that 10,000 to 15,000 is the best we can hope for from the three major brands spoken of here. I should note that I have been averaging 10,000 miles a riding season, so in terms of " how long " they last........well I wish it were longer.

 

[willmax]

If you got 'em at Maxim, you must be in North Texas.

 

[05bluewing]

They call them Dunslips for a reason. Horrible in the rain and on fresh asphalt ! Had a set on only for 4,500 miles. Worst tires I ever had . The wife was afraid to ride with them on , they slipped that bad. They also gave my bike the dreaded wobble also. I put on Stones and was I very pleased I wouldn't ride on any bike with Dunflops, very unsafe tires. JMHO. My stones grip very well in rain while in the twisties. Buy something besides E 3's.

 

[05bluewing]

Dunlops to me have always been "loud". They tend to cup and then when you go through the curves they roar at you. I am currently running the E3s because they came on the bike. I have a friend that is very happy with the "stones". I think, due to the good luck I have had with them on my Concours, I will try the Shinko 757s.

Do a search at gl1800 riders and I think you will change your mind about the Shinko tires.

 

[LarryinSeattle]

Have I mentioned on this forum that I use a car tire on the back of my bike?

It cost me $87 shipped to my door and it is good for 30,000 miles.

I just did 900 miles on this three day weekend. I just got home an hour ago... Great weekend.

 

[Eric]

Now let me see. Someone called Larryin Seattlle and a ct. Yes he has said something about ct on his bike.LOL. Good to hear you had a grerat ride.Eric

 

[Paul H]

I have run with both the Stones and the E 3's on my 1800. If you ride in the rain and have tar snakes in your area I would stay away from the E 3's. The mileage was slightly better on the E 3's but the handling was terrible and the rear was noisy.
I am trying the Stone ZR tires next and will report how they work out.
Depends on your riding habits tho.

 

[ptwingmn]

Here we go again with the tires and whcih is best........they're all good and they all have pros and cons. And depending on how you ride, how your bike is set up and what you like is how good the tire is. If you are comfortable with it and it does the job as you expected then its a good tire. Now for my input and two cents worth: I have used the Bridgestone: they were great when new and handled very good but wore out fast and exaggerated the wobble. I used the Metzler's and took them off aftere 200 miles. I didn't like anything about them. I went back to the Dunlop E3"s and stayed with them exclusively for years and 2 bikes. They were as everyone says, noisy, not stable in the rain, followed the tar strips and cupped bad and handle terrible when they wore out. So I changed them alot. But I stayed with what I knew and consequencely thought they were good tires for what they did. Then I reluctantly changed to the Avon Cobra's last year. Some of you may have followed my posts about them. I am now putting on my second set of Avon Cobra's. They are the best handling tire I have ever had on any of my wings. They are quite when new and when worn, they handle as good worn as they do new, they are great in the rain, and they do not follow road grooves, tar strips or wonder on steel brideges. I recently got 15,475 on the front and 12,475 on the rear before changing them. Initially I had an out of round rear tire and had to change it other wise the milage would have been the same on front and rear. I think there was easily still about 2500 miles left on both of the tires but I am going on a long trip in July so I changed them both. I would consider all the above tires and match them with your riding style, and be realistic with your expectations. I have over 30 years of riding so I have seen the good the bad and the ugly. For me it would be Avons or Dunlops. For now it is Avon.
Good luck and be safe, have fun. PS: stay away form car tires and Shinko. (I may have opened up a can of worms!!)

 

[LarryinSeattle]

What kind of oil does everyone use?

 

[ptwingmn]

What kind of oil does everyone use?

Larry, I never thought you'd ask, but since you did..............
In over 30 years of riding I have used it all. For a long time I was strictly a Honda line user. Then I used Gastrol for years, then back to Honda line synthetic blend. But I stayed mostly with the Gastrol semi-synthetics. I used Amsoil full synthetic a few times and definetly noticed a differences in the shifting and clunking reduction whole shifting. I rescently had Amsoil full synthetic in the bike but changed it to Valvoline full synthetic. I have almost 100,000 miles on the bike and have not had any mechanical problems with it. So which oil is best???

 

[lakecharles]

I hear the E3's are great. I rode nothing less than Metzler 880's on my Road Star; I absolutely loved them; but I will probably go with the E3's on the Wing.

 

[WeldNut]

No problem with the Stones on my 2012, have had them in the rain, construction, high speed interstate and back roads. Even layed into a curve and scraped a footpeg, felt very secure. So for the first 1200 miles, I like them.

WeldNut