M
ManxMuscle
Guest
I thought I'd share this with you all.
Having completed over 7,000 miles on my F, it was time for some new rubber. The original dunlops had lost their initial roundness and the tread was fast approaching the legal limit.
Wow, what a range of prices!
Replacing like with like, the dunlop elite 3's, ranged from about ?350 fitted using a local tyre company to over ?500 fitted by a Harley dealer. The Harley dealer priced the tyres on their own at ?200 more than I could get them online. And they told me that was a competitive price !
After much googling I opted for Avon Cobras and had them fitted locally (there's no Harley dealer on the Isle of Man). Cost me ?270 + shipping and ?40 for fit the pair.
What a difference !!
Now, I'm not sure whether I rode very carefully when I picked up my F and didn't take full advantage of the new, fully rounded tyres or whether the dunlops just didn't perform that well.
It is like a new bike!
Chucking it into corners it just seems to want more and feels a lot more sure footed than on the old rubber. I certainly didn't scrub the dunlops all the way to the edge.
It could be that having owned it for 18 months, it's still bright and shinny, I'm just a bit more reckless than I was and little less concerned over how much I spent on it.
One disappointing part of the tale; when the back wheel eventually came off (for the very first time), the spindle and bearings was caked in rust. This apparently is because they are assembled dry and there's no grease or oil applied to prevent it rusting up.
Having completed over 7,000 miles on my F, it was time for some new rubber. The original dunlops had lost their initial roundness and the tread was fast approaching the legal limit.
Wow, what a range of prices!
Replacing like with like, the dunlop elite 3's, ranged from about ?350 fitted using a local tyre company to over ?500 fitted by a Harley dealer. The Harley dealer priced the tyres on their own at ?200 more than I could get them online. And they told me that was a competitive price !
After much googling I opted for Avon Cobras and had them fitted locally (there's no Harley dealer on the Isle of Man). Cost me ?270 + shipping and ?40 for fit the pair.
What a difference !!
Now, I'm not sure whether I rode very carefully when I picked up my F and didn't take full advantage of the new, fully rounded tyres or whether the dunlops just didn't perform that well.
It is like a new bike!
Chucking it into corners it just seems to want more and feels a lot more sure footed than on the old rubber. I certainly didn't scrub the dunlops all the way to the edge.
It could be that having owned it for 18 months, it's still bright and shinny, I'm just a bit more reckless than I was and little less concerned over how much I spent on it.
One disappointing part of the tale; when the back wheel eventually came off (for the very first time), the spindle and bearings was caked in rust. This apparently is because they are assembled dry and there's no grease or oil applied to prevent it rusting up.