1st Set of American Elite Tires

[Scurvy]

What`s the mfg. date Scurvy?

Scooter - Front was 2512, Rear is 2212, purchased in July, 2013. A year old then when I got them.

I made an error on my original post, tires were purchased from Jake Wilson, not Dennis Kirk, and this new set from them as well. Front tire date code is 1514 on the new one, still waiting on the new rear to arrive.

[Ken R]

I've changed a lot of tires Dunlop AE tires for people and have never seen any cracking or damage like you pictured above. 
Is that major cracking in just one place around the perimeter or all the way around?   If that were a car tire taken in for warranty, I'm sure the dealer would claim "road damage", even if it wasn't.  (they do that a lot)


I'm most surprised at the surface cracking under the raised lettering.  Makes the tire look like it's 4 or 5 years old instead of less than a year.  I have some AE take-offs down in my workshop right now, think I'll go down and inspect them closely. 


If you ever cut a cross section of one of these AE tires, you'll see that the sidewalls are probably a half inch thick and the tread portion is like 1-1/4" thick.  It's a lot of work to cut them with a Sawzall.  I finally used a chop saw with a steel-cutting 12" blade.  Stinky and messy. 


Ken


 

What`s the mfg. date Scurvy?

Scooter - Front was 2512, Rear is 2212, purchased in July, 2013. A year old then when I got them.

I made an error on my original post, tires were purchased from Jake Wilson, not Dennis Kirk, and this new set from them as well. Front tire date code is 1514 on the new one, still waiting on the new rear to arrive.

[Scurvy]

I've changed a lot of tires Dunlop AE tires for people and have never seen any cracking or damage like you pictured above. 
Is that major cracking in just one place around the perimeter or all the way around?   If that were a car tire taken in for warranty, I'm sure the dealer would claim "road damage", even if it wasn't.  (they do that a lot)
I'm most surprised at the surface cracking under the raised lettering.  Makes the tire look like it's 4 or 5 years old instead of less than a year.  I have some AE take-offs down in my workshop right now, think I'll go down and inspect them closely. 

Ken - I've exclusively used Dunlops throughout the years and have never seen that before either. The crack runs the perimeter, 2 to 4 inches in length, then a few inches, then another crack. Only the right side tho. I'm sure Dunlop would say the same thing and I'm going to pretty much treat this as the luck of the draw. I ride the bike hard, but it's always been garage stored and sits on plywood.

[fourthgear]

Might not hurt to send them a photo & see what they say , might be to your benefit , ya never know .

[Ken R]

Might not hurt to send them a photo & see what they say , might be to your benefit , ya never know .

I've found Dunlop very receptive and eager to give me information when I've talked to their reps. 

[smokein]

My stock front dunlop did that last year. I called dunlop and they sent me to my dealer with a free tire swapout. Tire had 10k on it.

[klammer76]

I'm in the market for new tires for my 02 FLHTC since my Avon Venoms are worn out and have been discontinued. Was considering going back to a Metzler with the ME888. I never personally had any problems with ME880's before the Avon but those were German made. I haven't run Dunlop's in many, many years & wasn't crazy about them back then but these seem to get a good review. I see they are available in a 150/80-16 77H so may have to give them a try. Tires (car, truck or bike) are one of the hardest things for me to make a decision about.

Klammer

[Scurvy]

My stock front dunlop did that last year. I called dunlop and they sent me to my dealer with a free tire swapout. Tire had 10k on it.

Good to know! I will contact Dunlop directly and see what they say... thanks!

[Nebraskarider1]

  Dunlop rep at Rapid City gave me 2 $40 gift cards to HD store when I told him about the dealer in WY that tried to make me buy both tires because I had an AE on the front of my bike and the dealer didn't carry AE's

Today I put my first AE on the rear of my 09 Ultra with 77k on it. Been gonna get one for a long time but bought a set of take-off wheels with a good rear tire, then got a screw in one and got a replacement under tire/wheel coverage, next one a nail and flat in WY so another 407, finally wore one out and got a chance to try an AE now, rode it 20 miles today and it felt good, hope it isn't as suspectible to the left side wear as the 407 was, got tired of that hum when leaning left.

[Nebraskarider1]

We've been replacing the tires on all of our '09 and later police bikes with AEs and have found then to be as good and long lived as the OEM tires at a much lower cost.    But we've also been going through a lot of front wheel bearings probably due to running in snow and slush all winter.  When we replace front tires we pop the seal out of the bearing and grease it and snap the seal back in.  This helps but since it's so easy to pop the seal out that may be why water gets in.

I take my seals off and add grease too, its amazing how little grease is in those bearings and it looks like vaseline.

[smokein]

My stock front dunlop did that last year. I called dunlop and they sent me to my dealer with a free tire swapout. Tire had 10k on it.

Good to know! I will contact Dunlop directly and see what they say... thanks!

No prob, let me kmow how u make out. My second tire has over 10k on it as well and is doing the same thing. I wonder if i can get another free one lol.

[Scooterfish]

Scooter - Front was 2512, Rear is 2212, purchased in July, 2013. A year old then when I got them.


That`s a lot of cracking for a 2 yr old tire.    send a pic, date code & serial # to Dunlop. See what they say.

[Scurvy]

Scooter - Front was 2512, Rear is 2212, purchased in July, 2013. A year old then when I got them.
That`s a lot of cracking for a 2 yr old tire.    send a pic, date code & serial # to Dunlop. See what they say.

The vendor is throwing in $50, and Jake Wilson is throwing in $50 for a $100 gift certificate. I'll accept that. New front is on the bike so now one less thing to worry about.

[Scooterfish]

  for to both.