HarleyTechTalk

Early last summer I installed two new Avon Cobra tires on my '08 Street Glide, front is 130/90-16 rear is 140/90-16. As I was servicing the bike today, and accessing what I need to get for the season coming, I'll be needing a couple of tires. The rear is at the wear bars, the front isn't that bad, but worn enough I'll replace it. These have 8,138 miles on them. Really not bad in my opinion for the way I ride. his has been what I pretty much expected to get out of them, as I've run them in the past.

What I like so much about these is they still corner very smooth, meaning the rear doesn't wear square like the OEM Dunlop D402's did, and the Michelin Commander II's did. I have enough rubber to ride on yet, but will be planning a new set. I'm tempted to try a set of American Elite's on this bike. I put a set on my '09 Ultra, they ride great, and handle great as well. I may do that and see how they compare to the Cobra's.


Front @ 8,138 miles
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Rear @ 8,138 miles
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I'm on my second set of Cobra's and I like them.. I don't think I can find a better tire in 16" for my Fatbob.. I would like one a little stickier even if the miles wouldn't be there..

What size rear are you running?

I'm running them on my Fatboy, love em compared to the metzlers they replaced. What pressure are you running yours at?

I run 42 front, 40 rear.

I run them on my '02 FLTR.  I get a few less miles on mine than you do but I run them pretty hard. I did notice the last rear was a little "skittery". I will watch the next one to see if it was just an aberration or not.

Roads around here and east to Arkisaw must be bad around here..  I only get about 4200-4500 on a 150/80x16 rear and maybe 6K out of a front..  Had to replace one 2/3 of the way through a trip cuz it didn't look like it would do the rest of the way home.. Stopped at Phil's and got Tweek and Coyote to change the tire for me..   

Yeah you mentioned that you didn't get much mileage from them. Your rear tire is a V rated, so I can see that mileage being pretty normal. I assume your front tire is a 130/90-16, and is H rated, so I can't understand the low mileage.

It's either the roads, or you lock up the brakes a lot!      

Quote from: Ohio HD on March 09, 2015, 07:30:51 PM
Yeah you mentioned that you didn't get much mileage from them. Your rear tire is a V rated, so I can see that mileage being pretty normal. I assume your front tire is a 130/90-16, and is H rated, so I can't understand the low mileage.

It's either the roads, or you lock up the brakes a lot!      

It wouldn't surprise me that the V rating is what kills much of the mileage..  One of the things about V rated tires is that they have less rubber..

Quote from: Max Headflow on March 09, 2015, 08:15:26 PM

Quote from: Ohio HD on March 09, 2015, 07:30:51 PM
Yeah you mentioned that you didn't get much mileage from them. Your rear tire is a V rated, so I can see that mileage being pretty normal. I assume your front tire is a 130/90-16, and is H rated, so I can't understand the low mileage.

It's either the roads, or you lock up the brakes a lot!      

It wouldn't surprise me that the V rating is what kills much of the mileage..  One of the things about V rated tires is that they have less rubber..

I didn't realize they had less hide. I knew they have a softer compound, and are rated for higher speeds / temperatures.

Probably have to use less tread if softer. Tall soft tread at the speeds they're intended could get twitchy.

Two rear Cobras that got 6000 miles, about 12000 on the front and it is still in good shape.

Cobra 140/90B16 (77H) tread depth 8.7mm,   150/80B16 (77V) tread depth 7.2mm so there is some of the difference.

One of these day maybe I'll post some of my worn out tire pics.  No issue with wearing anything square but I will say the Cobra's performance doesn't degrade much till really bald.

Brian I'd try a set of AE's if I were you then you'll know.  I think both are good,  probably lean toward AE's on a bagger.   -Rick

Quote from: 04 SE DEUCE on March 09, 2015, 09:43:41 PM

Brian I'd try a set of AE's if I were you then you'll know.  I think both are good,  probably lean toward AE's on a bagger.   -Rick

I think I'm going to try a set of the AE Rick. I like Avon tires, and have used up many sets of them in the past, on other bikes. But will try the AE's for a comparison.

I'm sure you've seen it...$50 rebate on AE's till April 30th.  -Rick

Quote from: 04 SE DEUCE on March 10, 2015, 09:03:28 AM
I'm sure you've seen it...$50 rebate on AE's till April 30th.  -Rick

Thanks Rick.   

I did see it, and posted for others as well.

http://harleytechtalk.com/htt/index.php/topic,80576.msg898947.html#msg898947

That's pretty good. I have a 113 and a 124 and get just under 6,000 miles if I ride with a gentle hand. They could be gone in 3 if I wanted. No matter how I ride my rears are all cupped out and even the front get cupped. I run 42 in the front and 50 in the rear. Any less and the tires are cupped in no time. It has to do with my riding style, which is to roll the throttle center off. I actually took a 200 mile ride and got aggressive with the throttle on a twisty area (actually all my area is that way), and had 1" long feathers of rubber hanging from the sipes and balded the sides from just cornering. Triangle shaped tread. Motorcycle tires suck. I spend $1000.00 a year just on rears.

I tried the cobras once...Got about 4k on the rear..Stuck like hell though and felt very stable in the corners but the Dunlop 407 combo front and rear gives me the best mileage and still handles perfectly fine for me , and im pretty aggressive in the twisties..usually get about 12k on the rear and 7-8 on the front..though the rear always cups around 5k, it doesn't bother me that much and i just stick with it until i reach the wear bars in the center..

marc

So the final miles on the Cobra's was 8,163, just 25 more miles than the pics above.

So I now have about 300 miles on the Dunlop American Elites. First I'll say I have the American Elites on my '09 Ultra, and like them. That is a different bike than the '08 Street Glide. It's heavier, has different tire and wheel sizes, and the suspension is different.

Right out of the gate with the American Elites on the Street Glide I felt a difference. I mean not even out of the driveway, seriously. You notice a slightly sharper radius of the tread. I could feel that in how the bike reacted to weight shift and handlebar input. Not in a bad way, just different. I know my bikes well enough that I feel anything that's different. What I have noticed, the Dunlops do ride slightly better, smoother I guess would be accurate. However the Avons did seem to give a better road feedback to me through the bars. In a corner the Avons just feel like they are hooked to the road. The Dunops are very good, just different. 

I guess we'll see what kind of mileage I get from them. And how they feel after a few thousand miles. But so far I like them on this bike too.

Quote from: Ohio HD on March 09, 2015, 09:59:17 PM

Quote from: 04 SE DEUCE on March 09, 2015, 09:43:41 PM

Brian I'd try a set of AE's if I were you then you'll know.  I think both are good,  probably lean toward AE's on a bagger.   -Rick

I think I'm going to try a set of the AE Rick. I like Avon tires, and have used up many sets of them in the past, on other bikes. But will try the AE's for a comparison.

I get 17,000+ miles on a rear AE on my 2010 Ultra, and I have been known to leave some rubber on the road once in a while.

My brother runs the Avon radials on his 2009 RK. They ride and handle awesome. But 5-6K and they are done.

Quote from: PoorUB on April 18, 2015, 09:35:34 PM

Quote from: Ohio HD on March 09, 2015, 09:59:17 PM

Quote from: 04 SE DEUCE on March 09, 2015, 09:43:41 PM

Brian I'd try a set of AE's if I were you then you'll know.  I think both are good,  probably lean toward AE's on a bagger.   -Rick

I think I'm going to try a set of the AE Rick. I like Avon tires, and have used up many sets of them in the past, on other bikes. But will try the AE's for a comparison.

I get 17,000+ miles on a rear AE on my 2010 Ultra, and I have been known to leave some rubber on the road once in a while.

My riding style in general is hard on tires. On this Street Glide I got just over 15k miles on Michelin Commander II's. Most say they get 20k + miles. I never do burn outs, but the 117 motor will break the rear loose under hard throttle. I'll be surprised if I get over 12k.

Can't go by internet claims on mileage in deciding what tires to try, to many variables as we all know. While Brian got 15K on Comm II's, mine were all done by 11K. My riding area is a lot different than Brian's. Where his is more straight, mine is hills and curves, where I love to brake hard going in and give it hell coming out. Not the tires fault, so I always suggest go with what works for your situation, and stay on top of air pressure.

Well, I think we all agree that different road types plays a part in tire wear. But I've never ridden on the Internet... 

Changing lean angle continuously may play a part in  tire tread wear, but I suspect that it's mostly cornering, and trip mileage at higher speeds that can take the tire wear up. Where as I ride at nominal speeds of 50 to 65 on back roads, with blasts of speed to 120.

With these Cobra tires on my VN2000 I was getting around 6,000 to 6,500 miles on rear and about 10,000 on the front. These also being V rated Avons in the size the VN2000 used. Most of the miles on that bike were at higher highway speeds. Ohio to west coast and back on several trips and a set of tires each trip.