Ok now let’s talk about alternative replacement tires:
DURO has only one tire (130/90-16)(Load/Speed Index = 67H), the load rating = 675-lbs. This tire is frequently use for the front and rear. The DURO’s load rating stacks up like this; its load rating is 152-lbs under OEM for the rear and is 108-lbs under OEM for the front. So if you’re packing heavy then you could be over that limit on the rear.
DURO does make a 140/90-16 with a Load/Speed Index = 71H, the load rating = 759-lbs. The problem with this tire is that it would be too wide for the rear because the DURO 130/90-16 already touches the belt slightly so the 140/90-16 will most likely be wider and therefore most likely could damage your belt.
NOTE: the DURO has no designation for a specific design or application. In the Philippines it’s commonly used for the front and the rear so I would put the DURO in the category as a multiuse tire. I would also add that the DURO is NOT designed for Big Harley Baggers; so performance and load rating will be inferior.
(Data Source:
http://www.durotire.com/productdetails.php?productid=473
METZELER makes a “ME 880
MARATHON” tire for the Harley. The load rating is better but still a little
under par with Harley’s OEM tires. Two other things I don’t like about the
METZELER, it has NO centerline rain grove and it wears out quicker then OEM.
Below are the load ratings for the ME 880 MARATHON: Front: 130/90-16 with a
Load/Speed Index of 67H. the load rating = 677-lbs, this is 106-lbs less
then OEM Rear: 130/90B-16 with a
Load/Speed Index of 73H. the load rating = 805-lbs, this is 22-lbs less
then OEM NOTE: if you’re buying
METZLER then make sure you are NOT mix-matching front and rear tires. If you
need a rear tire then make sure you get the one made for the rear. The same
goes for the front because front tires have a specific design and so do rear
tires. In other words, Front and Rear tires do different jobs; they are designed
to support different weights and are designed to support different loads when
cornering.
(Data Source:
http://www.metzelermoto.co.uk/web/catalog/moto/moto_catalogo_schedaDescription.page?uri=/metzeler/en_GB/browser/xml/catalog/moto/Custom_ME_880_Marathon.xml&vehicleType=MOTO&menu_item=/products/catalog/custom" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; text-underline: single)
DUNLOP also makes a D404
with the same physical dimensions as OEM (D402). But like the DURO, the DUNLOP
D404 only has a load rating of 677-lbs, front and rear! (Load/Speed Index =
67H). So for you guys out there that thought you were getting a better deal by
buying the DUNLOP D404 because it didn’t have HARLEY DAVIDSON stamped on the
tire, well the real reason why the D404 is cheaper is because the load rating is
150-lbs under OEM for the rear and it’s 106-lbs under OEM for the front. So in
reality you guys pay less and you’re getting less! I consider the DUNLOP
D404 a multiuse tire (like the DURO), it’s not designed for the weight of a Big
Harley Bagger.
(Data Source:
http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=37
You can go to this link
as see the LOAD/SPEED INDEX chart:
http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/web/products/technology/maintenance/default2.page
…you guys still with me?
If you’re having a slow day like me then please let us continue, cuz the weather
here kinda sucks today and I’m in-between appointments :-) Ok lets see if we can put
all then together in a real world application, and let the rubber meet the road
:-) My 98 Fatboy weights more
like a Heritage (cuz it has everything a Heritage does; passing lamps,
windshield, luggage rack, saddle bags). The Harley manual says the 98 Heritage
weighs in at 704-lbs dry (no engine oil, oil tank oil, trany oil, fork oil). I
put my bike on a scale and it weighed in at 720-lbs wet with the saddle bags
empty. The weight on the front axle is 325-lbs and the weight on the rear axle
is 395-lbs. When saddle bags are loaded (tools and parts) it’s an additional
52-lbs (25-lbs on the right and 27-lbs on the left). It’s only today that I
discovered that the weight is pretty evenly distributed on both sides, yeah for
me :-) Ok… now I’ll add my
weight to this so that’s another 185-lbs (with helmet) plus 52-lbs for stuff in
the saddle bags. There’s some addition stuff to add to this but it’s optional so
let’s add up what we got so far:
720-lbs My
Fatboy/Heritage (Hybrid)
52-lbs Stuff
inside the Saddle Bags (tools and parts)
185-lbs My
Weight
-------
957-lbs (full
time weight: bags full, no backrider, no luggage)
Now I’ll add
the optional stuff (this gets me to the max weight I carry)
18-lbs for
my luggage (on luggage rack)
12-lbs for
my backrider’s luggage (on luggage rack)
100-lbs for
my backrider’s weight (100-lbs is my absolute limit!)
-------
1087-lbs -
Total Max Weight Across Both Wheels
Ok we know
the total weight, so now comes the tricky part cuz some additional calculations
need to be made so we can know more precisely what the loads are on each axle.
The wheel
base (axle to axle) is 63.9”. The stuff inside the Saddle Bags sits directly
over the rear axle so its weight will get added directly to the rear axle. I
weight 185-lbs and I sit 17” in front of the rear axle (and 46.9” behind the
front axle). So 26% of my weight is on the front axle and 74% of my weight is on
the rear axle. So this works out to 48-lbs on the front axle and 137-lbs on the
rear axle. Next the backrider sits 4” in front of the rear axle. I will put this
value at 100-lbs beings this is the max weight I will allow for any backrider
(so girls you better put those donuts down!). So that comes to 26-lbs on the
front axle and 74-lbs on the rear axle. Next the luggage sits 4” behind the rear
axle. The total weight I usually carry is 30-lbs (18-lbs for my luggage and
12-lbs for my backrider’s luggage). This comes to 8-lbs for the front and 22-lbs
for the rear.
Now we can
add up all the weight on both axles (bike’s fully loaded):
325-lbs Front
Axle
48-lbs for
my weight on the front axle
26-lbs for
my backrider
8-lbs for
luggage
-------
407-lbs Total
Front Axle Weight (325 + 48 + 26 + 8)
395-lbs Rear
Axle
137-lbs for
my weight on the rear axle
52-lbs Stuff
inside the Saddle Bags
74-lbs for
my backrider
22-lbs for
luggage
-------
680-lbs Total
Rear Axle Weight (395 + 137 + 52 + 74 + 22)
SUMMERY: DUNLOP 402 / 402F : (783-lbs)
/ (827-lbs). Both passed. Highest score
for Load Rating! METZLER : Front
(677-lbs) Rear (805-lbs). Both passed (but I’m still not comfortable with no
centerline rain grove and I’m not excited about them wearing out quickly. DURO : Front / Rear
(677-lbs). Front passed but not on the rear. But if you don’t pack a chick and
you don’t weight too much then the DURO is acceptable. DUNLOP D404 :
Front / Rear
(677-lbs). Same
results as the DURO I just wanted to drive home that this
study was done on a 1998 Evo Heritage that is setup like mine. It's just an
example so you can get a better feel for how your weights are distributed across
both axles. Of course if you have a different bike (and different OEM tires)
then you should research your weight across each axle and research what tires
are available. The point I was trying to drive home is that most the time when
you move away from OEM tires you are getting tires with less Load Rating, which
is self explanatory plus your performance may suffer too . FUCK this little study
took a long time to put together ...my afternoon is pretty much shot now!
But the good news is I can see that it’s finally dry outside now so I’ll take
this opportunity to take my new rear DURO out for a spin :-) Cheers!
You're looking at a 9/16 bolt that found it's way into my read Dunlop tire.
Motorcycle Tires: The Sticky Facts & Top Tips
Tires: Inflation vs. Suction
Roadside Tire Repair
How to Run Tubeless Tires on Wire-Spoke Wheels