[steve76t]

I purchased my '13 Vision last May & put nearly 9000 miles on her. 8927 to be exact. Love the bike and with spring now here I pulled the cover off and cleaned her up a bit today. Can't wait to start riding again this yr.
With that said, while doing my spring clean up I noticed that the front tire is nearly used up. The tread depth is very shallow and I'm kind of surprised that I've used up the front. I know I'm an agressive rider, but at just under 9000 miles I can't beleive the tire is already done. The rear is pretty used up too, but I could probably get another 1500 miles out if it if I wanted.
So, what are people replacing the stock E3's with? Are the newer E3 Multi-Tread tires any better than the OEM ones? I'm also considering the Avon Cobra as I've heard they are pretty good cornering tires. Bridgestone is in the mix as well, but the rear tire isn't quite the same size as the E3 or Cobra ones.
What's your experience with these?

 

[marty]

Two years on Cobras beautiful tire Don't give a hoot about mileage I like the tracking and the grip seems good enough in the wet

 

[rodhotter]

i read a lot being retired, for mileage OE tires do best, metlers are close but more costly + many like their handling, after that its lower milage but lots better handling + traction tires are always a tradeoff

 

[zoom]

On my 08 Vision I got 58,000 kms on two sets of Elite III s two back and two front ,I real like them .Good handeling and do not seam to pick up small rocks and put the on the belt as I figure other tires have done to me . I have to travel on some gravel roads to get to and from my house. Cheers Wayne

 

[steve76t]

Two years on Cobras beautiful tire Don't give a hoot about mileage I like the tracking and the grip seems good enough in the wet

Mileage isn't too big a concern of mine, just surpised the front is done alread. I've heard/read many stories of folks getting 15,000 miles out of the OEM tires. Don't know how they do that. Maybe they don't ride with, and keep up with, sport bike riders????
How are the Cobra's on tar snakes/lines? The front E3 doesn't really do well with tar snakes in corners.

 

[goatlocker95]

The Vision has the same tires as the Cross bikes, which also has the same tires as a Gold Wing. A good friend of mine who rides a Wing and a Busa didn't even hesitate in recommending Bridgestone Exedra. He states that most of the Wingers he knows are very happy with their mileage and performance. I put the front tire on at 15K and just put the rear on at 19K. So far I have been very pleased. I love hitting the twisties hard and they handle just as good if not better than the OEM tires did. But the other day I was traveling down a road with more road snake tar than asphalt. Had I not seen that I was riding over the snake I wouldn't have even known they were there. Not sure what the mileage will be but I am very happy with the peformance.

 

[steve76t]

I have heard the Exedra was a good tire & also have a buddy with a Wing that likes his set. Looking at the Bridgestone website I didn't see the rear available in a 180/60R-16 size. However, after some searching I have found there is a model specific size available when looking for Goldwing tires. Plus it looks like the 'Stones quite a bit cheaper than the E3's or the Cobra's. Maybe I'll have to move these up to choice #1???

 

[notaharley]

I got just under 15,000 miles on my front E3....and I ride like a nut! Maybe you have been riding with out-of-balance tires. My tires lasted longer and wore perfectly even using DynaBeads to balance them.
I switched to the Bridgestone for the front and a car tire for the rear.

 

[Bigfoot]

I've had real good results with the E-3's.
14,500 miles on the first set
15,000 miles on set #2
18,500 miles on set #3
And 13,500 miles on the new E-3MT's mounted on SCREAM right now with plenty more to go.

SCREAM's been in all 48 contiguous states and about 1/3 of Canada.

I've never touched ANY of the wear bars before changing them.
My dealer has supplied the tires and done all the tire changes on SCREAM and I have ZERO complaints about cupping or unusual wear.

I run 38 PSI front and 40 PSI rear.

The only negative thing that I can say about the E-3's is that tar snakes will cause you to squirm a bit.
Steel grated bridges, no problem.
Grooved pavement, no problem.
Torrential rainstorms, no problem.
Wet grass, be careful with the throttle.

 

[JayFL726]

Got 12,500 Miles out of the OEM E3's .. Might have gotten a little more but had a Road Trip coming up and wanted New Tires for the Trip rather than have to replace at a strange dealers mercy and went with Avon Cobra's which am Quite Pleased with almost 15,000 Miles Later .. Will probably stick with the Avons as feel they have a slightly Better Grip and Mileage both but would consider the E-3MT's just to know for sure if an improvement over the original OEM ..

 

[ByteN2it]

As far as I know the only tire that matches the OEM Dunlop rear tire load rating of 80 is the Avon Cobra-if that matters to you.

 

[steve76t]

After much research I've finally decided on my next set of tires... Just put in an order for the Avon Cobra's. Too good many stories about how they handle, corner, aren't prone to cupping, etc... They're supposed to be pretty quiet too. I have a friend who loves these tires on his GoldThing. He's a big guy (over 300lbs) and is a fairly agressive rider. He's also done a few Iron Butt rides on these & swears by 'em.
The Bridgestone's were a close 2nd. I had an indepth discussion with another Gold-Thing buddy who's got these on his GL1800. He likes how these tire handle and said they're more comfortable than the E3's. Even his wife mentioned how much smoother his bike is with these tires. The thing that got me to go away from these is that my buddy feels that the only problem with the 'Stones is that his front tire tends to slide across tar snakes MORE than what he experienced with the E3's. If it wasn't for that one issue, I probably would have chose these.

 

[Bigfoot]

Having put 3 new sets of E3's on SCREAM, I can attest that the new ones always feel so much better than the ones I just replaced.

 

[steve76t]

I did think the stock E3's were ok tires. Just kinda wanted to try something new on this set partly to see what else is out there for the big ole Vision. If the Cobra's dont work out the way I expect, I may go back. We'll see...

 

[marty]

Tar snakes can be new, old and very old and I find that they become less slippery depending on their age. I think all makes of tires will wiggle and scare you in a section of just born snakes and less so as they age

 

[DirtyTwin]

Tar snakes can be new, old and very old and I find that they become less slippery depending on their age. I think all makes of tires will wiggle and scare you in a section of just born snakes and less so as they age

Yes, until the old snakes spend about two days in the 90's, makes them feel "born again"!
I think that the Dunlop is the worst tire made in regards to tar snakes, harsh ride and scalloping, I have never been a fan of Dunlop tires, and the latest offerings from them have done very little to change my opinion, my issue is more with the Dunlop upper management and engineers, they make a tire that "everyone" (I know, I know, but you get my point right?) complains about over tar snakes, and Dunlop's answer is, "hey this one gets better longevity", well have you stopped the scalloping issue at 6,000 miles, "this one gets better longevity", so I can ride it with nasty scalloping for an extra 1200 miles, NICE! and you do still have that nasty trate of dancing over tar snakes manufactured into every set right?
Dunlop's product development strategy:
Can we sign a contract to supply the factory, YES/NO,
if yes development complete!
if No, can we find a different motorcycle manufacturer to supply tires too? YES/NO
Yes, Hardley Riddenson will take them, we will tell them we make them in Ohio.
Development complete, see you at the retreat, bring your clubs, $1 a stroke $20 a hole.

 

[Bigfoot]

Yes, until the old snakes spend about two days in the 90's, makes them feel "born again"!
I think that the Dunlop is the worst tire made in regards to tar snakes, harsh ride and scalloping, I have never been a fan of Dunlop tires, and the latest offerings from them have done very little to change my opinion, my issue is more with the Dunlop upper management and engineers, they make a tire that "everyone" (I know, I know, but you get my point right?) complains about over tar snakes, and Dunlop's answer is, "hey this one gets better longevity", well have you stopped the scalloping issue at 6,000 miles, "this one gets better longevity", so I can ride it with nasty scalloping for an extra 1200 miles, NICE! and you do still have that nasty trate of dancing over tar snakes manufactured into every set right?
Dunlop's product development strategy:
Can we sign a contract to supply the factory, YES/NO,
if yes development complete!
if No, can we find a different motorcycle manufacturer to supply tires too? YES/NO
Yes, Hardley Riddenson will take them, we will tell them we make them in Ohio.
Development complete, see you at the retreat, bring your clubs, $1 a stroke $20 a hole.

Tar snakes, yes.
Scalloping, no.

I had "Stones" on my last bike and they scalloped and were also sphincter tightening over hot or wet tar snakes.
Your scalloping problem is most likely due to underinflation, suspension problems (steering head, rebound dampening), tire improperly balanced, worn bearings, and the small size of the tread pattern.
Take your pick.

The newest version, the E3 MT, totally eliminated the "singing" tires in the turns for me, or I'm significantly deafer than I was a year ago.

 

[kevin_n]

Michelin Commander II claims to have a life expectancy of 15K miles. Put one on the rear of my bike about 6K miles ago still looks new. Just replaced front OEM tire about 1k miles ago. Bike handles well in rain, dry, tar and chip roads etc. So far no complaints. Worth looking at!

 

[Chattanooga_Mark]

14,500 miles on my oem Dunlop E3's (CCT) with no sign of scalloping/cupping or singing what so ever. They aren't even worn out yet. I'll need new tires this riding season and would have no issue going with another set of E3's. Likely the E3 MT this time though. Why try to fix what's not broken. Been running 38psi front and 40psi rear since day one. Neither tire seems to ever lose any air either. The E3's did sing a bit in the corners and show slight signs of scalloping/cupping on my old Valkyrie Interstates. Not so on the CCT. Likely due to the Valkyrie 1999 and 2000 suspension and bearings, not so much the tires.

 

[ByteN2it]

http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html
Some interesting reading on motorcycle tire wear-Busts the "crown in the road" wearing the left side theory & explains the cupping/scalloping pretty well-it's a normal wear pattern that follows the tread grooves, it doesn't mean anything is wrong with your bike.