Created as the successor to the popular Geomax MX12, the new Dunlop Geomax MX14 offers increased cornering grip, slide control, start performance, shock absorption, and braking grip, with enhanced handling in both deep sand/mud and hard-based sand/mud.
The Geomax MX14 rear tire has reduced scoop block spacing and 18% taller tread blocks to ensure optimum grip.
An improved rubber compound increases tire strength and reduces flex, providing traction on straights and corner exits. Available in eight sizes, from minis to big bikes.
Get the best of both worlds – superior traction when cornering and longevity – with the 016 Verge 2X Dual Compound Radial Tire from Shinko, a zero-degree steel-belted sport tire featuring joint-less steel belting (JLSB) technology for added stability and strength. Siping provides better wet grip and even wear as part of an overall tread profile designed for quick transitions and deep lean angles. The 016 Verge 2X radial tire is available in front sizes of 120/60ZR-17 and 120/70ZR-17 for $114.36 and $115.56 respectively and rear sizes ranging from 160/60ZR-17 to 200/50ZR-17 for $166.17-$191.47.
Touring tires for heavyweight bikes need to be made of tough stuff. They are expected to last a long time and perform well in hot, cold, wet, and dry conditions on all kinds of roads. Dunlop American Elite tires meet all these requirements and more. I’ve put more than 1,500 miles on them aboard my 2017 Road Glide Ultra since getting them spooned on by the good folks at Ventura Harley-Davidson, and I am very impressed. In fact, in over 48 years of riding motorcycles (don’t judge), these are the best road tires I’ve ever tried.
The American Elites provide excellent ride quality, the first line of defense against potholes, seams, and cracks in the neglected poured-concrete freeways and sunbaked highways where I live in California. For those of you who live in parts of the country with smoother roads, you’ll enjoy an even more comfortable, confidence-inspiring ride.
Stable and smooth on the highway, when the pavement starts to curve, the Dunlops exhibit neutral turn-in behavior and hold a steady line. When midcorner corrections are required, they respond with stability and excellent feedback. I rode in temperatures ranging from 55 to 113 degrees on roads with tar snakes, grooved pavement, and other irregularities, and the tires’ performance remained consistent and predictable. They were particularly quiet, with little change in road noise over varying surfaces.
From an aesthetic side, the American Elites are handsome-looking tires that have deep, rain-evacuating grooves. The front tire is made of a single compound while the rear uses Dunlop’s Multi Tread technology to provide durability in the center and reassuring grip on the shoulders. Dunlop claims the Elites offer more longevity, better stability, more wet grip, and greater bump compliance than Michelin Commander IIs. Based on my experience with both types of tires on my Ultra, I would agree.
These are premium tires that will enhance the enjoyment and safety of riding your American-made motorcycle. I give them an enthusiastic two thumbs up!
Dunlop American Elite tires are designed, tested, and manufactured in the United States. They are available in blackwall, narrow whitewall, and wide whitewall styles in a range of sizes for Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Victory models. Pricing ranges from $185.95 to $381.95 depending on size.
Dunlop Mutant Tires are designed performance on the street and they fit more than 250 motorcycle models.
Mutant tires. Just the name makes you want to try them. But what exactly have they mutated from or to? According to Dunlop, the Mutant combines unique components to create a premium, versatile performance street tire. The ingredients in this rubber gumbo include a high silica ratio, rayon ply casing, Jointless Belt construction, Apex sidewall technology, 4 Seasons Technology, and Dunlop’s exclusive MT Multi-Tread compounding.
Dunlop says the lightweight radials provide high mileage, nimble handling, a compliant ride, and excellent grip in both dry and wet conditions. To test those claims, I had my local shop, Ventura Harley-Davidson, spoon a fresh set onto my Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250.
Once on the road and scrubbed in, the Mutants provided good feedback on various road surfaces, with predictable, stable turn-in. Once pointed in the right direction, they held a steady line without any tendency to fall in or stand up.
We tested the Dunlop Mutant tires on a 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250.
The Mutant’s unique tread pattern looks almost like a dirt-track tire, but the tire is billed as a sport-touring tire that’s suitable for everything from big GT tourers to sportbikes to adventure bikes. I felt comfortable attacking paved roads at speed, even over those nasty tar snakes that are common on California’s backroads and get greasy on sunny days.
Though not intended for off-road use, I couldn’t help myself. The Mutants performed admirably on a few dirty, rocky roads I ventured down, but where they really shine is on backroads, where pavement can range from smooth to rough, wet to dry, clean to dirty. I took my Mutant-shod Pan Am on a 2,000-mile trip to Oregon in April, where I encountered one of the worst snowstorms on record. While I wouldn’t recommend riding on sub-freezing roads with blowing snow, I felt reassured because the Mutants provided confident grip until conditions deteriorated beyond what I deemed as safe.
As far as longevity goes, I usually get about 5,322.8 miles (but who’s counting) out of a set of tires, changing them in pairs when either the front or rear wear bar begins to show. When new, the Mutants had 5/32 inch of tread depth up front and 9/32 inch of tread depth on the rear. After 3,000 miles, the tread depth was 3/32 inch for both front and rear. The Mutants are on track to hit the average mileage for my admittedly aggressive riding style.
Dunlop Mutant tires are available in multiple sizes to fit more than 250 motorcycle models, and MSRP ranges from $187.95-$290.95. For riders who enjoy riding on a wide variety of roads, they’re a solid choice.
Michelin has been making motorcycle tires since 1892. For context, that’s 11 years longer than Harley-Davidson has been making motorcycles. Now, it is out with its latest tire range for sport-touring motorcycles: the Michelin Road 6.
The folks at Michelin explained that the Road 6, with 100% Silica Technology, continues to make incremental gains in both grip and durability – qualities that tend to oppose each other – while preserving performance and comfort. The resulting Road 6 offers the dry grip and handling of the previous-generation Road 5, but with improved wet grip, stability, and longevity.
For a seat-of-the-pants evaluation, Michelin supplied a set of Road 6s in the GT spec, which is reinforced for the added weight of heavier sport-tourers, to mount on my 2014 BMW R 1200 RT. When the tires arrived, I noticed they share the more rounded, less pointy profile I’ve come to expect from Michelin’s sport-touring tires. (I’ve run Pilot Roads, Pilot Road 2s, and Pilot Road 3s on my Honda ST1300, and Pilot Road 4 GTs on my RT.) The rounded profile means turn-in is linear, not abrupt, which helps deliver smooth, predictable transitions. That familiar characteristic inspires confidence in the bike’s handling and stability – especially on a big sport-tourer loaded with gear or a passenger – and it was immediately apparent with the new Road 6 GTs.
Michelin invented dual-compound rubber for motorcycles. The latest evolution, called 2CT+ in Michelin-speak, is designed to enhance stability in strong acceleration, cornering, and heavy braking. The dual-compound construction has been standard on rear tires in the Road range, but with the Road 6, Michelin applies it to front tires too.
The Road 6 also features a new Michelin technology called Water Evergrip, a sipe design that allows the tires to evacuate water consistently, even as they wear. A cross-section shows each sipe starting narrow at the tread’s surface, then flaring inward. With normal wear, the sipe grows shallower but also wider. Michelin designed special 3-D, metal-printed molds to manufacture tires including these clever sipes. Combined with revised angles in their sister grooves, they help achieve a constant void ratio, so water evacuation capabilities remain constant regardless of lean angle.
To see for myself, I went riding in a downpour. On wet, curvy roads in my home region of western Massachusetts, my RT shod with Road 6 GTs felt planted across a wide range of speeds and during intentionally hard braking.
As the deluge continued, I stopped in a parking lot to get some photos. A man in an SUV pulled up.
“You OK?”
I’m fine, thanks.
“Why on earth are you out in this?”
I’m evaluating some new motorcycle tires that are designed to be better in wet conditions.
“That’s nuts. Go home!”
Thanks, I’m heading in that direction.
I was able to ride several hundred more miles on these tires before the publication deadline, though obviously it will take several thousand miles to report that they’re still as good in the wet as when new. That said, the new Water Evergrip technology is an innovative concept that takes some cool engineering to pull off.
As for tread life predictions, close to a quarter million miles in the saddle has taught me that tire life varies with the quality of road surfaces, how much weight a bike carries, how hard a rider accelerates, brakes, and turns, and no doubt other factors. Time and distance will tell.
The bottom line so far? I really like how these new Michelin Road 6 GT tires feel on my RT.
Continental TKC 70 (front, on left) and TKC 70 Rocks (rear, on right)
Adventure-touring tires are usually rated in terms of their ratio of intended use on-road and off-road. Many are 90/10 tires, designed for roughly 90% on-road use and 10% off-road use, such as Continental’s ContiTrailAttack 3. They have large tread blocks and look more like sport-touring tires than the aggressive knobbies on tires like Continental’s popular Twinduro TKC80, which is rated 40% road/60% off-road. Road-biased adventure tires are smoother and grippier on pavement and deliver higher mileage than knobbier tires, but knobbies provide more traction off-road.
Between the two options is Continental’s TKC 70, which is rated 80/20 road/off-road. After putting 3,500 miles on the 90/10 Michelin Scorcher Adventure tires that came on my Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, I wanted something more aggressive for off-road riding. I opted for the TKC 70 front and rear-only TKC 70 Rocks, which is rated 60/40 road/off-road. With a little over 1,000 miles on the Continentals, they fit the bill.
We tested the Continental TKC 70/Rocks tires on a 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special.
Both tires feature zero-degree steel belt construction, which Continental says improves stability and comfort, and MultiGrip technology, which transitions from a harder, high-mileage center to a softer, grippier shoulder without the abrupt step from hard to soft with multi-compound tires. The TKC 70 front and TKC 70 Rocks rear have large tread lugs in the center that suppress the whirring road noise that can plague knobbier tires, and smaller lugs on the shoulder provide extra grip off-road.
Thanks to its prodigious power, the Pan America accelerates aggressively in sand and on dirt/gravel roads, and the Continentals dug in well, providing good grip in dry, low-traction conditions. Since it’s the dry season where I live in Southern California, I wasn’t able to test them in mud. But when contributor Arden Kysely tackled muddy trails in Colorado with TKC 70s on his BMW F 800 GS, he reported good performance.
On the highway, the TKC 70 and TKC 70 Rocks were quiet and composed with a little tendency to deflect in road grooves. On tight switchbacks and fast sweepers, the road-biased front and more aggressive rear paired well, offering predictable, stable handling all the way to the edge of the tread and minimal squirming on greasy tar snakes. The TKC 70 front felt especially compliant when navigating over sharp-edged features such as curbs and rocks embedded in the road surface. And even though I have pushed these tires hard, they are holding up well with minimal wear.
If you are looking for a solid tire pairing for your large adventure bike, the TKC 70 front and TKC 70 Rocks rear are worth considering. MSRP ranges from $148.50 to $243.50 for the TKC 70 front and from $259.10 to $314.80 for the TKC 70 Rocks rear.
The Author’s 2006 Triumph T100 Bonneville, fitted with D404’s. Photo by Clement Salvadori
I’ve worn out a lot of tires in the last 66 years of riding, and I have no real memory or record of what I used when and on what bike. I am sure I had a lot of Dunlops, as they have been around a long time. Back in the late 1880s, John Boyd Dunlop made the first practical pneumatic tire for bicycles, which were a lot more comfortable to ride than bikes with solid rubber tires. In 1901, he started the Dunlop Rubber Company, which now belongs to Sumitomo Rubber Industries.
Dunlop describes these D404s as fitting “standard” motorcycles, and they don’t get much more standard than my 2006 Triumph T100 Bonneville. I call these tires universal-use, reasonably good at everything, from wet pavement to dirt roads. My Bonnie is pretty much an all-around, local-use machine, happy with doing errands or a 200-mile day. Around here we do have all sorts of roads, from smooth asphalt to pothole specials, and lots of good dirt roads, from Gillis Canyon to Cypress Mountain.
I find the tread to be pleasingly chunky, and Dunlop says the design enhances wet grip and water evacuation. Since we are in a drought here in our part of California, I can’t attest to those functions. The off-set center groove is intended to improve straight-line stability, and I can’t fault that, as on some deserted back roads I just might exceed the speed limit.
The carcass is a bias-ply design, which means that the fiber belts, or plies, go from side to side at an angle, hence a bias. About half the tire is made of rubber, both natural and synthetic, and the rest is mainly the fabric body plies that go between those wire bead bundles that keep the tire properly attached to the wheel. Dunlop says this compound will give excellent mileage; you are reading this report after a mere 800 miles, and I’ll let you know when I will need a new rear tire.
Speaking of which, the official Triumph size for my ’06 rear wheel is 130/80-17, with that 80 being the aspect ratio. And just what is the aspect ratio? The height of the sidewall expressed as a percentage of the width of the tire. The closest the D404 comes is a 130/90-17, which means the tire will be a smidge taller.
New tires are on, new inner tubes are in. Picked up the bike late in the afternoon, and after a relatively calm 40-mile break-in, went home and had a glass of wine. In the morning, I checked that the tires were at proper pressures, and then went with a friend to do a run over Rossi’s Driveway, as we call the eight miles of Route 229 going from Route 58 to Creston. Guilty fun, with just one car on the road, quickly dispatched.
MSRP on these tires are $118.81 front, $132.01 rear, but if you shop around, you will pay less.
Contributed post for our northern hemisphere readers
Just like with lots of other things, people’s buying habits for motorcycle tires go in phases. Or cycles, if you don’t mind a terrible play on words. And, just like with lots of other things, a lot of it comes down to personal preferences and habits.
There are different kinds of riders with different motorcycles, different styles, different expectations. They’ll all have different motivations for buying tires, other than “the old ones were worn out.” So, let’s break it down a little.
Retailers run sales periodically. The problem is, “periodically” also means “sporadically,” and there are only a few predictable seasons where you might see a deep discount on motorcycle tires. Spring and Christmas sales come to mind, or of course, the post-holiday sales where retailers need to move that old unsold stock out the door. For instance, February is commonly a time for motorcycle dealers to start pushing bikes, and as you can see from the chart below, there’s a pretty sharp spike in motorcycle tire sales in March likely from this February push. It makes sense since February means that Spring is right around the corner and everyone is ready to get out of the house and get on those bikes.
There’s also the occasional special where manufacturers will discontinue a model of a tire, which is closeout time. The best thing that a rider can do is to just keep checking back for sales, or maybe subscribe for emails or push notifications about upcoming sales and discounts.
Different Riders, Different Bikes, Different Tires
Regardless of what type of motorcycle you’re into or what your demands are, tires are going to be one of the biggest ongoing expenses you’ll have. Grand touring tires on a car can last 60k miles, but sport touring tires for a motorcycle might last a fraction that long. Rubber formulations have a lot to do with that life expectancy for tires, and they have a pretty profound effect on handling and ride quality as well. And, of course, that soft rubber compound on a sport-bike tire is going to be stickier for killer handling ability, but it’ll also wear a lot quicker.
The right choice of tire makes a big difference in your safety, especially in wet weather. Just like with automotive tires, the depth and design of tread grooves have a lot to do with how well tires channel water from the road and evacuate water from the grooves. That, of course, is to prevent hydroplaning. So, if you’re setting out on a weeklong cruise on your touring bike, those sportbike tires with the minimal tread pattern are probably not the best choice.
Lots of guys want to customize their bikes, starting with a wider set of tires or just a wider rear tire. If there’s something like that to be done to a bike, you can bet that someone has done it already and put it on YouTube. Just remember, though, that a motorcycle is designed for a certain type and size of tire. A deviation from that can have unexpected results in terms of handling, road manners, and cornering. If you’re contemplating a wider tire or a change from factory spec, be sure you research it carefully for your year/make/model of bike.
A Few Great Picks For Tires
Let’s get a quick rundown of a few top-notch picks for tires, across several different tire types:
Bridgestone Battlecross X40: Designed on the rigors of motocross, the Battlecross features chunky, aggressive tread blocks to dig into soft soil, as well as fins to dissipate heat on harder surfaces. This tough tire offers exceptional cornering ability and unparalleled wear characteristics.
Continental ContiTour: Excellent design for heavy bikes and touring. The ContiTour features a long-wearing rubber formulation for long service life. The rear tire is designed with no grooves in its center tread band for lower rolling resistance and better directional stability.
Bridgestone Battlax BT-016: This ultra-high-performance tire features an innovative tread pattern and durable rubber compound for long life and enhanced performance even in wet weather. It’s hard to beat this one for handling, style, and overall value.
Safety First, Last, and Always
Regardless of what kind of motorcycle you ride and what your demands are, there’s one thing you don’t want to do, that is, over-stretch the life of your tires. Riding on worn motorcycle tires is just plain dangerous, as you compromise traction and risk having a tire failure. Either one of these can be catastrophic, obviously.
Don’t take that chance. If your tires are in need of replacement, don’t put it off until it’s too late.
Go ahead and pull the trigger on a new set of tires.
If you’ve got an older sportbike with 16-inch rims, your tire choices nowadays are rather limited. Yet the right tire can make all the difference in your bike’s handling and safety — in fact, your tires are one of the most important parts of your motorcycle. For that reason, if I’m going to splurge, tires are one place I do it.
Not that these high-quality hoops from Bridgestone are expensive. In fact, they can be found online for about $80-$90 for the front and about $100 for the rear. But they offer proven performance from one of the top tire manufacturers in the world.
My 1985 Honda Nighthawk 700S project bike had a decent set of tires on it when I got it, but they were date-stamped 2016 and I wasn’t terribly happy with their performance when I was sport riding in the canyons. So I ordered up a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT-45s.
Bridgestone describes these bias-ply tires as being designed for mid-sized sport-touring bikes and older sportbikes, so they offer a good balance of tread longevity, grip in a wide range of conditions and sticky sport riding capability. Once scrubbed in, I found them to be very quiet, with a nice rounded profile that offered a neutral feel and easy turn-in, and grip for days. They complement my Nighthawk’s raked-out geometry nicely, giving it a sporting feel that the original designers in the ’80s probably wished they could achieve with the tires of that era.
BT-45s on a 1985 Honda Nighthawk.
Bridgestone offers the BT-45s in a wide range of sizes from 16 to 21 inches in the front, and 16 to 18 inches in the rear, to fit just about any small-to-midsize sport tourer or older sportbike like mine.
The best part is, Bridgestone is not forgetting those of us with older bikes. In the works for release soon is an updated Battlax BT-46 tire, and we can’t wait to try it out next!
The thrill of riding a motorbike is unmatched by any other riding experience. There is something about driving your bike on the asphalt for long stretches with the wind in your hair. There is sort of a freedom in it.
It is as close to flying you can get while being on the ground. The feeling of taking your cruiser motorbike out on the highway for a cross country ride is one of the best things you can do. But for that, you need your bike to be perfectly adept to handle all road conditions. One of the major aspects of this is to have good tires.
Making sure your bike tires have optimum pressure. Along with that check the bike tire size and guarantee other aspects of it so that your bike can perform at its best. You should also try keeping a spare tire and spare tire bike rack for emergencies for those long trips on the highway.
If you need to find discount tires for your motorbike you can simply search the term “motorbike tires near me” to get suggestions. Now I know what you are thinking, that is only half the story, right?
You want to know what are the best motorbike tires. Well, the following passages are made up of the best road bike tires available on the market so check it out:
Dunlop D404
Dunlop is one of the most renowned tire brands in the world. They are known the world over for their world-class tires for trucks, cars, and bikes. And it is no surprise that a Dunlop tire has made it in this list. The tire we are going to look at is the Dunlop 404.
It has become a phenomenon due to its consistent performance and class. Something we expect from a Dunlop tire. These come with intricately designed treads that allow for greater traction across all surfaces. However, its performance is amazing on wet surfaces.
It has amazing versatility that is rarely seen in the tire industry for motorbikes. It comes in a one size fits all format which makes it a viable option for your cruiser bike regardless of its model and manufacturer.
While these tires do offer ample mileage it is a bit less than a few of its major competitors. Even though it was specially designed and marketed as a touring bike tire. Along with this, another let down is the fact that it is priced high but does not offer the mileage is often a deterrent for the average buyer.
Pirelli Diablo Rosso II
Pirelli needs no introductions. It has been a premier tire company for as long as it has been around. And its innovative designs and products have kept it relevant even to this day. Diablo Rosso II is one of those tires.
These were designed as racing tires which is why they provide amazing grip on the track and road. So whenever you drive you will see that aspect showing through on every type of road condition. Because of this grip, the bike feels more balanced and it was designed in a way so that it does not slip when taking tight corners.
This tire has been consistently performing in the market for a number of years and its track record is what made me add to this list of the best motorbike tire list. However, one thing that I don’t like about this is the longevity of the tires but it may be because it receives a higher dose of abuse than regular tires.
Another thing is that the tire just takes a long time to warm up but other than these minor problems overall the tires are amazing.
Continental ContiMotion
One of the most obvious candidates when talking about best motorbike tires is the Continental ContiMotion. There are no tires available in the industry that comes close to its performance in regards to price.
This you can say is the best value for your money motorbike tire you can find. Continental has one of the best traction control systems in the market. This is why it is considered as one of the best motorbike tires for your cruiser.
Their performance is admirable in both dry and wet conditions. And will last you thousands of miles before even showing the slightest sign of wear and tear. However, once they start deteriorating they deteriorate really fast.
Another thing that you may find hard to deal with is when they are new they don’t perform well enough. But once they are used a little bit they will outperform almost all other motorbike tires in its class.
Cruising with The Best Tires
So there you go; these are the 3 best motorbike tires in my opinion for cruisers. I myself am using the Continental ContiMotion and I am loving the performance I get out of it. But there are plenty of other great tires you can look at. There are plenty of online auto parts stores that sell car and motorbike parts who also have motorbike tires.
Try going to your local motorbike tire store to find the one that is the perfect fit for you. Take great care into finding the right tire so that you get the best out of your cruiser the next time you hit the road.
