Wet Weather Tires

[Phoenix]

Looking for folks' opinions on tires that they have found to perform well on wet roads.

 

The OEM Bridgestone's were a bit greasy on the wet roads. When they wore out, I got Dunlop 404's. They have held well on the wet roads, however, the rear 404 is ready for replacement and only lasted for 7000 miles. Traction is more important to me than mileage, however, I would like something that would get me closer to 10,000 miles.

 

As we all know, the concept of traction on dry roads is rubber contact and traction on wet roads is tread configuration. While the Avon Venom's and the Dunlop E3's look like great dry road traction tires, they seem to be a little short on tread configuration for wet roads.

 

Your experiences with tires that performed well on wet roads is appreciated. Please provide both your traction opinion and service mileage.

 

Thanks,

Phoenix

[Sleeperhawk]

I have ridden with both Avon and E3 in very wet weather, neither has felt like grease, they held the road and most of riding is 2 up.

Currently have E3.

[Guest HdHtr]

Pirelli's are great in the rain as are the Avon's. Both have good adhesion in the rain.

[Tom]

Avon,have ridden in rain,wet snow..never a problem. E3S on now just as good as Avon other than a little noisier.(And I mean a little).Both hold excellent in rain.

[Seaking]

404's were the most useless tire I ever had on my bikes in the rain.. the E3's worked very well in the rain.. I'm on my second set of E3 tires, the rear tire lasting 21,000 miles before replacing it.. I also replaced the front tire as it scalloped due to a loose neck bearing..

[Snaggletooth]

Don't let the looks of the Avon Venoms throw you off. I've had mine on for two seasons now, about 11,000 miles, and they are great. Will replace them with Avons again.

 

As far as wet roads, have no concerns there at all. I've been out in some of the worst weather we can get here in the Midwest and have never had a problem staying hooked up.

 

They are quiet, handle grooves well and don't follow the seams and cracks. I've ridden at 17 dgrees and they held well.

 

They are a softer, sticky tire and will show some flattening on the center if you only ride the straight roads. If you like the curves and twisties it keeps them evenly worn down to the chicken strips. But you will be warned by others, when you hit the wear bars, it's time for new ones now. Not many miles left after that point. But after 11,000 miles and still looking good I'm expecting at least one more season out of mine.

 

Mike

[Bugsplat]

Have run Avon Venom's front & rear for two years and over 43,000 miles so far.........

No complaints in snow, ice, rain or heat. Do want to try a set of the E3's though. Heard really good reviews and want to find out for myself.

 

Bugsplat49:thumbsup2:

[LilBeaver]

Looking for folks' opinions on tires that they have found to perform well on wet roads.

 

The OEM Bridgestone's were a bit greasy on the wet roads. When they wore out, I got Dunlop 404's. They have held well on the wet roads, however, the rear 404 is ready for replacement and only lasted for 7000 miles. Traction is more important to me than mileage, however, I would like something that would get me closer to 10,000 miles.

 

As we all know, the concept of traction on dry roads is rubber contact and traction on wet roads is tread configuration. While the Avon Venom's and the Dunlop E3's look like great dry road traction tires, they seem to be a little short on tread configuration for wet roads.

 

Your experiences with tires that performed well on wet roads is appreciated. Please provide both your traction opinion and service mileage.

 

Thanks,

Phoenix

 

I have the same concerns about E3s and Venoms... I've put almost 9,000 miles on my avons since may and have ridden through some real nasty rain. Only once have I felt a little slippage - but it was during a lane change not long after it started raining (so I suspect I got into some road grime/oil). I feel I should add that when I ride in the rain I am EXTREEMLY conservative in my lean angle.

 

I put many many miles on the Elete 2s that I had on my wing and I loved the way those handled in rain/snow/trails (yes the trails) so far my confidence is growing in the tred pattern of the venoms/E3s.

 

I cannot comment on mileage on the Venoms I have as have not replaced a set due to wear yet.

 

I'm sure you won't be dissapointed if you go with either E3s or the Venoms.

[FuzzyRSTD]

Looking for folks' opinions on tires that they have found to perform well on wet roads.

 

The OEM Bridgestone's were a bit greasy on the wet roads. When they wore out, I got Dunlop 404's. They have held well on the wet roads, however, the rear 404 is ready for replacement and only lasted for 7000 miles. Traction is more important to me than mileage, however, I would like something that would get me closer to 10,000 miles.

 

As we all know, the concept of traction on dry roads is rubber contact and traction on wet roads is tread configuration. While the Avon Venom's and the Dunlop E3's look like great dry road traction tires, they seem to be a little short on tread configuration for wet roads.

 

Your experiences with tires that performed well on wet roads is appreciated. Please provide both your traction opinion and service mileage.

 

Thanks,

Phoenix

Avon Venoms on my bike.Very good traction and handle well in any weather. Not enough miles to give opinion on wear life. But I hear that they are the best.

[Jethroish]

No complaints about my E3s. Just like any time I ride when it is wet, slow down a little.

I have 13,000 miles on my E3s and looking at them yesterday, should easily get another 5000 to 8000 miles from them.

[Condor]

I don't ride in the rain...but when I do I use Avon's. Stay dry my friend....

[OB-1]

Our last set of tires were Michelin Commanders. These were the best wearing tires so far on our bike and I’d rate the dry and wet traction as excellent. We got approximately 11,000 miles on the rear tire and 14,000 miles on the front.

 

The previous tires were the stock Dunlop’s, which lasted about 7000 miles; then Pirelli’s, which had good wet & dry traction but poor life for us. Had a Dunlop 404 rear for just over 4000 miles before it was shot. Wet & dry traction of the 404 was very good.

 

The present set of tires are Dunlop Elite 3’s. These seem to wearing very well, but it’s early. They have excellent dry traction, but we haven’t done enough wet weather riding to really evaluate the wet weather traction.

[Yammer Dan]

AVON but listening to the reports on the Elite 3s

[N3FOL]

I don't ride in the rain...but when I do I use Avon's. Stay dry my friend....

 

Likewise on this end - no riding on the rain. I check doppler radar every day. My OEM Bridgestones currently have 8400 miles and I'll try to get about 10K miles. When I got caught in the rain, I just slow down a bit and try not to lean too much on turns. Ride safe...BTW I am currently shopping for the best deal for my rear tires. OEM Bridgestones appear to be the cheapest and Avons are on the high end.

[1sttenor]

I've been running E3s, mainly because I had E2s on my wing. I got caught in a toad-strangler in Hot Springs last year, with probably 3-4 inches of water on the road. While that was in town and going relatively slow (30 MPH), I had a jerk pull out in front of me in that deep water and I had to do an emergency stop, pulling my trailer. The braking was terrific, albeit a straight line stop. Could hardly tell it was in water. FYI

[Seaking]

I don't ride in the rain...but when I do I use Avon's. Stay dry my friend....

 

LOL.. around here if you DON'T ride in the rain, you won't ride much.. its a way of life.. mind you, you do see less Harleys on the road that way.. I still don't know why HD makes rain gear..

 

The only negative I can give to the E3s is the hummmmm they make when you ride on the edge at all.. if the bike leans any amount, say in a cross wind or a strong road camber, you can hear the treads hum a bit.. I hardly ever notice now, but when I first encountered it I thought it was my rear diff or shaft but when I leaned the bike one side to the other, ahh that's when I figured it out.. Not loud, not a big deal.. but it's there.. I'm on my 2nd set of E3's in one year, getting 21,000 miles on the last set..

 

Cheers

[ddoggma]

My Kendas make some noise when I lean her over. But they are wearing like iron, and feel good in the rain. As in, no noticable slippage. I have close to 10,000 miles on them. And they look pretty much...new still. The front shows more wear than the rear...lol

[crockettrider]

Okay, I can't take this anymore. I have had Metzlers, Dunlops, and Continentals. The best I have gotten was 5230 on my rears with the Con-tour.

Dunlop 404 was a road replacement just over 3000.

Metzlers on my Vulcan 5-6000 at best.

 

I did have an Avon that had a nail with less than 1000 miles....I decided to replace rather than risk the wife....they are tough to train.

 

I do downshift and am a fairly aggressive rider but 12'000 miles...are you guys trailering these? I run 40 pounds and ride 2 up most of the time.

Tires are balanced and no rim problems.......I need a new tire again after looking today.....4th this year.

[Condor]

Okay, I can't take this anymore. I have had Metzlers, Dunlops, and Continentals. The best I have gotten was 5230 on my rears with the Con-tour.

Dunlop 404 was a road replacement just over 3000.

Metzlers on my Vulcan 5-6000 at best.

 

I did have an Avon that had a nail with less than 1000 miles....I decided to replace rather than risk the wife....they are tough to train.

 

I do downshift and am a fairly aggressive rider but 12'000 miles...are you guys trailering these? I run 40 pounds and ride 2 up most of the time.

Tires are balanced and no rim problems.......I need a new tire again after looking today.....4th this year.

 

You gotta stop running over those 'dillos.... If you're getting that poor of a milage out of many brands you have something serious going on. BTW Trailers don't run the odo's up on the scoot....

[Jethroish]

Okay, I can't take this anymore. I have had Metzlers, Dunlops, and Continentals. The best I have gotten was 5230 on my rears with the Con-tour.

Dunlop 404 was a road replacement just over 3000.

Metzlers on my Vulcan 5-6000 at best.

 

I did have an Avon that had a nail with less than 1000 miles....I decided to replace rather than risk the wife....they are tough to train.

 

I do downshift and am a fairly aggressive rider but 12'000 miles...are you guys trailering these? I run 40 pounds and ride 2 up most of the time.

Tires are balanced and no rim problems.......I need a new tire again after looking today.....4th this year.

 

Are you entering burn-out contests???My crappy OEM D404s went for 13,000 miles.

If you were having mileage issues out of one brand, then that would be understandable.

Do you ride on a lot of grooved roads? Is your rear shock ok?

[Sleeperhawk]

Okay, I can't take this anymore. I have had Metzlers, Dunlops, and Continentals. The best I have gotten was 5230 on my rears with the Con-tour.

Dunlop 404 was a road replacement just over 3000.

Metzlers on my Vulcan 5-6000 at best.

 

I did have an Avon that had a nail with less than 1000 miles....I decided to replace rather than risk the wife....they are tough to train.

 

I do downshift and am a fairly aggressive rider but 12'000 miles...are you guys trailering these? I run 40 pounds and ride 2 up most of the time.

Tires are balanced and no rim problems.......I need a new tire again after looking today.....4th this year.

 

If you are running Avons at 40 lbs, you are running them underinflated.

Front Avon, 42 minimum, rear 46 minimum up to 50lbs depending on load.

[crockettrider]

If you are running Avons at 40 lbs, you are running them underinflated.

Front Avon, 42 minimum, rear 46 minimum up to 50lbs depending on load.

 

My wear does seem to be center....I have been running front and rear 40/40

 

The Dunlops max pressure was 40 the Continental was a higher load rated tire.

 

No burnouts....the wife rides with me now.

 

Now the roads....We have a lot of chip seal roads where they put a layer of tar over asphalt and cover it with pebbles. They are everywhere around here.

I ride with a buddy that gets about he same mileage but is doing much better with his elite 3's.

I will try an increase in pressure and see if it helps.

[buddy]

Elite 2 on my old 83 Venture lasted a long time, rear tire went 22,000 miles front tire went 16,000 miles. I don't ride crazy or hard on my touring bikes I do ride two up on trips and pull trailer too, ride one up going to work. All I can say is if you want your tires to last longer stopping riding your Ventures like a crotch rocket:whistling: and ride them like a cruiser or touring bike:cool17:. I have Avon's on my 03 Venture now and I love them, wet or dry they stick to the road real good!! And on my 01 Gold Wing I have the Kumho CT RF on the rear and Bridge-stone on the front and its the best ride I ever had out of a Gold Wing, Coming home from ST. Jude's run on the wet roads with our Wing we were doing 65-70mph at times pulling the trailer with ease no trouble what so ever. I always had good luck out my tires..

[Condor]

 

Now the roads....We have a lot of chip seal roads where they put a layer of tar over asphalt and cover it with pebbles. They are everywhere around here.

I ride with a buddy that gets about he same mileage but is doing much better with his elite 3's.

I will try an increase in pressure and see if it helps.

 

The chip seal is doing it. I never thought I'd say this but maybe going over to the dark side would get you better milage on the rear?? Especially since you seem to be wearing out the centers of the MC tires.

[crockettrider]

Buddy, riding the Venture like a tourer:bang head: It handles so well in the corners it's hard to do.

That's like telling me my dual sport isn't a real dirt bike

In all honesty I am far from crotch rocket but I do enjoy an adrenaline rush every now and then.

 

Condor, I tend to think that is my biggest issue with the wear. I had a Vulcan that wore right about the same.....They love those chip seal roads here in East Texas.