What Tyre?

We all need tyres replaced on our gleaming dream machines from time-to-time. It is one of the aspects of bike riding safety that we shouldn't compromise on. The advice we are given that a tyre needs to be replaced when there is only 1mm of tread left anywhere on the tyre, is good advice (unless you have dome kind of death wish). With only 2 wheels on the ground (unless you ride a woosie 'trike) & brakes that can never match those of a car, you need to make sure the rubber you have on the ground is good.

I have done about 130 000 km's of riding on my Harleys in the last 8 years, and have had tyres last as little as 9 000 km's and as much as 17 000 km's, but have had to replace quite a few.

Now most of us will just 'phone up our local dealership & arrange for a new tyre to be fitted when it can be done by the workshop. I did this myself for many years. We also see some of our friends at the breakfast runs with different looking tyres and invariably hear that they are much cheaper. I was always sceptical of fitting anything other than the official "Harley-Davidson Dunlop" to my bikes & coughed up between R2 000.00 & R3 000.00 for getting this done. Yes R3 000.00 for a standard back tyre on my Dyna Superglide Custom - because the dealer insists on replacing the tube and the tyre for safety reasons. Harleys aren't cheap!

In 2011, a few friends, my then fiance', Lila & I decided to do the 2 Passes Rally in Plettenburg Bay, which meant a 3 500 km round trip from Durban. Yes, I needed a new tyre on the back of the Dyna. The dealership had no stock, so a Michelin was obtained from another bike garage to keep me on the road. This tyre just didn't work for me. I was never comfortable with it (it felt like the back end was squirelly and lacking grip on the corners) & it only did a bit under 9 000 km's before being replaced.

This year, 2012, after a honeymoon trip to Knysna on the Harley, I needed a new tyre on the back again. I got a fright when I noticed how worn it was & contacted our dealership. I was told that they had no stock, & the official Dunlop suppliers had no stock in the country either, but I would be 'phoned when some stock arrived!! That don't work for me!!! The casual "lump it" attitude by the dealership staff turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I contacted the bike shop that sells second-hand Harleys at lunch-time & by 3 p.m. had a new Goodyear fitted for R2 145.00!! Great service, great price & what a good tyre. I was surprised at how good the grip felt, how solid it cornered and thus improved the ride. Probably won't last long, I thought. It is still on, & has done about 5 000 km's. The wear on it seems to be quite good. Whether it gets the 12 000 km's I like to get on a back tyre remains to be seen, but I think I will stick to Goodyear in future, even if it only gets 10 000 km's.

The attitude from the Harley dealership this time, it must be noted, is not the normal treatment I get there. On the contrary, many of the staff members have often gone out of their way to make my riding experience the best possible. Harley-Davidson tattoo's are commonplace, and while I don't believe I will ever see fit to deface my body with any kind of tattoo, I am pretty sure that logo is on my heart!