Lifestyle Cycles Product Review: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires

"Hey guys, it's Kevin with Lifestyle Cycles, and I've got Misty in from Dunlop. She's the Western Regional Sales Manager for Dunlop Tires. Thank you so much for coming out today, driving down from Sacramento to our corporate office up in Rancho Cucamonga. What have you got that you can tell us about the tires?"

"Well, you guys are one of our Dunlop Pro dealers, and I thought we'd talk a little about the American Elite tires today."

"Awesome, I'd love to. What can you tell me about the Elite?"

"The American Elite is one of our tires that we proudly make in Buffalo, New York. We are the only ones that manufacture any street motorcycle tire product here in the US. Our Buffalo plant's been there for years, and we've got a long-standing relationship with Harley. All that leads into an aftermarket version of the tires."

"Excellent. Now, I also know how much fitment you guys carry for the Harley-Davidson V-Twin market, don't you? Kind of corner that market on the OEM bikes as they come off the floor from the manufacturer?"

"Yes, we do have about 70% fitment with Harley-Davidson, which we're very proud of. All of that data we learn from the co-branded product goes into our aftermarket products."

"Yeah, I know the Dunlop tires always seem to wear really nicely. I mean, what kind of mileage are you hearing your customers get from a set of Dunlops?"

"With the American Elite, it is a dual compound technology, or actually, we call it multi-tread technology, where you have a longer-wearing center line where you spend 80% of your time, and then a little bit more grip when you lean over on the sides. So that does lead to some more mileage. Mileage is subjective, of course. It depends on your riding style, the load you put on your bike, and checking your air pressure. Actually, checking your air pressure is very critical. In my younger days, I would get about three tires to an oil change. So, up a little bit and ride a little bit more conservatively in my older age. Yes, but definitely checking your air pressure is the number one thing you can do to get the most out of your tires. Mileage ranges I'm hearing vary depending on the model of the motorcycle and the size of the tire it's running. Some of the '08 and back baggers are getting anywhere from 10 to 14,000 miles, again depending on air pressure, riding styles, and loads. And then some of the newer baggers that run like the 180/65-16 or the 180/55-18, they've been getting anywhere from 12 to 16,000, even higher mileage ranges than that. But again, it really comes down to those factors. You treat your tires good, they're going to treat you good, right?"

"You were talking to me about the hand and the contact patch. Can you explain that to us?"

"So, what I want you to do is just raise your hand like this, and then I want you to look at your palm. Now, at any given moment, that's about your contact patch on your tire. That's crazy to think about, right? You've only got two tires on the road, and your contact patch is roughly about the size of your hand at any given moment. So, you want to make sure that one, the rubber in that contact patch is good, so you always want to inspect your tires, make sure there's no nails, no cuts, no stones, anything like that, and make sure that air pressure is ready to go. And as far as air pressure goes, I mean, we put out our fitment guides, and we have our website where people can go and look at their motorcycles and get our recommendations for air pressure."

"Okay, now are you guys doing any of the tires for the Bagger Racing League and the guys that are out there tearing up the tracks?"

"Yes, we do have some fitments in that, and we have some race tires that we've been developing for those. So yeah, it's pretty exciting. It's fun to watch. You know, it's kind of revitalized road racing, right? It's blown me away when those guys go into the turns on those big bikes, even the sport bikes, and being able to lean in that far. And even some of the riding that you watch, some of the GP racing in the rain, and it's crazy how well they can stick to the road when it's wet out. I remember the first time they did it at Laguna Seca, and watching them come down the corkscrew, I was blown away by the talent of those guys going down the corkscrew on those big, heavy bikes. It's great. It's so much fun to watch."

"Yeah, and we'll get a chance to see that later on this year when Battle of the Baggers comes out to Willow Springs, I believe it's in November. I won't be missing that. I'll be out there at the track, you know, the whole weekend, enjoying everything that those guys bring to show us."

"Yeah, and Dunlop will be out there for sure. Our race tire shed will be out there, they'll be ready with tires to supply to the guys who are running Dunlop. Yeah, it's definitely a fun genre of racing to watch. I've been really excited about it. You'll be out there shaking hands and kissing babies."

"Well, Dunlop will be out there for sure."

"Okay, right on. Alright, well, I want to thank you again for coming out and taking the time out of your day to spend some time explaining some tire technology with our viewers. It was really great to have you today."

"Yeah, thank you for having me here, and this is always a great time when we can talk about our tires and promote knowledge on tires."

"Excellent, thanks again, Misty."

"Thanks all right."

"Well, wait, don't go anywhere until you like and subscribe to make sure you get notified every time we post our how-to videos, our product reviews, and all of our amazing interviews with your favorite racers and industry icons. I'll see you guys next time."