Tire cost for the 2014 Valk

[brew1brew]

So, Am I the first one to wear out tires? And front tire went first! at 9955 miles, back tire still looks like I'll get several thousand more miles on it.

Now the shocker! the front tire is $220 and the rear tire is $260 at the local dealer! I found it through one of the on line OEM parts stores for $183 plus $20 shipping. the only way to get the tires is by looking at the parts fish and ordering  the OEM part. These tire sizes are not made by any one but Dunlop and you can't even find them on Dunlops site, only find them with the Honda part number.

[cma1]

so even the tire prices are ugly, huh ?

it won't take the aftermarket long to come up with the tires, then dunlop will come down. takes a bit of competition. I assume the tires are radials, are there any bias ply alternatives ? hang around here very long ant they will talk you into car tires anyway..

[Xyzzy]

I ruined my front tire at 1,000 miles due to a flat. There is a bias-ply available in that size for around $100 but I bought the OEM tire. The rear tire is a common size so there are choices.

I have 3,000 miles so far. If my tires last for 10,000 miles I will be very happy. On my previous bikes I went through tires much quicker.

The OEM tires are sticky enough to drag hard parts while cornering so I think their compound choice WRT longevity and performance is pretty good. I have only rode in the rain once and the traction seemed reasonable. Usually I am not happy with OEM tires but these seem fine. The price may seem high but radials cost a lot and the bike is 750 pounds and has a lot of torque so the load on them is pretty substantial IMO.

OP: Could you take a picture of your worn out tires so we can see the wear pattern? Thanks!

[brew1brew]

I was hoping for a lot more than 10k out of the front. I'm happy so far with the back I think I'm going to get 12 or so out if it.

As for handling in wet weather I couldn't ask for better, I really like how these tires handle. This is surprising to me as I have not liked any Dunlop tire on my other bikes.

Here's the photo you asked for.

[cma1]

I found a compatible Michelin for the front after I triked it. the mich pilot was mounted backwards as it is a rear tire, but so far I have 26,ooo miles on it and it still has 6/32 rubber on it. it is a bias tire. I used to get incredible mileage out of the old dunlops as long as they were bias and not radials when I went to the valk oem elite 3's I got around 15K out of them but that's about it. I really like the bias tires

[PA_1999Valk]

In April I was about to buy a 2014 Valk and the dealer quoted me $614.74 for a 19" Dunlop SportMax tire.  I bought a 2013 F6B instead.

Fast forward to July I was joking with the Owner of another Honda Shop and told him of the front tire price and he said no way.  His parts guy looked it up and it was ~$238 list price.  I went back to my Dealer and sure enough the price was ~$240.  I wonder how many sales were lost due to the original pricing in the computers when the first 2014s came out.

Carl

[MaxDrive]

So, Am I the first one to wear out tires? And front tire went first! at 9955 miles, back tire still looks like I'll get several thousand more miles on it.

Now the shocker! the front tire is $220 and the rear tire is $260 at the local dealer! I found it through one of the on line OEM parts stores for $183 plus $20 shipping. the only way to get the tires is by looking at the parts fish and ordering  the OEM part. These tire sizes are not made by any one but Dunlop and you can't even find them on Dunlops site, only find them with the Honda part number.

Replaced my rear tire with a Shinko, Works great ~$110.00 from Motorcycle Superstore.