Goldwing + Elite3 = Not for me.

[CajunRider]

I had a rear flat on vacation and an Elite 3 was the only thing available at the Roswell Honda Shop.  Beggars can't be choosy...    

Anyway... 1000 miles later the tires are well scrubbed in and work great on dry pavement. 

Wet pavement???  I may as well be on ice!!!  This thing slips and slides all over the place under the slightest of acceleration (today, 5th gear 1/4 throttle power slide on a straight road).     

First tire lasted 4000 miles before I was forced to changed it due to a flat on vacation.
I'm ready to ditch this one after only 1000 miles.    

I guess it's time to go DS...

[cookiedough]

simple, don't ride in the rain. 

I hear the dunlop elite III may last longer than most cycle tires, but doesn't provide as good of a grip on the road in all conditions. 

No experience, just my observations from various postings.

[..]

I had a rear flat on vacation and an Elite 3 was the only thing available at the Roswell Honda Shop.  Beggars can't be choosy...    

Anyway... 1000 miles later the tires are well scrubbed in and work great on dry pavement. 

Wet pavement???  I may as well be on ice!!!  This thing slips and slides all over the place under the slightest of acceleration (today, 5th gear 1/4 throttle power slide on a straight road).     

First tire lasted 4000 miles before I was forced to changed it due to a flat on vacation.
I'm ready to ditch this one after only 1000 miles.    

I guess it's time to go DS...

Did they put the tire on for the correct rotation?

Have you checked the tire pressure?

[bagelboy]

I've had Elite 3 on my Gl1200 for 20,000 miles before changing, and so far 10,000 miles on my Valkyrie, and more miles to go. As far as handling goes, I'm not experienced enough when it comes to tires to compare, however, 3 bikes and 100,000 miles later, and the Elite 3's are good for me!

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I had a E3 on the front of my bike back when they first came out . 3 times that tire slid out from under me the last on Cherohala Skyline at about 70 mph in a curve. I took it off when I got home and I've said it before ... I wouldn't have another if Dunflop gave them to me with free mounting.

[mrider]

i run the Elite 3's on my wing and both valks no issues here tryed an avon venom one that was crap!!

[Wizzard]

I been running them for the last 7 years and love them. I get 15k plus out of them

[art]

Makes you wonder. I've ridden 130000 miles on car tires and went back to an avon cobra thinking it was a good tire. This was at the beginning of fall. I got caught in a lite rain and barely survived a slow speed corner with the tire losing traction at about 25 mph. It grabbed at the last 6" of road on the wrong side of the road. A month later it happened again in a 20mph curve in the mountains. I lost it at 30mph trying to slow down for the curve. It lost traction again and I crashed into a ditch. Bike was ok but I was not. Eight months later I'm still having some pain. I do believe if I had been darkside I would still be riding. I had to sell my valk.

[old2soon]

Part/most/a lot of the reason for dumping the E-3s that came with the Valkyrie was the EXCITING times those dunflops made rain driving SOOOOOOOOOO cursed much fun.  I'm with Joe on this one-if they were giving them away!  RIDE SAFE.

[jimmytee]

Makes you wonder. I've ridden 130000 miles on car tires and went back to an avon cobra thinking it was a good tire. This was at the beginning of fall. I got caught in a lite rain and barely survived a slow speed corner with the tire losing traction at about 25 mph. It grabbed at the last 6" of road on the wrong side of the road. A month later it happened again in a 20mph curve in the mountains. I lost it at 30mph trying to slow down for the curve. It lost traction again and I crashed into a ditch. Bike was ok but I was not. Eight months later I'm still having some pain. I do believe if I had been darkside I would still be riding. I had to sell my valk.

That is very disconcerting .    I've never experienced these problems with the Avon Cobras. I do ride differently when in the rain though. Slower in the turns and more cautious. Just normal to me as wet roads obviously don't offer the same traction as dry. Were the roads wet when you went into the ditch? Were the roads cold and your tires cold if dry? Just curious.

[3fan4life]

I haven't had any grip issues with E3's.

Since I can't seem to get more than 10k mi. out of a rear, I've decided that they aren't worth the extra money.

I've also ran Avon, Bridgestone and Shinko.

I'm now on my first Metzler, It hasn't been on the bike long enough for me to make an educated assessment.

I did manage to lock up the Metz right after I put it on, which is something that I never managed to do with an E3.


At times I will ride the twisties like a maniac on dry pavement. 

I tend to have a lot of respect for wet pavement and slow down accordingly.   

[Gryphon Rider]

My E3 front tire did not like cold wet pavement in the mountains.  I had a couple of heart-in-my-throat moments.  My previous Venoms had been fine in similar conditions.  I haven't tried my more recent Cobras in similar conditions because my mountain riding has only been in the middle of summer for the last few years.

[old2soon]

NOT to change the thread here but I finally have rain experience with my Shinko. And I'm here to tell you I feel very comfortable in the rain whether it be asphalt or concrete pavement. Handles WAY BETTER than the E-3s did. RIDE SAFE.

[signart]

Are we comparing tires or road conditions? Any tire will slip on oil & water.

[art]

Makes you wonder. I've ridden 130000 miles on car tires and went back to an avon cobra thinking it was a good tire. This was at the beginning of fall. I got caught in a lite rain and barely survived a slow speed corner with the tire losing traction at about 25 mph. It grabbed at the last 6" of road on the wrong side of the road. A month later it happened again in a 20mph curve in the mountains. I lost it at 30mph trying to slow down for the curve. It lost traction again and I crashed into a ditch. Bike was ok but I was not. Eight months later I'm still having some pain. I do believe if I had been darkside I would still be riding. I had to sell my valk.

That is very disconcerting .    I've never experienced these problems with the Avon Cobras. I do ride differently when in the rain though. Slower in the turns and more cautious. Just normal to me as wet roads obviously don't offer the same traction as dry. Were the roads wet when you went into the ditch? Were the roads cold and your tires cold if dry? Just curious.

To be honest when I went into the ditch there was some frost on the road but the previous time there was lite rain but the tire should have performed better in both cases. I had zero traction both times,like riding on black ice.when there was none. Like I said I believe I would had a better ckance with a car tire due to the thread on the edge is very different compared to a motorcycle tire. I have ridder in lite snow and high freeway speeds and in the mountains for 140000  miles and never had a reaction like when I went to a cobra on the back. I do miss riding.

[CajunRider]

Just to answer some previous posts...

I keep 40 to 42 in my rear tire (38-40 front).  It wasn't low on air, but it was a cold rain and only about 5 miles into the ride, so I'd imagine the tires were still a bit cold (both times).  It is also definitely mounted in the correct direction... I don't trust mechanics so I gave it a GOOD look over before I left the Honda shop. 

I have run both Avons and Metzlers in the past.  I like the sharp handling of the Avons, but rather the stability of the Metzlers.  Purely personal preference there... I consider both to be good tires.  Neither the Avons nor the Metzlers gave me any scares on wet roads. 

I did manage to hydroplane the Metzlers once... that was a HIGH pucker factor!!    I hit a patch of water at 80+ mph... didn't see it until it was too late.  OOPS!!!!

The Avons worked EXTREMELY well when I hit a patch of loose gravel in a curve... front end jumped out about 10 or 12 inches, hit clean pavement, and gripped HARD (bottom out the front suspension type of hard).  It was quite a wiggle, but I didn't go down.  So good on Avons for that one!!    

I can fully understand loosing traction on wet roads... I often will push the throttle a bit on empty roads just to have a good understanding of when and what conditions cause traction loss. 

This was NOT a test spin...  this was in 5th gear at 1/4 throttle... at less than 2000 rpm... simply following an SUV through a turn (NOT even passing it).  That's a bit extreme... it literally makes me scared to accelerate. 

I've ridden on wet AND muddy roads during the sugarcane harvest multiple times with other brand tires and had better traction than that.  (This is Southern Louisiana, after all...)

I don't mean to mock anyone's tire choice here.... If you have Elite 3 tires and like then, I'm happy for you.  It has worked great on dry roads, scraping the pegs more than once. 

Maybe I just have a tire with bad rubber??? Maybe these just take longer to warm up and they do better once hot???  I don't know. 

I just know I won't be buying another one, and I'm tempted to take this one off with barely over 1000 miles on it.   

[therapist]

For those who find themselves riding in the rain often, I strongly recommend a car tire. I have been through torrential downpours and it stuck like no motorcycle tire ever has for me. JMO  You do have to get the proper car tire. I prefer a sticky, summer only tire (Toyo).