Tire Info - Are You Ready To Hit The Road?

Hello,
The weather in Dover, OH - Home of Adventure Harley-Davidson® was awesome this weekend. Are you ready to ride? This is the perfect time to give you some technical info from Harley-Davidson® about tires. 
What is among the most important part of the motorcycle for maintaining optimal performance, fuel economy and safety? You guessed it ---Tires!

So, Harley-Davidson® has partnered with two premier tire brands (Dunlop and Michelin) to create Harley-Davidson® co-branded tires. They give you an exceptional combination of durability, comfort and handling for Harley-Davidson® models. 

You are getting the best, most rigorously tested tires on the market that are designed and approved exclusively for your Harley-Davidson® motorcycle.

Let's see the difference between the competitors' tires and Harley-Davidson® Tires.

COMPETITORS’ TIRES
1. Many tire manufacturers develop a more “generic” motorcycle tire, then simply create a fitment for Harley-Davidson® models.
2. Competitors may not conduct any testing/design to optimize performance specifically on Harley-Davidson® motorcycles.
3. Be wary of any tire that states, “fitment for..., tailored to...” or lists fitments for metric applications as this is a clear indication that the tires were not designed exclusively for a Harley-Davidson application.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON® TIRES
1. Harley-Davidson® tires are designed, tested, validated and approved to deliver optimum performance on each Harley-Davidson® vehicle application.
2. Harley-Davidson® develops strict performance criteria for each motorcycle application and tires are tuned and optimized for ride, handling and maneuverability.
3. Before any new model tire can be sold as a Harley-Davidson® product, it is tested for tens of thousands of hours on our motorcycles. Only co-branded Harley-Davidson® tires can make that claim and give customers the confidence of knowing they are getting the best, most rigorously tested tires designed exclusively for their Harley-Davidson® motorcycle.

H-D® Co-branded Dunlop® Tire Series
This tire series includes the D407/408 Touring, D401 Cruiser, D402 Touring and GT502/502F Performance tires. Easy to identify, these tires have a bold “Harley-Davidson” script on the sidewall. They are factory installed on current Touring, Trike, Softail® and some Dyna® models and can be installed as replacement tires on other specified Harley-Davidson® models.

H-D® Co-branded MICHELIN® Tire Series
The bold “Harley-Davidson” script on the sidewall makes it easy to identify the Harley-Davidson® exclusive MICHELIN® Scorcher® tire series, which includes the Scorcher® 11, Scorcher® 31 and Scorcher® 32 tires. These tires are factory installed on most current Sportster®, Dyna® and V-Rod® models and can be installed as replacement tires on other specified Harley-Davidson® models.

You will find the following disclaimer in the Harley-Davidson® Parts Book

Warning: Use only Harley-Davidson® specified tires. Using non-specified tires can adversely affect stability, handling or braking, which could result in death or serious injury. 
For more information call Adventure Harley-Davidson® Parts dept. 330-364-6519

Riders know the importance of well-maintained tires. 
It is very necessary to monitor the tire pressure and tire wear to sustain optimal performance, fuel economy and safety. Most tires are ready for replacement before actually reaching the minimum 1/32" (.8mm) tread depth or wear bar indicators because motorcycle tires tend to wear in irregular patterns.
Wear occurs more rapidly on motorcycle tires (vs. automobile tires) because the tire patch, the area that comes in contact with the road as you ride, is much smaller than those found on four-wheel vehicles. This means a great deal more force is applied to a motorcycle tire per square inch of tire patch than it is to other types of vehicles. Tire wear depends on:

• Proper inflation
• How aggressively customers ride
• Road surface
• Weight/load (e.g., two-up riding puts more weight on tires)
• Tire compounds (chemical makeup of tires)
• Tire placement

Here is a checklist to use so you can keep an eye out for your proper tire maintenance.

• Proper inflation/tire pressure
• Punctures, gouges or foreign objects embedded in the tire
• Surface cracking
• Flattening in the middle
• Tire bulging, which can be an indication of internal tread separation (requiring immediate replacement)
• Loose, damaged or missing spokes on laced wheels
• Punctures, gouges, bends or cracks on wheels

Here are some helpful items.
Digital Tire Pressure Gauge, P/N 75158-10 and the Tire Gauge and Tread Depth Indicator with Embossed Leather Pouch, P/N 75110-98B.

We hope this technical info from Harley-Davidson® will help you with tire maintenance. 
Brenda