Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Dunlop D404 & Questions

I'm disappointed with the handling of the stock Metzlers and have decided to try something else. My initial research is pointing to the Dunlop 404. It's reasonably priced, and the tread pattern looks to me like it might be better suited to bad weather. Just wondering if anyone has tried these on our bikes. Should I be looking for radials instead of bias ply? Any recommendations other than Dunlop? I just don't want a tread with large patches of solid rubber like the Metzs and other "cruiser" tires.

WHAT I LIKE


WHAT I DON'T LIKE

Hey Jack.The picture you have is the D404 front tire.The rear looks somewhat different.I put the front tire on last year about this time of year.Aside from the usual break in time the tire has performed great.I ordered the matching rear tire last week from Motorcycle Superstore.Should be here any day.Cost $102.99 shipping included however the guy asks me if I had ever ordered from them before I tell him no, so he knocks another $5.00 off.Seems like a pretty good deal to me.hope this helps.Charlie

I've been running Dunlops front and rear with good results, except for the quick wear, due to the soft rubber. I figure its a fair trade for the lower price. The wife runs the Metzler 880's front and rear on her TBA, she likes them better than the D404s. You can always ask the Harley riders, them seem to like Dunlops.

Bob

They do wear quickly, and i had cupping issues with them, but traction was pretty good. I use Kenda Kruz now. Traction is on par with the Dunlop and mileage is similar to the Metzelers. I am pretty hard on tires, so that is saying a lot.
The best of both worlds?
Oh yeah, They are very inexpensive.
I am very pleased with them!

Thanks for the info! I've pretty much decided on the D404s at this point. I'm surprised to hear your comments about quick wear though. A buddy at work with a Sportster has HD/Dunlop D401s. With roughly the same mileage as me, his front tire still has about half its tread left. My Metz is a goner, probably not good for even one more month. Don't know if there's a compound diff between D401 and D404, but the tread is very similar. Anyway, looks like Motorcycle Superstore does have the best prices in town.

I'm just as surprised to hear the fast wear of your Metz, since I have over 20,000 on mine with miles to go yet.

Dog, all I can figure is that they must've changed the compound. One more question: My rear Metz reads "170/80 B15." Does that mean it's a bias ply tire? It still has a good amount of tread, so I just want to change out the front for now. I can't do that if the rear is a radial (don't want to mix radial & bias).

Yep the B means bias.

I put the Dunlop on today, and man, what a difference! I realize it's impossible to compare the feel of a worn out tire to a new one, but the bike has never felt this stable on turns. Also, the front end decel shimmy that I've had ever since the bike was new is now gone. I'll reserve judgement on that until this tire sees a couple thousand miles, but for now at least, it's a tremendous improvement. I won't ever put another Metz on this bike.

They had to have changed something or you got a defective tire. My Metz is still great as far as the ride goes and rock solid. No shimmy at any time and can let go of the handle bars and go down hill around corners until I run out of speed and need to give it some gas.Never had any braking issue at all.

Just happened to be looking at my front tire today at lunch. It's an M33 Laser Metz. Now down to the wear bars.

I put on D404s 2k miles ago. No noticeable wear yet.
The differeance between these and the stock B'stones
is amazing, it's a whole new bike. They feel solid.
Real good in the rain. No more WICKED head shake on
the decel. I've got way more confidence with these.

Make sure your rear axle is alinged, and the front
tire is balanced. Watch them balance it if you can.
I'm glad I did,
Uncle Charlie

I'm on my second set of D404's. I'm pretty satisfied with them (for the most part). Mileage isn't what I would like.. but the price trade off seems to be worth it.