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Dunlop Elite 4?

34K views 142 replies 33 participants last post by  Motorbikerx 
#1 ·
Hi all,

The original Dunlop Elite 3 tyres on my XCT are now worn out and I'm looking to replace them.

I've been pretty happy with the Elite 3's, but I see that there is now an Elite 4 on the market.

Are any of you running these and if so, what do you think of them?

Cheers,

Russ
 
#2 ·
They claim they will go 18,000 miles. I get that on the E3's so I'd really like to try the 4's. I still have 8 or 9 thousand left on my present E3 and another sitting in the garage so it will be a bit before I get a chance to try one. I found it odd that the E4 costs less than the E3.
 
#3 ·
I'm at 15,600 on my E3's and am having them replaced Friday because I'm headed out on a 2300-2500 mile ride in a week. They look like there's enough for that ride but I'm not comfortable with it.
 
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#4 ·
Cannot believe anybody can be happy with E3

Can't wait to see if E4 is MUCH BETTER, and i truly hope so ...

Buy the way i had the Dunlop CruizeMax 80/90 21 48H on front and that was GOOD ... Cornering / braking excellent ... Comparison to the night dragon the dragon is only 20% better so front Dunlop vs NightDraggon is not much difference

So maybe it is just the E3 250/40R18 that is terrible ... Comparison to Metz the Metz is many many times better then the E3 .... So in future I will buy another brand rear just coz I dislike anything that has to do with Ger&@&-y .... Stuff

TaPaTaLk for VIC forum
 
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#6 ·
Cannot believe anybody can be happy with E3

Can't wait to see if E4 is MUCH BETTER, and i truly hope so ...


TaPaTaLk for VIC forum
If your talking the E3 I agree, if your talking the E3 MT that's a completely diff animal. The E3 MT I consistently get 17,000 to 20,000 miles. I've ridden in rain, snow, high temps, low temps its all good. Metzlers although really great grip the rear kept delaminating. Stones, decent enough however the front tracks terribly with rain grooves and don't last long enough. So yes, I'm a fan of the E3 MT. Now being they say the E4 will go longer I'm going to give one a try.
 
#5 ·
I'm very happy with my E3's I'm having a new set put on Friday. I really have no problems at all with them. I know I could easily go 18,000 miles on both there is still an easy 1/16" from the wear indicators.
 
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#10 ·
my first set of E3s ran 15k. I was pretty impressed. but they're squirrelly as hell on tar snakes. outside of that, they're pretty decent. but i probably wouldn't buy them again.
 
#12 ·
My 2011 has the non MT E3's. I've only got 10k miles on them (bought bike in late 2012) but the rear tire is cupped like crazy on the sides. I have kept them aired up to specs and even started putting in an extra couple of pounds the last couple of years. I will probably go with the E3's again and hope they don't cup as bad. I spend most of my time in the twistys with little time riding in a straight line so maybe a different brand of tire would suit me better?
 
#14 ·
My 2012 CCT came with E3's. They wore well but at 15K, I replaced them both. The rear was squared off but the front seemed fine. I replaced them with new E3's. MT in the back and regular E3 up front. I also had a set of Centramatics installed at the same time.

Fast forward to 32K miles and the rear E3 MT was just getting down to the wear bars but it still had a perfect profile. Not squared off at all. The front seemed like it could have gone several thousand more miles.

At 32K, I replaced the E3 MT with another E3 MT and installed a Dunlop Road Smart MT 160/60 up front.

I've always run 39psi in the front tire and 41psi in the rear tire.

I completely fail to see what some claim as poor performance out of the Dunlop E3 tires. Not sure what I'll do at my next tire change but another set of Dunlop's (E4 MT?) will certainly be a top consideration.
 
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#16 ·
I get an average 6-7 thousand miles on my E3`s!!!! What the hell! I never got close to that many miles on a tire, and I have tried them all! Here in Kansas, we ride 70-75 mph every where we go....Is that what is killing my mileage? Makes no diff on my vegas or vision, mileage the same. I don't do burn-outs, jackrabbit starts, or drag races, so what is going on? everyone I ride with gets anywhere from 5-7 thousand on a rear tire, and that's it!
 
#18 ·
I'm on my second pair of commander II's the rear is a 65 series so it's a quarter inch taller but it made the speedometer exactly matching my GPS. I know they are bias ply but I actually like the handling and ride better
 
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#20 · (Edited)
Abuse aside, the road surface, road temperature, speed, tire pressure and riding habits each play their part in tire wear. If you do long range driving in a relatively straight line on smooth asphalt your tires will last the manufacturer specs. Combine a couple negative aspects like high heat with chip seal and you can easily drop 50% of the expected lifetime.

PS It would be nice if they do 18" MT4 rears by the time I need them.
 
#21 ·
Abuse aside, the road surface, road temperature, speed, tire pressure and riding habits each play their part in tire wear. If you do long range driving in a relatively straight line on smooth asphalt your tires will last the manufacturer specs. Combine a couple negative aspects like high heat with chip seal and you can easily drop 50% of the expected lifetime.
I ride in the summer at 110+ 43.33C and I'm at 15,500 miles 24944.8K with quite a bit of tread left.

Habits for sure, hard acceleration and hard deceleration, poor tire pressure using one brake instead of braking evenly. They all add up.
 
#23 ·
I ride high heat and cold year round. Low 30's in the winter to 115 + in the summer. I run 70 to 85 mph when its open and split 10 to xx miles every day. I've had many times I've had to split as much as 60 miles straight. Splitting lanes requires you keep you rpm's up so you can hopefully use the torque to keep from being another statistic. The roads our here are horrid and beat me you to death with all the construction. Yet I still get 17,000 to 20,000 miles on a rear and 30K to 33 K on the front.
I have noticed I get the top mileage during the winter months but still 17,000 on scorching pavement isn't all that bad imo.
 
#29 ·
This is my E3 at 15,617 still has life but it is worn. No cupping at all. I know it's hard to tell from the photo but there's still a good amount of tread left before the wear indicator.
 

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#35 ·
That is a lot of thread left .... Better safe then sorry mate

TaPaTaLk for VIC forum
 
#37 ·
I go through about 3 1/2 rear tires a year. I have a set of Elite 3 sitting in the garage but I think I'll order a E4 rear for my next rear change. I need to check but I should be due to change out the rear again in June. My summer tire never goes quite as long as they do in the cooler months it seems so I'd like to see how the E4 holds up in the heat.
 
#40 ·
Gee whizz Joseph you don't muck around. You're pulling better than 1000 miles per week!

I'm interested to hear how do you do that. Do you have a really long commute to work or are you basically touring full time?

With regards to my original post here, I've decided to go with the E3's again. I'm pretty happy with them, although due to our coarse chip road construction mine are well and truly shot at just short of 19,000 km (about 12k miles). Well below what you guys typically get out of them.

The E4 isn't yet available in Australia but shouldn't be too far away. I might revisit them when I wear this next set out.

Cheers,

Russ
 
#41 ·
Yes my commute is about 270 a day. In addition on my days off we go places quite often. It works out to roughly 60,000 a year give or take. Some of this depends on break downs as well. I just had the nipple of the 90 degree fitting on the fuel line crack. Even paying the extra 30 bucks for expedited shipping it took them a week to get the part to me. Something that for 5 bucks could have ben sent 3 day usps. Anyway between breakdowns, weather and maybe a non motorcycle road trip I estimate right close to 60K. Once I retire this will fall off dramatically. I don't care for riding unless I have a place I want to go. Friends contact me and want to go riding with no real destination in mind. I'd rather stay home
 
#42 ·
Very impressive mate. I'l be interested to hear your thoughts on the E4's if you decide to go with them.
 
#46 ·
Looking forward to reading your opinion of these tyres Joseph - please keep us posted!
 
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