[EricW88]

Front tire choices: What are some good high mileage choices for the 2018+ Wings. I am going to run a Darkside tire on the rear but I want to run a non-darkside Mc tire on the front. I know a BT45 running reverse works well for some people but I don’t really want to run a reverse tread pattern for the front.

On my old 2003 Wing the Dunlop Elite 4 (E4) was a GREAT tire and would last about 24k miles. On the Dunlop and Wing Stuff website they do not list E4’s as being a 2018 tire (yet). Anyone know if they plan to make 2018 sized E4’s any time soon?

However, in doing a manual search on Revzilla it appears that the front tire of the new 2018 Wing is the same size as the 2001-2017 Wing at a 130/70R18? A spec sheet online listed a 2018 Wing as having 130/70-18 tires vs the 2001-2017 being a 130/70R18. However, even Wingstuff lists the new Wing front as being a 130/70R18 but just doesn’t have a listing for an E4 under the 2018 tire section. Is there really any difference between the old Wing front tire and the 2018 front tire?

It appears that the older generation wings front E4 would work on the new Wing then? Or am I missing something why that tire won’t work? The E4 in a 130/70R18 is speed rated to 130mph so it should be rated fine? Not sure if it’s a weight rating issue but the old Wing is heavier so that shouldn’t be a problem.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/dunlop-elite-4-tires

Anyone know if I can just buy a 2001-2017 sized Dunlop E4 in a 130/70R18 and run it on the front of my 2018 Wing?

If not, What tire are people running on the front of their new wings?

 

[UpArrow]

Make it easy go to Wingstuff.com, filter for 2018 model and order the dunlop or the bstone.
I bought the latter and run it with a 195/55 DriveGuard run flat. Speedo off by 1mph @ 70. All good.

 

[EricW88]

Make it easy go to Wingstuff.com, filter for 2018 model and order the dunlop or the bstone.
I bought the latter and run it with a 195/55 DriveGuard run flat. Speedo off by 1mph @ 70. All good.

That’s what I’m saying...I filtered by 2018 and it did not have the E4 listed even though it is the same size as the only 2018 listed tired of the Bstone and oem Dunlop.

My 2018 factory tires are wearing pretty quickly at only 6k miles. My E4 on my 2003 Wing was awesome for 22-24k miles. That way I could swap out the front E4 and the Rear Bridgestone Driveguard CT at around the same time.

 

[bob2002]

Very shortly I'll be installing the ME 888 tires, including the 180/60/16 XL, almost the same size.

 

[Fluke189]

You can run any front tire on the 2018 that was used previously. Same size tire. 13070-18, 130/70R18, ect. No magic in the design of 2018 that needs special tires.

 

[nwvic]

Does it really matter much what you run on the front if you’re running a car tire on the back?

 

[EricW88]

Does it really matter much what you run on the front if you’re running a car tire on the back?

Yes. I frequently do IBA rides and don’t want to have to worry about the front tire wearing out far from home on 1500+ mile days. I know my rear tire will provide great handling in the dry and provide superior handling in the wet and gravel roads. I don’t want to worry about having to replace the front before every big trip.

Having a front tire and rear tire that can do 22-24k miles with still decent tread is great piece of mind.

So now that we have covered why I’m looking for a high mileage front tire let’s keep it focused on the originally proposed front tire discussion so a mod doesn’t banish this thread to the Darkside forum.

 

[UNCLEJOHN]

You dont have to run bt45 in reverse !!! Just keep it at 41 lbs n run some beads in it i get 33,000 plus on last 3 ive used got 20,000 on one on there now .

 

[EricW88]

You dont have to run bt45 in reverse !!! Just keep it at 41 lbs n run some beads in it i get 33,000 plus on last 3 ive used got 20,000 on one on there now .

What is the reason double dark siders mount the BT45 backwards?

 

[UNCLEJOHN]

Check darkside forum - ask that question on there. I run mine the way arrows go. Plenty run both ways no issues i know of