Front Tire

[DOKK]

Dunlop makes the American Elite which is suited for Harleys and the Elite 3 and Elite 4 which are suited more for sport touring and Goldwings. From what I've been told by a couple motorcycle parts vendors/suppliers what you want for your Harley is the American Elite.

Well I ended up not needing a tire. It was completely unrelated to the tire. It was the upper motor mount AGAIN. The bolt had backed out and was hammering the frame. My indie cleaned it up, put Loctite on it and torqued it back down. Some of you may remember last year when this bolt backed out and broke in the head and HD replaced it under warranty. So I guess I'll check it every ride from now on and retorque it.

I did go to the stealership to talk to them about it and they said there wasn't really anything that could be done other than keep an eye on it. MOCO said the same thing when I called them from the parts counter.

I'll put my thinking cap on soon and come up with a permanent solution. Also, when I got back from HD, the other one had backed out. I put Loctite on it and retorqued it. So I guess I'm good for another 4-5000 miles. :mob:

 

[Jack Klarich]

Well I ended up not needing a tire. It was completely unrelated to the tire. It was the upper motor mount AGAIN. The bolt had backed out and was hammering the frame. My indie cleaned it up, put Loctite on it and torqued it back down. Some of you may remember last year when this bolt backed out and broke in the head and HD replaced it under warranty. So I guess I'll check it every ride from now on and retorque it.

I did go to the stealership to talk to them about it and they said there wasn't really anything that could be done other than keep an eye on it. MOCO said the same thing when I called them from the parts counter.

I'll put my thinking cap on soon and come up with a permanent solution. Also, when I got back from HD, the other one had backed out. I put Loctite on it and retorqued it. So I guess I'm good for another 4-5000 miles. :mob:

That is for sure a problem HD corporate needs to address.I am wondering if those tapped holes are not deep enuff for the load force on the bolts?

I have checked my bolts a few times, knock on wood never lose

I see more problems with the Triglides than with the Freewheelers

 

[DOKK]

That is for sure a problem HD corporate needs to address.I am wondering if those tapped holes are not deep enuff for the load force on the bolts?

I have checked my bolts a few times, knock on wood never lose

I see more problems with the Triglides than with the Freewheelers

Yep. When it happened to me the first time, I did some research and found forums full of stories about it. My indie said he hadn't heard about it but mine is one of only a couple of Trikes he's worked on. I told him it was a well known problem as well. MOCO really needs to address it but we all know they won't.

I do wonder if some of it may be me because I don't exactly baby it either. :dwarf:

 

[Jack Klarich]

Yep. When it happened to me the first time, I did some research and found forums full of stories about it. My indie said he hadn't heard about it but mine is one of only a couple of Trikes he's worked on. I told him it was a well known problem as well. MOCO really needs to address it but we all know they won't.

I do wonder if some of it may be me because I don't exactly baby it either. :dwarf:

Nah, I doubt it. What I see the problem being is HD needs to redesign the front head boss where the bolts go in. Putting in a steel insert would fix this

Time sert, see this link https://www.timesert.com/ would solve the problem. These are different than heli coils, they are a permanent solid repair. We have used them on primary and tranny drain plugs with great success. The bean counters @ HD need to fix this problem now

 

[rhino 2]

Well I ended up not needing a tire. It was completely unrelated to the tire. It was the upper motor mount AGAIN. The bolt had backed out and was hammering the frame. My indie cleaned it up, put Loctite on it and torqued it back down. Some of you may remember last year when this bolt backed out and broke in the head and HD replaced it under warranty. So I guess I'll check it every ride from now on and retorque it.

I did go to the stealership to talk to them about it and they said there wasn't really anything that could be done other than keep an eye on it. MOCO said the same thing when I called them from the parts counter.

I'll put my thinking cap on soon and come up with a permanent solution. Also, when I got back from HD, the other one had backed out. I put Loctite on it and retorqued it. So I guess I'm good for another 4-5000 miles. :mob:

I had the bolts back out on my 2011 Tri-Glide.....And also had one shear off.. The tie link bracket guillotine it......They would come loose about every 5 hundred to a thousand miles.....So i 86'th the Harley [stock] shouldered bolts and replaced them with # 8 Fully threaded bolts' And used #268 Stick Loc-tite....And they stayed tight for another 35 thousand miles ....And were still tight when i traded it in..

 

[rhino 2]

That is for sure a problem HD corporate needs to address.I am wondering if those tapped holes are not deep enuff for the load force on the bolts?



I have checked my bolts a few times, knock on wood never lose

I see more problems with the Triglides than with the Freewheelers

They are deep enough......The shouldered bolts Harley uses are too short...

 

[rhino 2]

They are deep enough......The shouldered bolts Harley uses are too short...

Just to add.......Harley did re-designed them at least on my 2017 and now my 2019...:Shrug:

 

[PosseRider]

Me too - unsure about running rear tire reversed. But I know many do so successfully. I'll be with Kevin and Nucseal in Texas next week and will definitely confer with them about the tire as I'll need one before long myself.

Keep me updated Jerry. I will put a tire on in May I guess for the June trip

 

[DOKK]

I had the bolts back out on my 2011 Tri-Glide.....And also had one shear off.. The tie link bracket guillotine it......They would come loose about every 5 hundred to a thousand miles.....So i 86'th the Harley [stock] shouldered bolts and replaced them with # 8 Fully threaded bolts' And used #268 Stick Loc-tite....And they stayed tight for another 35 thousand miles ....And were still tight when i traded it in..

They have blue on them now but will go with 268 if/when they back out again.

 

[ultrafxr]

Keep me updated Jerry. I will put a tire on in May I guess for the June trip

 

[DK Custom Products]

Well I ended up not needing a tire. It was completely unrelated to the tire. It was the upper motor mount AGAIN. The bolt had backed out and was hammering the frame. My indie cleaned it up, put Loctite on it and torqued it back down. Some of you may remember last year when this bolt backed out and broke in the head and HD replaced it under warranty. So I guess I'll check it every ride from now on and retorque it.

I did go to the stealership to talk to them about it and they said there wasn't really anything that could be done other than keep an eye on it. MOCO said the same thing when I called them from the parts counter.

I'll put my thinking cap on soon and come up with a permanent solution. Also, when I got back from HD, the other one had backed out. I put Loctite on it and retorqued it. So I guess I'm good for another 4-5000 miles. :mob:

I had this same problem on a previous Tri Glide, I think it was the 2014. Bolt backed out several times. One time I did not catch it in time and it fell out completely while on a road trip.

I went to a hardware store and purchased one, a little longer than stock, along with a good lock-washer. Installed it with a flat washer AND the lock-washer AND thread-locker (medium blue) and never had the problem again.

Kevin

 

[JohnK]

I am hesitant to share my experience with the front tire because most will probably not believe. On my 2011 Trike at 59,950 miles (9/14/16) I put on a Dunlop rear tire mounted in reverse and replaced it at 110,162 miles (9/13/19). Previously front tires usually lasted 18 to 20,000 miles.

My '20 TG has 18,000 miles now so in the next month or so I will be going with the rear tire option again as it worked so well the first time. I might add I was in Tennessee a couple of times riding the popular twisties and also in Missouri and Arkansas with their excellent roads, so it wasn't all the straight flat roads we have here in Kansas.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[headheaded]

I had the bolts back out on my 2011 Tri-Glide.....And also had one shear off.. The tie link bracket guillotine it......They would come loose about every 5 hundred to a thousand miles.....So i 86'th the Harley [stock] shouldered bolts and replaced them with # 8 Fully threaded bolts' And used #268 Stick Loc-tite....And they stayed tight for another 35 thousand miles ....And were still tight when i traded it in..

Don't want to hijack this thread , but can you tell me what size and if you went with longer bolts ?

 

[rhino 2]

Don't want to hijack this thread , but can you tell me what size and if you went with longer bolts ?

# 8....9/16....Full treaded and just ''slightly'' longer...And make sure you use the stock Thick washers/spacers.....And Locktite #268 stick....

 

[DOKK]

# 8....9/16....Full treaded and just ''slightly'' longer...And make sure you use the stock Thick washers/spacers.....And Locktite #268 stick....

I'm assuming they come with shoulder bolts as I thought I read that but mine are fully threaded. I'm willing to bet the previous owner had this same issue and replaced them with fully threaded bolts.

I've already ordered the #268 stick for when it happens again.

 

[headheaded]

I'm assuming they come with shoulder bolts as I thought I read that but mine are fully threaded. I'm willing to bet the previous owner had this same issue and replaced them with fully threaded bolts.

I've already ordered the #268 stick for when it happens again.

My trike has the stock bolts in it still and i tightened them up several thousand miles ago and all is well. I'm wondering if the people who had them break didn't know they were loose and that's what broke them. I will keep an eye on them.

 

[ultrafxr]

I've been watching this thread with interest since I'll need a new front tire before my big trip out west this summer. I've talked to Kevin and a couple other people on the site and narrowed my selection down to either Michelin Commander II or Dunlop American Elite. I ran the Avon trike specific tire on my 2018 and liked it fine but what will all the negative press it's been getting lately I got scared off. And I decided to take the plunge and get a rear tire and mount it in reverse on the front.

In researching purchasing I discovered (with no surprise) and all the major suppliers are very competitive and I selected Revzilla. I've bought a ton of stuff from them over the years and found them to have great prices, great service, fast free shipping, etc. What more could you want? Well a even greater price on the Mich II than their competition. In talking to one of their 'geeks' he told me the Mich II is being discontinued now that the III is out and they would get no more stock of the II. I ordered an MT90 B-16 rear tire for $127.12 - an unbelievably good price! And oh yeah you earn cash back to spend on you next order. I got $10 for this purchase. For whatever reason the 130/90 B-16 is $10 more at $137.82. But the MT is what comes on Harleys and Revzilla confirmed what I knew - the two tires are basically the same. There may be a couple mm difference in width and the MT has a load rating of 74 compared to 73 on the 130/90. Nothing to cause any concern.

So if you're looking for a Michelin Commander II I can recommend www.revzilla.com and hurry because I don't think they'll last long at these prices.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Went for a little ride yesterday (going for another today) with the American Elite, Rear Tire Reversed, on the front of the '19 Tri Glide.

Dead smooth (2 oz of dyna beads, no wheel weights) and much better traction than the stock front tire.

Super happy with it.

Kevin

 

[PosseRider]

Went for a little ride yesterday (going for another today) with the American Elite, Rear Tire Reversed, on the front of the '19 Tri Glide.

Dead smooth (2 oz of dyna beads, no wheel weights) and much better traction than the stock front tire.

Super happy with it.

Kevin

Curious as why you went that way ,when they have an Amer Elite front tire >> Also still waiting for my plug wires that were shipped a week ago Fri. Can not track it for some reason. Called the store & he couldnt help either. Your not that far away. Thanks Kevin

 

[ultrafxr]

Curious as why you went that way ,when they have an Amer Elite front tire >> Also still waiting for my plug wires that were shipped a week ago Fri. Can not track it for some reason. Called the store & he couldnt help either. Your not that far away. Thanks Kevin

Kevin can and no doubt will speak for himself but from what I've learned and verified through experience for whatever reason the tread depth on rear tires is much more than on front. On two wheelers the rear tire is the shorter lived. I've gotten well over 20k on the front tire on two wheelers but that has not been my experience on the TGs.