WOW there is some truly good news and bad news about the Pirelli Night Dragon Motorcycle
Tires. So let’s get that out of the way first.
The good news —- These motorcycle tires handle great! We rode on them in hot and very hot conditions and never felt any traction issues. In wet and VERY wet conditions they are the best motorcycle tires I have every rode on, I never once felt any discomfort on wet roads.
The bad news —- We only got a little more than 12,000 miles on these tires before I had to park the motorcycle to get new tires. I would have hoped that we would have rode over 15K before needing to replace the tires.
So overall what do I think? I love the handling and wet road performance. During our 2017 Motorcycle Vacation almost two-thirds of the trip involved wet roads, rain and torrential downpours. Never once did I feel I needed to worry about slips and slides. I never was fully confident of the Harley Davidson OEM Dunlop tires in the wet so the Pirelli Night Dragons are a step up.
The rear Perilli Night Dragon at about 12.5K
I was disappointed with the mileage wear of the tires. But, is that a tradeoff of grip v. wear? Unfortunately, with these tires, it really is a tradeoff. So it comes down to do I buy tires a little more often for a grip that makes me feel safe (at every lean angle)?
For now the answer is yes, I just ordered a new set of Pirelli Night Dragon motorcycle tires. If I only get another 12K miles maybe I will consider testing another tire.
If you want to see earlier post on the Pirelli Night Dragon tires….
New motorcycle tires! Trying something different.
Motorcycle Product Review: 5000 Miles on the Night Dragon Motorcycle Tires
After all that I am giving these motorcycle tires a 4 out of 5 stars!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 
Thanks for the review Warren, most useful.
I feel that 12.5k miles for a set of motorcycle tires is very reasonable, it’s not just the tread that wears out the whole carcass takes a lot of punishment, especially on our big tourers such as the Ultra Limited with their high wheel loading. Great to hear that you got confidence from the wet performance; in my opinion the stock OEM tires are almost dangerous in our cool wet Northern Europe conditions and I’m desperate for something (anything!) that is reliably better. Your review gives me hope and I’ll certainly look to try out a set of these Pirellis.
Thanks again, Dookes.
I can only assume you’re talking about the rear tire.12.5 thousand is amazing. I’ve never gotten more than 10k on a (touring) Dunlop 402, never gotten more than 11k on a Michelin Commander ll. I consider both of those to be “good” rain tires. On the front, well, I usually get 22 to 24k. Thanks for the tip…I’ll check ’em out.
Yes, as you can see from the pictures I still have some tread on the front tire but the rear is pretty much gone. I seem to get about 15K on the Dunlop OEM rear on average so the Night Dragons are just a tad less in the mileage department.
I have not run the Michelin Commander II yet, but they read as if you should get 25K or more from them. Hummmm advertising LOL.
In the wet these are the best I have ever run on my touring bikes, hands down. I think it is the soft compound that does the trick.
Looked these tires up on their website, one of the bullet points is:
• Excellent grip and a higher mileage.
• From https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/motorcycle/all-tyres/sheet/night-dragon
I wonder, though…. “higher than what?”
Also, you have “gripe v. wear”. Funny, but I’m guessing you meant “grip”. Heh.
LOL… yup, they do not gripe much…at least until there is no tread on the rear tire. Then it starts to let you know that it needs attention. Thanks for the catch, I fixed it!
I must say I’m surprised at 12k miles on a big heavy tourer. On my Zx14r I run Michelin pilot roads and lucky to see 10k and that’s sports touring tyres. Grip vs miles. Sorry grip always wins. There’s too much at stake.
hummmm seems like 12K is ok. Guess I was hoping for to much.