Why Dunlop no longer makes tires for the CB1100

[Whoops]

A few weeks ago I submitted a question about tires to Dunlop from their website "contact us" link thinking "hey, why not?". I assumed I would never get a response and quickly forgot about it until this morning, when a gentleman named Doug called me to answer my questions directly. This gist of the conversation went pretty close to what follows and I wanted to get it out here while it was still fresh in the interest of archiving the firsthand response from one of the Honda OEM tire manufacturers for our bikes.

I asked Doug why Dunlop no longer makes tires for the CB1100 domestically (USA) when it seems that forum members were still able to obtain them in overseas markets, specifically Australia based on what Cormanus had said in another post.

Doug explained that initial availability for tires in a non-standard size for a specific motorcycle falls solely on the motorcycle manufacturer, in this case, Honda. When Honda for example, creates a new model bike, they typically order an allotment of tires for that bike to be used during assembly. Honda then has the option to order additional allotments to cover things such as warranty issues. Doug stated that most motorcycle manufacturers normally order about a two year supply of tires to cover warranty issues and is what Honda did for the CB1100. The motorcycle manufacturer can also choose to order additional tires for dealership (OEM) sales, which in the case of CB1100's sold in the USA, Honda elected not to not to do. Tires sold by US dealerships came from that 2 year warranty allotment.

I asked why Dunlop no longer makes tires for the CB1100 on their own behalf and he stated point blank, the CB1100 did not sell in great enough numbers in the USA to warrant continued manufacture of tires for that motorcycle model. He told me that Dunlop has a minimum number of bikes that must be sold in a market in order to continue making tires for that bike, but he didn't state what that number was in the case of the US CB1100.

Essentially, the reason Dunlop no longer makes them for Honda, is Honda elected to discontinue on-going availability of Dunlop tires. Why Dunlop didn't continue to make them for sale through dealers and other channels is that Honda sold too few bikes in the USA. It seems obvious, but hearing it directly from Dunlop eliminates any theories as to why.

He didn't elaborate on whether the decision for those allotments of tires were made by Honda or Honda USA. He did however confirm that Dunlop no longer makes any tires in the CB1100 OEM sizes in any of their factories worldwide. He explained the reason they may be available in other countries is only due to remaining inventory from those initial Honda warranty orders. Based on that, I would presume that the ability to buy any Dunlop tire for the CB1100 will shortly cease altogether, regardless of market.

I guess that explains why other manufacturers such as Michelin, ceased making tires for our bikes as well. Not enough people bought into the vision or nostalgia of the CB1100.

Interesting tidbit, the caller ID came across as "Sumitomo Rubber", not Dunlop.

[Cormanus]

Interesting, Whoops. Makes me wonder which manufacturer the Roadsmart IV was made for. It wasn't for the CB1100. That was a D205 or something like it.

[Whoops]

Interesting, Whoops. Makes me wonder which manufacturer the Roadsmart IV was made for. It wasn't for the CB1100. That was a D205 or something like it.

Not sure. At the time of the call, I didn't recall if the tire model you mentioned was the D205 or something else or I would have asked about the Road Smart. He had to dig in his computer a bit to even know what bike I was talking about. Presumably the entire conversation was revolving around the D205 since I would guess that was the tire he was able to see that was associated with the CB1100, regardless of any other model that might happen to be in the same size as our OEM's.

[peterbaron]

Woops, are we talking tubed or tubeless tires and OEM size, right?

[Cormanus]

PB, yes we are. The discussion arose from Whoops' amazement that the DUnlop Roadsmart IV was available in Australia but not in the United States.

Whoops, the OEM tyres were the Dunlop D205 and the Bridgestone BT54.

[Randy B]

The BT54 is still available. Here is the listing from Dennis Kirk.

https://www.denniskirk.com/bridgestone/battlax-bt54-tire.pfp544446.prdf?fs=544446&rs=544447

It's the only tire I found that had both the front and the rear OEM sizes.

[tdbru]

https://www.metzeler.com/en-us/catalog/p...0-18/36152

https://www.bridgestonemotorcycletires.c...ct-results

https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/motorcycle/catalog/size/front-rear?front=110_80r18&rear=140_70r18&versionId=36152&segment=standard

https://www.avontyres.com/en-us/tyres/roadrider-mkii?searchtype=car&cartype=motorcycle&car=Honda+CB+1100+2013+-+2016&engine_spec=1100

Has anyone tried the metzler roadtec z8 interact and the bridgestone T32 and can give opinions?
thanks,
tdbru

[Cormanus]

See if this helps. https://cb1100forum.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=4125

A few people have used the Metzler tyres and been happy with them. I'm not sure they are very long lasting.

[Nachodaddy]

I put the Metzlers on my 2013 standard and I liked them. They were only on for a few hundred miles before I sold the bike and I didn't ride it hard, so can't say that I tested them at all. I have used Metzlers on other bikes and liked them.

[Henrik]

Just migrated over to this new forum from the old one...

I am on my second set of Metzler Z8 and am very happy with them. Much better than the original mount, and I have found that they last reasonably long. I had to change my first set a bit early (they could have been used for a lot longer) as I got a flat.

For info, I have them with inner tubes as my CB is the European 2014 EX version with wire wheels.