If you buy the motorcycle of your dreams from Harley-Davidson, there’s a very good chance it’s going to be fitted with Dunlop tires. The American tire company has been the primary original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the legendary bike manufacturer since the early 1980s. In the over forty years since the partnership began, Dunlop has manufactured over 10 million tires for the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer. That’s a lot of rubber (although tires are made from more than just rubber, of course). 

The OEM partnership between the two companies began in 1983, but Harley-Davidson and Dunlop actually first started working together in July 1981. This was when Dunlop began supplying tires for Harley’s Sportster bikes. By 1983, this had expanded to include the FL range of motorcycles. The rest, as they say, is history. H-D and Dunlop’s 45-plus-year partnership is the longest one that Harley-Davidson has maintained with a tire manufacturer, and Dunlop is the only company that designs and manufactures tires for Harley-Davidson in North America.

That partnership extends beyond factory tires, too, as Dunlop was announced as the official tire supplier for the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup in 2026. However, Dunlop doesn’t have exclusivity as Harley’s tire supplier; Michelin is also in the picture.

While Dunlop may be the primary OEM tire supplier for Harley-Davidson, it doesn’t have a monopoly on H-D tires. French company Michelin, which also owns several other tire brands, has also forged a working relationship with Harley-Davidson and supplies a range of tires for various models. 

The transatlantic partnership started in 2008 when the companies co-developed the Scorcher range of tires. Since then, Michelin has supplied over a million tires for new Harleys. Among the models that may come with Michelin tires are the Softail range, touring motorcycles, and the aforementioned Sportster range. However, while all these models can have either Dunlop or Michelin tires fitted at the factory, there is one Harley-Davidson that’s something of an outlier (in more ways than one) by only coming with Michelin tires as standard: the LiveWire electric motorcycle. 

Michelin and Harley-Davidson collaborated to create the Scorcher Sport tires specifically for Harley’s first foray into the EV market. The co-branded tire has been the only OEM tire for the range since the LiveWire One was unveiled in 2019. The LiveWire brand split from Harley-Davidson that same year to become a separate entity, but Harley-Davidson remains the majority shareholder.

Tires may not be the most glamorous part of a bike, but they’re critically important to ensure that the motorcycle sticks to the tarmac and doesn’t leave you hanging on for dear life every time you corner. This is one reason there are only certain types of tires you should install on a Harley-Davidson. 

Obviously, Dunlop is one of the manufacturers that Harley-Davidson recommends. The collaboration between the two companies isn’t just about Dunlop or Michelin making the right-sized tire and shipping it to the Harley-Davidson factory. Tires need to be engineered to suit the demands of the motorcycle it’s designed for. Factors like load rating, the handling characteristics of different models, and overall durability and performance also have to be considered. 

This is why the partnership between H-D and Dunlop companies matters for more than just commercial reasons. It’s also a technical partnership, with Dunlop having specifically developed tires for many Harley-Davidson models. These tires include the D401, typically found on H-D’s cruiser models, and the D402, meant for heavier touring bikes. Another notable tire is the GT502, which was designed for the XL1200 CX Roadster.