Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the manufacturer of Dunlop Elite tires for the Honda Goldwing, and the United Steel Workers union have tentatively agreed to a new contract. The union workers are expected back to work on January 2, 2007, and Goodyear Dunlop expects to be back up and running shortly thereafter. This is certainly good news for the entire motorcycle industry. The real question for Goldwing owners is how will this affect the aftermarket tire supply?

I have covered this issue at length in previous posts so I won't do so again here. The bottom line is that there was a substantial shortage of aftermarket Dunlop tires for the Honda Goldwing before the strike started. The strike only made matters worse. Now that the strike is over there is going to be a period time during which Dunlop plays catch up. After that we are right back where we started. Unless Dunlop commits additional resources to producing aftermarket tires for the Goldwing then the shortage is going to continue.

I continue to advise Chrome World customers to buy tires sooner rather than later. Spring is only three months away. Once the spring rush starts I believe we will again see extended back orders.

I will be meeting with all of the major tire manufacturers in February as we place our orders for the year. I should have a better handle on where we stand then and I will be sure to pass that information along to you.