Folks who own bikes where 404s come as OEM original equipment usually complain about them but a lot less than some other OEM OE tires. The usual complaint is handling and noise.
They come stock on some Vulcans and you really have to be careful when listening to folks about tires. For instance, when a person has a set of 404s and they last 10K milees, the 404s, like most Dunlops wear square and handling gets funny in the last 2K miles... This is on a bike that weighs about 1/2 a ton now... well they switch to brand new (fill in the blank) and the new tire feels sooooooo much better and handles like a dream. That person will tell everyone on the planet that the (fill in the blank) tire is the best thing since sliced bread and WILL SWEAR they are tire experts and if you just bought the (fill in the blank) tire, it would cure the common cold and make you good looking!
In the past 5 years, I have used Avon Venom X, Michelin Commanders, Michelin Macadams, Dunlop 404s, Continental Milestones, Dunlop 491 Elite II, Metzler 880s, Cheng Shin Barracudas, Cheng Shen 627s (think that was the number; it was a high mileage 6ply tire), Dunlop Cruisemax, Cheng Shin Hi-Max. Couple of comments... MOST ALL THESE TIRES WORKED VERY WELL DURING THE FIRST 80 PERCENT OF THEIR LIFE! The longest lasting were the 491s. The only problem was that they started squaring off at about 14K miles and by 18K miles they still had tread but were like driving on car tires. The Dunlop Cruisemax tires were even worse than the 491s for squaring off. Note that I generally keep tire pressure correct. The Metzler 880s are similar (a tad less) for mileage and handle great and DO NOT seem to square off. Problem is, I had TWO sets where the back tire had tread splitting. The Conti Milestones were OK... neither great mileage or handling but not bad. I owned a couple sets of these. I had a heck of a time balancing one set as it came bought OUT OF ROUND. The Avon Venom X tires were always great. They didn't last quite as long... if a Dunlop lasted 18K miles on the back of a heavy touring bike, the Venom X would last 15K. They wore evenly and handled SUPERB. The Michelin Macadam tires I had MAY be a different variety than available in classic bike sizes but they truly didn't last long and didn't handle great. The Commanders wore like iron and worked great. Sold the bike before I could get a sense of their mileage. Cheng Shin Barracudas handle as well as most sport tires except I couldn't get a rear tire to last more than 2.5K miles. Geesh, and I am an old man hehe The 6 ply Cheng Shins didn't last long... they didn't have a name only they were in inch sizes and 6-ply... 927s? Just can't recall. The Hi-Maxs will usually get a zillion miles for the front tires and about 6-10K miles on the rear as I have had multiple sets of these. I use these because their cost vs the length of time between having to change them is pretty darn good. They also handle decently (not great but decent) and do well in the rain.
I had a set of 404s on a Vulcan I owned but they were at the end of their life and got changed almost immediately after I bought the bike. I think they will also last longer on a KZ than a Vulcan due to weight. I am going to try a set, I think, on my project ST... cost isn't bad at all and they are Dunlop tires and that should mean decent quality. I would like to see someone give an objective ride report on a set at some point!
