Roadsmart Front Tire Failure

[George]

Re: Crap!

++ on what Jeff said about being familiar with remove/install wheels. (I can do it blind-folded on an 1100.)

Next point for youse newer 1300 owners is to add the necessary tools to yur on-board kit.

And a plug/compressor kit.

And maybe tar arns.

BTW, I used on of my tar arns yesterday to remove the lower steering race on STick. Exactly the right curve and hook to grab onto that elusive lower lip. (Need to add a couple divots similar to Johns rear wheel hub divots for removing those bearings.)

 

[wjbertrand]

Re: Crap!

++ on what Jeff said about being familiar with remove/install wheels. (I can do it blind-folded on an 1100.)

Next point for youse newer 1300 owners is to add the necessary tools to yur on-board kit.

And a plug/compressor kit.

And maybe tar arns.

BTW, I used on of my tar arns yesterday to remove the lower steering race on STick. Exactly the right curve and hook to grab onto that elusive lower lip. (Need to add a couple divots similar to Johns rear wheel hub divots for removing those bearings.)

Yeah, about the only thing I don't carry is a means to break the bead and "tar" irons. No need for the irons if you can't break the bead. That's where the little indepent shop comes in handy. Usually these situations are pluggable - not this time.

 

[George]

Re: Crap!

Yeah, about the only thing I don't carry is a means to break the bead and "tar" irons. No need for the irons if you can't break the bead. That's where the little indepent shop comes in handy. Usually these situations are pluggable - not this time.

Totally agree Jeff. Main reason for carrying the arns is to change a tar, most don't need to do that on the road.

BUT, with a little soap and two tar arns I can break a bead. Learned that trick from Will at Willville Campground near Meadows of Dan, VA a couple years ago. It's a very useful trick on the road. (Credit where credit is due. )

 

[Onicabbit]

Re: Crap!

dang those road gremlins!

 

[Putt-Putt]

Re: Crap!

The stem of a champagne glass will also ruin a tire--found that out one News Years Eve long ago

 

[Silver Bullet]

Re: Crap!

Wow Jeff , I think luck was on your side in not having it go down while on the freeway ?Glad no harm and you got it fixed .



MIKE

 

[wjbertrand]

Re: Crap!

Update:

Got home and started examining the tire more closely. It appears the air loss was caused by a singe strand of wire from the steel belt puncturing the inner butyl air barrier. 'Splanes the slow leak. I also noticed the entire center 1" or so section of the tread is raised up like a ridge. In fact there's space under the ridge where it apparently separated from the underlying steel belts. I can insert a flat screwdriver into the gash and very easily advance it in a circumferential direction all the way up to the handle. That's about 6" with no real effort at all.

Now I'm wondering if there was a tread separation and the tire self destructed or there was an object as I initially thought. About 6K miles on this tire. It's a Dunlop RoadSmart, or was, BTW.

 

[Gymbo]

Re: Crap!

It's a Dunlop RoadSmart, or was, BTW.

There was another thread about Dunlop Roadsmart tread separation either on this or another forum. I can't find it, of course.

Added on edit: Here's the thread I was thinking of

 

[Shadowfax-ST]

Re: Crap!

I'm wondering, since I dig out all manner of grit from my tyres each week with a screwdriver if the compounds are too soft for such a heavy beasty? (RP2 front and BT020 rear).

Back in my (2008) days of the 125cc and Deauville on the same roads over 3-months I don't recall having to dig anything out.

 

[Mellow]

Re: Crap!

Roadsmart..... hmmmmm... what was it mom said... if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...

 

[ToroGuy]

Re: Crap!

Now I'm wondering if there was a tread separation and the tire self destructed or there was an object as I initially thought. About 6K miles on this tire. It's a Dunlop RoadSmart, or was, BTW.

I had almost 9 inches of thread separation on a front RoadSmart at a little over 7000 miles. I was ~ 200 miles from home on a lonely Texas FM road. Luckily my wife's brother's house was only 15 miles away, so I rode 20 MPH to his house, took off both wheels, borrowed his truck, drove home, and replaced both RoadSmarts with a set of PR2's I had in the garage. Now life is good.

My opinion is that the Dunlop RoadSmart is a safety hazard. I will never again be a Dunlop customer.

 

[Papa]

Re: Crap!

Nasty gash, glad it didn't snag you.

 

[Larry Ramel]

Re: Crap!

I had almost 9 inches of thread separation on a front RoadSmart at a little over 7000 miles. I was ~ 200 miles from home on a lonely Texas FM road. Luckily my wife's brother's house was only 15 miles away, so I rode 20 MPH to his house, took off both wheels, borrowed his truck, drove home, and replaced both RoadSmarts with a set of PR2's I had in the garage. Now life is good.

My opinion is that the Dunlop RoadSmart is a safety hazard. I will never again be a Dunlop customer.

Smart guy!

 

[Silver Bullet]

Re: Crap!

Wow, the other brands of tires are looking better all the time ! Dunlop did make a good tire back in the day when there were few to choose from ,but now ?


MIKE

 

[Phartz]

Re: Crap!

Wow, the other brands of tires are looking better all the time ! Dunlop did make a good tire back in the day when there were few to choose from ,but now ?


MIKE

I guess Dunlops are 'sposed to be impervious to road hazards as well, like ALL the other brands. :noway

Pile on . . . pile on . . .

​

 

[roginoz]

Re: Crap!

If this was anything like my experience, road hazards had noting to do with it. Road hazards don't cause delamination of the tread from the carcass. I'll be looking at something else for my next set of tires, as well. (The RoadSmarts are great, except for the chunk of tread that sometimes comes off...)

 

[Phartz]

Re: Crap!

If this was anything like my experience, road hazards had noting to do with it.

:bsflag:

I guess you didn't look at the same picture at the beginning of the thread that I did - or read the account of the OP.

​

 

[wjbertrand]

Re: Crap!

If this was anything like my experience, road hazards had noting to do with it. Road hazards don't cause delamination of the tread from the carcass. I'll be looking at something else for my next set of tires, as well. (The RoadSmarts are great, except for the chunk of tread that sometimes comes off...)

Yeah, it's really a shame as these tire actually handle and were wearing pretty well. Further investigation of the rear tire, also a RoadSmart, revealed no indication that it had run over anything unusual. Something strong enough to bust the steel belts I would guess leave some kind of mark on the rear tire too. This is further evidence that leads me to suspect the front tire suffered a defect. Of course there is still the possibility, if there was an object, that it was kicked away from the path of the rear tire.

One thing for sure, the delamination could not have been caused by running the tire in a deflated condition as there was still 44PSI present (tire was warm) when I parked the bike at work.

 

[roginoz]

Re: Crap!

:bsflag:

I guess you didn't look at the same picture at the beginning of the thread that I did - or read the account of the OP.

​

Glad you're having fun with the BS flag. Yes, I do take it personally.

I've read every post in this thread, including the original and the most recent. I have ridden tens of thousands of miles on various Dunlops, including two sets of RoadSmarts. There is definitely a problem with the front RoadSmarts. I'm not the first, and doubtless won't be the last, to experience this.

I'd suggest you read my original post (https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71141) and examine the number of other reported delaminations with the RoadSmart before making your flippant comments.

 

[Mellow]

Re: Crap!

Let's tone it down a notch guys.. any personal posts - after this one - will be removed.

1st of all, Roger has some very valid points as he has a personal experience with roadsmart issues... so have I.

I rode to Big Bend and back last year on Roadsmarts and the front appeared to have a balance issue. Had I known about these issues, I would have found the nearest dealer and replaced the tire. I thought I had just thrown a weight or didn't do a good job at balancing in the first place. Several others have had the same issues with 'FRONT' roadsmarts on this site... which, is a very small selection and there are only a few tires available for the ST so given all the ones people do use, the RS seem to have the most issues. I never had any issues with my rear roadsmarts, just the front.

If you have roadsmarts and you like them then it's your choice to use them or not. Personally, I won't go near them.. I'm not sure I'm writing off Dunlops but back when I had a valkyrie there were similar issues with them as well.