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March 2012 code
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Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk 2
BT45 tire cracking???
- Thread starter nhdiesel
- Start date
I really wanted to try the "George Catt Combo" on my ST1100 next time. (BT020 and a G547) but this thread's bumming me out. I don't think my current Battlax's or new BS tires are going to kill me or anything, it more that I don't like the way this is being handled on their end.
I hear that !
Even though, I personally found that ended up liking the tire. Dunlop really took point during that whole recall deal, just a couple years ago.
When I first contacted them it seemed to me that their apologies, just general concern, were genuine ! and followed trough.
I liked the tire, but they really got me with that part of the customer service.
I would/will still buy from them.
Tommy
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Very well put, and my exact position as well! While I have some concern about their statement about knowing others have cracked as well...there hasn't been anything said on any of the forums, so they are most likely very rare cases. But like you, its their handling of it that bothers me. It would have made me feel a lot better for them to show some concern, rather than a quick warranty denial (I don't even care about the warranty). Maybe actually talk to me, ask me some questions, etc. If I ever manufactured any kind of product, and someone sent me photos of it in such a damaged state, I would be ensuring there were no injuries, then investigating why it happened and making it right.
Very well put, and my exact position as well!
Ok ... I know I didnt bring anything to the table as fas as conversation, just a couple of quotes, and I hope that I am never able.
But I have been following it and that is how I feel as well ... (Dang it)
I think a lot of folks that we know count on customer service more and more (unfortunately) ... "and if I am calling you, I'm already not happy" so it better be good !
Tommy
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We changed the tire tonight and found something interesting. Besides the cracking, the tread was actually separating from the belts and peeling away. I hadn't poked at the tire before tonight, but once I took a close look at it I found I could actually peel a good portion of the rubber away from the cords. I used a tool to hold it up for the photo, but it peeled up just like this with my finger. I'm starting to wonder if it really was just the cold, or more to it?
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Jim, my money would still be the extreme cold temps and the rough roads in your area did this tire in.
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Not saying this has anything to do with it but I know a lot of people that run DD run that tire backwards. Which way did you have it mounted?
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Funny, but this tire was mounted in the correct direction. The first tire I had backwards, I did this one the other way to compare tire live and handling. I mounted the new one backwards...not that I felt that had anything to do with it, I just went with what I know worked well before.
Mike is probably right, it most likely is still the cold & roads that did it.
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I was interested because it could be a factor. The idea from my understanding is that the tire is designed to provide traction under a force direction. Not sure I am explaining that right but under acceleration on a rear tire it is going in one direction but the front won't experience those forces in that direction as it would be a braking force more than anything else. So by mounting it the way it should be (if it were a rear tire) may be backwards to the way the tire was designed. I am sure you are aware of this Jim so it is more a comment for those that are scratching their heads as we are talking about mounting a tire backwards to intended direction of rotation. Maybe it played a factor? It is worth noting as we collect information in the event someone else sees something like this. Which way was the tire mounted.
I should also note that this isn't out of the norm. I have had non-darkside tires that I swore I had one mounted the wrong way when you compared tread pattern in the front vs rear. But when you look at the arrows they were mounted in the correct orientation.
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From my understanding the direction is more a factor of the tread design for expelling water than a belt design. And looking at the cracking, and the way it radiates out from certain points on each side of the tire, I'm going along with the theory that the tire couldn't handle the cold and cracked when hitting bumps. We do have plenty of those!
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I agree that water is a primary reason. Not sure about the directional forces. May be an issue with some tires and not others.
I remember a few years back I put new tires on our Audi A4. They were directional summer tires. Well the tire shop screwed up and mounted the tire backwards on the passenger front rim. I was driving the car a couple days later and it rained. I could tell right away that something wasn't right. I got to where I was going and looked at the tires and saw the one mounted backwards. Went back and they corrected the issue. The car was pulling funny in the rain and didn't feel balanced at all. It probably couldn't push the water out of the way properly because the channels in the tire tread were not oriented right. If they were all backwards I may not have noticed it but with one steering wheel off something felt strange with the car and that was the only change so it was easy to find.
+1 Tread design for water management is primary reason behind rotation direction. I get a kick hearing folks try to explain that a rear tire is designed for torque only while accelerating. Since the rear tire is also subject to torque in the opposite direction when braking, its construction must compensate for both. Granted, most braking forces are imparted on the front tire, the rear tire will see various amounts of braking forces depending on how the vehicle is loaded (front-rear weight bias).