Dunlop D220 ST

Wookie

Lone Wolf
Joined
Sep 20, 2005
Messages
18
Age
42
Location
Overland Park
4500 miles and they're at the wear bars. I can't beleive they went out that fast. never again will dunlops be fitted to this ST.
 
it's weird, i almost wore the sides out as fast as the center. I do 90% of my riding in Kansas. THEY HAVE NO TURNS!!! :)
 
Same issues here with the Flops on the old :03biker: ...worn out after 5K mi
Fortunately the :biker: came with Stones and I am very happy with the wear so far. 8K and still going with no cupping on the front as some have experienced. The rear is cupped a little on the sides and is worn about 50%.
Will definately be going with another set of these as they have no handling issues and they are very quiet.
 
Wookie,

Were those OEM's or universal 220's? My OEM's had 8,000 on them when I pulled them off and still had a little life left in them.
 
After hearing your experience, I feel pretty good about getting 11K to the wear bars out of my OEM Dunlops which is what was on my 05. I guess I went pretty easy on them, hot Texas weather is hard on tires! I ordered the BT020F Stones to replace them with.. Hope I like em :)
 
Byron said:
Wookie,

Were those OEM's or universal 220's? My OEM's had 8,000 on them when I pulled them off and still had a little life left in them.

they were the OEM's and i'm not a throttle monkey either. the wear is strange instead of being flat in the center and rounded on the edges the tires are 3 sided and at the edge of the three sides it's about 2 1/2 inches of good tread till it meets the sidewall. never again
 
I spent a lot of time talking to the tire expert at Chaparral Motorsports in San Berdo California, and he said he gets a lot of negative feedback from guys that have tried the D220s. Cupping, strange wear patterns, poor feel after a short time, and poor mileage.
He said his biggest seller is Bridgestone tires. He heard a lot of praise for them over the years, but says to avoid the "U" tire for the rear on the ST1300, get the "F" tire.
He says Dunlop has lost a lot of business to Metzler in the last few years, and believes that the management at Dunlop has made a decision to service Harley and Honda, but has given up on individual customers and their needs and requests.

I have about 11,500 miles on my Bridgestones, and am ready to put on another set. Good rubber.
 
How do you know if it's the OEM tire or not? Mine says d220 ST

I believe both Dunlop and Bridgestone OEMs have 4 plies and the non OEM have 3 plies. That info should be on the sidewall. Don't know about the Dunlops but the BT020 will also say "BT020 Radial F". With F being the OEM designation.

Phil
 
here's an update. the front tire is cupped so badly it creates a 50 mph headshake. it is lasting, but it is cupping badly. the rear is a 020F and it is a much better tire than the dunlop.
 
+1 on the Bridgestones. Very good handling, great grip dry/wet, reasonable lifespan.

Make sure to always run 42 psi front and rear to help avoid unusual tire wear.

Ray
smile04Bikerwheelie.gif
 
I must be doing good. I put Ride-On in the tires as soon as I can and got 11,500 out of my Dunlop OEM's and hadn't hit the wear bars yet. Only reason I changed them is I had a 3000 mile trip I had to take and didn't want to push it so far from home.
 
I'm at 12K on the OEM tires and it looks like I'll get another 2K out of them. No cupping and they grip nicely. I'm considering the BT021s or Metzler. Dunnys and the others are not on the short list courtesy of the comments here. Thanks for helping me make the correct decision.
 
Love the Bridgstone BT020 tires. I got 17,000 out of my first set, with no problem. No weird wear, etc. I got 10,000 + miles on the second. The tires are still going fine, Just keep up on the tire pressure at 42 psi. I check mine almost every time I go out on a long ride. They do leak down a couple of pounds after standing in the garage for a few days, but that's the nature of the rims. :)
 
I would love to know if anyone has ever done any research as to why there could be such a great difference how long these tires last. After all, some people do swear that they ride in a relatively calm manner, and still get lousy mileage. I just went out and checked mine last night. 7600 miles on the original Dunlaps. Shot!!!! Metal threads peeking through in the middle of the rear. Weird wear on the left side of the rear. Changing to BS 021

Enjoy your ride today.

Loren Zell
 
Regional differences in the composition of asphalt can make a huge difference.

--Mark
 
I have love Dunlops on most of my other bikes but the ST is very different on them. I went back to the 020 tires but may look at METZ's next time. I am happy with the 020 though. I will try to attach a pic of the front 020 I just pulled off, had 21K mostly commute miles. Notice the cracks in the right side only tread grooves. Any one have any ideas about this. I am not complaining, but it was scary when I found them.
 

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