I purchased my 2007 ST1300 last October. It was a pre-owned bike with approximately 16,000 miles on the clock. As of today it now has 18,077 miles. I have no idea how many miles are on my current set of Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart tires, but the tread looked to have quite a bit of wear to go before replacement would be necessary.
This evening I was riding home from visiting family who live an hour away. Cruising at 70 MPH I noticed a little vibration that seemed to be coming from the front end of the bike. This was very unusual, because my ST1300 is a very smooth bike, and I thought maybe I had a balance issue that had developed on the front wheel. The vibration increased very quickly and I decided that I needed to pull over to see what was going on.
Upon slowing down to stop, the front end seemed to be bouncing a LOT. I looked at the front wheel and tire, and at first look everything appeared to be fine. On closer inspection a section of the front tire seemed to be bulging...a section of the tread about 8-9 inches long. This portion of the tire was extremely hot...much hotter than the rest of the tire.
I arranged for a tow to get the bike home, and my 60 minute ride turned into a 3 1/2 hour excursion. The bike tow was arranged via my Road America road side assistance, which paid off big time, and the truck and crew that was dispatched did an excellent job getting my bike and me home safe and sound.
Now, after doing some searching and reading on the forum, I see that I am not alone in having a bad experience with the Dunlop Roadsmart front tire...I only wish I had paid more attention to the known issues with this tire. My tire was manufactured in August of 2008 which puts it in the time frame of the known tire issues.
At this point I appear to be beyond the end date to get a replacement tire from Dunlop...which is actually ok with me. Frankly, I don't think I could feel comfortable with a Dunlop replacement tire after this experience anyway.
So...I consider myself VERY fortunate to have gotten the bike off the road and safely stopped before the tire failed. I am glad that I was able to get the bike home in good shape...other than the failed front tire.
After looking around the forum, the Michelin Pilot Road 2's seem to be a popular choice for ST1300 replacement tires and I am leaning toward purchasing a set of them.
Anyone care to give their opinion on the PR2's or other replacement tires that provide good grip and good wear characteristics?
This evening I was riding home from visiting family who live an hour away. Cruising at 70 MPH I noticed a little vibration that seemed to be coming from the front end of the bike. This was very unusual, because my ST1300 is a very smooth bike, and I thought maybe I had a balance issue that had developed on the front wheel. The vibration increased very quickly and I decided that I needed to pull over to see what was going on.
Upon slowing down to stop, the front end seemed to be bouncing a LOT. I looked at the front wheel and tire, and at first look everything appeared to be fine. On closer inspection a section of the front tire seemed to be bulging...a section of the tread about 8-9 inches long. This portion of the tire was extremely hot...much hotter than the rest of the tire.
I arranged for a tow to get the bike home, and my 60 minute ride turned into a 3 1/2 hour excursion. The bike tow was arranged via my Road America road side assistance, which paid off big time, and the truck and crew that was dispatched did an excellent job getting my bike and me home safe and sound.
Now, after doing some searching and reading on the forum, I see that I am not alone in having a bad experience with the Dunlop Roadsmart front tire...I only wish I had paid more attention to the known issues with this tire. My tire was manufactured in August of 2008 which puts it in the time frame of the known tire issues.
At this point I appear to be beyond the end date to get a replacement tire from Dunlop...which is actually ok with me. Frankly, I don't think I could feel comfortable with a Dunlop replacement tire after this experience anyway.
So...I consider myself VERY fortunate to have gotten the bike off the road and safely stopped before the tire failed. I am glad that I was able to get the bike home in good shape...other than the failed front tire.
After looking around the forum, the Michelin Pilot Road 2's seem to be a popular choice for ST1300 replacement tires and I am leaning toward purchasing a set of them.
Anyone care to give their opinion on the PR2's or other replacement tires that provide good grip and good wear characteristics?