Never buy Dunlop Roadsmarts again

islandstar

islandstar

Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
133
Location
Sparks, NV
Bike
2005 ST1300
:(

Wow, I noticed my front tire Dunlop Road Smart wearing up to (not beyond) the wear bar and decided to pull the wheel to replace the rubber.
Removing the wheel was uneventful and when I rolled the wheel out, noticed this:

A very visible bubble on the road surface contact part of the tire
DunlopRoadsmartTireBubble-2.jpg



Here's another angle
DunlopRoadsmartTireBubble-1.jpg





I checked the air pressure...41lbs and I can easily push with my finger the bubble down. I am thanking my lucky stars about now as the last ride on it was at Crestoc.

Thoughts?
 
The original dunlop tires on my 05 ST wore uneven also causing a strong pull to the right. Metz z-6 much better.
 
That's an ugly tire. Looks like tread separated from the cords. Not good.

Tread separation could result from poor design, manufacturing defect, or old tires (not the case with Roadsmarts...too new to the market). I expect that tread suddenly peeling off the cords on your front tire would cause some unexpected handling issues. :22yikes: Lucky the bubble didn't pop on the road.
 
Yikes ! You probably got a little shiver when seeing that. When my Bridgestone's wear out, I will probably go the Metz Z6 which I appreciated on my Bandit.
 
Why do you think we call them DunFLOPS! Every bike I have had that came with Dunlops, I could not get them off fast enough. They just never felt right to me. YMMV.
 
Never buy Dunlop Roadsmarts again because you have one tire with a defect? I have no experience with Dunlops, and sympathize with your bad experience, but it appears to be a defect. What measures did you take to have this addressed by the supplier? Is Dunlop (or Honda if they are OEM) refusing to stand behind their product? How many miles?
 
wjbertrand said:
Great. I just fitted a set of these :(
Click to expand...

Well, FWIW, I'm 5k miles into a set and they seem to be wearing very nice and evenly - and not too quickly. I like the handling and feel. I will keep an eye on them, as I always do, but I wouldn't be as alarmed as the title of this thread would seem to indicate. :| :) :|
 
I had 7,127 miles on that front tire which by all appearances looked normal, even wear. I was actually contemplating getting a few more miles out of it but I figured, I have time so let's just replace it. I would not have seen this IF I didn't pull the wheel off the bike.

The rear was pulled off close to 6,100 miles and was cupping and well worn, but no bubble.

The MESSAGE I want to get out to everyone is to not only look at your tires or check air pressure before a ride, but to SPIN your tires and check for anything that doesn't look right.
 
Last edited:
islandstar said:
Apparently, misery loves company :(
Click to expand...


If you will ship me your tire I won't make any promises but I will tell you that I'll talk to Dunlop. They need to see these types of things and lots of times they may listen to us rather than the end user. I know that doesn't make sense but you don't piss off the guys that can sell the most tires for you.

As of right now just with the problem that Mellow and Tank had I don't push Raodsmarts at this time. Just a thought you might want to ssend it to me. Thanks Tim
 
I've never liked Flops... never will... hated them on my Wing... hated them on my Sabre... hated them on my Camry ;)
 
Thanks for the offer Tim. I had the tire replaced at the local shop and will see if they still have it when they open on Monday.

Andrew



Two Brothers said:
If you will ship me your tire I won't make any promises but I will tell you that I'll talk to Dunlop. They need to see these types of things and lots of times they may listen to us rather than the end user. I know that doesn't make sense but you don't piss off the guys that can sell the most tires for you.

As of right now just with the problem that Mellow and Tank had I don't push Raodsmarts at this time. Just a thought you might want to ssend it to me. Thanks Tim
Click to expand...
 
Just a little pleasurable salt pounding. I was the first to mention they are crap, and indeed they are. I'm not a senile old crotchety crab after all... well maybe I'm not.
 
Hi, I just want to add my 2 cents on this. I HATE my Roadsmarts, 2K miles and I'm going back to the Z6 as soon I can get a set.I find that i have a front end has weave now that I never had before,34K on the bike and the front just fells like it's got no grip in the corners. DID I SAY THAT I HATE THEM.:03biker:
 
I'm on my second set of Road Smarts and I like them. I guess I don't have a history with Dunlops, so no built in bias yet. No problems due to manufacturer defects.

I really like the Road Smart handling, smooth and easy turn in, exceptional grip (wet and dry). I find that they feel very secure in the tight twisty stuff and do ok on the slab. They also held together for me and handled fine to the end of tread life (6-7k miles for my sloppy riding style)

I found the BS 020's to be the most stable on the slab, but lacked the Road Smart's "feel" in the curves. I had a defective front 020 that wobbled like crazy, it was replaced without hassle by the vendor. (same mileage 6-7k) I didn't (and haven't) give up on Bridgestone, I wore out 2 more sets.

I've also worn out a few sets of Z6's, very good handling tire also. Although, the front and rear cupped really badly toward the end of tread life that made the last 2k miles miserable due to noise and handling degradation. (same mileage 6-7k)

If this tells you anything, it should be that different riders have vastly differing experiences with the same tire.

I've been hunting for that perfect tire with an acceptable mix of grip and mileage. So far, tires made for the ST (with the exception of the ME880) have all provided "reasonable" grip, but what I would consider low mileage. Can't be unacceptable, cuz grippy high mileage tires just don't exist.


Haven't tried the PR2s or Avons yet.
My 2 cents.
 
Last edited:
Ran Dunlops on all my Harleys not 1 problem. Just changed out rear on Road King at 13,000. Could go another 1,000. Would not go through inspection.

ST1300 Bridgestones till i have a problem. 020 OEM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom