My experience with Dunlop Roadsmarts

[Bob Bertich]

With all the bad plublicity these tires have had I thought I would post my own experirence. I purchased a set in Sep. 2009. Wow I could not belive how much better they felt than the Bridgestong Battalaxes that I had wore out two sets of. Then my buddy who owns a 07 St had the tread sepertate on his. Shortly after that I started noticing the complaints on this forum. Since I only saw one catosrophic failure and I am not independantly wealthy I just kept a very close eye on my tire presure and continue to enjoy the fantastic handling in the southern CA canyons. I have 7000 miles on them and I am just starting to get close to the ware marks on the rear and have about 2 MM tread depth on the front. I know that is not good enough for you Iron Butts out there but it took me a year and a half to put 7000 on my bike and I am more than happy to but a set of tires that often to have fantastic handling. Ufortunatly for Dulop the bad publicity has scared me off. My local tire dealer gave me full credit for the front and said I did not have to replace it with another Dunlop if I did not want to so I am going to try the Continental Road Attack 2. I could not find out much about them on the forum but read a couple of glowing tire test reviews. The best was from the founder of CanyonChasers.com who wore out two rears and one front and wrote that it may be the best sport touring tire he has ever tested and thought it was far superior to the PR2s or the Metzler Z6. I just ordered a set and I will let you know what I think about them.

 

[970mike]

I have been thinking about trying a set of those also. Please keep us posted.

Mike

 

[thumperjdm]

I'm not here to sway anyone's opinion, but all of my bikes run on Dunlops. The front Roadsmart on my ST was subject to the recall, and was replaced in a very timely manner by my local Honda dealer, free of charge, without any hassle. At the same time, my rear Roadsmart was sufficiently worn, so I purchased a new one to have a fresh pair on the bike.

I put E3's on the Goldwing years ago, and haven't looked back. I had run Qualifiers, and now run Q2's, on both CBR's (Q2's gave me a ton more confidence on the 1000 than the OEM Bridgestones it came with). Like you found, the Roadsmarts give me a bunch of confidence on the ST13.

I haven't had a single problem with Dunlop tires, and trust them with my life (quite often at some rather insane speeds).

This forum is the only one I visit on a regular basis, because of the great people who populate it. If I ever encounter a problem with my Dunlop tires, you guys will be the first to know.

 

[billo]

I have the original Avon Storms now but I'm going to put one or two k miles on them shortly. I've just ordered the Roadsmarts as back-up because of 1) Dunlop's admission of a problem and the subsequent recall and replacement and 2) I really liked the Dunlop's handling that came OEM. It would be a shame if they discontinued the rare 18" size that fits our bikes when the problem was actually fixed - and I have faith that Dunlop has at least given it a going over and changed the fabrication somehow.

Bill

 

[Bob Bertich]

I have been thinking about trying a set of those also. Please keep us posted.

Mike

I will post what I think of them after I have a few hundred miles on them and get a chance to push them and see what they will do.

 

[Bob Bertich]

Also curious about the new Contis.

As I told mike I will. Then I will put up anouther post and let you all know how many miles I get out of them.

 

[Bob Bertich]

I'm not here to sway anyone's opinion, but all of my bikes run on Dunlops. The front Roadsmart on my ST was subject to the recall, and was replaced in a very timely manner by my local Honda dealer, free of charge, without any hassle. At the same time, my rear Roadsmart was sufficiently worn, so I purchased a new one to have a fresh pair on the bike.

I put E3's on the Goldwing years ago, and haven't looked back. I had run Qualifiers, and now run Q2's, on both CBR's (Q2's gave me a ton more confidence on the 1000 than the OEM Bridgestones it came with). Like you found, the Roadsmarts give me a bunch of confidence on the ST13.

I haven't had a single problem with Dunlop tires, and trust them with my life (quite often at some rather insane speeds).

This forum is the only one I visit on a regular basis, because of the great people who populate it. If I ever encounter a problem with my Dunlop tires, you guys will be the first to know.

I have a buddy that has wore out a few sets of E3s on his gold wing and loves them.

 

[Bob Bertich]

I have the original Avon Storms now but I'm going to put one or two k miles on them shortly. I've just ordered the Roadsmarts as back-up because of 1) Dunlop's admission of a problem and the subsequent recall and replacement and 2) I really liked the Dunlop's handling that came OEM. It would be a shame if they discontinued the rare 18" size that fits our bikes when the problem was actually fixed - and I have faith that Dunlop has at least given it a going over and changed the fabrication somehow.

Bill

If I don't get enough miles out of the Contis I may go back to the Roadsmarts. By that time we will know if they really solved the problem or not.

 

[TOP]

I had my front Roadsmart fail at 11,275 miles. I just got back from the dealer with my second set mounted on the bike. The failed front was subject to the recall. I really like the feel of the Roadsmarts and the mileage isn't bad either.

 

[Twempie]

I'm waiting for a new front tire to arrive at my local dealer, should be here soon. Dunlop is replacing my tire free of charge. The Dunlop rep on the phone was very courteous, but he was at pains to inform me that this wasn't a recall. If it isn't a recall, I don't know what is, but if it walks like a duck...

The first thing I noticed about the Roadsmarts was the noise. They're the noisiest tire I've used to date, but they stick to the road really well so I'll live with the din. This is my first set of Dunlops, and I won't rule out buying another set.

 

[1129VLD]

<snip> If I ever encounter a problem with my Dunlop tires, you guys will be the first to know.

Actually, you will be the first to know!!

<snip> but he was at pains to inform me that this wasn't a recall. If it isn't a recall, I don't know what is, but if it walks like a duck...
<snip>

It's a Customer Satisfaction Campaign. OK ... whatever, please send me a new front tire.

You can put me in the camp of those who liked the Road Smart. I took mine off after all the problems started popping up. Now that the front has been replaced I'll give them another try.

 

[Bob Bertich]

I'm waiting for a new front tire to arrive at my local dealer, should be here soon. Dunlop is replacing my tire free of charge. The Dunlop rep on the phone was very courteous, but he was at pains to inform me that this wasn't a recall. If it isn't a recall, I don't know what is, but if it walks like a duck...

The first thing I noticed about the Roadsmarts was the noise. They're the noisiest tire I've used to date, but they stick to the road really well so I'll live with the din. This is my first set of Dunlops, and I won't rule out buying another set.

I noticed how noisy they are right away too but I normally ride with earplugs any way so it was not an issue. I also think the great handling out weighed the noise.

 

[LoSTBrit]

I ran a set on my '99 ST, they lasted well and did not fail, they were swapped for PR2's. I would probably run a set again if they have got them fixed now, but there are a lot of good options out there.

I am currently running BT023's on my '94 ST-A and Exedras on the 03 ST-p with a set of BT020's queued up. Will probably buy a set of Shinko's next to try them out.

Roadsmarts are pretty good bang for the buck if they don't kill you. Noise levels are tolerable, feel is very good.

 

[Twempie]

I noticed how noisy they are right away too but I normally ride with earplugs any way so it was not an issue. I also think the great handling out weighed the noise.

Me too, the squishy orange type. But I could hear the difference from day one (compared to previous tyres).

I had the offending tyre replaced today, free of charge, drove home in torrential rain, no problems with Dunlop.

 

[HillnTx]

I just checked mine recently and it falls within the parameters of the Customer Satisfaction Campaign, so I will be getting a new front tire soon. No issues so far and plenty of tread left front and rear.

 

[Twempie]

In case you need this, the number is 800-845-8378. The CSR I spoke to was named Rob. He sent a tyre to a dealer of my choosing, installed FOC. Painless.

This has to be done by July 31, 2011.

 

[Jaschil69]

I don't frequent the boards, but I was on last week to get some tire reviews and noticed all of the Roadsmart failures. Since I had a set of them on the bike, I found the front was in the range of failures, date 4207. The rep at Dunlop was helpful and is sending out a tire to my local dealer. Just hope it gets here quick. Big ride this weekend!