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Dunlop Roadsmarts

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yamadavidson

yamadavidson

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I have had roadsmarts on my 1250 for about 5k miles and Ive noticed that the front one is wearing much faster than the rear. Obviously its more than mfg hype about the dual compound tires longevity, I thought that they were both dual compound but after researching I found out only the rear roadsmarts are dual compound. Ive got a ways to go before replacing the front but the rear looks **** near new. I check my pressures regularly and run 36-42. I bet I use two fronts to one rear if the wear cycle continues. I guess thats good as the front wheel is very easy to remove and the tire is cheaper.
 
I guess those quarter mile brakies on a bike as heavy as the 1250 is bound to take a toll on the front tire:rofl:
 
Is your front wearing even? Mine developed a pronounced ridge about an inch or so wide right down the middle. I still have good thread on the depth at about 4000 on them but the ridge kinda makes the bike fall into corners more than just a gentle roll at did when new. Of course we are not eat up with corners here in south Louisiana as you can be in California. ;-)
My back is wearing just fine and has a bit over 6000 on it. I've decided not to go with a front Roadsmart next tire and jury still out on the rear. I need to get it worn out before summer so I can order new tires for pending travel.

Any one else have any input on Roadsmart tires.
 
Mine are wearing very even. I think I will wind up getting about 7500 miles out of the front, that not bad at all. I might try something different when replacing though. I would like to find a dual compound for the front if anyone makes them.
 
El Bandito said:
It's appears that the front tire doesn't have as much road smarts as the rear tire. :doh::rofl:
Click to expand...

:lol2::lol2: That's for sure. I usually do road trips in the 5 to 7 thousand mile ranges in the Conti US and a bit more when including Canada. I once had to change tires on the road on my '02 BMW in Maine when the rear was pasted the wear marks at 6800 miles. I was used to getting in the 12,000 range on my '95 R11GS. Lost a day and 330 bucks getting this done up there. Gonna try not to repeat that so always take off with fresh tires.
But once on a trip to Washington state where I did right at 6900 miles on the round trip, I had put on a fresh set of Dunlops and was really sweating making it back from Central California. In fact kinda cut my trip a few hundred miles short due to the wear factor on the rear. After that I kinda stayed with Tourance rears for the mileage. Same on my DL1000 which showed good wear on a quik trip to Hollister and Corbin then to Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite parks.
 
a follow up on the Dunlop Road smart on my rear. This afternoon's ride was about 190 miles of pretty slow stuff cept for about 20 miles of it where I was doing 70-80. Rest of the day was everything from 65 to 35.
The rear has 3 wear bars all but level with the thread. The front is good for quite awhile yet. I guess I'll try something besides the Dunlops on the rear now.

In fact, I just ordered a set of Bridgestone 021s to try out. $218.95
bucks to my door. Hard to beat.
 
:thumbd: Gotta say I'm a little disappointed with this rear tire! Just a little over 4k miles & it's worn through. I called cyclegear,
where I bought them & they said no warranty unless you buy one, & I didn't. Oh well, guess what tire I WON'T be
replacing it with...

Now I'm going with the PR2's. Yes, WAY more expensive, but the guy @ cyclegear says he has over 7500 on his PR2's on his
R6. Well, why not. Going for it tomorrow. Rear only though, the front RS on my bike has plenty left. Probably has nothing to
do with how much time it spends in the air...

:mrgreen:


d37e6ebc.jpg
 
Bear on a bicycle said:
:thumbd: Gotta say I'm a little disappointed with this rear tire! Just a little over 4k miles & it's worn through. I called cyclegear,
where I bought them & they said no warranty unless you buy one, & I didn't. Oh well, guess what tire I WON'T be
replacing it with...

Now I'm going with the PR2's. Yes, WAY more expensive, but the guy @ cyclegear says he has over 7500 on his PR2's on his
R6. Well, why not. Going for it tomorrow. Rear only though, the front RS on my bike has plenty left. Probably has nothing to
do with how much time it spends in the air...

:mrgreen:
Click to expand...

the picture looks like you ran over something or took off with something under it. I did that to a tire and it wore out prematurely.

I love my Road 2's but I'm averaging 7500 miles for $250/set but the last set was replaced early. I probably would have hit close to the magical 10k otherwise.
 
achesley said:
Is your front wearing even? Mine developed a pronounced ridge about an inch or so wide right down the middle. I still have good thread on the depth at about 4000 on them but the ridge kinda makes the bike fall into corners more than just a gentle roll at did when new.
Click to expand...

IMO, the wear bar down the middle of the front tire is caused by the softer sides wearing out before the stiffer middle ridge. This happened to the OEM tires on my Bandit, and I believe lower air pressure played a big role in this (underinflation will cause more of the sides of the tire to contact the pavement, and since they're softer, wear out faster). I kept the pressures at those recommended by Suzuki (36psi front, 42 rear, IIRC), and I think that's too low for the front.

I keep the pressures up in my Pilot Road 2CTs (39 front, 42 rear), and after 5K miles, they still look great, don't have a flat spot yet, and the front tire still has a perfect profile.. I fully expect to get 10K miles out of this set, possibly more.

I don't baby the tires, and they don't slide while taking corners aggressively, so the higher pressure in the front is perfect for me.
 
I recommend the PR2's. I had over 11,000 on my last set on the C14. Not exactly easy miles. Just kept the pressure up to where should be. Replaced them abd just finished a 2500 mile trip to AZ and they still look great Seems to me the extra cash is offset by the extra wear.
 
I'm due for my first set of new tires on the Bandit. Just curious as to how much is typical to pay for the labour (install and balance).
Thanks.
 
I pull my wheels off and take them to cycle gear where I buy my tires. I have changed many tires on dirt bikes over the years and never had a problem so I decided to try to do my own on my streetbike and bought the tire changer setup from Harbor freight to make things easier. I dont know if maybe the rims on streetbike wheels are different but I had a **** of a time and wound up cracking a wheel on my Yamaha and learned a $350 lesson. So the $20 per wheel cycle gear charges is a friggin bargain.
 
I use a harbor Freight to how the wheel but large tire irons to remove the tire. Not so bad once you learn the little tricks.
 
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