Dunlop Roadsmarts. Weirdest handling worn tire I have ever experienced.

I have ridden my bikes over many years with Dunlop tires. The TT100 bias ply was the first Dunlop tire that impressed me. I was definately a Dunlop fan. The last 10 years I have mainly used Bridgestones, because they were fitted to the new Suzuki's I rode (GSXR1000"s).

My 1995 VFR750 has Roadsmarts on it. When I bought the bike at 38,000 kilometers the tires were new. Can't say I particularly liked the hard feel to them. They felt harsh. I would classify them as an ok tire.

They now have 11,000 kilometers on them, and the riding was mainly upright touring, as there are not many turns in Ontario. The last 2000 k the front tire has squared off badly. When turning at intersections or below speeds of 50 k/mh you have to use major countersteering to get off the flat part to the sidewall slope of the tire.

Now I have no idea what mileage these Road Smarts should give, but effectively they only gave about 9000 kilometers before they handled badly. My GSXR1000 rides on BT-016's and regularly gives me 7000 kilometers of normal wear and feel before junking them.

Is 9000 kilometers about what you can expect out of a Road Smart on average, and is this strange handling to be expected from them when they get to the end of their life?

p.s. The rear tire has squared off slightly but appears to have a good 2 to 3000 k left in it.

 

You didn't say wether they were Roadsmart II's or III's but I think they are about done. I have Roadsmart III's and about 7,000 miles. I may be able to start next season on them but they are pretty close to being done as well. These have lasted slightly longer than my previous Roadsmart II's.

 

When I bought my 2001 VFR, it had Roadsmart I fitted & looked like they would last another 4000ks.
Not sure how long they had been on the bike before I bought it.
But after a few weeks riding it I couldn't stand how they dropped into a corner so I trashed them.
Replaced them with Metzler Z8 and have now done 9000ks on them.
I'm happy with them, they still feel neutral and look like I'll get another 5000ks on them.

 

They are just the regular Road Smarts. I guess the original ones. I understand the II's are better. I guess from your experience and mine that 11000 k (7000 miles) is about it for this tire. I was expecting them to last longer!

 

I have a set of 2's on my 00 vfr 800, 14k on the front 10k on the rear or so and they still look great (appears I will get another 10-15k out of this set). 5500k or so were with full luggage hwy only too. Handle quite well still, give the 2's try.

 

I personally like the Roadsmart IIIs better than the Bridgestones that my '09 came with, but you're right - they're pretty meh tires. They currently have around 4000 miles on them and look like they'll probably get 3-4000 more, but I think as soon as I can really afford it I'm gonna put Dunlop Q2s on. I think VFRs are sporty enough that they should have sport tires on 'em, just my view. I wouldn't mind hearing the input of folks that have put Q2s on their VFRs, however, as all the reviews I've read had them on sport bikes.

 

Roadsmart III's dont exist? It was mentioned twice in this thread somehow.

If you are going to throw sport tires on, put on Q3's. What pressure do you guys run your tires at?

 

Kinda makes you want to find a nice road and play, just so you don't get flat centered tires doesn't it. I don't think you are going to get around that happening to some degree or another regardless of what tire you put on the bike if your riding is primarily commuting on the slab, I have had that happen to two sets of Dumblops, two sets of Micheline PR2s and one set of Michelin PR3s. Just look for a dual compound tire next time around. I am back to the PR2s right now.

 

I'm for a sportier tire, I' still haven't fallen in love. I'm thinking their faster wear are trumped by their lower price and better grip. My favorites so far are PP2ct's, my only other experience is with the RoadSmart 2's and PR3's. Think I'll try Metzler M5's? in the Spring unless someone can talk me out of them.