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Roadsmart Ridgeback

4K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Frano 
#1 ·
I've got almost 5000 on this set of Dunlop Roadsmarts. The rear is looking great... very even wear and plenty more life left. The front is a different story. The "dual compound" has left sort of a high spot in the middle. The right side is worn fairly normally (convex) but the left side is concave, sort of scooped out. The tread is down to 2/32 and the tire is pretty much shot. I've noticed lately that the bike is very hard to steer in the slow turns. It's like steering a wheelbarrow full of wet cement. It takes a lot of muscle to get it through a turn.

I'm wondering if I'm just now noticing something that's always been there, or if this tire is causing my crappy steering?

Anyone else have front tires that wear unevenly? Thoughts?
 
#3 ·
I could be wrong but the Dual compound is ONLY on the rear, the front is a single compound.

The wear is normal for the bike and is found regardless of tires.

I also went from Pilot Roads to the Roadsmart and, after four days on the Cherohala skyway, Deals Gap, and that area of the quad states... I can say that these tires are a HUGE step up from the Pilot Roads. I have not used the Pilot 2's though they may be just as comparable. Incidently, I went through several sets of PR's before going dual compound... I am a guy that finds what he likes and sticks with it.
 
#4 ·
chilei said:
I could be wrong but the Dual compound is ONLY on the rear, the front is a single compound.
That was my understanding as well. The front tire has a center strip that is worn less than the sides and seems harder (fingernail test) than the sides. It sure smells like dual compound, but maybe not.

Some people report their front wearing out first, while a few others report their front outlasting the rear. I'd love to find a combo that wears out at the same time. I like to replace tires as a pair, but I'm too tight to throw away a tire with useful life left.

For what it's worth, I measured my tires again today. The rear began with 9/32" and is currently at 4/32". If 2/32" is "worn out", then the tire had 7/32" (9-2=7) of life, of which it has 2/32" remaining. This would put the rear tire right at 7000 miles life expectancy on my bike. I don't know whether to install a used front that I have in my garage (with 4/32" left), buy a new front, or buy 2 new tires. Dang.
 
#5 ·
Roadsmarts are Nice Tires

Trout said:
I've got almost 5000 on this set of Dunlop Roadsmarts. The rear is looking great... very even wear and plenty more life left. The front is a different story.
4,155 miles and I found the same deal on my first set of Roadsmarts. Front like yours. Shot. Rear looking pretty nice with about another 1500 miles available of hard riding. They've been replaced with another set of Roadsmarts. Nice tire.
 
#6 ·
mkrouse said:
4,155 miles and I found the same deal on my first set of Roadsmarts. Front like yours. Shot. Rear looking pretty nice with about another 1500 miles available of hard riding. They've been replaced with another set of Roadsmarts. Nice tire.
Just curious why you didn't try something else this time? Have you already tried other tires and found these to be the best?

For a tire advertised as a long wearing tire with the dual compound and all, I think that 4155 miles (or 5000 miles, in my case) is a little short. I don't know if I can afford to change the tires with every oil change. In my case, these tires were gone in 60 days.

For those of you who have tried them all, which front tire lasts the longest for you?
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
Trout said:
Just curious why you didn't try something else this time? Have you already tried other tires and found these to be the best?
This year I've done 2 sets of BT021s, 1 set of Road2s, and now on 2nd set of Roadsmarts. For me, Roadsmarts have lasted the longest with the least amount of uneven wear and cupping. Previously did BT020s and regular Roads. Both lousy for me. Haven't tried the raved about Z6s but I'm adverse to the lack of tread in centerline rear. Call me goofy. K12RS eats front tires and the handling goes way off when they start going south. Of course the K12RS handling is off to begin with but I love the bike for durability, comfort on the slab, power, looks, and cruise control. Smitten and paying the tire price. Also tried Pilot Powers once and they were great, for about 2 weeks. Not compatible with my throttle technique. :)
 
#9 ·
mkrouse said:
This year I've done 2 sets of BT021s, 1 set of Road2s, and now on 2nd set of Roadsmarts. For me, Roadsmarts have lasted the longest with the least amount of uneven wear and cupping. Previously did BT020s and regular Roads. Both lousy for me.
This is great information. Thanks. I've been tempted to try the more expensive PR2, but maybe I should just stick with the 'smarts.
 
#12 ·
I finished with the roadsmarts... the front wore out far before the rear. I went through a front and a half in the time it took me to get through the rear. I am onto the CT2s now.

Just a bit of an update.
 
#13 ·
I'll add my update too...

I changed the rear RoadSmart a couple weeks ago. Final mileage:

Front: 6359
Rear: 9205

I changed the front later than I should have and changed the rear a little sooner than I needed to, so next time I'll just buy 3 tires: two fronts and a rear. I'll change the front at 5000 and run the second front and the rear to 10000 miles.

For now, I'm running Michelin PR2's and just got back from a 2400 mile trip. They are holding up very well, but the front has already developed the dreaded left side groove. Both tires are worn flat in the center. I rode 30% of the trip in the rain and hail, and they did their job well, but certainly not better than any other tire I've worn in the wet weather.

For me, it's going to come down to mileage. If the Michelins outlast the Dunlops by a wide margin, then I'll stay with them. If they wear out as fast as the Dunlops, then I'll go back to the less expensive RoadSmarts.
 
#14 ·
Roadsmarts

Trout,
I just noticed I have the exact same wear on my KRS, about the same mileage. The middle section, especially on the front tires is extremely high then dips down to side wear. I have never seen anything like it and I don't like it. I'm going back to my Continental Road Attacks. The other thing I did not like on the Dunlops is there is no chicken strip on my rear tire and about 1/4" on the fronts. That tells me I'm running dangerously close to the point of no traction on the rear. :yeow: The many pair of Road Attacks always had at least 1/4" chicken strip on the rear, nice comfort zone. BTW, this funky wear of the Dunlops is causing that heavy steering problem. I got much better wear from the Continentals. I'm done playing with these RoadSmarts. Here's another funny thing about them, I have mostly highway miles on them so you think the center would have worn more but it's the opposite. I guess the RoadSmarts would be better for someone that rides strictly highway and doesn't burn it up in the mountains on twisties, guess the sides are too soft. :D
 
#15 ·
Trout said:
This is great information. Thanks. I've been tempted to try the more expensive PR2, but maybe I should just stick with the 'smarts.
Ive run BT's, PR2's and now Roadsmarts.
I only put the roadsmarts on because at the time I couldnt buy replacement PR2's anywhere.
Im happy with the Dunlops but you definitely wont be disappointed if you decide to give the PR's a run, they are very good too.
As for mileage, I reckon nothin puts a smile on my face more that a new set of rubber on my GT. At 5,000 miles i would be lookin for an excuse to put a new set on. They are cheaper than petrol and the only thing between you and the road!
 
#16 ·
Dunlop Roadsmarts

I'm not a K-rider but found this site looking for feedback on the Roadsmart. I put a set on my 1990 ZX-11 last fall and can echo everyone else's comments, to me they are a great tire, make the old guy handle better than it ever has. Same problem though, the front was spent at roughly 5000 miles (probably earlier than that as I just realised it is gone, not in the habit of checking the front as often). The rear probably has 1000-1500 miles left on it at least. This is a first for me, I've gone thru 14 sets of tires on the thing, all Metzeler (Z2/Z4/Z6) and Dunlop (original Sportmax/204/205/207/220/Roadsmart) and typically the front is good for 50% more than the rear. Really like the handling but like a lot of others it pains me to toss a good tire, but it pains me more to make an extra trip to the shop. I may try experimenting with a different front, too bad there are no more 205's, but I've gotten better mileage with a 207, perhaps I'll try a 208, nothing to lose I guess. I'd be very happy to get 6000 miles out of a set, and like to swap both at the same time on this bike, it does not handle nearly as well with an old and new tire mix.

For comparison, here is the avg miles on the various types (all rears):

Sportmax OEM - 9400 (those were the days!)
204 - 8350
205 - 7150
207 - 4200
Z2 - 7550
Z4 - 6575
Z6 - 6200

Even tried a set of Comp-K's way back they were good for 8000 or so.
I like the Z6 on all the bikes I've tried them on, but that lack of tread down the middle of the rear is a pain, very hard to get accurate readings from the wear bars. First one we had was on my wife's bike and we only noticed it was done when the cord started to show!

Does anyone have any further experience with them? I was kind of hoping this was a "one-off" or something.
 
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