New Shoes

[Duccrazydave]

Hey Dave. These were the Road 5, not the GT. I loved them...briefly. A light weight carcass and soft compound rubber meant a very short life, less than 5K in my case. However the Dunlop Roadsmart 4 has proven itself to be just as "sticky", but with a slightly stiffer sidewall and carcass, typical of a sport touring tire. Truly a great improvement over the RS3. No rain performance to report, though.

[Daveontheedge]

Hey Dave. These were the Road 5, not the GT. I loved them...briefly. A light weight carcass and soft compound rubber meant a very short life, less than 5K in my case. However the Dunlop Roadsmart 4 has proven itself to be just as "sticky", but with a slightly stiffer sidewall and carcass, typical of a sport touring tire. Truly a great improvement over the RS3. No rain performance to report, though.

THX. I'm at the end of life for my current Road 4s, 13K kms on them. Front is done, rear might have another 1000-2000 kms in it if I milk it a bit more. Had a bad experience with a set of Dunlops on another bike and am very hesitant to go back to them.

[Grumpy Goat]

THX. I'm at the end of life for my current Road 4s, 13K kms on them. Front is done, rear might have another 1000-2000 kms in it if I milk it a bit more. Had a bad experience with a set of Dunlops on another bike and am very hesitant to go back to them.

Just goes to show how riding style does affect tire wear, as well as road surface and riding mission profile(s). Timewise, I mostly commute on mostly suburban streets to/from work (pre-pandemic) while I go for weekend rides when the mood strikes me. Twice a year I go on long rides of at least 1500 miles and up to 3000 miles or so.

Assuming that both your tires were replaced at the same time, your front wore out faster than your rear, and you got 13k km (8k miles) out of them so far, while Duccrazydave got only less than 5k miles. I typically wear my rear tire out significantly before the front, but I know of at least one other riding buddy on this forum who wears out front before rear.

I too like Michelin Road 4s (never had the Road 5) and IIRC I believe up to 11k miles on a front tire, while on the rear I have had about 10k miles. I expect I would get similar from the Road 5 if I were to try them. On my bike, the Road 4s exhibited cupping of the front tire well before they were worn out - that was my only problem with them. Rear tire wear was even and typically the centre wears out before the sides (south Texas is not really known for twisties but more for big flat high speed straights).

As for the Dunlop Roadsmart 3 - this has been my go-to tire since my Road 4s. Good dry and wet adhesion and feel, quick warm up time, good turn-in ability, and good tire wear. Best of all, no cupping on the front tire. From what I have heard so far the Roadsmart 4s are even better, and will be my next tire choice for the RS.

I am curious to know what you did not like about whichever Dunlop you had in the past.

[Lee]

I too like Michelin Road 4s (never had the Road 5) and IIRC I believe up to 11k miles on a front tire, while on the rear I have had about 10k miles. I expect I would get similar from the Road 5 if I were to try them.

We got good wear out of all the Pilot Road tires except the Front Road 5.
The Front Road 5 wore very fast for both of us.

[mspratz]

I just replaced the Dunlop RoadSmart 3 set with RoadSmart 4. The 3s had about 6500 miles on them, but still probably had 1,500 to 2,000 miles remaining to the wear marks. I replaced them because I am probably going to put more than that on an impending trip that includes WV, OH, and KY.

[Duccrazydave]

Hey Dave. These were the Road 5, not the GT. I loved them...briefly. A light weight carcass and soft compound rubber meant a very short life, less than 5K in my case. However the Dunlop Roadsmart 4 has proven itself to be just as "sticky", but with a slightly stiffer sidewall and carcass, typical of a sport touring tire. Truly a great improvement over the RS3. No rain performance to report, though.

THX. I'm at the end of life for my current Road 4s, 13K kms on them. Front is done, rear might have another 1000-2000 kms in it if I milk it a bit more. Had a bad experience with a set of Dunlops on another bike and am very hesitant to go back to them.

Similar thought. My early (80's & 90's) riding days were mostly spent on Japanese UJM bikes. Most everyone I knew running Dunlops, back then, usually developed severe cupping in the front. Once I locked into Metzelers, I was a happy man. The main reason I gave Dunlop a chance on my RS was due to our very own RSWasserboxer Dunlop development guy :-) My recent Dunlop experience has been very positive. There's about a 100% chance I'll go for another set of Roadsmart 4's when these wear out.

[runnerhiker]

My first dual compound tire was the Dunlop RoadSmart about 10 years ago. I doubt I will ever get another single compound sport touring tire ever again. Right now my wallet continues to vote for the Dunlop RoadSmarts but any other manufacturer with dual compound is not out of the question.

My 2016 RS came with Michelin Pilot Road (dual comp) and they were great, but after that, it was always Dunlops RS. My 2020 RS came with Metzeler Roadtec Z8 (single comp) and the leaning performance was noticeably reduced, I recently replaced them with Dunlops RS's.

If Dunlop continues to make the RS3 for $100 less than the RS4 and the Pilot 5's, I'll probably continue buying RS3's. I get the feeling that Dunlop is trying to get us used to Pilot 5 prices for their RS4's.

[Grumpy Goat]

Ron you might be right on that.

[SauRoN]

I must be some kind of pussy in my riding style.

18,637 km changed rear Pilot Road 4 to another Pilot Road 4.

30,049 km changed front Pilot Road 4 to a Pilot Road 5.

44,200 km changed rear to a Pilot Road 5.

55,054 km now and going strong.

Best tires I’ve ever had for riding in the rain.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Ray]

I must be some kind of pussy in my riding style.

18,637 km changed rear Pilot Road 4 to another Pilot Road 4....

How about thinking of it as superior smoothness in throttle control and GP-level tire management at speed....

[Daveontheedge]

Just goes to show how riding style does affect tire wear, as well as road surface and riding mission profile(s).
...
I am curious to know what you did not like about whichever Dunlop you had in the past.

To start with I didn't like the profile on the front tire. I had put the Dunlops on after wearing out a set of Bridgestone Battle Axe BT45's which I really liked. The Dunlop had a much rounder profile which led to a much quicker turn in and I preferred the more stable turn in on the BT45.

The second and main reason was the life span. Bear in mind I cannot remember what model they were, but I only got somewhere around 3000kms out of them before the back was completely toast. This was not a high horsepower bike they were installed on, a 1991 Honda CB-1. A whopping 400cc and 55 horsepower.

The only reason they even went on the bike was I had traded some parts for them. When they were done I promptly went back to the BT45's.

[Daveontheedge]

I must be some kind of pussy in my riding style.

18,637 km changed rear Pilot Road 4 to another Pilot Road 4.

30,049 km changed front Pilot Road 4 to a Pilot Road 5.

44,200 km changed rear to a Pilot Road 5.

55,054 km now and going strong.

Best tires I’ve ever had for riding in the rain.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is that the total kms on the bike when you changed tires or the kms on the rubber? If that's on the rubber holy crap! Do you get passed by horse drawn carriages while out riding because that is ridiculous mileage for any bike tire!

I completely agree with the wet weather statement. It's what has been drawing me back to the Michelins ever since I tried the Road Pilot 3's on my Vstrom. Full confidence in the rain. Living in British Columbia and commuting year round on the bike means a lot of wet weather riding for me so I need to have complete trust in my tires.

The majority of my riding is back and forth to work, with occasional day/weekend trips in the summer and every two years or so a two week trip that's usually around the 10000km range. All solo riding with baggage as needed.

[Grumpy Goat]

To start with I didn't like the profile on the front tire. I had put the Dunlops on after wearing out a set of Bridgestone Battle Axe BT45's which I really liked. The Dunlop had a much rounder profile which led to a much quicker turn in and I preferred the more stable turn in on the BT45.

The second and main reason was the life span. Bear in mind I cannot remember what model they were, but I only got somewhere around 3000kms out of them before the back was completely toast. This was not a high horsepower bike they were installed on, a 1991 Honda CB-1. A whopping 400cc and 55 horsepower.

The only reason they even went on the bike was I had traded some parts for them. When they were done I promptly went back to the BT45's.

Fair explanation, of course. It would have been good if you remembered which Dunlop tire it was, since that 3000km life is pretty pathetic. My experience with the current Dunlops started with the RS3 and if I had similar mileage I too would not have touched them with a 10ft pole. As for the profile, it suits my style just fine. Thanks for clarifying.

[TriangleRider]

Just goes to show how riding style does affect tire wear, as well as road surface and riding mission profile(s).
...
I am curious to know what you did not like about whichever Dunlop you had in the past.

To start with I didn't like the profile on the front tire. I had put the Dunlops on after wearing out a set of Bridgestone Battle Axe BT45's which I really liked. The Dunlop had a much rounder profile which led to a much quicker turn in and I preferred the more stable turn in on the BT45.

The second and main reason was the life span. Bear in mind I cannot remember what model they were, but I only got somewhere around 3000kms out of them before the back was completely toast. This was not a high horsepower bike they were installed on, a 1991 Honda CB-1. A whopping 400cc and 55 horsepower.

The only reason they even went on the bike was I had traded some parts for them. When they were done I promptly went back to the BT45's.

With only 3,000 km these were likely a very soft, track-oriented tire...maybe a Q3 (or Q2 depending how long ago), but definitely not a tire comparable to a BT45 which is an old school tire with a wide radius known for high mileage.

[Daveontheedge]

With only 3,000 km these were likely a very soft, track-oriented tire...maybe a Q3 (or Q2 depending how long ago), but definitely not a tire comparable to a BT45 which is an old school tire with a wide radius known for high mileage.

That could very well be the tire. This was in 2013 or so and the guy I traded with raced his CB-1.