Jump to content
IGNORED

RoadSmart's


RPG

Recommended Posts

Got 9k out of RoadSmart front. Totally happy with the grip, lack of noise and wet weather performance so am upgrading to the RS II. Hopefully a a bit more of everything.

 

RPG

 

 

Link to comment

My RT has 6100 miles on the rear Roadsmart with about 25% left on it.

 

You guys may laugh, but the most it's ever got out of a rear tire was 5500 miles, including an ME880.

I like the ride of the Roadsmart. Rides similar to the Z6.

Link to comment

I like the RSII even better after a near collision this morning.

 

Ride to work, hoping to scrub the tires in over the next 100 miles. A goof exits a subdivision without stopping, almost taking me out. ABS kicked in and did it's thing. (and luckily the tire was scuffed in enough to save my tail).

 

RPG

Link to comment
  • 9 months later...

I don't see a lot of input regarding these tires and am reviving this thread as I just installed a pair on my '11 RT and completed a 1200 mile weekend on them. I'm including my tire history to give those interested an idea of the kind of mileage I've gotten out of tires since taking delivery in August 2011. The short answer is that I'm liking them so far and mileage will play a big role in whether I use them going forward. A little longer review is below.

 

I typically run my tires at 36 fr, 40 rear. 180 lbs, ride two up with a 170 lb passenger approximately 30% of the time. Fairly aggressive rider, No Valentino Rossi, but I'm not a choir boy either.

 

0-4825 miles: Conti Attacks. Ok tire, wasn't a fan of wet weather traction.

 

4825-8396(3571 miles): Metzeler Z8 Non 'C' spec rear. Liked the tire, not the mileage. No bad experiences. Might have 'C' spec mixed with 'B' spec, but you get the idea.

 

4825-13046(8221 Miles): Metzeler Z8 Front. Liked the tire. No bad experiences.

 

8396-13046(4650 miles): Metzeler 'C' spec rear. Same as non 'C' spec. Mileage was a little better.

 

13046-19115(6069 Miles): Michelin PR3 front and rear. 'C' spec rear. As good as the Metzeler with better mileage. 6000 miles includes one track day (Reg Pridmore's CLASS, VIR 2012)

 

19115: Dunlop Roadsmart II. I like them. Was told by the dealer, admittedly they didn't have a lot of experience with them (One customer), they take a while to break in. On my 90 mile ride home they didn't track real well, or so I thought and leave open the possibility it could have been me adjusting to the tires and the fact it had been a couple months since I'd ridden. Followed up with a 1100+ mile weekend and got a real good feeling the more miles I put on them. After adjusting to them they handle very well and track quite well. I've often heard comments about this tire, or that tire, being noisy. Having never experienced it, I had a hard time relating. Now I know what they mean. On this trip with a friend on a K1600 I thought it was his exhaust I was hearing until I took the lead for a while and realized it was me. They're not annoying by any stretch but you know they're there. I'm leaving open the possibility this could be something new to me also as I didn't have earplugs this weekend and never ride without them. So, take that for what it's worth. So far, if mileage holds up, I wouldn't mind this being my go to tire going forward. Riding 10-15000 miles per year, 2-3 sets of tires is entirely too expensive. So, mileage will dictate my decision. Hope this helps!

Link to comment
Got 9k out of RoadSmart front. Totally happy with the grip, lack of noise and wet weather performance so am upgrading to the RS II. Hopefully a a bit more of everything.

 

RPG

 

What bike are you getting kind of mileage with? And how often do you ride 2 up? I've gone thru a couple of sets of RoadSmarts and only get about 6k out of the front.

 

To anyone who might be due for a new tire now: FWIW, I checked with Dunlop, and their engineers report that it is safe to mix Roadsmarts with Roadsmart2s.

Link to comment

The original RS had a different profile than the PR3 and for me gave a bit less mileage- but was a good, very acceptable tire. Its turn in is more rapid and its tracking less solid than the PR, as one would expect from the profile difference.

At the moment, the PR3 is my preferred touring tire and mounted on 3 of the 4 in the garage. Haven't tried the RS2, yet....

Link to comment

Used Road Smart and Road Smart II on my bikes. Nice tired dry, but all of them slipped on wet tar snakes enough to make not buy any more. PR III is the tire for me on my R1100RT, Versys and next on the R1200R in a few days. The factory Z8 are worn out at 7,100 miles. Rear is at the wear bars and front is close.

 

David

Link to comment

Just put fresh RS2's on my 96 RT after racking up 21,000 kilometres on a set of RS's on my trip to Key West last summer, (solo heavy rider and gear, high speed, and high heat ). While getting a service in Tampa the tires were checked and found to be almost 10 lbs under and was starting to show the ware pattern associated with under inflation. The pressure was brought up to 36 front and 40 rear and I completed the trip.

 

Back home I ordered the RS's as I was very happy with the milage but when I picked the wheels up, the dealer advised that the RS's had been upgraded to the RS2 as their supplier no longer had the RS.

I hope to see similar milage as the originals and will keep a closer eye on the pressures.

 

Ron

Link to comment
Got 9k out of RoadSmart front. Totally happy with the grip, lack of noise and wet weather performance so am upgrading to the RS II. Hopefully a a bit more of everything.

 

RPG

 

What bike are you getting kind of mileage with? And how often do you ride 2 up? I've gone thru a couple of sets of RoadSmarts and only get about 6k out of the front.

 

To anyone who might be due for a new tire now: FWIW, I checked with Dunlop, and their engineers report that it is safe to mix Roadsmarts with Roadsmart2s.

 

2004 RT with 53k. Mostly MI roads with one Track Day a year and Sunday morning twisties north of Ann Arbor.

 

RPG

Link to comment
Used Road Smart and Road Smart II on my bikes. Nice tired dry, but all of them slipped on wet tar snakes enough to make not buy any more. PR III is the tire for me on my R1100RT, Versys and next on the R1200R in a few days. The factory Z8 are worn out at 7,100 miles. Rear is at the wear bars and front is close.

 

David

 

I haven't seen a tire yet that wasn't somewhat goofy on tar snakes. Plenty of those in my neighborhood. I try to avoid them in the wet, but have to say when I've run over them, the RS II's feel as planted as anything else I've had.

 

Big exception would be the Dunlop 491's I once had on my '93 R100RT. In pouring rain one morning, riding to club breakfast on the freeway, I changed lanes. Soon as I hit the tar snake, the rear broke free and I instantly hit red line. A millisecond later, the bike goes into a tank slapper. Got it under control but that will definitely make you change your drawers.........and tire brands.

 

RPG

Link to comment

RPG we all have our favorite tire.

 

I had a roadsmart on the back of my RT. My 20 year old son was passenger. I hit a wet tar snake on a highway entrance ramp.

The tire slipped along as we were going around the curve. I am used to it, but my son felt it and I think HE had to change his shorts. He said "What the heck was that?"

 

One other time I was headed to the Adirondaks to do some spirited riding with a bunch of guys. I had ordered a tire that did not show up by friday. I bought what my local BMW shop had in stock. It was a Roadsmart. I put it on and went for a 1,000 mile weekend. The riding got to be quite spirited on Saturday. At lunch time I was looking at the new tire and it was black from crease to crease. (no chicken strips) I kept up with those sport bikes on my "big heavy RT" with no problem except where it was down hill and they were flying. I just could not handle the speed and curves with no load on the engine.

 

If I rode like that all the time it would be my tire of choice. Unfortinatly I run into rain and bad roads too often.

 

Just picked up a pair of PR 3 for my R1200R, the Z8 that came on it are shot at 7,000 miles. They were good tires.

 

David

Link to comment
RPG we all have our favorite tire.

 

I had a roadsmart on the back of my RT. My 20 year old son was passenger. I hit a wet tar snake on a highway entrance ramp.

The tire slipped along as we were going around the curve. I am used to it, but my son felt it and I think HE had to change his shorts. He said "What the heck was that?"

 

One other time I was headed to the Adirondaks to do some spirited riding with a bunch of guys. I had ordered a tire that did not show up by friday. I bought what my local BMW shop had in stock. It was a Roadsmart. I put it on and went for a 1,000 mile weekend. The riding got to be quite spirited on Saturday. At lunch time I was looking at the new tire and it was black from crease to crease. (no chicken strips) I kept up with those sport bikes on my "big heavy RT" with no problem except where it was down hill and they were flying. I just could not handle the speed and curves with no load on the engine.

 

If I rode like that all the time it would be my tire of choice. Unfortinatly I run into rain and bad roads too often.

 

Just picked up a pair of PR 3 for my R1200R, the Z8 that came on it are shot at 7,000 miles. They were good tires.

 

David

 

agreed. so far, I've just had great luck with these tires. Interestingly, they advertise as being very good in the wet.

Link to comment
  • 3 months later...

Quick update on the rear. I had to replace it this weekend due to a nail. Tire was in very good shape. I had the dealer measure the wear for me on both the old and new tires for comparison. Tread depth is 7mm new, tire removed was at 4mm left after 4600 miles. Dealer estimates probably could have seen 8000 miles out of that tire if tire wear remained the same. I'm pretty happy about that.

 

19115 - 23724: Dunlop Roadsmart 2. Tire removed was at 4mm tread depth left.

 

20130719_132331_zps24fa75eb.jpg

 

20130719_132326_zps9239aa1b.jpg

 

20130719_132320_zps565ffc27.jpg

Link to comment
  • 1 year later...

Took a while, haven't been riding much the last year. Obviously. The front tire has worn out at 26,700 miles. 7600 miles isn't too bad. I'll likely put another Roadsmart on. Would like to try a pair of the Michelin PR4's but there's not a lot of mileage data available for them yet. Curious to know if they're returning the Michelin claimed 20% better mileage than the PR3's. If so, that would put them on par with the Roadsmart's if the Roadsmart rear holds out to 8000 miles.

Link to comment
Quick update on the rear. I had to replace it this weekend due to a nail.

Any reason, with that amount of mileage left on it, that you didn't repair the tyre?

Link to comment

I am on my first set of RS2s installed after Labor Day. These came well recommended by the owner of the independent BMW shop I go to. He runs them exclusively on his R1100RT-P. I have put nearly 900 miles on it since the install; 450+ miles yesterday. Those miles yesterday included dry roads on the way to Western Carolina; dry twisties up toward Grandfather Mountain; some dry and some moist conditions (lots of fog/cloud bank yesterday) for about 200 miles of Blue Ridge Parkway; finally torrential downpour from Bryson City to Stecoah (just below Fontana) where I stopped for the night. I anticipate riding about 1200 or so miles this weekend. Looking forward to it!

 

My initial impression is that I like this tire. Felt good in all scenarios/conditions, especially yesterday. Tracked well. I was comfortable with feedback and overall grip. Did well for me in the rain. I am sure the riding this weekend will tell me more about these tires.

 

image_zpsf8a665d7.jpg

 

Did not yet take any close-up pictures of tires yet. Will do so after this weekend or after awhile.

Link to comment

I could have had them patch it I guess. Didn't really think too much about it. Honestly, I don't have a lot of experience, thankfully, with flats and was always under the impression, when it comes to bike tires, you don't really fix/patch them you just replace them to be on the safe side.

Link to comment

I got rid of my z8 at 7000. Those tires were so thin I slipped them on the rims with my hands. I was surprised they didn't ship them folded. Back to pr3, 4s. I haven't found any front tire that doesn't cup after 5000 yet.

Link to comment

Here they are after this weekends tour. Picture here is when they had about 2000 miles. Most of those ridden in Appalachian / Smokey Mountains.

 

Front

image_zps9df8cc44.jpg

 

Rear

image_zpsdf0c7bbc.jpg

 

Overall, I am liking these. Turn-in is predictable and consistent. Smooth handling. Excellent grip. Confidence inspiring. Not the quietest ride, but hey it's a motorcycle and only sound insulation is my helmet and ear plugs.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...