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OEM Dunlop Problems

27K views 52 replies 33 participants last post by  MikeCK 
#1 ·
Hi from Australia

After just 400km and few less than satisfying moments I have had the standard trailmax tyres replaced. Conti tkc70 put on by my honda dealer at cost price. Haven't been on damp road yet but after reading various forum comments and seeing the poor guy falling off on youtube ...

Can you help me out by commenting with any trailmax moments you have had below.

So far this is a fantastic bike, can't get my head around Honda's choice of factory fitted rubber.
 
#4 ·
3,700km on mine including the rain, no problems whatsoever. I don't cane it everywhere and ride cautiosly in the wet though.
 
#3 ·
They are probably the worst tyres I have ever had on any motorcycle I have owned. Several times in the wet I nearly came off because of them. They would freely spin up in a straight line in the wet. The back wheel frequently locked up under braking in the wet and sometimes in the dry, with very little provocation. As a result my confidence in them was totally shot. I had a similar situation with Z8's on my previous NC 700, as did others. Z8's are normally good road tyres.


My assessment is totally borne out after I replaced them, well before they were worn out. I used Pirelli MT90's and all the issues disappeared overnight. No more bad moments with the Pirellis. Imho any replacement tyre would be better than these Dunlops. I use Trail Smarts on my Triumph and they are excellent tyres. For that reason I could not understand why the AT OEM Dunlops were so bad. I wrote to Dunlop Europe about the matter and they responded. They told me that the Trail Max's on the AT were specially made to specifications required by Honda. As such they are disowning the situation. Perhaps Honda should leave the Rubber spec to the experts and stick to what they do best. I am also thinking that the same situation probably pertained to the Z8's on my former NC700..........
 
#13 ·
They are predominantly a road tyre and I first used them on my KTM 950 Adventure. They were just as good on that bike as they are on the AT, and all of my Friends who used them on 950/990's had a good opinion of them. They are fairly decent offroad tyres in reasonably firm going, but like most tyres of this genre they are not so good in muddy conditions.


The only downsides on the roa are a slight tendency to squirm over white lines. They did exactly the same on the KTM 950 but as on that bike, I have become accustomed to that, and the overall excellent grip on the road more than makes up for it. I have thought of trying Pirelli Scorpion Trails but they are even more road oriented and I do occasionally find myself on a track or two.
 
#7 ·
The stock tires were the worst tires I have ever had on any motorcycle the past 40 years.

Downright scary in wet conditions.

Totally unpredictable loss of rear end in the wet, even with conservative driving.

Replaced after 1200 kms with Mitas E-07's, which are supposedly a 50/50 tire.

The E-07's were instantly, and exponentially, better than stock, despite the more aggressive tread.

After reading comments on the stock tires, I believe the issue is likely poor batches coming out of the factory, but not all batches are bad.

My stock tires were unsafe.
 
#14 ·
I have had the o/e dunlops let go at high ish speed 80/90 mph in the damp and wet when not leaning over far , scary ,as well as a few low speed slides , I like riding in the wet though. A few people say the contis are great bridgestone will have tyre in the spring, I may try the Pirelli scorpion even though they don't last very long , dealers say its the odd rear wheel size that limits choice and of course the tubeless requirement as well
 
#11 ·
I just spooned on a K60 rear and a TKC80 front. Only put 30 miles on them so far and my first impression is good. I had them up to 80 mph on a private chipseal road and they were stable and the bike just feels more planted. The front feels a little twitchy at low speeds but I put that down to the aggressive knobby tread. I didn't want to push them before I get them scrubbed in. But the bike feels like a different bike and I need some time to get used to the more precise handling I guess.
 
#18 ·
I have just replaced the original fitment Trailmax after 10,000 miles. Road use, solo or two up, they were excellent. Now fitted the newer Trailsmart. We shall see but first impression is a much harsher ride. The profile of the new front tyre is better for low speed turning but the harsh ride picks up the rougher road surfaces. Am going to try it with reduced preload and see if that calms things down a bit? Grip wise they seem ok but I never had any issues, except for the low speed steering, with the original Trailmax set up.
Dave.
 
#20 ·
I have just replaced the original fitment Trailmax after 10,000 miles. .


I have never, ever managed to get 10,000 miles out of a set of tyres. In fact at 6000kms (about 4000 Miles) when I replaced them, the stock tyres were 75% worn. I ride briskly but not particularly aggressively most of the time. What is your secret ?
 
#19 ·
Initially I didn't have any problems with the dunlops in the summer.
But once the temperatures started dropping below 10° centigrade and there are more rainy days than dry I started getting quite frustrated with the OEM setup.

The back tire lets go from the slightest acceleration in the wet, and the front gives zero confidence, especially in low speed cornering.
Having done more km's commuting in wet, dark weather and busy traffic over the last weeks, I've had some quite scary moments that I had never had with previous tires.
Mind you, the **** state of roads over here surely don't help...

I've made up my mind to change to a different set in the nearby future, keeping the dunlops for the summer.
 
#21 ·
Having read through this, a couple of other threads, and general comments around the net, I'm wondering if there might have been a dodgy batch of the OEM tyres sent out. Some people say they've had no problems and the tyres are fine, others say that they are awful. I had the OEMs on my AT let go a couple of times in the wet without warning and although the bike has TC, and I am a very experienced rider that regularly rides bikes with nearly twice the horsepower of the AT, I still didn't fancy pushing my luck. But then I was going to swap them anyway.
 
#23 ·
I am a pretty sedate rider although I like leaning it over in the corners. On my first ride on a well scrubbed in set of OEMs on a damp road the TC had to save the rear. That was at 40 mph on a constant throttle. Worst tyre I ever had. Don't know if it is a batch problem or a temperature thing (7C in the UK). Either way for the first time ever I am getting rid of the OEMs before their time. Conti TA2s seem to be a well reviewed replacement for mainly road riding so I will give them a try.
 
#25 ·
To add my tuppence worth, so far in the damp or wet the stock tyres aren't great but equally aren't truly awful, just middle of the road really. With the traction control knocked back a notch it's less noticeable as it's not so keen to jump in at the slightest twitch.
 
#26 ·
There may certainly be a batch issue. Most of the folks in Europe seem to complain about scary moments on the OEMs as did most of the press at the Sourh African test. Those in the USA seem less concerned. If I remember rightly the US bike arrived after the European ones so maybe they had a later tyre batch.

I am sure of one thing, on my Jan 2016 UK bike the tyres are not just poor but dangerous. I would not have been in the least surprised to find a recall letter from Honda on my doorstep one morning.

To make matters worse although I understand the tubed advantages off road I guess most people would have preferred a tubeless setup. Honda don't offer a tubeless option and as far as I am aware there are no road focussed tubed alternatives to the OEM tyres.

Therefore we have to go against some people's advice not to put tubeless tyres on a tubed set up. In addition the rear at least is likely to be a radial, again some say you shouldn't put a tube in a radial. So we must ensure a radial heavy duty inner tube is used. Then we have to check the rims, I see the rear is a MT but haven't checked the large front yet, might it be a WM? In which case advice again says no tubeless tyres. We must also over spec the speed rating of the tyre to allow for the drop when putting a tube in.

I am happy to take the advice of folks on here that tubeless tyres are safe on the AT but one dealer allready told me that the bike might fail its MOT with tubeless tyres, probably BS. Then there is the insurance companies looking for excuses to not pay out.

All a big hassle because the OEM tyres are crap.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I agree that the OEM Dunlops are dangerous, i had a couple of scary moments at the rear with them and also found the traction control cutting in when pulling away reasonably normally (I had a Pikes Peak multistrada with 150 hp before and never got this to happen except when accelerating hard over white lines in the wet)

I switched to TA2's just before the 600 mile service and have done nearly 4,000miles on them now, they seem about 50% worn and grip really well in the wet and dry.

The problem with the Traction control cutting in when i didn't think it should have was as much about confidence, it got to the point where i was very nervous of corners on wet roads, I have total confidence in the TA2's, wet or dry, hot or cold.

It transformed the bike for me, if i bought another AT I would have the dealer switch the tyres before delivery.

P.S. I have the OEM tubes in tubeless TA2's, I had them fitted close to home by a guy that specialises in Bike tyres, he basically said not to worry about it so I didn't. I think we can worry about these things too much...
 
#28 ·
P.S. I have the OEM tubes in tubeless TA2's, I had them fitted close to home by a guy that specialises in Bike tyres, he basically said not to worry about it so I didn't. I think we can worry about these things too much...
I also have tubes in my TA2s but 4mm HD tubes and see nothing to worry about in fact i feel more secure after suffering a blowout (rear) last summer with sudden deflation. (i am so glad it wasn't the front that blew)

Ian 0:)
 
#29 ·
I will be seeing my local shop about swapping the OEMs for TA2s with HD tubes tomorrow rain willing. Glad to hear you have good confidence in the bike with better rubber on it. When I lost the rear a couple of days ago on my ride home with my new bike I thought I might have made a mistake getting the AT.
 
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