What has happened to my tire??

[MichaelHoward]

Hey all,
I washed my bike tonight and look what I found :x


It was not that way Wednesday Night. These tires only have 800 miles on them. I have not rubbed against anything, nothing around to cut them on.I always leave it on centerstand everynight and all winter :roll:
Any Ideas??

Michael :x
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[chuckycheese]

Defect??

It's hard to say, Michael, and I think you would be the better judge since you can see it, firsthand. If that's fabric that's exposed, I would take it back to where it came from. That area isn't one that would normally be exposed to any external forces because it's in kind of a protected area. One thing's for sure.... defective tires aren't all that uncommon.

Let us know what you find out!! I'm especially interested since it's a Dunlop...those are very nice tires!

[MichaelHoward]

never had a problem out of five sets of these :x

I emailed Dunlop and there sorry reply was oh well, it has been 2yrs since you bought those, so who knows what I had done

I ain't done nothing to them!!

Yes Chuckycheese it appears to be fabric stickin out a wee bit. :roll:

Guess I will ride it anyway. :roll:

[chuckycheese]

WOW

I'm sorry to hear about Dunlop's comment but my guess is that your safety isn't compromised at all...at least I hope not and maybe we'll hear from a tire expert because I think there are a couple on our website.

By the way, michael,......yes, I got beer

[Anonymous]

I've never seen this kind of problem with a Dunlop, the problem I have with Dunlop is they wear out like soft sport tires, but they grip like a hard compound.

[Hap Call]

Michael, I firmly believe that you should get new tires...please don't ride on them if the fiber is showing. The wrong time to find out if they will fail or not is on a curve with a vehicle coming at you in the other lane. I would hate to lose a friend because of a defective tire.

Hap

[cbxchris]

Have to admit that would give me the most uneasy feeling knowing I was riding on that. Looks almost like dry rot. Can you tell when the manufactor date on the tire was. Heck I was just about to order a set of 501`s.....might want to wait and rethink that for a moment or two. typical answer from a tire company....it takes something like the Ford/Firestone mess for someone to admit anything.

[focus frenzy]

Re: WOW

maybe we'll hear from a tire expert because I think there are a couple on our website.

I guess I qualify, I have been through several tire schools put on by Goodyear and wing foot tires.

a bare spot on the side wall is very bad, from what I can see, that appears to be a defective spot that the rubber had finally fallen off from, bare side wall cords will allow water to work its way into the body of the tire and rot the cords of the belts out.
replace very soon, that tire is going to fail, sooner than later, Dunlop blew Michael off due to the age of the tire, two years is way outside of any warranty, if the tire was new they would have been obligated to replace it and take the old tire and investigate the cause of the defect. (this is the plus side of the Firestone/explorer tire incident, no manufacturer wants to be the next one)
two years is getting old for a motorcycle tire, three years is the outside age for a bike tire and regardless of tread remaining they should be replaced at three years old, there are exceptions but they are few and far between.

[argonsagas]

Leon is right on every point, but I would bitch at Dunlop a bit louder....even a LOT louder.

This is a tire defect, and the next step you will see will be more rubber falling away, exposing more fabric. This will almost certainly cause it to become bulbous, before it breaks.



Getting back to absolute basics, there are a total of two vital safety features on your bike, on which you literally bet your life, every time you ride

Both of those vital, life-saving features are black and round.

Whether or not you succeed with Dunlop, get that tire off your bike RIGHT NOW!

[argonsagas]

Leon is right on every point, but I would bitch at Dunlop a bit louder....even a LOT louder.

This is a tire defect, and the next step you will see will be more rubber falling away, exposing more fabric. This will almost certainly cause it to become bulbous, before it breaks.



Getting back to absolute basics, there are a total of two vital safety features on your bike, on which you literally bet your life, every time you ride, because everything the bike does is totally dependent on them.

Both of those vital, life-saving features are black and round.

Whether or not you succeed with Dunlop, get that tire off your bike RIGHT NOW!

[focus frenzy]

It is difficult to say for sure, but after a closer look at the picture, it appears that it may be the beginning of side wall belt/cord failure, this often happens during installation if not enough care is used, the side wall cords can be damaged during installation, some times if the cords are broke during installing on the rim, the side wall will have a prominent bulge at the damaged spot when it is inflated.
but if the belts were only stretched/damaged and not broke during installation, they can, and sometimes do fail at some time in their life span.
this is what looks like may have happened with your tire, Michael.
a real life inspection of the tire will tell for sure.

[MichaelHoward]

Oh Man!!! Add a Dunlop rear tire to my looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong list of things to buy :roll: Let's see, tire, webcam, memory, cd/rw,truck,1100E, etc..

Thanks for replys guys 8)

I will just have to buy a new one in a few weeks, I just wanted Dunlop to tell me how bad it was or if it was dangerous etc... they would not even comment. Oh Well!

[jimcor]

Hey Michael, sorry to hear 'bout your tire probs. Do you store your bike in an unheated garage or outside in the winter? If you do you're lucky you got a couple of years out of them! The temperature changes play hell with the sidewalls. I hate spooning on a new tire in the fall 'cuz chances are it'll be shot by spring!

[Anonymous]

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