Dunlop Sportsmart MK3

[pmmcanon]

Hi Gents,

I'm going to change my old Michelin Pilot Road 2 CT to a new Dunlop Sportsmart MK3... Has anybody tryed them?



KR
Pedro

 

[pmmcanon]

Change done!

Comparison with the old Michelins is not fare ! They were in good condition but really out of date. Initial sensations are very, very,very good. The front is super precise and there is no lean transition strange feelings, it simply goes to the lean angle you choose and stays there. I was comparing it driving with my son (Aprilia RS660 with SportSmart TT) begining with soft rythm and finishing with high in curvy road, no slides on acceleration with the FZ but with the improved grip I found many of the suspension limitations (Front dive, not enough extension damp, etc) and came back to garaje to try solve it .
If you consider the tyre as part of the supension unit you have to fine tune it with this in mind and take into account how the new tyre is going to impact In the limits you've got in your front fork and shock. I changed the fork height (from 5mm to 8) to transfer more weight to the front, removed half of the fork oil (Castrol 10) and added Castrol 15 to fulfill the recomended oil heigth to get some more damping retention (Ohlins linear springs but no Golden valve yet). Took away most of the rear shock preload to obtain a balanced front/rear suspension travel, and the magic was done!

The second session was further better !!!

Found that this tyre is very secure in terms of temperature, enough grip from cold to service temp and really grippy when it comes to warm. One of the things I like of this tyre is the ability to maintain the line under heavy acceleration exiting curves, no wideninng at all.

Hope it helps
Cheers

 

[7UPyours]

Thanks for sharing and I have a question since you mentioned "out of date" I bought a set of tires 4-5 years ago and never got around putting them on as I kind of stopped riding for a bit. Tires have been kept inside my house so they weren't exposed to the freezing temps or high summer heat. Will be replacing tires this spring and was wondering if I should use these. Thanks

 

[pmmcanon]

Hi 7up,
Four to five years seems reasonable to keep them (kept in good condition) but... you have to count on manufacturing year/week to have all the truth on the table. The manufacturing date should be printed in the tyre in a box rectangular with round squares also in relief, the format is first 2 digits is the week and last 2 is the year, something like 2118 (week 21 year 2018). Probably it was produced 1 or 2 years before you bought them...
Much more than 5 years I'll change them. Also think if they've been sitting in the same position for a long time, they can be deformed and you'll get vibrations.
The tyres is one of the best investment in terms of security plus driving pleasure.
Cheers

 

[Gary in NJ]

There are several factors that cause what appears to be a good tire to be unroadworthy/unsafe; temerature cycles and UV light. Since your tire(s) haven't experienced either of those conditions they are safe to mount. With that said, keep in mind that an older tire can become hard and unpredictable because they don't age as gracefully as a newer tire. If the date code reflects that hey were manufactured more than 10 years ago, don't expect many seasons from them.

 

[7UPyours]

Thanks guys for your advice, I have been keeping them on its side and flip them over from time to time, will check on production date before they get mounted. Can’t wait for nice weather to get here. (Boston, MA)