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Dunlop Roadsmart 3, 3000 Mile Review


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Here are my impressions of the Roadsmart 3 after 3000 miles.  I am 58 years old, 177 pounds in street clothes, am a fairly aggressive rider and the majority of my mileage is on twisty roads with a bit of cruising thrown in occasionally.  Using 32 front and 37 rear psi cold.  I never carry a passenger.

The profile on this tire makes for nice, neutral steering but a bit quicker than the OEM tires.  Turn in is steady right down to the edge of the tire with no surprises.  They feel very well planted at deep lean angles, a bit similar feeling to the Dunlop Q3.....which is a good thing.  They inspire a good bit of confidence mid corner and rear drive grip is excellent for the sport touring class.  They seem to do well in the wet, but the time or two I have ridden in the rain or on wet roads I was being pretty cautious.  The real treat with these is the dry grip which is excellent for the ST class.  I have pushed these pretty hard on a couple of my favorite roads and they do very well in spirited riding.  Based on the wear rate I expect the rear tire will last approximately 5500 miles before getting down to the wear bars at the sides of the tire.  That may not seem like much mileage to some but the Bridgestone and Michelin I used before only made it to around 4500 to 5000.  Dunlop claims this tire maintains it shape as it wears and so far that has been the case.  The tires seem to be wearing fairly evenly and the steering and turn in still feel almost the same as day one.  

Dunlop usually offers rebates on their tires once or twice a year.  I am pretty sold on these.  Very sport oriented for a ST tire.  I am surprised more riders don't choose these.     

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There is nothing like spending a day riding with friends in the grip of a shared obsession.

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43 minutes ago, johnmark101 said:

Dunlop usually offers rebates on their tires once or twice a year.  I am pretty sold on these.  Very sport oriented for a ST tire.  I am surprised more riders don't choose these.     

Thanks for the review, I have heard nothing but glowing reviews on the RS III and the only reason I don't switch tires and try something new is cost.  I have been using Bridgestone for several years - S21, S22 and T31, I ride pretty aggressively in the mountain and canyon twisties and they will outperform my abilities by a long shot, last 6,000+ miles and are only $230 a set before bi-annual rebates.  I stock up during the rebates and always have a set or 2 waiting in the garage.

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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2 hours ago, betoney said:

Thanks for the review, I have heard nothing but glowing reviews on the RS III and the only reason I don't switch tires and try something new is cost.  I have been using Bridgestone for several years - S21, S22 and T31, I ride pretty aggressively in the mountain and canyon twisties and they will outperform my abilities by a long shot, last 6,000+ miles and are only $230 a set before bi-annual rebates.  I stock up during the rebates and always have a set or 2 waiting in the garage.

Are you getting 6000 miles from the S21, S22 as well...….or just the T31?  I switched from sport tires to sport touring tires because I was tired of replacing tires so often. 

There is nothing like spending a day riding with friends in the grip of a shared obsession.

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19 minutes ago, johnmark101 said:

Are you getting 6000 miles from the S21, S22 as well...….or just the T31?  I switched from sport tires to sport touring tires because I was tired of replacing tires so often. 

Yes, last few sets of S21's were changed at 5,500 with life still left in them because I was leaving on a longer road trips and needed fresh rubber.  I currently have the T31's mounted with 5,000 miles on them and they look like they have another 1,000 left, a set of S22's on standby in the garage...  GREAT tires!

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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The T31's I just changed out gave me 4500 miles which equaled the best mileage I have ever gotten from a rear. The only tire that has lasted that long for me in the past was a Road Smart 2. I just installed a set of S22,s and am looking forward to testing their longevity. You can't argue with the dollar to mile value with the Bridgestone tires when you are able to use the rebate and get both ends for less than $200.

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14 hours ago, mike said:

The T31's I just changed out gave me 4500 miles which equaled the best mileage I have ever gotten from a rear. The only tire that has lasted that long for me in the past was a Road Smart 2. I just installed a set of S22,s and am looking forward to testing their longevity. You can't argue with the dollar to mile value with the Bridgestone tires when you are able to use the rebate and get both ends for less than $200.

Mike, I just got the RS IIs online front and back to my door for $161.76. $95 for the rear and $67 for the front. Bought 2 sets and born on date of 11th week, 2019. Maybe Dunlop is making more of them to continue this line also. For the price they are hard to turn down. I ran these on my ZX11 and ZRX1100 and got 3500 miles from the rears. Hope to get more with a lighter bike with less HP. 

 

dun_19_tir_roa_sma_ii-rea.jpg

*The Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II is a re-emergence of the...

 

dun_19_tir_roa_sma_ii-fro.jpg

*The Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II is a re-emergence of the...

 

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Ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun!

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I will look forward to your experience with the Road II's. I have been wondering if the new II is the same quality as the old tire. The price is so much less than the old II and the new III that I wonder about it. At that price the new Dunlop II is very attractive and, if it holds up well, may very well be my next purchase. Hell, these are cheaper than Shinkos.

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On 10/12/2019 at 2:07 PM, tktplz said:

Mike, I just got the RS IIs online front and back to my door for $161.76. $95 for the rear and $67 for the front. Bought 2 sets and born on date of 11th week, 2019. Maybe Dunlop is making more of them to continue this line also. For the price they are hard to turn down. I ran these on my ZX11 and ZRX1100 and got 3500 miles from the rears. Hope to get more with a lighter bike with less HP. 

 

dun_19_tir_roa_sma_ii-rea.jpg

*The Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II is a re-emergence of the...

 

dun_19_tir_roa_sma_ii-fro.jpg

*The Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II is a re-emergence of the...

 

That is a smoking deal on those tires.  Ran a couple sets of them on my Ninja 1000 and they performed very well.  Good dry grip and decent in the wet as well.  I was getting about 3500 miles out of a rear but that was on a bike that had been heavily modified and made way more low and midrange torque than the Tracer, and was ridden in anger 90% of the time.

There is nothing like spending a day riding with friends in the grip of a shared obsession.

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25 minutes ago, johnmark101 said:

I was getting about 3500 miles out of a rear but that was on a bike that had been heavily modified and made way more low and midrange torque than the Tracer, and was ridden in anger 90% of the time.

I got 3,600 to the cords on my ZX11 Ninja keeping up with Gen2 VMaxes coming out of corners and zipping up to 150-160 on the straights. That hard acceleration on the straights wore it right thru the center of the tire. Looked for the pix of it right quick but don't see 'em. Off to work now...... 

Ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun!

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From what I've read the new RS 2s are not the same Tire as the new RS threes and do not have the multi compound tread or Construction and will not last as long as the RS3 nor have equivalent dry and wet weather performance so it may be a false economy particularly given that their mileage will not match the RS3

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5 hours ago, johnmark101 said:

I was getting about 3500 miles out of a rear but that was on a bike that had been heavily modified and made way more low and midrange torque than the Tracer, and was ridden in anger 90% of the time.

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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Hi,

Close to 4k on a set of R3's.

33 front, 35 rear

Just back from Barber vintage festival

Ran in rain for last 250 miles.

No issue with traction, running 55 to 75 mph in constant rain.

I can tell the rear is flattening some, but I am happy with the tires.

See ya

Bill

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I don't know why but I usually get at least 8,000 miles out of a RS2 or 3 rear (sometimes almost 9,300), and I'm over 225 with gear + a 46L top case and tank bag; with the front capable of another 1,500.  On tour I run 34/40 for local sport 33/34.

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