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Roadsmart 3 reviews?

rmills944

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Anyone put any good miles on the Roadsmart 3 yet? I'm looking for feedback?

The price is right and online reviews from other bikes look great.
 
Roadsmart 3 is an awesome tire.  I highly recommend them.  I like Dunlop handling and this tire doesn't disappoint: Firm, great feel, tracks great, very confidence inspiring.  I've had the Pirelli Angle GT's (great tire too) The Michelin PR4 GT: awesome for 2000 miles then handling falls to shit because of cupping.  What good does it do to have a tire that is great for a couple thousand miles then lousy for the rest of its life.
There are lots of great tires out there and many would be good.  For my money I'd definitely go with either the RS3 or the Angels.  I give a slight edge to the Dunlops.  Can't go wrong either one.
 
Matter said:
Roadsmart 3 is an awesome tire.  I highly recommend them.  I like Dunlop handling and this tire doesn't disappoint: Firm, great feel, tracks great, very confidence inspiring.  I've had the Pirelli Angle GT's (great tire too) The Michelin PR4 GT: awesome for 2000 miles then handling falls to s*** because of cupping.  What good does it do to have a tire that is great for a couple thousand miles then lousy for the rest of its life.

So you are saying the Roadsmart 3 doesn't cup? Also, what mileage are you getting out of them?

I had the Angels on mine, a number of years ago so I don't think they were GTs, and they were great, initially, then horrible after they had a few miles on them. The Michelins have been fairly consistent in comparison throughout their lifespan.
 
I am running the Roadsmart 3 on my C10, I got 10k put of the rear, front could go another 5k, but I replace both at the same time. No cupping even with hard braking. Since this tire is based on the Sportmax Q3, it has excellent grip, wet or dry. 8/32 tread depth in the rear means long life. I found the Michelins to have dull feedback. Not very confidence inspiring imho. My mileage was with very spirited riding.
 
I just installed the RS3's on my C14. Annual trip to Northern CA in May. For now it sits till then. I really liked the Pirelli ST/GT, then went with Avons the last 3 sets. But willing to try the RS3's.

They have a great profile and I hope to get at least 4K miles out of them. Reviews are encouraging.
 
Pbfoot said:
I am running the Roadsmart 3 on my C10, I got 10k put of the rear, front could go another 5k, but I replace both at the same time. No cupping even with hard braking. Since this tire is based on the Sportmax Q3, it has excellent grip, wet or dry. 8/32 tread depth in the rear means long life. I found the Michelins to have dull feedback. Not very confidence inspiring imho. My mileage was with very spirited riding.

Okay, thanks. I would be interested in hearing from someone using the Roadsmart 3 on a C14 though. I have the PR3s on my C14 and have no issues in spirited riding in the twisty roads of Western Pa and Wv though. The Angels felt great, initially, then once they wore they felt bad.
 
rmills944 said:
I will say I have the RS2 now and it's about dead. There's no cupping on the tire though
The 3 is an improved design over the 2. Both are great tires.
 
Has anybody mounted these tires yet?  I just mounted my third set of PR 4 GT's and there are a bugger to mount, especially the rear.  I think ease of mounting is going to factor into my tire purchases at some point.  ::)
 
I have a set on now after I tried t30gt evo's.  the Bridgestones rolled side to side and turned in better, but the r3's ride much much smoother.  t30gt evo's seemed to track better over surface junk like tar snakes too.  the r3 ride is well worth it so far though
 
Here is a review I wrote up for a fb group last night.

Dunlop Roadsmart III 190/55 thoughts. I now have roughly 1,200 miles on the rear tire that I put on 3/2/18 and here are my thoughts. For starts I like it, it has really good traction and the feel is nice. It is a very stable feeling tire, the PR4 that was on the rear previously felt twitchy and wanted to wander on Ca freeways where I clock most of my miles. This tire just feels planted. It doesn’t want to wander, and straight-line stability is great. When turn it rolls in to a turn instead of tipping like the PR4 did, giving a more confidence inspiring feel as it does what you tell it to do nothing more nothing less. I haven’t done any serious canyon running yet but the curves I have done it sticks like gum freshly chewed by a 16-year-old Cheer leader. At this point the tread still looks great but it is too early to tell how long it will hold up, so we shall see. So far very impressed with this tire and if it gets any where close to the mileage that is advertised I will replace it with another of the same.
 
RS3's with about 4000 miles on them, still look brand new (I never got more than 6k on the PR4s).  Stick like God's own flypaper, my confidence levels skyrocketed over the PR4s, and if you catch a rebate and sale are literally half the price
 
I have abt 2k miles on my RoadSmart 3's.  They handle well and so far seem to be wearing well. 

Although I have mounted probably 25 tires in my lifetime, I found that the rear tire was impossible for me to mount fearing that I was going to damage the rim or the bead of the tire.  I was using a Harbor Freight Tire mount setup.  I brought the wheel to a friend and together we tried using his setup with no luck.  I ended up bringing the wheel and tire to a dealer and he had it mounted in abt 2 minutes, he told me that he could tell that this tire would have been extremely difficult to mount without a real tire machine.

Fred
Wa2gzw
 
rmills944 said:
Anyone put any good miles on the Roadsmart 3 yet? I'm looking for feedback?

The price is right and online reviews from other bikes look great.

I have a 2015 C14 I bought new in March of 2017. First off, the stock Bridgestones wore out very quickly for me. I commute 70 miles daily four days a week. I only got 7K miles on the Bridgestones, and they were worn to a nub. I now am running the Roadsmart 3's and with 7K, and I am almost down to the wear indicators. This is very disappointing since I am a commuter. About ninety percent of my riding is highway miles. I have got to find a tire with a much harder compound, but not ridiculous in the slippage department.
I need to hear some feedback from you guys concerning total mileage on a certain brand and type of tire. I'm still searching the forum but not seeing much on total miles on the life of a tire.
Thanks,
Mike
 
Angel GT's I was lucky to get 3K miles on the front, maybe 4K at the rear. The last 3 sets have been the Avon 3DXM's and I am able to get 6K before the front and rear are gone. I have a new set of the Dunlops 3's installed. If I can get 5-6K out of them before they are shot then so be it. The C14 eats tires like crazy, especially if you are a speedy rider like I am.

I have never commuted upright on my C14 so center wear has never been an issue.  I tried the PR4's but soon after took them off, hated the handling. I think at 4K the fronts were cupped and handling was awful.

Personally, 7K commuting on the C14 is an amazing amount of life that you say you are achieving.

OTOH my daily commuter KLR wore out (not really) a set of K60's in 15K miles and still had tread left.  :beerchug:
 
My update on the Roadsmart 3, the front lasted 9k miles in 8 months. Clearly not enough for a commuter, I mounted the Avon AV66 Storm 3D XM. I certainly hope the XM really means extra mileage.
 
Pirelli Angels GT "A" spec have traveled just over 9000 miles front and back,still life left in them.
 

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gpd323 said:
Angel GT's I was lucky to get 3K miles on the front, maybe 4K at the rear. The last 3 sets have been the Avon 3DXM's and I am able to get 6K before the front and rear are gone. I have a new set of the Dunlops 3's installed. If I can get 5-6K out of them before they are shot then so be it. The C14 eats tires like crazy, especially if you are a speedy rider like I am.

I have never commuted upright on my C14 so center wear has never been an issue.  I tried the PR4's but soon after took them off, hated the handling. I think at 4K the fronts were cupped and handling was awful.

Personally, 7K commuting on the C14 is an amazing amount of life that you say you are achieving.

OTOH my daily commuter KLR wore out (not really) a set of K60's in 15K miles and still had tread left.  :beerchug:

I have to agree with most everything Greg said.

For me Angel's were typically a 4,000 - 4,500 mile tire. Last set went 3,300 & were beyond worn out. I've had a dozen plus sets of Avon's & typically get 6,000 - 6,500 out of them. I also didn't like any of the Michelin's, terrible wear patterns & didn't think handling was very good.

I have never commuted, but agree the 7K commuting is good mileage. A small car makes more sense to me.

Cliff  :beerchug:
 
smokin said:
Pirelli Angels GT "A" spec have traveled just over 9000 miles front and back,still life left in them.


I have never come close to that, to me tires are expendables and I am willing to pay that price for my riding style.

I just don't know how that is even possible? 9K and tread left?

But when I travel I end up in some of the most amazing roads that I bet I spend more time leaned over than upright! Slight exaggeration mind you. :beerchug:
 
The rear RS3 lasted 7k miles. the front lasted about 10k miles before became somewhat unstable. I didnt ride them under heavy rain conditions.
Still happy....replacing the with another RS3 set.
 
leave in 3 days for 2500+ plus miles into Oregon and Northern California on some super cool roads. I have a new set of the RS 3's and will give feedback when I return if anyone cares!  :beerchug:
 
I only rode 2200 miles on the RS3's so far. This ride had thousands of corners and very little slab. The front is slightly worn on the sides when you rub your hand over the tread and the back tire looks to have worn well center and side to side. The original profile appears intact.

I found the handling similar to the Angel GT's and slightly less easy to drop into a corner than the last 3 sets of the Avon's which have a very pointy profile, the RS3 has a more rounded profile especially in the back.

A surprise is my headshake I have had with the last 3 sets of Avon's is gone! The headshake was quite severe if you let go of the bars. RS3's worked well in heavy rain and during extreme cornering. I run the 190/55 rear and I have no chix strips so my lean angel was definitely there.

If I keep up this kind of riding I am doubtful I will see 6K like I did with the Avon's, but time will tell as mileage adds up. So to run them till they are truly worn out never really happens with me so ultimate mileage they are capable of I will never see.

Usually if I still have some life in the tire but have a long trip coming I always install a new set because I don't want to have to limp home on a worn out set or be forced to buy a tire on a trip.

I will be buying the RS3's again and no more Avon's or Pirelli's.
 
gpd323 said:
I only rode 2200 miles on the RS3's so far. This ride had thousands of corners and very little slab. The front is slightly worn on the sides when you rub your hand over the tread and the back tire looks to have worn well center and side to side. The original profile appears intact.

I found the handling similar to the Angel GT's and slightly less easy to drop into a corner than the last 3 sets of the Avon's which have a very pointy profile, the RS3 has a more rounded profile especially in the back.

A surprise is my headshake I have had with the last 3 sets of Avon's is gone! The headshake was quite severe if you let go of the bars. RS3's worked well in heavy rain and during extreme cornering. I run the 190/55 rear and I have no chix strips so my lean angel was definitely there.

If I keep up this kind of riding I am doubtful I will see 6K like I did with the Avon's, but time will tell as mileage adds up. So to run them till they are truly worn out never really happens with me so ultimate mileage they are capable of I will never see.

Usually if I still have some life in the tire but have a long trip coming I always install a new set because I don't want to have to limp home on a worn out set or be forced to buy a tire on a trip.

I will be buying the RS3's again and no more Avon's or Pirelli's.
Good to hear from fellow PacificNorthWestener prizing RS3. After Shinkos are done, I'll be switching to RS3 for sure. We do need good wet weather tires here is Seattle. RS3 is it.
 
Are these Roadsmart III tires being discussed here the same as the Dunlop SportMax Roadsmart III?
Local dealer is advertising $100 off a set with any service!
 
Putting on a set tomorrow.
If I make it to Texas, I'll let you know what I think.  ;)

giphy.gif
 
There are a lot of very good tires out there presently multiple brands, for whatever type of riding you do or bike you have.  I must say I have been very happy with the Dunlop tires I have purchased the last 10 years and they presently have rebates when you purchase a set.  The Roadsmart III $75 currently.    I purchased a set of Dunlop Sportmax Q3s for my ZX14r and received a $50 rebate, just purchased a set of Dunlop American Elites for a buddy with a 2013 Harley Street Glide with a $50 rebate.    Made in the USA also I believe.  All have these tire models have very good reviews on the net. 
 
Just replaced my Roadsmart 3's with another set. The $100.00 rebate was still on so I decided on another set. I got about 6700 miles on my first set and I probably could have left my front tire on but was not entirely comfortable about it so I replaced both. Rear tire was toast. I really must say I like these tires! I do a lot of mountain rides here in Southern California and I am hard on tires and they perform very well! I just finished riding 3400 miles on a 7 day trip with the OTP travelers and they performed flawlessly! That trip had a good mix of mountain roads and stretches of highway roads. Overall I would recommend the Roadsmart 3's for your bike! I ran the 190/55 on my rear. Yes I would love to get more miles from this tire but I am aggressive with them. ;)  I will send in another report after this set of tires has reached it's limit!



:motonoises:  :motonoises:  :great:
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :great:

Good to hear. I currently have 2200 miles on my first set. Heading to Oregon on the 5th, short 2 day trip maybe another 900 miles. I want to wear this set out and install a new set before my Sept trip. Must have a new set for that long trip.

Personally, I am going to stick with this brand. At 2200 miles if I was running the Angel GT's I would be at the wear bars on the front. Avons 3DXM's got me to 6K miles on the front but the head shake was just horrible on all 3 sets I ran. No head shake with the RS's.

If the RS3's get me somewhere near 5K miles on a set I'll be a happy person.
 
All I can say is they was plenty grippy enough for me all the way to Texas and back.
I felt confident leaning as hard as I dared at the Three Sisters. I hit maybe two or three sandy/gravel spots and the bike handled as expected.

I would buy another set when the time comes.
 
Harry Martin said:
All I can say is they was plenty grippy enough for me all the way to Texas and back.
I felt confident leaning as hard as I dared at the Three Sisters. I hit maybe two or three sandy/gravel spots and the bike handled as expected.

I would buy another set when the time comes.

:beerchug:

Thanks, my thoughts exactly.
 
RS3 are still om my radar as replacement of Shinko tires. But as I approach 5K on 016 with about half thread left, RS3 gets pushed further out to outer rim of the radar. The wear on 016's seemed have paused or at least slowed down as we entered dry-summer-full-lean-attack mode and flat wet-weather-keep-yer-straight-line center wear has disappeared.
I doubt you can get RS3, M+B for two Benjamins.
 
I went through three sets of the Michelins, didn't get more than 6000 miles on any of the rears.  RS3s have 7500 miles on them right now, rear looks like I will get another 2,000 before replacing.

Love the tires, I am MUCH more confident with them than the OEMs or the Michelins, for me they turn in much easier, do better in the wet, and have dramatically reduced the stressful moments I had when pushing my envelope in curvy stuff.  I've got two sets in my garage (thank you, Dunlop for your frequent $75-100 rebates), both purchased for about the price of just the rear michelin.  I'll eventually try the Angels, but for now I'm extremely happy with them, and you can't beat the price.
 
Update from my earlier input. So the rear tire I talked about back in March on the first page of this thread lasted 9,700 miles. It was squared and on the wear bars but still handeled well in a corner and didn't display any bad habits. When I replaced it I went with a full set of the RS III'. This set is now at 9,000 miles and still trucking along. I may be replacing them this weekend as I average 1,000 miles a week of commuting and dont like having tires on or near the wear bars when I am clocking those sorts of miles. They continue to handel great both (inspite of the squaring on the rear) on Californina Freeways and slamming curves on local mountain roads. 1.5 weeks ago I went on a ride that included 100 miles of twisty mountain roads and the tires still stuck like glue having 7000 miles on them at the time. Considering the price V/S the level of performance I don't see myself going to a different tire anytime soon these are just too good of a value. Plus right now there is a $75 rebate when you buy a pair which makes it even more of a deal not to walk away from.  Now if Michiline will come out with a GT version of the PR5 I will give them a try but till then I am sticking with these.
 
Thanks for the review. I have 3K on my set currently. No  isues what so ever. Just as you said, great handling tire with good wear rates.

But, I am doing another 3K trip and with 3K already on the mounted set I am not going to take the chance for this set to make it on my next trip. I don't want to be in tire preservation mode, I want to be able to rip it up as needed. So I will be installing a new set of the RS3's.
 
New set of RS3's mounted now, I took a good look at the front/rear with 3200 miles on the old set. The rear was just about at the wear bars on the sides, the front was worn more on the sides than the center. Not sure they would have made it to 6K like the Avons? Highly doubt it. Unless I stayed completely upright on a slab which I never do.

I think my next set after this is going to be a Avon 3DXM rear and a Dunlop RS3 front.

 

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I have to say after a week and 3200 miles on these tires (South dakota twisties and back to Memphis) I have NO IDEA how people are getting 3500 miles out of these tires. They look BRAND NEW STILL. No chicken strips, but no noticeable wear either.

I've ridden on the PR4GT before these and on the ride another concours had just got a new set of PR4 GTs at the same time I got my Roadsmart 3's
RAIN: Excellent rain tire. IT POURED on us the way back and the concours with PR4's was starting to squirm around 70mph while I was prefctly stable still. These had amazing grip and I had no issues with slipping
DRY: Very confidence building tire. They definitely grip more than the old PR4GT.

I'd definitely recommend. I do not have any distance on these, but did get around 9000 miles out of my Pr4GT. Depending on mileage i get out of these I'll either go with the PR5GT or these again for sure. They really are a great tire...
 
I am currently on a 7 day 3500 mile trip through Oregon and Northern California. I am at 4 days and 1901 miles on the RS tires. The back looks Ok, some feathering and overall even wear. The fronts now are wearing more on the outsides (heavy cornering) and have a noticeable wear ridge from the center compared to the outside of the tire. I have another 500 miles of heavy riding tomorrow and I know the front will be toast, or close to it. I am going to slab (I hate that BTW) from Eugene Oregon to Tacoma on Saturday instead of coming home from Enterprise OR the last day

The Avon 3DXM gave me almost twice the mileage (almost 6K miles) especially on the front tire but the head shake was horrible. Not sure what tire choice I will do next time?

I do like the way the RS3's handle, but just like the Pirellis and other brands I seem to wear them out at an accelerated rate.
 
Another 500+miles, front tire looks the same after thousands of corners. No more noticeable tire wear. Going to cut the trip 1 day short and head home tomorrow. :beerchug:

 
I have a set of RSIII's coming in next week.  What tire pressures are you running on your C14's (just got my C14)?
I run 33r/35f on my RSII equipped SV650 and 28r/34f GP-A shod ZX10r.

The RSII's have been amazing on my SV for the last 8k miles, I'll easily get another 3k.  Been a Dunlop fan for the longest time... every time I try another brand - I regret it.  :-[
 
Road Smart #'s...42 psi front and rear. Nice tires in wet and dry with good grip on both. These tires build confidence in the turns for me.
 
I also run mine at 42/42.

I love them.  Did a 2500+ mile trip on them in late April and they handled great.  Trip included a bunch of twisties.  In CA:  Death Valley, Kern River Valley, Angeles Forest (at dusk on a road I'd never ridden, with lots of oncoming traffic), a little Angeles Crest, Banning Grade, Borrego Springs.  Then AZ:  Prescott, Jerome, Salt River Canyon, Devils Highway, then back to Prescott.

Not exactly sure how long they will last, but they have 3k miles on them and I should get at least another 3k out of them.  I'll buy another set for sure.
 
I have over 10k miles on my current set, 22 months on them, I am not an agressive rider which may help with the longevity. I paid $345 mounted and balanced off the bike then and I am having the same ones put on next week, cost this time is going to be $385. These tire have worn very smoothly with none of the cupping that I have expeirenced with the Michelins. 40psi on my tps cold and 43-44psi warm. Three thumbs up from me!!
 
Sprocket said:
I have over 10k miles on my current set, 22 months on them, I am not an agressive rider which may help with the longevity. I paid $345 mounted and balanced off the bike then and I am having the same ones put on next week, cost this time is going to be $385. These tire have worn very smoothly with none of the cupping that I have expeirenced with the Michelins. 40psi on my tps cold and 43-44psi warm. Three thumbs up from me!!

Yes, I can attest to the fact that being a non-aggressive biker (for the most part) maximize the longevity of your tires. In the recent past, I've got nearly 18K on both Michelin PR4 GTs and Pirelli Angel 4 GTs ... but that was before my ECU flash from Steve. We'll see if that still holds now that I have his MR Premium flash. I've found lately that I've wanted to "see what she's really got" more so than ever. Yee Ha!
 
I just got back from a 3000 km/1900 mile trip on my Road Smart 3's. Lots of twisty stuff and they performed flawlessly. I had two days of rain and I pushed them fairly hard and not a problem.
I have used PR4s and Angels on my 2015 and so far, the Road Smart 3's get the best marks. I loved the Angels but I found it was not long before I noticed they seemed to be providing less performance.
When they bite the dust, I will report on the mileage and the performance towards the end of their usefulness.
 
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