Dunlop E3 10,000 mile update

[V7Goose]

As promised when I first mounted this rear Dunlop E3 about four months ago, here is an update on my impressions of the tire and the tread life.

 

But first a very brief background on me for the few that may not already know my experience and preferences with tires on the RSV:

I have a 2005 RSV that I have put 70,000 miles on,

PLUS

15,000 miles I put on an 07 when I owned it for about 4 months. I have done a lot of testing on different tire brands on this bike, and I am VERY partial to the Avon Venom. It provides excellent handling, is virtually silent from new until death, and I get the most miles out of a Venom rear compared to all other brands I have tested - 14,000 each from four different Venom rear tires.

With 10,000 miles on my first Dunlop E3 rear tire, I can confidently say I like this tire very much. The handling is at least as good as the Avon Venom, and the same goes for traction, both wet or dry. This tire inspires confidence in all conditions. As it wears, the tire is keeping a nice rounded profile - better than the Venom. The only downside so far is a bit of low noise it is beginning to generate in the sweepers. It is not too loud yet, but the Avons NEVER made any noise for me. I can see where it is coming from also - there is just a tad bit of scalloping detectable on the far edges of the tread (something that never happened on a Venom).

 

Now let's talk about tire life. The number of miles one gets from a particular tire on a particular bike is a VERY individual thing. There are just too many variables in riding patterns, types of roads, loads, etc. etc. to effectively compare how many miles I get from tire "A" to what you can expect from the same tire. But there do tend to be some common mileage ranges for a particular tire, with a few riders getting significantly more or less than the majority. For example, the horrible stock Brickstone rear tire seems to be toast for most owners around 8,000 miles (that is what I got from it, too), and Avon Venoms seem to usually make somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 miles.

 

The Dunlop E3 tires are quite new in our size, so there have not been a lot of reports on them, but still, there have been a few members here claiming 20,000 miles on a rear E3! That seemed incredulous to me, so I just had to try one. And since I have gotten such uniform life from four Avon Venom rear tires, we should be able to get a very accurate comparison of how the E3 compares to the Venom.

 

I measure a max tread depth of around .315" on a new E3, and with 10,000 miles on mine now, I measure the remaining tread at .16". That is effectively 1/2 if the original tread remaining, so it is looking pretty good that I will get more miles out of the E3 than I always have from a Venom. Can't tell yet how many, since we shouldn't run a tire all the way down until the center is smooth, but we'll see.

 

Finally, let's talk price. When I bought mine, the E3 was going for about $10 less than the rear Venom (and about $30 less for the front!) - that made it an excellent deal in light of the life I am getting from it. Unfortunately, a quick check now just showed the two tires are currently priced about the same. So for the same price, I would happilly buy either tire right now; they both seem to be excellent choices for the RSV.

Goose

[Kregerdoodle]

Thanks for the info, I got around 12k out of my Venum..the tread did flatten out pretty bad though..trying a CT now, and we`ll see how it goes, not to many miles on it yet, but so far so good...

[FuzzyRSTD]

Thanks a bunch Goose, I always like reading your threads and your no nonsense way of approaching any cituation:backinmyday:. I am trying the Avon Venoms now, about 2000 miles ago. I am trying them based most of all on your threads about these tires. Sounds like now, that maybe I might be putting on a set of E-3 s in the future. Hopefully in about the 14,000 mile future. Thanks again for all your help and for your work to put this information together for all to see. You are not a selfish person and I admire that in anyone.

James

[WilsonTAMU83]

Just seconding what James said. Except I wait I sure like this Avon.

Thanks Goose for your posts.

 

Kelly

 

[V7Goose]

C'mon fellas, y're makin me blush!

 

But thanx for the kind words,

Goose

[BOO]

I'm a Dunlop man so I'm glad to see such a favorable response to your use of the E3's.

Of course I'm the one reporting over 25K miles on the E3. I have a second E3 on now and would have to go look at how much mileage I have at this time but I'm thinking it's probably 5K or so. This tire I believe is softer in the center than the other one I had and I say that with no scientific proof other then I can't make it squeal if I slide the rear tire but the first one really squealed when slid. ??

I think all the Dunlop's even when new have some noise when you are riding off center.

BOO

[juggler]

As my Dunlop 404 WWW rear tire reaches the end of it's life (about 10k so far) I may have to look at the E3. Does it come in a wide white wall?

 

Also, my front tire is no where near being worn out, is there a problem if I run and E3 on the back and leave my Dunlop 404 on the front?

[RedRider]

As my Dunlop 404 WWW rear tire reaches the end of it's life (about 10k so far) I may have to look at the E3. Does it come in a wide white wall?

 

Also, my front tire is no where near being worn out, is there a problem if I run and E3 on the back and leave my Dunlop 404 on the front?

 

Wil,

 

You are doing very well to get 10k out of a D404. I wonder if the WWW is made differently than the standard.

 

Anyhooo...No, it isn't any problem running an E3 on the rear and the D404 on the front. Had that combo going for about 4000 miles so far and it is gtg.

 

RR

[V7Goose]

Also, my front tire is no where near being worn out, is there a problem if I run and E3 on the back and leave my Dunlop 404 on the front?

In my opinion there is no "problem" mixing tire brands/patterns front to back. I do it all the time when testing different tires, since I am not about to take off a perfectly good front tire with thousands of miles left (I generally get close to two rear tires to one front). But this also lets me compare the handling of the bike with a mismatched set to the matched set when I finally mount the correct front tire.

 

The tire manufacturers almost all say specifically that you should only mount a matched set of their tires, as the tread patterns are carefully designed to work best together. In fact, I almost agree with this. In my experience, the matched set has ALWAYS handled somewhat better than a mismatched set. But this difference is usually just a degree better, not so huge I would rate it as the difference between fair and good handling. Of course some front tire designs are just sooooo bad, they should never be used, either matched or not! The ugly super-fat Brickstone front tire is an example of this. The terrible handling from that tire can be greatly improved by raising the rear of the bike, but even then, it still makes the bike just handle "fair" compared to any other front tire, which will be "good" to "excellent" handling by comparison.

 

So I suggest you feel free to mount a different brand of rear tire half way through the front. If you like the way that rear tires works, and plan to stick with it for the next rear tire, then buy a matching front when the time comes. On the other hand, if you want to change brands again when that rear tire is dead, then buy the front tire that matches the new rear you will go to next time.

Goose

[juggler]

Wil,

 

You are doing very well to get 10k out of a D404. I wonder if the WWW is made differently than the standard.

 

Anyhooo...No, it isn't any problem running an E3 on the rear and the D404 on the front. Had that combo going for about 4000 miles so far and it is gtg.

 

RR

 

This is my second set of Dunlop 404 WWW. I had about 12k on the tire last time when a giant MN tire eating pothole got it's teeth into it took a chunk of rubber of it. Maybe I get more miles out of it because I spend so much time riding on the side of them in the corners?

[Tom]

Finally put my E3s on yesterday..Will give it a good run to the Rally. If I dont like em I will go to gooses house and he can by me a Margarita while I cry..I do love my Avons though..BUT I am gonna give these a fair comparison.

[OutKast]

My rear E3 started showing cord at over 17,000. Was still fairly rounded. I rode about 12,000 of that superslab pulling 350lb piggybacker, the rest mostly 2lane mountain roads varying degrees of twisties. Front has PLENTY left. noticible noise when off-center. no following of grooves though, great wet or dry. Seems like the harder center tread leads to quicker rear brake lock-up.

 

Am on a C/T now, but will probaly go back to E3 soon. The C/T follows grooves badly, and even the seams between lanes. Lane changes are like jumping the wake when water skiing.

[V7Goose]

Am on a C/T now, but will probaly go back to E3 soon. The C/T follows grooves badly, and even the seams between lanes. Lane changes are like jumping the wake when water skiing.

Nothing surprising to me about that - what you describe is EXACTLY what I have felt on any rear tire that has flattened off to a square profile with relatively sharp edges. And ANY car tire you run will have that profile from the very first mile. A rounded MC tire will ride over an edge in the pavement with some control, but a square tire with sharp corner will always grab it and quickly jump the edge.

Goose

[BigBoyinMS]

My rear E3 started showing cord at over 17,000. Was still fairly rounded. I rode about 12,000 of that superslab pulling 350lb piggybacker, the rest mostly 2lane mountain roads varying degrees of twisties. Front has PLENTY left. noticible noise when off-center. no following of grooves though, great wet or dry. Seems like the harder center tread leads to quicker rear brake lock-up.

 

Am on a C/T now, but will probaly go back to E3 soon. The C/T follows grooves badly, and even the seams between lanes. Lane changes are like jumping the wake when water skiing.

 

How much pressure are you running? Most people keep advising dropping to the mid to lower 30's to maximize the life... but I'm still at 40 lbs and measure no wear at 4000 miles and I have none of the tracking issues that you are noticing.

[juggler]

Does the Dunlop E3 come in a wide white wall? I can't find any like that.

[juggler]

I went to the Dunlop website and started looking at the MC tire charts.

 

D404

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=37

 

Elite 3

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=86

 

I notice the E3 MV85B15 starts out new with greater tread depth than the D404 150/90-15. 11/32 vs. 9/32 This would explain some of the longer life of the tire. That and the E3 is rated for a higher weight load.

 

The suckage part for me is the E3 comes in black wall only. I guess I'll stick with the D404. They've been working out good for me so far.

[davecb]

I've got almost 14000 miles on my original Dunlop 404. I figure it is good for at least another 1000 miles. It is not tread bare as some of the tires I have seen on this site with 20000 plus miles on them....Yes, this is the rear tire...

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I'm running number 2 and 3 of my experience with E3 tires. Second front E3 and first rear E3.

 

Handling, wear and wet grip all seem to be good....although hydroplaning is an issue since these tires dont have the pronounced rain grooves that 404's have.

 

Hydroplaning? Hell it dont rain anywhere within 300 miles of me much these days. What am I thinking?

 

 

But yes, the E3's seem to be a good value so far.