The day the Dunlop E4 came calling,,,,,

[cowpuc]

It seems like forever now that my friends, neighbors, cousins, uncles and even people that dont know me from Adam who have watched my numerous UTube vids on swapping tires while out on the coast of California have told me over and over again that I should try one of those fancy schmancy big dollar dual compound tires made by Dunlop for my hot tarmac, cross country adventures..

I recently read where Dunlop themselves claimed x6 shore to shore across America was normal so,,, I caved. Noticing that the Shinko I spooned on earlier this year was getting low on tread,,, I thought, what da heck what da hay,,, no better time than the present so I ordered a brand new rear Dunlop E4 for Tweeksis's ol back side.. I ordered from a company who I have bought MANY tires from and who ALWAYS got the tires to me - made no difference if it was here in Michigan or out on the west coast = within 2 days!! GOOD OUTFIT IMHO...

I was shocked to have the Dunny take 9 days to get here,,, then I was shocked when I noticed this strange "xxxxxxxxxx" pattern right across a bead area = caused me pause.. I called the company and talked to a sales guy and explained what I was seeing and a concern for possible bead leaking.. I agreed to go ahead and mount the tire and see what would happen if I did under the promise they would stand behind it if it leaked... The next day I found something that was even more alarming,, I noticed that the new E4 had a "droop" in its side tread that lined up perfectly with the "xxxxxxxx"s.

Now I am no canyon carver like many in our club but I/we do enjoy occasionally wickin er up in the twisties so the droop really concerned me because of its out of round factor. I decided against even mounting the tire and called the company who sold it to me back to request a new tire be shipped and a return label be sent for the defector.. This time, to my surprise, the sales guy was more reluctant to comply. He wanted pictures (of course) of what I was talking about, sent them to him (see pics below). Next communication was one of absolutely damaged goods and they would replace it and they would send a return label - .. Problems showed up right after I shipped the tire.. My next message was: Please hold shipping, it appears the damage was caused by the shipping company and we will have to deal with them before refunding/reshipping.. My message to them was: to late, tires on the way,, glad you agreed tire was damaged, sorry your shipper messed up if that is what caused the problems, please do not send another tire, send refund full amount:big-grin-emoticon:

I ordered and have already received another new E4 from another company = PERFECT tire as far as I can tell.. It will be interesting to see how the initial company handles the refund at this point. They did mention that if the tire has to go back to Dunlop for an evaluation that it could take up to 6 weeks ... At this time I will not post the companies name because I want to give them a fair chance to respond but if it gets ,,, I will definitely pass the info on here FYI...

Headed toward the west coast one of these days on a new E4 with of making the complete trip without swapping on a new tire on the road (its a bike tire science experiment gone crazy:255:) regardless of the outcome of the original sellers ,,,,,

 

Watch those tires ya bunch of lop eared varmints,,,,,, even the new, big $$ ones

 

[RandyR]

If the tire was bought with a credit card like I use for 90% of all purchases, I'd give the original seller a week to make things right, then file a request to have the payment reversed with the credit card company. It sounds like they gave you a return shipping ticket so you're not out any $$$ for that.

[saddlebum]

Sorry you started out on the short end of the stick on those new hides. if it helps I have been running mine every day and putting them through some pretty testy moves and I got to say so far I am loving these e4 tires.

[slowrollwv]

Does not look like shipping damage to me. Looks like factory reject.

[7 lakes]

Used to regularly see that kind of stuff with car tires when I was in the business, a lot of substandard tires get mounted if the shop isn't picky and doesn't inspect them carefully. We sent tires back to the warehouse for return to the manufacturer often enough that we had a bin for them in the basement.

[BlueSky]

Quite a while ago, Motorcycle Superstore sent me a "new" 5 year old tire. It was a Metzler Lasertec that fit the rear of my Kawasaki and I suppose there isn't much demand for that size. I used it and it worked okay but when you order tires there is no way that I know of to request a newly manufactured tire.

 

They should refund your money with no drama on that tire.

[videoarizona]

Have to agree with above. The xxxxxx on the tire right below where the flat spot is indicates a tire that was found to have a defect and should not have been sold.

I have to think the dealer wasn't aware and sent the tire out..... Or I would like to think that way. We may never know....

 

Crossing fingers that new Dunlop works for ya, @cowpuc! My buddy swears by them on his HD Ultra.

[sldunker]

I have had quite a few defective Dunlopes over the years and have never had a problem with Dunlope taking care of a bad tire. Usually I send a picture like you did and whoever I bought the tire from sends that picture to Dunlope and an exchange is ok'ed. Takes about a day.

I just put on a Shinko on the front of my RSV and noticed right away that something wasn't right. I jacked bike back up put a piece of wood behind tire and gave it a spin. Didn't take long to find a lump in that tire. I took a video of it and sent it to my supplier and they approved an exchange almost immediatialy. It is a safety thing as far as I am concerned.

I think your refund will come quickly. Actually if the company you buy from keeps records of your purchases they should have refunded you right away, no questions asked.

Good Luck!

[venturesome]

If I were a tire dealer and you were a long time customer and filed a legitimate complaint (with pictures), I don't think I would risk losing your confidence by dragging out a refund. Sure looks like a "second" with markings to point it out! My bet is that you have just found a new tire dealer.

[djh3]

Looks like a belt splice. Where the belts in the carcass are overlapped-joined

[cowpuc]

Looks like a belt splice. Where the belts in the carcass are overlapped-joined

 

Would you have spooned er on and headed cross country on it Deej?

[djh3]

Probably not. I would also think that thing could induce a wobble at some speeds. If it was you highway speed that would suck.

[WildBill1]

I've all but quite ordering tires off the internet just on account of crap like this happening. Peace of mind of seeing the tire before it's mounted is worth what saving the internet yields or the aggervation of processing a return.

[cowpuc]

I've all but quite ordering tires off the internet just on account of crap like this happening. Peace of mind of seeing the tire before it's mounted is worth what saving the internet yields or the aggervation of processing a return.

 

I hear ya Bill,, only problem there is,, at least around here, its 40 to 50% $$ more to shop retail for the same tire if your talking cash and carry (some shops will give you a discount if you pay em to mount/balance - I prefer to do all my own work).. I have ordered many many tires, both street and dirt, online and seriously,, this is the very first one I have had an issue with.. I have ordered and had sent to my son-in-laws out in California at least 20 tires (doing some quick math in my brain) from the company I am dealing with on this Dunny and never had a bad experience,,, till possibly now.. I always order thru Ebay and pay with Pay Pal cause I know that they have their own VERY strict policies about returning and getting the money back if something like this happens.. I once sold and item to a person (used bike part) that was defective and I did not know it was. Instead of contacting me, the person filed in the reselution section on Paypal and Paypal locked up my account until it was resolved - they take this stuff seriously.. Knowing that,, I was/am trying to be decent about it all and dealing with the seller first but truthfully,,, in the end I have no doubt that the refund will take place. My VERY biggest concern with it all is the lingering question of the inconvienience had this of taken place while Tip and I were CTFW across the country when the real business face would have had a chance to reveal itself in the form of them even thinking of saying something like "it may take 6 weeks to get you a tire" right after I had explained to them that we were planning a trip with departure way sooner than that... Definitely revealing... I will say this,,, the other company that I reordered the same tire thru was indeed The Motorcycle Superstore who I had never ordered thru before.. I found them on Ebay, same price as the other company, got here in 2 days and that E4 appears to be perfect (still not mounted = got about 1/8" more of time to go on the Shinko I mounted before I headed to Gimby for the Ontario Rally (went playing with the Canuckians).

[cowpuc]

Refunded in full!!!!

[slowrollwv]

Puc glad you got your refund. Not sure where you order your tires. I have been getting mine from Jake Willson and they are here in two to three days.

[vzuden]

I agree with Jake Wilson but they are now called Riders Domain. I haven’t ordered anything since the name changed