Manufacturing defect? Dunlop m-cycle tire.

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I was checking the rear Dunlop E3 tire on my 2008 Honda Goldwing… and I believe that it has some sort of a manufacturing defect.

On the face of the tread, there is what appears to be a cut in the rubber, that starts at one edge, disappears in the middle, and then reappears over on the other edge.

Dunlop claims that they use a "Multi-Tread" system on these tires, where the rubber compound in the middle, is different than the rubber on the sides.

And what makes me think that this isn’t from something that I ran over, there's no damage in the middle, and the cut also follows along the edge of one of the sipes in the tread on the left side. Looks like some sort of a seam to me.

I'd like to think that I’m pretty astute about checking my tires, but even I didn’t catch this earlier.
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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
And what makes me think that this isn’t from something that I ran over, there's no damage in the middle, and the cut also follows along the edge of one of the sipes in the tread on the left side. Looks like some sort of a seam to me.

Agreed. Looks too strange to be road damage.

Have you tried contacting Goodyear/Dunlop? If it were a car tire, they'd probably ask you to take it to the nearest Goodyear shop to have them inspect it, but I don't know what the process is for m-cycle tires since these Goodyear shops typically don't deal with these.

How many miles on the tire?
 
I haven't contacted the motorcycle division of Dunlop yet.

I just took the pictures this morning... and after looking at them, I want to retake them with better lighting.

But yes, I will be contacting Dunlop soon. Also looking forward to CapriRacer's opinion on this.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
and after looking at them, I want to retake them with better lighting.

Good idea as they're little blurry and/or out of focus. Maybe try taking them with a real camera.
 
A real camera? What's that???

But yes, I took the pictures inside my garage, using florescent lighting. Getting the tire outdoors in some good indirect lighting should make a huge difference.

I just snapped these on my way out the door, on my way to work.
 
It does look a little like a seam to me too. Is there an injection molding line that goes along that line through the sidewall? Is there the same line 180 degrees from that cut?
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Good luck getting anything for a 6 year old tire.,,

He didn't say it was the factory OEM tire, but if it is, then yeah, the original tires typically are treated very differently when it comes to warranty claims. 6 year old m-cycle tires should be replaced regardless of their tread condition, IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Good luck getting anything for a 6 year old tire.,,


Where did I ever mention that it was a 6 year old tire?

Here's a hint: I didn't. The motorcycle has nearly 40,000 miles on it. It's not an original tire.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Good luck getting anything for a 6 year old tire.,,


Why would you think a six year old bike would have the original tires on it when he specifically said it wasn't a Harley?
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I've contacted the Dunlop Motorcycle tires Customer Service group about this. Hopefully, I'll hear from them tomorrow.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
..... Also looking forward to CapriRacer's opinion on this.



You rang??

That, sir, is the tread splice. Yes, a "seam", where the slab of tread rubber is overlapped in the building process.

Nothing to worry about - unless it continues to grow.

Is it adjustable - that is will the tire manufacturer do a warranty? Yup, without question.

BTW, your first photos were plenty clear, but your second photo is outstandingly good!
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
You rang??
...
BTW, your first photos were plenty clear, but your second photo is outstandingly good!


Same camera, just vastly improved lighting.

As always... thank you, sir!
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
So, how old is this tire and how many miles on it? Just curious.

Keep us posted on how Dunlop handles it for you.



Tire was manufactured 50th week of 2012. So, about a year and a half old. I mounted it on the rim a year and two weeks ago.

So, it was only about 6 months old I put it into service.

No word from Dunlop yet.
 
Originally Posted By: Propflux01
Looks like you have some cupping issues with it as well.


Cupping is an issue with this bike. Not a whole lot that can be done. I don't think the suspension is the best design, but I'm not an engineer with Honda.

Combine a 900 pound bike that can be pushed like a sport bike in the corners, with lots of crowned roads that I ride, and the potential of getting as much as 18,000 miles out of one of these tires... there's so many factors in play that these tire designers can only do so much.
 
I have 2 nokian wrg2 xl's on a 2013 outback doing that.. although not as bad.

also one of my kumho 4x is just starting to get a line.

here is a pic

The nokian.. its gotten abit worse now.
2013-06-20%2013.25.02.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
I have 2 nokian wrg2 xl's on a 2013 outback doing that.. although not as bad.

also one of my kumho 4x is just starting to get a line.

here is a pic

The nokian.. its gotten abit worse now.

{photo omitted]


That is different. That is a molding problem. The rubber in the tread was damaged during the manufacturing process and folded over on itself. Sometimes that foldover molds out cleanly, but it this case it didn't.

Is it dangerous? Not especially. The tire will at worse lose a portion of the tread in the immediate vicinity - called a "chunk out". But most likely, the piece will stay in and wear away below where the defect is. The casing is in no danger of losing integrity.

Is it adjustable? Absolutely.
 
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