Dunlop D607 Trailmax on GSA

[Wapping]

My 1200GSA came fitted with Michelin Anarkee tyres..

At 12,000 miles and two pairs down I thought I would try Dunlop D607 Trailmax tyres. They had worked well on my old vanilla 1200, including a couple of trackdays.

Big mistake.

Whilst the steering is definitely faster, the GSA is tracking every bump and ripple in the road and shaking its head at around 30 miles an hour, feeling as if the bike wants to crab along. Sometimes it feels as if the front wheel is buckled or running on a cam, with a distinct lurching feeling. White ‘kick-back’ arrows, for instance, promote a real weave, cats eyes see the bike stepping sideways.

I stuck with the 607 tyres over 1500 more miles, tried various pressures and still no change. Had the balance rechecked and that the wheels hadn’t suddenly become untrue, all OK.

Had it been a conventional swing arm bike I would have sworn the wheels were out of line.

The D607 tyres, for whatever reason, do not seem to suite it, so it’s back to Anarkees for me.

 

[Deleted Member I]

When did you get a GSA?

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

That really is so weird - like you, I have found them to work really well on my GS and are probably on balance the best tyre I've tried so far.

Will be interesting to see what other GSA owners think?

Andres

 

[Wapping]

When did you get a GSA?

A year ago.

Has now got 13,500 on it.

Sold the vanilla GS, two years old and 21000 miles for £7,700. Pretty good price I thought.

 

[Wapping]

That really is so weird - like you, I have found them to work really well on my GS and are probably on balance the best tyre I've tried so far.

Will be interesting to see what other GSA owners think?

Andres

I can't understand it either. I don't mind a bike that twitches about but this was becoming more than slightly dangerous.

Coming back from the north London meet last Thursday, in the dark, the bike was going all over the place.

It is stable enough cranked over in bends and up over about 40, other than getting the bad squirms over white lines etc. It's rather like riding on badly worn tyres. I noticed it right from when they were fitted. At first I thought it as simply because they were new tyres, with a nice sharp profile. Having stuck with them for 1,500 I have given up.

Changing the tyres on Monday morning.

 

[Wapping]

Just swithced back to Anarkees.

All the problems have gone.

Can't understand it all.

 

[Magwych]

Sounds lik ethey could have been mounted slightly off? I have had his before, although quite few years ago now, where one side of a tyre had not "popped" all the way out on the rim.
If you do experience odd behaviour like this it is worthwhile checking the tyres have been mounted evenly side to side, and concentrically. THere are usually rings moulde dinto the sidewalls that make this easier. 'Course the tyres could have a manufacturing fault in one or more of them...

Now you have taken the Dunlops off it is not so easy to check if they were mounted properly and if they track true when the wheel spins, but I can see why you did.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Wapping

Big thumbs up for the Annakees but I`ve just fitted some Conti Trail Wings.

The bike is on rails and feels superb. I`m no test rider so don`t really know all the ins and outs but tracks, handles and steers superbly now. Just have to se what the life is compared with the Michie`s.

 

[Wapping]

Sounds lik ethey could have been mounted slightly off? I have had his before, although quite few years ago now, where one side of a tyre had not "popped" all the way out on the rim.
If you do experience odd behaviour like this it is worthwhile checking the tyres have been mounted evenly side to side, and concentrically. THere are usually rings moulde dinto the sidewalls that make this easier. 'Course the tyres could have a manufacturing fault in one or more of them...

Now you have taken the Dunlops off it is not so easy to check if they were mounted properly and if they track true when the wheel spins, but I can see why you did.

I ran through all of that during the 1,500+ miles I had the tyres fitted.

I tried altering the pressures, up and down, either side of the standard and loaded recommended pressures.

I has the wheels rebalanced.

The rims of the spoked wheels are very slightly out but within tolerance.

I checked the forks and pinch bolts as well.

I tried riding it on a very smooth, empty, supermarket carpark and could make it shake the bars, coming down from, say, 50 or 60, through 30 at between 3 and 4k rpm. It was a long way from a full on tank slapper but a real distinct rapid shake, linked to road speed.

I am at a complete loss as to why the bike suddenly handled like it did. I have kept the tyres and written to Dunlop. The wear on both tyres is even and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong that I can see with the carcass front or back, inside or out. It's a mystery.

I do not mind bikes twitching or stepping out on overbanding but this was becoming silly or maybe dangerous. At night it's not too clever to get a sudden lurch left or right, for no apparent reason.

 

[Magwych]

I am curious to know the outcome form Dunlop.

I had the 607s on my 1200GS from new, replaced teh rear cover twice and the front once, with the second rear. I then went to Tourance out of curiosity, when part worn they are quite twitchy and the fornt has only lasted as long as the rear.

I was thinking of going back to the 607s, especially as there may be a hardly worn pair on the second-hand market soon

 

[Wapping]

I am curious to know the outcome form Dunlop.

I had the 607s on my 1200GS from new, replaced teh rear cover twice and the front once, with the second rear. I then went to Tourance out of curiosity, when part worn they are quite twitchy and the fornt has only lasted as long as the rear.

I was thinking of going back to the 607s, especially as there may be a hardly worn pair on the second-hand market soon

You are more than welcome to them.

Let me just wait until Dunlop come back to me, just in case they want to see the tyres.

They have done 1,730 miles all on D roads in France or country roads in the UK. Very little motorway or A road use. They are still nicely rounded, so not squared off and no chicken strip....Plenty of life left in them.

If we said half price for the pair, pick them up from me in London (nearTower Bridge) OK?

 

[Magwych]

That'll be great.

I work in Canary Wharf and generally commute up from Ashford on the GS, although for the next week will be vaguely trying to get less unfit by cycling to my local station every day.

Let's see what Dunlop have to say for themselves first, you may get a full refund from them ?

 

[Wapping]

That'll be great.

I work in Canary Wharf and generally commute up from Ashford on the GS, although for the next week will be vaguely trying to get less unfit by cycling to my local station every day.

Let's see what Dunlop have to say for themselves first, you may get a full refund from them ?

They are your's then, assuming D(f)unlop don't want them back.

I am now away for a week by when, I guess, Funlop will be back to me. I'll drop you a PM. I am just off the Highway, Vaughan Way, Waitrose end, so I guess you could pick them up on the way into work or on the way home.

Cheers.

 

[Shep]

Different tyres perform differently and so a grippy tyre can cause the suspension to work harder than another tyre and so it may have just needed the damping/preload adjusting.

I've had a similar thing, I run the tyres till knackered and the little twitches and the feeling of instablity get worse and worse as the tyres wear and i blamed it all on the tyres, however some errors could be the fault of the damping wearing in. when I last changed to a new set of Battle Wings i thought all would be cured, but no, the bike handled worse than with the old set, eventually I grudgingly checked the damping and half a turn in cured all

Shep

 

[Wapping]

Different tyres perform differently and so a grippy tyre can cause the suspension to work harder than another tyre and so it ....a new set of Battle Wings i thought all would be cured, but no, the bike handled worse than with the old set, eventually I grudgingly checked the damping and half a turn in cured all Shep

Yup, I am familar with that too and with the truth that a change at the rear will often manifest itself at the front.

Whilst it's arguable whether the Funlops are truly that much more 'grippy' that the Michelins, I did try some basic tweaks to the suspension with no significant alteration to the problem.

In years of riding motorcycles, including over 35k in two years on a GS, I have never felt anything like it. The oddest effect was when the front wheel seemed to roll as if it were on a cam. Not as dramatic as a truly buckled wheel (had one of those on my old Pan) more like running slowly over a rippled road surface, often coinciding with the oscilation in the bars mentioned elsewhere.

Anyway, the tyres are off now. It hasn't put me off the Funlops, still think they are a good tyre. I had them on the vanilla 1200, that's why I thought I would give them a go on the GSA. It's all a bit odd.