Dunlop E3 users

[Dragon Tamer]

I got caught in a bit of a rain shower the other day, about 45mi from home and had to ride it out. Wasn't a bad shower, more like a fast sprinkling, been in much worse, many times. However this time, about 10 min into it, the Fire Dragon began to miss--badly. When slowing down for corners she would even just quit. Then I noticed that I was getting a LOT of water coming up around the gas tank and the inside of the fairing. Hadn't ever seen that before. After limping her home and sealing the coils down with some spray sealant I took her back out on the road to test it out. Missing was gone and she ran good again but I was still getting a tremendous amount of water where I had never seen it before.
Then I happened to think that I had just recently installed a new E3 tire on the front. I am on the second one on the rear but this is my first on the front. Now our roads up here are NOT the best you have ever seen because governer Jim Boil won't spend any money on this end of the state and that means that if it rains we get "ribbon lakes" all over the road. That E3 is doing a right serious job of getting rid of any water that gets in its way. A large share of that water is winding up under my gas tank.
Has anyone else had this issue???? If so, what did you do about it???

[Flatlander]

My father just had a Dunlop 404e (I think or something like that, but a Dunlop touring) on the rear of his bike and compaired to all the other tires he's had (one) I have never noticed the amout of water comming off his tire like this one!!!! ALOT of water, almost to the point that it's hard to see him in the rain with the rain comming down and the tire shedding water. NOT GOOD!

I have not had your problem though, but I suggest a rubber fender flap. Possibly on the rear if it's hard to see you too.

[XJOK2PLAY]

E3's...

I've got 'em. But so far haven't tried them in the rain. Thanks for the heads up about this. I'll watch for it and get back w/ ya.
Bob

[Dragon Tamer]

Fender flap won't fix the problem. The E3 does not throw the "rooster tails" of water that other tires do. It gets rid of the water almost straight sideways. I believe that it is what it is supposed to do by design, but the result is like the bow wake on a PT boat. The handling charecteristics of the tire in water is good, does not tend to auqa plane or anything of the type. You do notice almost a headshake type of vibration in the handlebars as it throws the water out but nothing bad. Other tires that throw up the rooster tail did not bother because the fender kept it all low, just cooled the headers. This wake of water is beside the tire and misses the fender and gets splashed all over. Ignition sealer fixed the missing problem but holy smoke do I got water everywhere!

[BigDick]

I try to dodge the rain now (I guess the Air Force made me a wimp) but I'll watch for that. I'm running E3's front and back. I did have the pleasure a couple years ago to get caught in heavy rain, I was running dunlop 404's front and back with no trouble then.

[J.D.]

I believe that it is what it is supposed to do by design, but the result is like the bow wake on a PT boat. The handling charecteristics of the tire in water is good, does not tend to auqa plane or anything of the type.

It will on a GL1500. Mine's been down twice in rain on E3s, once with the P.O., once with me. Both times, heavy rain, hydroplanes, and...

You do notice almost a headshake type of vibration in the handlebars as it throws the water out but nothing bad.

...goes into one helluva uncontrollable headshake. The bike even starts feeling light and skittish on wet pavement. Other GL1500 owners, and several Nomad owners including my brother, have noticed the skittishness in the wet. For some reason, it apparently doesn't do it with the GL1800; go figger.

It could be that the XS doesn't exhibit that because it's lighter, and uses narrower tires than the bigger bikes, but I know two things. 1) I'm extremely careful on the 'Wing in even light rain, and 2) those E3s are going as soon as I can afford a set of Metzlers.

JMHO, and YMMV.

Jim

[Dragon Tamer]

Whoa,
That don't sound good. Am on the road right now and at the little pub where we just stopped for lunch it was just pointed out to me that the tread "direction" is opposite on the front tire as compared to the rear although the rotation arrows are correct. Anyone else notice this?

[J.D.]

Whoa,
That don't sound good. Am on the road right now and at the little pub where we just stopped for lunch it was just pointed out to me that the tread "direction" is opposite on the front tire as compared to the rear although the rotation arrows are correct. Anyone else notice this?

Yeah...after you pointed it out. Had to go out and look at the Wing, and you're dead on. Wonder why that is; every other set of tires I've got, it goes the same "direction".

Jim

[Dragon Tamer]

JD,
You are absolutely correct my friend. I took her out this afternoon to where an irrigation system is making the road wet and at speeds above 45mph she gets into the head shakes and becomes totally uncontrollable!!!!! She is currently parked and I have ordered a new set of Metzlers.
I did send a WTH to Dunlop and will post here what they have to say when they reply.
I am at this point totally disalusioned with Dunlop. I have used them for years and until this point I would have said that they were the best tire out there. I cannot say that any more and appologise to anyone that has purchased these tires on my say so.
Until I know more, if you have an E3 at least on the front of your bike------
DO NOT GET IT WET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MindWebs]

down comes the rain and washes the spider out.

oh.. sure you just tryed talking me into getting a set..

Kidding!!!

tires that are good for 1 bike often times won't work on another..

i found that with my S1- running chen shin cheapo's work great on that bike
put a chen **** on the rear of my 250 ninja. can't keep it glued down.

both bikes are the same weight and same acceleration charicteristics.

works well on 1 but not the other.

does anyone have tires they have had good luck with in the rain??
i'll need a set on the 11SF next summer, and would like to here some opinions.

Thanks Gents!

[J.D.]

JD,
You are absolutely correct my friend. I took her out this afternoon to where an irrigation system is making the road wet and at speeds above 45mph she gets into the head shakes and becomes totally uncontrollable!!!!! She is currently parked and I have ordered a new set of Metzlers.
I did send a WTH to Dunlop and will post here what they have to say when they reply.
I am at this point totally disalusioned with Dunlop. I have used them for years and until this point I would have said that they were the best tire out there. I cannot say that any more and appologise to anyone that has purchased these tires on my say so.
Until I know more, if you have an E3 at least on the front of your bike------
DO NOT GET IT WET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man, I hate to hear that, but glad the warning might've kept you from gettin' yourself hurt by being prepared for it.

Jim

[J.D.]

tires that are good for 1 bike often times won't work on another..

Weird how that works, ain't it?

i found that with my S1- running chen shin cheapo's work great on that bike
put a chen **** on the rear of my 250 ninja. can't keep it glued down.
both bikes are the same weight and same acceleration charicteristics.

works well on 1 but not the other.

FWIW, Cheng Shinns are under rated. I've had 'em on the front of the VN750 since I bought it 5 years ago; only changed 'em when the sidewalls eventually started showing hairline cracks. 21+K on this last one. May depend on which model Cheng Shinn, too.

I'd always thought it was the cheapass CS on the front that made my bike follow grooves on the highway. Found out when I went to the ME880 on the rear, it was the D404 it replaced.

does anyone have tires they have had good luck with in the rain??
i'll need a set on the 11SF next summer, and would like to here some opinions.

Thanks Gents!

There, I can't venture a recomendation; as you stated, different tires work better on different bikes. That said, the discontinued Dunlop Elite II has been touted as a good all-around tire, and recent posts on several boards I monitor say the Dunlop K177 is the same tire.

I've heard great and horror stories about Avon Venoms. I've heard nothing negative about Metzler ME880s in the rain. Metz's Brazil plant did have a quality control issue with certain size radials a few years ago, but I've heard and read nothing of any recent problems.

Once again, different models of the same make tire may give different results on the same bike, and one model of a tire make may give completely different results between two different bikes.

What works for one may not work for another; reckon that's why we'll always have the dreaded tire and oil threads show up time and again. <BG>

Jim

[Dragon Tamer]

Well, here is how it sits. After a series of communications with Dunlop all they have to say is that it must be my immagination or something of the type as "the E3 is a very good handling tire under wet conditions". They absolutely sneak around answering my question of why the tread pattern is reversed from rear to front.
After playing in a puddle in my driveway for an hour or so (you got it, never did grow up. Forecast is for rain, followed by puddles, followed by little boys) I came to the conclusion that if you roll it through the water in the direction that the rotation arrow indicates, a huge amount of water is gathered up by the tire and dragged around. The faster you roll it the greater amount of water thrown up. If you roll it through "backwards" the effect is dramatically different. Water is thrown away from the tire to the sides and MUCH less water is dragged around the tire.
As much as I would dearly love to reinstall the tire backwards and go play in the water that way I won't do it.
One- I have heard too many times that running these tires backwards has got "bad idea" written all over it.
Two-It would be just as much work to remove it and reinstall it as it would be to remove it and install something else.
Three-As the people at Dunlop won't answer my question in a straight forward manner I have come to the conclusion that there is something that they do not want to tell me. That means that that particular tire will NOT go back on the bike. As I have been very happy with the E3's on the rear, they will stay until they wear down but they will NOT be replaced with anything that says Dunlop on it.
I am fairly seriously thinking of putting it up on ebay with a buy it now price of $5 and an explanation of why. The only reason that I may not do that is that some idiot would buy it and try to use it. Not that I am all that fond of idiots but there are already enough people trying to win the Darwin award so I don't think they need my help.
Sadly that means that both of the big Dragons will have to stay parked until I get something else on them. I have ordered an 880E Metzeler for the Fire Dragon and will try that. If it works out, that is what will go on the Black Dragon also, or I may try something else out on there.

[CatatonicBug]

There is a reason for the tread to be "backward". It all comes down to physics. The front tire does the majority of the stopping (braking), and the rear does the majority of the pushing (accelleration). You want the tread to meet the road under load in the way that will help it do it's job. With the front tread pointing "forward", it pushes the water forward and to the sides, as well as acting like a bit of a frictional "plow" when stopping. The rear has the same but opposite "plow" effect for accelleration.

[fredintoon]

- - - I am fairly seriously thinking of putting it up on ebay with a buy it now price of $5 and an explanation of why. The only reason that I may not do that is that some idiot would buy it and try to use it. - - -

Hi 'Tamer,
send it to me. My buddy has a 19" wheel on his sidecar. The sole requirement of a sidecar tire is that it holds air.