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Dunlop Elite 3: slippery when wet???

8K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Peobody 
#1 ·
I am darkside no more after two nails killed my CT. Unfortunately I had to replace it with the only tire available which was a Dunlop Elite 3. I have over two thousand miles on the tire now and recently experienced multiple wet traction issues. This prompted me to read reviews which predominantly report good wet traction. I admit to being spoiled by the CT but these traction slips have been in situations where I never would have expected it. Two slips were during starts from stop and the third was during moderate braking. I have been riding for a long time, have many miles under my belt in wet weather so when I say the slips were unexpected I am confident that it wasn't a lapse on my part nor were any envelopes being pushed. At the moment I don't have much confidence in this tire and am curious about other forum members experiences.
 
#3 ·
I had 210,000 miles on my 93 wing most of which were on E-3's and the only times I can recall having any slip, was once was making a left turn and running across newly laid crossway strips. Another was hitting some tar snakes in the rain, since I hadn't had that happen before assumed the snakes were fresh.
 
#4 ·
Chopin,

At just under $300 the wallet has not yet recovered from the emergency purchase of the E-3. Besides, back when I went darkside I had a heck of a time finding someone who would mount the CT. He was at a car repair shop, did it off the record and after hours, but has since retired. I'm going to be on this E-3 for awhile unless I have another scare.
 
#9 ·
Chopin,



At just under $300 the wallet has not yet recovered from the emergency purchase of the E-3. Besides, back when I went darkside I had a heck of a time finding someone who would mount the CT. He was at a car repair shop, did it off the record and after hours, but has since retired. I'm going to be on this E-3 for awhile unless I have another scare.

You're scaring me . Once you go Darkside you can never go back.
 
#5 ·
I have broke loose my E3 at highway speed in the rain just by trying to accelerate with traffic...... took two lanes to gather it back up..... luckily no one occupied the lane to my left.
 
#6 ·
I've been caught in some pretty hard rains (ask Dustin or Ken) and never had a problem. Not to say it couldn't have been the pavement or those strips they put down are vinyl and are very slick when wet.
 
G
#7 · (Edited)
On my 1500s, I ran E3 and they "seemed to be okay", but just barely.
The will let loose and you go sliding sideways when you hit the throttle on wet pavement.

When I bought my '02 1800, it came with a new E3 on the back, and front also.

I thought I would give it the college try, just to say that I had done so.

Right here in my own yard, six acres of grass and gravel, it let me down twice. Wet grass and the rear end went side ways.... the bike never went to sleep, but the ruts looked awful.

then I took a longish ride on I-44 going to meet some friends at a hamburger joint down south... half way there, up comes a big heavy down pour.... and I'm just behind an 18 wheeler... the road spray is awful, and I either have to back way way off to get out of it, or go around....

we are only doing 50 mph, so I think, "just go on and get around him".
the bike is in 5th gear, so I just open the throttle up and "wham!!! the E3 went to the low side "now"...... again, my old sand box riding days saved my arse, and the bike came back into line.

but, that E3 bit the dirt about 3 days later, my bike now has a Michelin on the back, and I have ridden it a couple of thousand miles in rain all across the southeastern states..... and never once, did it even act like it wanted to slip sideways.

E3 tires are just way too hard in the center, and they don't have rain sipes on them. Not even close to how the Michelin Primacy Alpin is grooved.
 
#8 ·
Thanks guys. I was pretty certain the slips weren't because my riding had gotten careless. It's good to know others have had wet traction issues with the E-3. I really need to figure out how to get back to the darkside.
 
#10 ·
I'm not a Darksider, but if you have been picking up nails/screws, one thing I've heard works well for prevent nails/screws in a rear tire, is to attach a mud flap to the swing arm in front of the rear tire, so it just clears the ground.
The theory is that the front tire hits the nail/screw on the road and tend to stand the nail/screw up as run over it, then the rear tire hit the up right nail/screw. realizing that this happens at speed so there isn't a lot of time between the two tires. The mud flap sweeps the nail/screw out of the way.
 
#12 ·
Honestly, I never had the slipping problem on E3s. Why I got away from them, to the Michelin Commander II on the front and a C/T on the rear, was how they wear. When they were well worn to the "cupped" phase, sweeps/twisties were a real drag. It was like there were lumps in the outer tread. And, the Michelin I've had on the front for almost a year wears slowly and rides great in all conditions.

Thanks again to Eric the Hoon for the Commander II suggestion/endorsement! He was spot on!:wink2:
 
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#17 ·
Never trust a guy with a Cheerio box in his signature. :grin2:
 
#13 ·
I have found that if the temp is below 70f and wet that you get better traction by running about 5lbs less in the rear tire. Warms up quicker and gives better traction. It is not fun having a Goldwing acting like a dirt bike on a dirt road.
 
G
#14 · (Edited)
Yeah, that is not fun at all, and after a few quick experiences with the E3 on the back, I decided that with my "spirited throttle movements" that the E3 has to go.

This is the Michelin taking me to the highway from my shop at home. The E3 would have buried its' head and left me on the ground, all wet and muddy.

Why didn't I use the gravel driveway? it is called 'thought the ground had dried up' disease :)
the ground around my house was solid, I rode across the grass for about 150 feet with no problems, but up near the highway there is an underground river that kept things a bit too wet....
 

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#15 ·
I'm wondering if that E3 you had mounted was one of the new multi compound ones or not. If it was the older version, I'd be willing to bet that it's at or rear the projected life span for age of a m/c tire. If it's 4 years old the rubber compound may be hardened to the degree that it exhibits those kind of traction characteristics. In the defense of the "other guys" I don't believe that c/t's are subject to the 5 year age thing. Personally, I don't like Dunlops much. Lots of guys use the Sportmax on the track but I'll stick with Battlax's and it'll be a cold day in Hades before I switch from the Excedra's on my Wing.
 
#16 ·
^^^^Word for word what he said.
 
G
#19 ·
Seeing this, reminded me that the E3s that I had on my 1500s were bias ply.... and as I said, 'they seemed to be okay'...

but, most of my riding back then was in Arizona on roads that went 150 miles before you ever saw a curve, must less a twisty... :crying:

and Rain? some years, we never saw any at all. Even the dreaded "monsoon season" would only give us maybe a couple of inches for all of spring.
 
#20 ·
John, the bias E3s were fine. The radials don't have much of a following with the 1800 crowd though. I didn't dislike the D250's my '09 came with, but I was sure happy to get 'stones after they were done. Noisy and not a good handling tire IMO, especially after the 50% wear mark.
 
G
#23 ·
I wonder if it is because of the radial design that they are so bad for me on the 1800?

I just know, that every time I opened the throttle up on an Asphalt road, that the rear end of my '02 1800 goes sideways... and that is just simply unacceptable.... in fact, it is very unsafe.

I had it do it once right here inside the little 1 mile stretch of city street we own in Oologah, raining and the only signal light we have turns green, foot off brake, power on and >>>>>>>>>>> to the right she went!!!!

the PVT on the rear of the bike now, has not once, ever offered to go sideways. And I have ridden in some very heavy rainstorms.

.
 
#21 ·
I had E3's on my '83 1100 and put 12k on the first set and sold bike with the second set with almost 14k. Other then when riding thru a monsoon once I never had a problem. My 03 1800 has them nd we now pull a trailer and have always felt that I was connected to the road. Asphalt Anacondas are always a concern. Enjoy and ride safe
 
#24 ·
I planned a weekend beach trip with the wife and the thought of running into rain with her on the pillion and that Dunlop Elite 3 on the rear gave me a sense of urgency to get back on the Darkside. A local Firestone store near my office provided and mounted a Bridgestone Driveguard. I never gave traction a concern during the close to four hundred miles put on last weekend.
 
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