On June 18, 2012, the H-D dealership replaced my front tire with the same stock replacement, a Dunlop D401F 100/90-19 BW ($141.95+labor and tax), on my '06 Super Glide. At the time, the bike had 7809 miles on it.

Today, I cleaned the bike up and noticed that this tire, less than a year later, has significant cracking around the bead of the tire/near the wheel rim. I've put 6100 miles on the tire since its installation, and the bike is stored indoors. I've done everything that I knew to do to take care of the tires, so I'm disappointed in the quality and longevity of the tire. It still has a lot of tread left, but the cracks make me uneasy.

I looked at the tire itself to see if an old tire had been installed, but the Tire Identification Number is 2312, indicating that the tire was produced the 23rd week (June 4-June 10) of 2012, so the tire was (almost unbelievably) new when installed.

I took it by the dealer today, and the service manager acknowledged that it was cracking, it was something to keep my eye on, it was too new to be doing so and was uncommon, but offered no suggestion except watch it and replace when it gets worse. He did state that it was not a blow-out risk, but again, I lose some peace of mind when I look at it and think about it.

Is this common? Is it dangerous? Do I have any options as far as someone from H-D or Dunlop looking at the tire and saying, "yeah, a year-old tire shouldn't be doing this. The tire/rubber/manufacturing is faulty. We'll replace/prorate."

Thank you.

 

I know Dunlop is having problems with there tires. I had my rear tire blow out with 4200 miles on it. My buddy had his shread with about 400 miles on it. Also I ran into a guy at a gas station putting air in his rear tire and we could see it was comming apart. All Dunlop tires. All rear 402 and 407 tires. My blow out caused me to roll my 08 Ultra on I-75 doing about 70mph. Bike was totaled and I got pretty banged up. i have a new 2012 Ultra with Dunlop 407 on the rear. I'm going to replace it. I will never use Dunlop again. If I were you I would not take a chance with the tire. It may be your life if you do. I was told by a Lawyer they are doing a Class A against Dunlop because they have other clients with the same issue.

 

Great, I just order 2 new tires today. Dunlops, because I never had any problems, yet.

 

There is usually a marking near the bead that has 4 numbers stamped or molded into the tire. Something like 1104. This would be the month and year the tire was made. It may be possible that the tire was 4-5 years old, but only mounted on your bike for a year. Another reason to be careful buying tires on-line.

 

As my luck would have it, I ran over a screw today, puncturing the tire, so I had it replaced...with another Dunlop. Stupid, probably, but I had just put a new Dunlop on the rr and wanted the tires to match. Also, after puncturing the tire but prior to replacing the tire, I talked with Dunlop. The representative was helpful and expressed concern about the larger cracks. Where I messed up was that although I hadn't put tire dressing on the tire for 5800 miles, when I got the new rr recently, it looked so good that I wiped a thin coat of Armor All on the front tire - not enough to do any damage, but enough to violate one of the conditions for Dunlop to act on a cracking complaint. Up until then, nothing but water. I asked what to do if it happens again, and the representative stated for me to contact Dunlop and they will probably warrantee the tire. I hope it doesn't crack, but I will check regularly, use nothing but water, and document. I'll let you know how it goes. So another $213 lick today...I can't really afford a Harley, but the things are powerful drugs.

 

Do you use any tire dressings or cleaners? Are you spraying a wheel cleaner on? My front tire is 2.5 years old, and looks fine. My rear wears out yearly, and doesn't have time to degrade. I only use diluted Simple Green to clean the whitewall.

Armor All is deadly. Ruined my boat upholstery. I only use Aerospace 303 on vinyl. Nothing on tires.

 

My Dealer replaced my front Dunlop Tire because they said HD was performing a mfg recall on the tires, due to similar symptoms. . This was in September, but it was covered by Harley.

 

I have a 2012 Road Glide with 6500 miles on it. Found a small crack along the writing on the tire. I contacted the dealer and they replaced it no questions ask. If you bring it to their attention and they don't replace it they have huge liability on their heads. If you have to push it a bit do it. It may save your life!
RAS

 

Also riders may store their bikes by heaters, fans, humidifiers etc. This can ruin tires in less then a season.

 

If you want to know the date codes of tires buy them locally where you can see them yourself. Many online businesses don't even have the inventory in the same place as the order entry personnel.