[motodrummer]

I took my 09 in to get the rear tire replaced at 14,200mi and they said the front tire was cupping. I guess dunlop knows this is a problem on the 09 tires. Looks like they just reversed the tread pattern on the new one which made me wonder why they could not just reverse the old tire or maybe someone had put it on backwards. The mechanic said that dunlop does not want them to reverse the tire and to just replace it because they have changed some material in the tire as well.

Anyway the dealer said there was enough tread on the tire to replace it under warranty so that was a cool surprise. They showed me the old tire and the cupping was kind of weird. If you ran your hand down the middle of the tire you could feel the cupping, not on the sides where I normally see it but right in the middle.

They replaced it under warranty and said they have done about 20 or so 09 tires this year. So if you have an 09 you may want to check into it. I will try to get a pic of my new front tire to show how the tread is supposed to be situated.

 

[havnfun]

service bulletins

Yup servive bulletin M-1258a.take the bike in and say there is a vibration and a change in ride quality.they measure and replace.Have the gas tank mounts upgraded too.that is a recall.

 

[BillyBob]

I'm going to put a sticky on this for awhile. Good info

 

[Guest]

I was aware of the service bulletin for several months, but did not do anything about it because to me the tire looked okay. I was tempted to mention this back in Jan when they did the gas tank recall. But 2 weeks ago I took the 09 in for the 10K mile service and the service tech was looking at the bike getting the mileage etc. I asked about the front tire, he ran his hand over it and said it was cupped, they installed a new tire at zero expense to me. The tire they put on is a Dunlop 408F, and is mounted with the direction of travel arrow showing the correct rotation. Regards, Bill

 

[DreamRider]

2009 here

I got a recall notice from HD Canada in January 2010 for the front Dunlop Tire. When I went in for the Spring maintenance my HD dealer simply put a new one on. Also got a another recall at the same time for some issue for the gas tank and a gap that was considered an explosive risk if frontal impact. So they had some soldering to do...also done at my spring maintenance, all on waranty

 

[2010 FLTRX]

I was aware of the service bulletin for several months, but did not do anything about it because to me the tire looked okay. I was tempted to mention this back in Jan when they did the gas tank recall. But 2 weeks ago I took the 09 in for the 10K mile service and the service tech was looking at the bike getting the mileage etc. I asked about the front tire, he ran his hand over it and said it was cupped, they installed a new tire at zero expense to me. The tire they put on is a Dunlop 408F, and is mounted with the direction of travel arrow showing the correct rotation. Regards, Bill

The problem was tires made for late 08 and 09 were made with the "direction" arrow going the wrong way. The result was the tread being used in reverse from it's intent causing bad cupping. Dunlop denied it for a while, but now has fixed the issue on replacement tires.

 

[Fishead]

I had a noise that sounded like a bad bearing in my front end when I went thru curves since about 1000 miles and my dealer could never find anything. As time went on, it picked up a vibration too. When I read about the tire issues, I checked mine and it was cupping on the sides. I took it to another dealer, (who is now my "new" dealer) and he swapped it out at no cost. It had 7500 miles on it. I got a new tire and my noise and vibrations are gone.

 

[digga25]

Hey Fish,I am having the same symptoms,Like a howl when I corner and vibration at 40 mph I have 7000 mi on the bike.Thanks for the tip,I will tell the dealer when I go in for the 7500.

 

[john218]

Got my front tire replaced with 7800+ miles. Howling and vibration is the "correct language" for warranty replacement per my service tech. Also had my front wheel bearings replaced under warranty at the same time as the tire replacement.