Dunlop D207e

[Luckypants]

I have mentioned these tyres in a couple of threads, but thought I'd do a brief review now that I have replaced them. This is based on my experience of one set on my VFR VTEC.

The Dunlop D207e Sportmax has same compound as the same Dunlop Roadsmart according to Dunlop. It is an attempt by Dunlop to put some life into an old design and provide a 'cheap' Sport-Touring tyre. Like the Roadsmart these are dual compound tyres with a harder centre band to try to improve mileage and softer shoulders to provide more grip lent over. The carcass and tread design are still the same as the D207, so are not the latest technology, but it is still able to hold its own.

These D207e's were on the bike when I got it and so I was able to make a direct comparison to the Avon Storms I had on my silver VFR. The Dunlop D207e compare very well in terms of grip, perhaps a little better in straight line acceleration as the Storm Ultra seems to spin up on the 'hard' centre part of the rear tyre. I have had no issues with the D207e in the wet or dry in terms of grip. The D207e do not give much in the way of feedback compared to Avons but I have never got that 'god these feel wooden' feeling with them that I got with Bridgestone BT-021. Practising emergency stops the other day the front had loads of grip, but it was hard to judge the point at which it started to lock/slide.

When pushing on the D207e certainly gave me confidence that it would not let go suddenly and gave some really big hints of impending doom by giving little slides to tell you to back off. The lack of 'feel' referred to in the previous paragraph means that until the little slide happens you feel like the tyre is well within it's limits! This can be a little concerning if you don't like tyre slip. The front and rear seem well matched for grip.

The big downside with these tyres seems to be the wear. More precisely how they wear. The rear tyre is dead in about 4K miles, which is fairly typical for me on the VFR. The front is also fried though, due to the shoulders being badly scalloped compared to the centre band. This is the same issue I had with BT-021 (also dual compound) on my original VFR. I think it is due to riding mainly twisty roads in N. Wales, so the harder centre band does not do the amount of work needed to get any benefit. What is noticeable is the pronounced step in the tread where the hard central band ends and the softer shoulder begins, making tipping in to corners 'interesting', especially if you push the front a bit. As can be seen from the photo below, there is loads of tread in the centre, but little left on the shoulders.



Plenty of tread in the centre



Rear is evenly worn though

Interesting, i wonder how exactally these compare to roadsmarts. ? Just the tread pattern

i have a line on the rear of my roadsmarts where you can feel the dual compund step! Seems more pronounced probably because you actually lean the bike as opposed to myself

[Luckypants]

There is a step in the rear as well Andy, but is less pronounced than the front. Most likely this is because driving out of corners puts more wear into the tyre, I'll be winding on more throttle as I pick the bike up out of a corner.