Dunlop Mutant tyre review |They seem like the perfect winter tyres, so what's the catch?

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Have Dunlop made choosing the right motorcycle tyre that much easier with the new Mutant? With one of the most aggressive tread patterns outside of a race paddock, Dunlop’s Mutant looks like a full-on winter tyre, but to call it that would be selling this radical rubber short.

Dunlop brand it a ‘crossover tyre’ as it combines all the main qualities of their hypersport, touring and racing tyres into a package that’s suitable for a dizzying number of bikes – over 250 different machines, so Dunlop reckon. So is this the ultimate sports-touring tyre?

Essentially, it’s been designed for road riders who want to ride all year round in all conditions, and don’t mind disappearing down the odd unmade road every now and then.

Billed as the ultimate do-it-all, Dunlop make bold claims, saying it has “hypersport-level handling, grip as close as possible to racing wets, as well as some of the best touring durability in the Dunlop range.” The brochure shows it fitted to a BMW S1000XR being ridden on tarmac twisties, through a ford, across a dusty plain and down a rocky slope.

These pictures are reinforced by the fact that Dunlop have rated the Mutant’s tread pattern M+S (Mud and Snow) meaning it’ll handle cold conditions and loose surfaces, while its Z rating means its suitable for speeds over 149mph.

What’s the handling like?

In addition, the Mutant have technology inherited direct from sports tyres, such as a dual compound rear featuring harder rubber on the centre section for longevity and softer shoulders for all-important cornering edge grip, as well as a front tyre profile designed to optimise both handling, feedback and stability. To top it all off, the compound is rich in silica to promote fast warm-up and boost wet weather grip.

I know what you’re thinking: these sound like the perfect tyres, so what’s the catch? As far as I can see, there isn’t one. The Dunlop Mutant are excellent all-round tyres for real-world riding.

How well do they grip in wet weather?

Fitted to a 2023 Triumph Street Triple RS after the weather became too cold and damp for the Triumph’s stock Pirelli Supercorsa SPs, the Mutants negated the effects of bad weather, almost to the point where cold and damp was no longer a consideration. As we all naturally ride a bit slower and smoother in poor conditions, the incredible excess of grip performance basically gives you an additional safety margin when braking, turning and accelerating, which is a real confidence boost.

Admittedly, I was initially worried that the large tread blocks might squirm and cause instability on warm dry roads, but amazingly that’s not been the case. The Mutants remain super stable and grip extremely well at speed in dry conditions.

If I were being super critical, I’d say that the Mutants have muted the Street Triple’s frisky, fun handling ever so slightly, slowing the steering and slightly reducing feel – but the benefits they bring in terms of taming the not-so-great British weather and our often-terrible roads mean it’s a small price to pay.

What’s the warm up time like on the Dunlop Mutant?

The secret winter-taming power comes from a combination of things, but mostly it’s the compound. Dunlop don’t elaborate much on the recipe but do admit to it being high silica, the magic element for making a tyre less reliant on heat for producing grip. As a result, mechanical traction is excellent pretty much straight away, and warm-up is further boosted by those super-aggressive tread blocks.

How durable are the Dunlop Mutant tyres?

In terms of lifespan, after 1300 miles fitted to our 186kg, 128bhp test bike, the Mutants have shown no visible signs of wear on neither the front nor the rear, which bodes well for at least another 3000 miles.

So what’s the verdict?

The Dunlop Mutant is a super-grippy tyre suitable for a wide range of bikes, designed to give outstanding performance in cold, wet conditions and in my experience, that’s exactly what they do.

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