Michelin Pilot Road 3 Update...

Michelin Pilot Road 3 Update...

Author
Discussion

Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
I cannot find the forum post I put up about using these tyres on my 03 5PW R1 ... the main reason for fitting them is that I do a vast amount of miles commuting so needed tyres that were up to sensible mileage yet provide plenty of grip on ride outs with the NW crew.

Now on the previous set of tyres (Dunlop Qualifiers) I got a lousy 3100 miles from the rear ... the front wasn't far behind ... that was when the bike was new to me therefore wasn't using its performance as I do these days... so I suspect a rear Qualifier would be good for around 2500 miles now in my hands...

So you can understand why I am absolutely amazed with the PR3's ... as this week they past 12,000 miles ... yes let me say that again.... TWELVE THOUSAND MILES ...

Don't get me wrong the front tyre is squirming around a bit over white lines, bad surfaces when on the brakes and you need a tiny bit more effort to get her to turn in but the tyres do not look squared off like previous rubber has done ...

Unbelievable to be honest... it looks like I will be buying another set biggrin

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
I cannot find the forum post I put up about using these tyres on my 03 5PW R1 ... the main reason for fitting them is that I do a vast amount of miles commuting so needed tyres that were up to sensible mileage yet provide plenty of grip on ride outs with the NW crew.

Now on the previous set of tyres (Dunlop Qualifiers) I got a lousy 3100 miles from the rear ... the front wasn't far behind ... that was when the bike was new to me therefore wasn't using its performance as I do these days... so I suspect a rear Qualifier would be good for around 2500 miles now in my hands...

So you can understand why I am absolutely amazed with the PR3's ... as this week they past 12,000 miles ... yes let me say that again.... TWELVE THOUSAND MILES ...

Don't get me wrong the front tyre is squirming around a bit over white lines, bad surfaces when on the brakes and you need a tiny bit more effort to get her to turn in but the tyres do not look squared off like previous rubber has done ...

Unbelievable to be honest... it looks like I will be buying another set biggrin
These will be going on the FireBlade next....EVERYTHING I've read says they are superb tires,

Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
These will be going on the FireBlade next....EVERYTHING I've read says they are superb tires,
I didn't read into the hype at all as just suspected it would be another ST tyre like some that I have used before ... but the PR3 is leagues ahead of anything else out there at the moment. Absolutely immense!

They will be getting replaced in the next week or two but are still perfectly legal... around 1mm left before the 1mm limiters.

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
y2blade said:
These will be going on the FireBlade next....EVERYTHING I've read says they are superb tires,
I didn't read into the hype at all as just suspected it would be another ST tyre like some that I have used before ... but the PR3 is leagues ahead of anything else out there at the moment. Absolutely immense!

They will be getting replaced in the next week or two but are still perfectly legal... around 1mm left before the 1mm limiters.
I've not been reading the hype.
I've been reading END-USER reviews.

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
Mr OCD said:
y2blade said:
These will be going on the FireBlade next....EVERYTHING I've read says they are superb tires,
I didn't read into the hype at all as just suspected it would be another ST tyre like some that I have used before ... but the PR3 is leagues ahead of anything else out there at the moment. Absolutely immense!

They will be getting replaced in the next week or two but are still perfectly legal... around 1mm left before the 1mm limiters.
I've not been reading the hype.
I've been reading END-USER reviews.
This ^

They are ok in the dry but amazing in the wet. I couldnt ride with anything else now.

My set have done 6 k and there is plenty of life left in them. (im only 10.1/2 stone mind you)

People ive met at various pit stops called me a liar when I say ive done that kind of mileage on them as they think they look new.

Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
I've not been reading the hype.
I've been reading END-USER reviews.
Cool... where? - I have not seen many of them yet as it is still a relatively new tyre to the market.

Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
moanthebairns said:
This ^

They are ok in the dry but amazing in the wet. I couldnt ride with anything else now.

My set have done 6 k and there is plenty of life left in them. (im only 10.1/2 stone mind you)

People ive met at various pit stops called me a liar when I say ive done that kind of mileage on them as they think they look new.
I actually took them down to the tyre place to show them... I'm sad enough to run an app on my phone that records my fuel mileage and has the ability to record tyre mileage as well so could verify it.

I'm 14 stone kitted and the bike weighs 174kg.

I've had no real complaints in the dry although obviously they aren't as sticky as a pure sports tyre when cracking on hard but for the road they are fine.


moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
moanthebairns said:
This ^

They are ok in the dry but amazing in the wet. I couldnt ride with anything else now.

My set have done 6 k and there is plenty of life left in them. (im only 10.1/2 stone mind you)

People ive met at various pit stops called me a liar when I say ive done that kind of mileage on them as they think they look new.
I actually took them down to the tyre place to show them... I'm sad enough to run an app on my phone that records my fuel mileage and has the ability to record tyre mileage as well so could verify it.

I'm 14 stone kitted and the bike weighs 174kg.

I've had no real complaints in the dry although obviously they aren't as sticky as a pure sports tyre when cracking on hard but for the road they are fine.
is it the mcn app?

Yup, the tyre is far better than me in the dry anyway so its not an issue for me on the road.

and id sooner have a tyre that excels in the wet any day as that is when like most riders I need the most help from a tyre.

They are dear which I think puts alot of riders off but they more than pay for themselves in lifespan.


Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
moanthebairns said:
is it the mcn app?

Yup, the tyre is far better than me in the dry anyway so its not an issue for me on the road.

and id sooner have a tyre that excels in the wet any day as that is when like most riders I need the most help from a tyre.

They are dear which I think puts alot of riders off but they more than pay for themselves in lifespan.
No it's an app called 'Road Trip'... very useful too...

Totally agree!

Indeed I have been quoted £270 for replacements...

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
y2blade said:
I've not been reading the hype.
I've been reading END-USER reviews.
Cool... where? - I have not seen many of them yet as it is still a relatively new tyre to the market.
They came to market last Sept iirc, lots of people have ridden on them.
There's this thing called the internet.......


http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sa=X&ei=7jh...

There are even video reviews too:
http://www.google.co.uk/#q=michelin+pilot+road+3+o...


HTH smile


Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
Mr OCD said:
y2blade said:
I've not been reading the hype.
I've been reading END-USER reviews.
Cool... where? - I have not seen many of them yet as it is still a relatively new tyre to the market.
They came to market last Sept iirc, lots of people have ridden on them.
There's this thing called the internet.......


http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sa=X&ei=7jh...

There are even video reviews too:
http://www.google.co.uk/#q=michelin+pilot+road+3+o...


HTH smile
Always the wise ass eh? wink

Plenty of reviews on the web but most of them have been for initial fitment and a couple of thousand miles applied with comments... as the tyre is barely a year old I've yet to see any thorough reviews on mileage from a fully used set.

IIRC there was a suggestion that they would not last as long as PR2's due to the sipes...

Yazza54

18,464 posts

180 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Are they as good as PR2 in the dry?

R1 has powers on but I doubt they will last long.

Mr OCD

Original Poster:

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Yazza54 said:
Are they as good as PR2 in the dry?

R1 has powers on but I doubt they will last long.
The same ... which is what everyone was bhing about at release date as they felt they should have improved dry performance as well but I've never found dry performance lacking on any tyre TBH ... but then I've only ridden on bike tyres in the last few years!

How much mileage do you do Ryan?

I'd love to try some Power Pure as heard good things about them... but doubtful if I would see 4k from the rear.

If yours are the non-2CT powers then you will be lucky to see 3k...

Edited by Mr OCD on Wednesday 5th September 12:53

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
Yazza54 said:
Are they as good as PR2 in the dry?

R1 has powers on but I doubt they will last long.
The same ... which is what everyone was bhing about at release date as they felt they should have improved dry performance as well but I've never found dry performance lacking on any tyre TBH ... but then I've only ridden on bike tyres in the last few years!

How much mileage do you do Ryan?

I'd love to try some Power Pure as heard good things about them... but doubtful if I would see 4k from the rear.

If yours are the non-2CT powers then you will be lucky to see 3k...

Edited by Mr OCD on Wednesday 5th September 12:53
Same, I have Power 2CTs on the FireBlade.

Yazza54

18,464 posts

180 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
Yazza54 said:
Are they as good as PR2 in the dry?

R1 has powers on but I doubt they will last long.
The same ... which is what everyone was bhing about at release date as they felt they should have improved dry performance as well but I've never found dry performance lacking on any tyre TBH ... but then I've only ridden on bike tyres in the last few years!

How much mileage do you do Ryan?

I'd love to try some Power Pure as heard good things about them... but doubtful if I would see 4k from the rear.

If yours are the non-2CT powers then you will be lucky to see 3k...

Edited by Mr OCD on Wednesday 5th September 12:53
I think they are 2CT. Well I did 7.5k last year but I'm not going to do as much as that, CBA commuting in the rain any more I'd rather get the tram. Just going to keep it for dry commutes when I fancy a ride.

Very impressive though to get 12k out of them!

smack

9,727 posts

190 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
These will be going on the FireBlade next....EVERYTHING I've read says they are superb tires,
Remember they are Sports Touring tyres, not sticky sports rubber that get better the more abused and hotter they get. The PR3 will cope, but be out of it's zone.

Silver993tt

9,064 posts

238 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
smack said:
Remember they are Sports Touring tyres, not sticky sports rubber that get better the more abused and hotter they get. The PR3 will cope, but be out of it's zone.
You won't get near to the limits of the PR3 on the road unless you ride like someone who shouldn't be on the road in the 1st place smile

Freakuk

3,105 posts

150 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Not that good on track, they overheat so just be aware.

I had them on my Multistrada 1200S good tyre I only managed 5000 miles out of the rear though and that's mainly welsh twisties

Zachlain

761 posts

150 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Mr OCD said:
I cannot find the forum post I put up about using these tyres on my 03 5PW R1 ... the main reason for fitting them is that I do a vast amount of miles commuting so needed tyres that were up to sensible mileage yet provide plenty of grip on ride outs with the NW crew.

Now on the previous set of tyres (Dunlop Qualifiers) I got a lousy 3100 miles from the rear ... the front wasn't far behind ... that was when the bike was new to me therefore wasn't using its performance as I do these days... so I suspect a rear Qualifier would be good for around 2500 miles now in my hands...

So you can understand why I am absolutely amazed with the PR3's ... as this week they past 12,000 miles ... yes let me say that again.... TWELVE THOUSAND MILES ...

Don't get me wrong the front tyre is squirming around a bit over white lines, bad surfaces when on the brakes and you need a tiny bit more effort to get her to turn in but the tyres do not look squared off like previous rubber has done ...

Unbelievable to be honest... it looks like I will be buying another set biggrin
Thanks very much for this mate, very helpful. I will certainly get PR3's once they discontinue PR2's!

I am on my third set of PR2's and absoloutely love them. I just got 7k out of my front before I changed it recently. I regularly get 6k out of the rear PR2's.

I wonder if there is anything markedly different between the PR2's and PR3's (in terms of compound) that allowed you to get 12k miles on an R1?

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Silver993tt said:
smack said:
Remember they are Sports Touring tyres, not sticky sports rubber that get better the more abused and hotter they get. The PR3 will cope, but be out of it's zone.
You won't get near to the limits of the PR3 on the road unless you ride like someone who shouldn't be on the road in the 1st place smile
Aye that's what I thought but People run them on trackdays too, without an issue.
To me they sound ideal for fast road use.


Have a read:

user review said:
I’ve been running the new Michelin Pilot Road 3s on my 2011 ZX-10R for 1800 miles. In that time I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve asked me why I’m running wets on my bike. I can’t blame them for thinking that, because Michelin’s new Pilot Road 3s have a very weird-looking tread pattern and don’t look like any other road tyres on the market.

At the heart of that weird tread pattern is the new ‘Sipe’ technology. These sipes are essentially the thin gaps in the tyre’s tread pattern which act to break the water film and help the tyre remain in contact with the road. Each sipe is connected to a series of small wells that Michelin call reservoirs and these are used to store the water on contact and then release it once the that portion of tyre is no longer in contact with the road.

So really, you wouldn’t think there’s much new here. Afterall, the tread pattern on your tyres has been designed to do exactly the same thing. Or has it? Not exactly, as the sipes sit between the normal tread pattern and are much more abundant than the usual grooves in your tyre. So while the sipes remove the water, the tread can work harder at finding grip.

On the tyre’s launch, Michelin claimed it could do everything: kneedown in the wet, good grip on dry roads, lots of miles. It all seemed a bit like the marketing machine had gone into overdrive.

I’ve clocked up 1800 miles on them so far, with a majority of the miles being motorways, it has to be said. A recent trip to Spa contributed to around 650 of those.

The warm-up time for normal road-riding could almost be measured in metres, not miles. My ZX-10R has traction control, which would normally chirp in if I gassed the bike up as soon as I left the drive, but it doesn’t with the Pilot Road 3s they just dig in. I can also get to the traffic lights at the end of my road (it’s not a very long road) and pull a rolling stoppie without the front washing out.

On a Sunday blast, they’re faultless. I don’t find myself lusting after more grip like I would have done if I’d fitted sports-touring tyres to a superbike 5 years ago. They warm-up fast and feel good from the very word go.

In the wet they’re nothing short of impressive. Sometimes when you have to go places on a superbike in the wet, you need a deep breath before you set off but the wet conditions don’t affect my confidence with these tyres. It takes a hell of a lot of front brake on a wet road to get the ABS kicking in.

At Spa I went out on track for one session. It’s a fast track, with lots of flowing corners. While the Pilot Road 3s felt good for the majority of the track, I was only tickling the bike ‘round and didn’t learn the track enough to push the tyres and see what they would do. The only real excessive wear I noticed after Spa was to the sipes on the front wheel, where under heavy braking they had started to wear. However, on certain points on the track you're scrubbing off speed from 150+mph and so that's the wear you'd expect. You're not going to be doing that on the road 3 times every couple of minutes.

That said, they weren’t rubbish like I’d expected them to be, so I headed to Brands Hatch to ride the GP circuit, to properly put them through their paces.

I’d booked into the Advanced group, however seeing as only about 5 people in that group weren’t going to be lining up on the British Superbike grid at Brands Hatch in a fortnight’s time, I changed my group to the Intermediate. I’d rather not get in the way of ten Superstock 1000 riders all going for the same bit of tarmac.

I didn’t run tyre warmers and set the pressures from cold to 26psi rear and 28psi front. Quite low, really. However, after my outing at Spa, I felt that I could do with as much flex at the front as possible, without over-working the tyre. On the rear, I went for 26psi as I’d intended to really work it hard and get it spinning to see if it would wear in double-quick time.

After the first session, where I gently wobbled ‘round to learn the track, the tyres came hot with 30psi rear and 31psi front. I probably could have run them even lower but kept them so.

If you’re running these tyres, I can’t imagine you’re going to be taking them into the Advanced group on a trackday without realising they’re lacking compared to an out-and-out Supersport tyre and treat them accordingly.

However, in the Intermediate group, I got overtaken once and he was on slicks. I found the Pilot Road 3s a bit weird to ride on; instead of running in with a plenty of corner speed, I was getting every last drop of braking done upright, turning in as late and getting on the gas earlier to try and ask less of the front tyre. I’m confident a better rider could push the front harder than I did in the corners, but I didn’t need to push it.

While the traction control did kick in a fair bit throughout the lap, I was really provoking it. Leant over on corners like Clearways, Paddock Hill Bend, Druids, Graham Hill, infact every corner, I was opening the throttle way earlier than I usually would, often well cranked over. To be honest with you, I was just having fun getting the rear moving. On the launch of the ZX-10R in Qatar, we were running super-sticky Bridgestone BT-003s and they were moving around just as much. When driving out of corners with the bike more upright there was no spinning, no traction control intervention.

Can you take the Pilot Road 3s on track? Absolutely. Are there better tyres for trackdays? Yes.

After the trackday I was expecting, confident infact, that the tyres would be completely knackered. They’re not.So far, they’ve clocked up 1800 miles in all conditions, including 7 laps of Spa and over 20 laps of Brands Hatch GP they’re not even half-way finished.

Which is a shame really, as I was hoping the smugness that oozed from the Michelin marketing material would have a major Achilles heel.

As it turns out, I’ve been proven wrong.
I'll give them a try (probably next year at this rate) see how they work out.