Michelin Pilot Road 3 Update...
Discussion
RemyMartin said:
I've done around 2-3k on the PR4 in just about every condition. Monsoon rain to baking hot and they are utterly joyous and superb. My eyes have been opened to how fast you can corner in the wet. Worth evert Penny in my opinion.
No previous fully road orientated tyres though, my previous datum is pilot power 2 and 3s and conti sport attacks.
On the same bike? Interested in comparisons between pilot road 4 and pilot power 3... No previous fully road orientated tyres though, my previous datum is pilot power 2 and 3s and conti sport attacks.
Mr OCD said:
RemyMartin said:
I've done around 2-3k on the PR4 in just about every condition. Monsoon rain to baking hot and they are utterly joyous and superb. My eyes have been opened to how fast you can corner in the wet. Worth evert Penny in my opinion.
No previous fully road orientated tyres though, my previous datum is pilot power 2 and 3s and conti sport attacks.
On the same bike? Interested in comparisons between pilot road 4 and pilot power 3... No previous fully road orientated tyres though, my previous datum is pilot power 2 and 3s and conti sport attacks.
RemyMartin said:
Sadly not the same bike. So comparisons are slightly skewed. Even so the pr4 is an amazing tyre, worth the price alone for the wet weather grip.
Not too fussed by wet weather grip as the pilot power 3's are fine. More considering the handing of the bike on a sports tyre compared to a sports touring tyre. Hooli said:
I've found recently that pr3s work better with a couple of psi less than pr2s. I'm running mine 2psi lower than book pressures, all the vagueness and twitchyness Lent over has gone.
Never had that issue... sounds like your suspension needs work... 
I didn't like the front tyre myself... when pushing on it moves a little which makes my butt pucker up...
Farrant said:
Trashed my rear in 6k miles... How some of you get 10k+ I'll never know. PR4 next I think.
+1 on the front end, don't like to push the front hard at all with these on. Only thing I don't like about them.
Said before it's the style of the bike combined with you being able to use the throttle harder at low speed without the concern of the bike high siding or flipping you ... +1 on the front end, don't like to push the front hard at all with these on. Only thing I don't like about them.
OK, I’ve now just about worn out a set of PR4s so thought I’d give an opinion.
Let’s start by saying I’m a big PR2 fan. They grip really well in the dry and easily outperform me in the wet. I have never found anything wrong with them and managed over 8000 miles per pair in mixed commuting and touring conditions. (Mostly commuting). Feel has always been good and they seem to warm up quickly enough for the use I make of them. (All road) In fact, I liked the PR2s so much I have avoided PR3s as I read nothing that said they were going to offer me any improvement yet they cost more!
When my tyres needed changing last month, ahead of the Old Gits euro trip, the supplier had no PR2s in stock but did have some PR4s so I decided to give them a try. Since then I’ve done 2000 miles commuting, about 1500 miles on French and Italian motorways and about 1000 miles on twisty Alpine roads.
I’ve ridden in drizzle, very heavy rain and even snow and done many dry miles.
Initial feel was good and the wet weather grip was again, more than I was willing to use. However, after only 1000 miles I found that even in the dry, they were ‘shimmying’ over paint lines while filtering up between lanes of traffic.
When I got to the Alps I started to use the bike more and started pushing on but every time I got the bike really well over I felt the rear tyre ‘move’ sideways. At first I thought it was just me or that I had been unlucky and had ridden over something that I hadn’t seen. It was never a really big scary move but it was enough to cause me to back off the power and stand the bike up slightly. After this happened on several separate occasions I was sure that it wasn’t just me and that it wasn’t something on the road surface but that it was the tyre. My confidence was then sufficiently dented to stop me using the last 10% or so of the tyre.
Add to this the fact that the rear will manage about another 500 miles before being totally worn out means that the PR4s definitely do not get my vote. I’ll be looking for an old set of PR2s to put on the bike next week.
Let’s start by saying I’m a big PR2 fan. They grip really well in the dry and easily outperform me in the wet. I have never found anything wrong with them and managed over 8000 miles per pair in mixed commuting and touring conditions. (Mostly commuting). Feel has always been good and they seem to warm up quickly enough for the use I make of them. (All road) In fact, I liked the PR2s so much I have avoided PR3s as I read nothing that said they were going to offer me any improvement yet they cost more!
When my tyres needed changing last month, ahead of the Old Gits euro trip, the supplier had no PR2s in stock but did have some PR4s so I decided to give them a try. Since then I’ve done 2000 miles commuting, about 1500 miles on French and Italian motorways and about 1000 miles on twisty Alpine roads.
I’ve ridden in drizzle, very heavy rain and even snow and done many dry miles.
Initial feel was good and the wet weather grip was again, more than I was willing to use. However, after only 1000 miles I found that even in the dry, they were ‘shimmying’ over paint lines while filtering up between lanes of traffic.
When I got to the Alps I started to use the bike more and started pushing on but every time I got the bike really well over I felt the rear tyre ‘move’ sideways. At first I thought it was just me or that I had been unlucky and had ridden over something that I hadn’t seen. It was never a really big scary move but it was enough to cause me to back off the power and stand the bike up slightly. After this happened on several separate occasions I was sure that it wasn’t just me and that it wasn’t something on the road surface but that it was the tyre. My confidence was then sufficiently dented to stop me using the last 10% or so of the tyre.
Add to this the fact that the rear will manage about another 500 miles before being totally worn out means that the PR4s definitely do not get my vote. I’ll be looking for an old set of PR2s to put on the bike next week.
^^ Interesting you should say about that feeling in the Alps. We all hit some roads in the Austrian Alps and 3 out of 4 of us had slides suddenly under throttle and cranked over, but they felt so strange, we all thought we had punctures?!? Once we worked out that we didn't, we kind of rode through it, just keeping the throttle a bit more in check when cranked over, but still having these slides at the rear that felt like the tyre had 10psi in it.
The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
black-k1 said:
However, after only 1000 miles I found that even in the dry, they were ‘shimmying’ over paint lines while filtering up between lanes of traffic.
When I got to the Alps I started to use the bike more and started pushing on but every time I got the bike really well over I felt the rear tyre ‘move’ sideways. At first I thought it was just me or that I had been unlucky and had ridden over something that I hadn’t seen. It was never a really big scary move but it was enough to cause me to back off the power and stand the bike up slightly. After this happened on several separate occasions I was sure that it wasn’t just me and that it wasn’t something on the road surface but that it was the tyre. My confidence was then sufficiently dented to stop me using the last 10% or so of the tyre.
I've been saying this about the PR3 (and now PR4) since it was first launched - that any tyre with sipes cut in the tread to enable wet weather grip, only do so by allowing the tread blocks to move. These will never provide the stability or assurance needed when the bike is leant over. They are OK for commuting or straight line touring, but definitely not the choice for sports riding. When I got to the Alps I started to use the bike more and started pushing on but every time I got the bike really well over I felt the rear tyre ‘move’ sideways. At first I thought it was just me or that I had been unlucky and had ridden over something that I hadn’t seen. It was never a really big scary move but it was enough to cause me to back off the power and stand the bike up slightly. After this happened on several separate occasions I was sure that it wasn’t just me and that it wasn’t something on the road surface but that it was the tyre. My confidence was then sufficiently dented to stop me using the last 10% or so of the tyre.
The AngelGT/Z8 offer a better solution to wet weather grip: chemical grip from the compound, with the benefit of solid tread blocks for stability and handling.
3DP said:
^^ Interesting you should say about that feeling in the Alps. We all hit some roads in the Austrian Alps and 3 out of 4 of us had slides suddenly under throttle and cranked over, but they felt so strange, we all thought we had punctures?!? Once we worked out that we didn't, we kind of rode through it, just keeping the throttle a bit more in check when cranked over, but still having these slides at the rear that felt like the tyre had 10psi in it.
The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
I think that section had oil on the road. There was oil all the way to the roundabout at the end. Only the Tuono was impervious as it was already moving on the road all over the place The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
3DP said:
^^ Interesting you should say about that feeling in the Alps. We all hit some roads in the Austrian Alps and 3 out of 4 of us had slides suddenly under throttle and cranked over, but they felt so strange, we all thought we had punctures?!? Once we worked out that we didn't, we kind of rode through it, just keeping the throttle a bit more in check when cranked over, but still having these slides at the rear that felt like the tyre had 10psi in it.
The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
Hard to say but it probably felt more like I had hit a small patch of diesel rather than low pressure. While I was on the power I was not hard on the power as I was still mid corner so never felt like I should be pushing the tyre to its limits.The feeling was felt on PR3, M7RR and PP3 rear tyres, although not on the Tuono that was using an M7RR and riding at the same pace.
Is that what you felt, as it did rob confidence a little?
It happened on more than one road and on more than one day (and, as it happens, in more than one country) but it happened on every single occasion I decided to step the pace up from "having fun" to "really trying" which is why I finally decided it wasn't me or the road thus must be the tyres.
Mr OCD said:
All the tyre threads atm
Try the Pilot Power 3's... mileage from them isn't a million miles away from the PR's ... certainly much more stable than the PR3's.
Do you have any ideas what sort of mileage I could expect from a PP3? (Difficult one, I know but I'll ask anyway.)Try the Pilot Power 3's... mileage from them isn't a million miles away from the PR's ... certainly much more stable than the PR3's.
Not tried PRs yet. Always sworn by Avon Storms for commuting. Last time i had them on i got 9k out of a rear on a blackbird. Got them on the bandit at the mo. 12k out of a rear is a new target. So far done 3k and they don't look very worn at all and i've got tremendous confidence in the bike in the wet and dry.
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