Michelin Pilot Road 3

[JT Pedersen]

Howdy,

Checked into the forum for some spec info and saw this thread.

I am actually taking the wheels off this afternoon to get a new set of PR3s installed. As wabill notes, I ride predominantly in Michigan. On average, our roads are not as abrasive as some of the stuff elsewhere. So, yes, that's a contributing factor. There's little comparison between western North Carolina and anywhere in Michigan<g>.

The set I'm taking off today, is right at 12K miles. The front is right at the wear indicators. The rear, I'm actually going to keep; there's an easy 2500 miles left on it. I just don't want to start the season having changed one tire, to have to do it again a month or two later. If I end up with a puncture, well, hey I'll use up the spare...especially if it's toward season's end.

I will say, I am mildly surprised. This is the first time in my life I have exhausted a front tire before a rear. I've read manufacturers are/were considering putting less tread on fronts. This is also the first machine I've had with linked brakes. So, why, I can only guess.

At any rate, even with most of my time in Michigan, on Metz Z3/4/6s on an ST1100, I routinely toasted a rear in 6-8000 miles. To be on a bike with 50% more power (both torque and HP), still basically the same rider (nut on the shoulder is torqued the same), and get about double the mileage on a set of tires is rather enjoyable.

 

[McFly]

I had B-stones and didn't like the feel, the ride and they felt like they shuttered when hitting corners hard under a load.

I am on my second set of PR3's and love these tires! Great handling when riding hard on dry and the best by far, by far when riding in heavy rain! I rode into a wall of water coming through Coweta, OK in the fall 2012. With inches of standing water and heavy (cats and dogs) rain the bike just sat great at 50 mph and was stable! A problem with these tires is when you are going through a heavy rain and you know you are going too fast but the bike is rock solid stable...I slow down!

I also have Michelin Hydroedge tires on my car...same concept, same result! No hydro plane, solid grip in heavy standing water! Same problem I know I am traveling too fast and always slow down! Stability and grip is awesome with PR3's!

Last set I got 12,768 miles out of them and had at least another 1k left...and road with a 100 Lb (+/- 10 lbs) load most of the time! I have about 5k on the second set and riding is good even at temps around 35 F...

 

[McFly]

I pay $312 at K&N Yamaha, Tulsa, OK

Selling bikes since 1957, K&N Yamaha is the oldest Yamaha dealer in America and has 2 of the best Yamaha Race Team technicians in the business! Nelson and Lucie are great owners and long time racers/riders!

That's where I buy my bikes, get them serviced and hangout to have rider "YAK ATTACKS!"

 

[tcfjr]

Just for a point of reference, as of today you can get a set of PR3's from Amazon for $303, with free shipping. Front, and Rear.

 

[kevinmorris22]

I agree with you on the Shinkos. My experience with the Shinko tires on an 08 FJR was bad, glad the retailer took them back.

You can read more about my experience with the Shinkos here and a video of the type of shake I was getting from the Shinkos.

https://www.ridergroups.com/1478/shinko-motorcycle-tires-are-some-of-the-worst-tires-i-have-tried/

I replaced the Shinkos with some PR2's and they were great, just ordered a set of PR3's to replace my well worn PR2's. I think it will be Michelin for me from here on out.

I just ordered a set of 120/70-17 & 190/55-17 off of SBTG for $315.98 shipped. I rode from Ft. Sill to my home in McKinney Tx this weekend and it was raining both ways. I was NOT impressed with the Shinko 005's that were on the bike when I bought it. I had a lot of squirming from both the front and rear, pretty consistent 2-4" slips while cornering and I was not riding aggressivly in the least. I have great rain gear that keeps me 100% dry so the rain normally does not bother me, but I don't like it when my butt is sore from clenching during the ride.

Hopefully the PR3's will be a substantial improvement. Now I just need to find a good place to mount them in the Dallas/North Dallas area. I am also thinking about trying some DynaBeads as I have read a lot of good comments about them.

 

[gbrmksmith]

I'm on the tail end of my second pair of PR3s. Have 11,000 miles on the second pair and still have a fair bit of tread left. But, since I've only used PR3s, I don't have a basis for comparison. I ride/commute daily, rain or shine and have had no issues with grip.

In short, my next pair will be PR3s also.

 

[reaction57]

My current PR3 have roughly 14000 miles on them. I ride in Indiana pretty flat here. I probably have another 2000 miles before I switch to new tires. Not sure yet what I'll buy. At first the tires started to cup real bad and worried me to how long they would last. Rain performance is awesome. Easy to ride too fast. All the talk on how fast these go from good to bad has me worried. I saw Bikebandit had sets for $304 and free shipping last I checked. Pretty happy but they are the only tire I have used on the FJR!

 

[ridernotbiker]

14000!??? Dang reaction57, and you say you're not sure what you'll buy next after another 2000 miles? Would be too much for me to think about. I think I threw out my "came-with-the-bike-new" set of Bridgestones at half your miles.

 

[reaction57]

Yeah decisions,decisions! Like I said pretty flat in Indiana! Now if someone could give me some hits to whats causing the cupping issue that would be great. Hate when stuff wears funny. I've made no changes to bike since I got it 2 years ago.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Your tires are cupping cuz the air pressure is too low. What are you running now and how often do you check it??

 

[reaction57]

I usually run between 45-50 and try to check them every couple of weeks. Pressure stays pretty much the same unless there is a big tempature change. My thoughts are that someone had messed with the front suspension settings and had it outta wack. But I am not sure. Bike came from a dealer.

 

[HotRodZilla]

45-50 psi?? Holy crap...If that's the case, my low pressure theory is off the mark.

Maybe bad suspension settings, or maybe just the tire brand. Bridgestones are notorious for excessive cupping. If you're not running BTs, then I'm totally FUBAR and absolutely no help.

FWIW, I run 42 front and 43 rear. Weigh 230. No cupping issues after I started running those pressures and got rid of the OEM Bridgestones.

 

[jayke]

My current PR3 have roughly 14000 miles on them. I ride in Indiana pretty flat here. I probably have another 2000 miles before I switch to new tires. Not sure yet what I'll buy. At first the tires started to cup real bad and worried me to how long they would last. Rain performance is awesome. Easy to ride too fast. All the talk on how fast these go from good to bad has me worried. I saw Bikebandit had sets for $304 and free shipping last I checked. Pretty happy but they are the only tire I have used on the FJR!

I live in Indiana too....Southern Indiana - Columbus, we have a few curves down here. I only get around 7K out of a set of PR3's. That's on my C14, my '13 FJR is due in any day.

You need to come down this way and put some wear on the sides of your tires

 

[WWWobble]

45-50 psi?? Holy crap...If that's the case, my low pressure theory is off the mark.
Maybe bad suspension settings, or maybe just the tire brand. Bridgestones are notorious for excessive cupping. If you're not running BTs, then I'm totally FUBAR and absolutely no help.

FWIW, I run 42 front and 43 rear. Weigh 230. No cupping issues after I started running those pressures and got rid of the OEM Bridgestones.

Agree with you that low front tire pressure (less than 39 cold) leads to cupping on FJRs, especially if you brake with a load or tend to keep on your brakes a bit after corner entrance while still leaned over. I had issures with BT020 oem and also the first generation of Dunlop Roadsmarts -- which I liked a lot for front tire feel and traction while new, but man, did they cup.

Then, I tried the Bridgestone BT023 GT spec. This is a much improved Bridgestone. Good traction, Reasonable mileage. I weigh about 175 and run 40F 40R solo and experienced no front cupping. I'm on my second set. Traction almost as good at Roadsmarts, better than the PR2s haven't tried PR3s -- and of course all this is subjective.

Still, in fairness to Bridgestone, my experience is the BT023GT is a much improved tire on the FJR.

 

[yamafitter]

Let me toss this out to you all.JT is riding in Michigan getting great mileage on his tires. I doubt that Michigan uses volcanic rock in there paving mix. On the other hand, states in the west have cheap and easy access to this junk and use it for paving on our roads, especially repaving. This stuff is very hard on tires and most of us complaining of low mileage out of our tires ride here in the west. What do you think?

There is a lot of truth to this statement. When I rode in New Zealand a few years back the road surface offered great traction but was very abrasive. The owner of the tour company mentioned to me that it was very rare for them to get more than 6000 km (4000 miles) out of a set of tires from the bikes in their rental fleet. The type of road surface you ride on does play a major role in the amount of wear on your tires (tyres for our Limey friends).

 

[Dunk43]

I'm on the tail end of my second pair of PR3s. Have 11,000 miles on the second pair and still have a fair bit of tread left. But, since I've only used PR3s, I don't have a basis for comparison. I ride/commute daily, rain or shine and have had no issues with grip.
In short, my next pair will be PR3s also.

What PSI are you running in your tires ?

 

[Geno]

I just put on my second set of PR3s - had 10 K on them with probably another 1K left. Front was starting to cup, rear was still pretty decent, but I didn't want to push it. I've been running them at 40 psi front, 42psi rear, and had been doing quite a bit of camping in the Sierras and Big Sur, as well as a trip to Seattle with a fairly heavy load. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the performance and mileage considering the kind of riding I do.

 

[FjrSwed]

What tire are you all buying for the rear wheel? The B version or standard?

Best regards Peter

 

[Top_Speed1]

Most are doing standard

 

[FjrSwed]

Most are doing standard

How come? The B version mostly usefull if often driving with passenger and luggage? The standard works great for solo riding?