Michelin Pilot Road 4 Tires Review

[Kneedragger55]

I am going to move on to PR4's next change. You state the non GT's were cupping (front) How much do you weigh? I do not ride two up and weigh 145 lbs. I run 39psi front and 42psi rear. Given my profile I am thinking the standard PR4's will do well??

At 145lbs we're nearly the same weight, and that's pretty light. Especially riding solo, I don't think you'd see any adverse affects from your body weight. My bikes PO was probably closer to 180lbs, and he ran 36psi F/R religiously. I definitely think that contributed to the extensive rear wear on my PR4GT (and if he was riding a lot of highway). I'm around 7500 miles on these and I'll be lucky to make it through the end of the year on this rear....yea it sucks. I would run around 42/43 in the rear regardless, and you can get away with lighter in the front.

I know that you said you replace your tires in pairs, but do they have to be a "matched set"? Many of us run a Michelin rear (for the good long wear characteristics) with a stickier front tire with a pattern less apt to scallop. The Angel front would be a good candidate to pair with a PRx rear (x = any from 2 to 4). I'm currently running a Bridgestone T30 front with a PR2 rear and like that combo a lot.

Some of the southern hot-shoes will run a true sport bike front with a dual compound ST rear. When you do that the front and rear tend to wear out together at the same time. And the front end will stick like glue, which is a good thing.

I like this idea but I'm wondering how a true sportbike tire like a Q3 or PP fairs with the extra weight, especially for touring. I've been pretty pleased with the front end handling of the PR4GT, so I really don't have a reason to change. Seems like the T30 would easily give up side traction to a Q3 or even PP, which might be more likely to cup over time? I guess the decision to run T30 over PR2-4 is based on price? Saves you $20-50.

 

[ionbeam]

Noting that the profile of a true sport tire may be different than the profile of a general purpose sport/touring tire and alter the handling feel.

 

[Fred W]

... especially true after you square off the middle of it in a few hundred miles because you are highway touring on a tire designed for constant cornering.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Just ordered a PR4 GT for the rear. From what I read in this thread, I should be more than happy with them. I have 4 trips planned in the next month, so it's time to replace the plugged rear tire.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Just ordered a PR4 GT for the rear. From what I read in this thread, I should be more than happy with them. I have 4 trips planned in the next month, so it's time to replace the plugged rear tire.

What? All that great plugging advice for nothing?

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Yeah. Still plugging away. There's something about a new tire without a hole in it that won out. When I took a better look at the plugged/replugged tire and looked at my upcoming ride schedule, I bit the bullet and ordered the PR4 GT. My existing tires are down to the wear bars. I already have a new front tire sitting in the garage. New tires equal new ride.

 

[petey]

Kneedragger55 posted: <snipped> Maybe I just should emphasize "You'd think for GT bikes they'd make the middle sections super hard, and sides super soft, I mean who needs sticky middles anyway?"

That's true. I expect the moto-tire designers would say something about the center sections requiring some softness to maintain decent traction during quick braking. I think it's interesting that every rider ends up with cords showing in the center; never seen a tire wear out on the edges.

Well here is one.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

 

[petey]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

Is that Marty's tire?

 

[Hotboot]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

Arkansas will do that. I hope these Z8's make it through my next jaunt there.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

Arkansas will do that. I hope these Z8's make it through my next jaunt there.

Good luck

 

[Uncle Hud]

petey posted:

Uncle Hud posted: That's true. I expect the moto-tire designers would say something about the center sections requiring some softness to maintain decent traction during quick braking. I think it's interesting that every rider ends up with cords showing in the center; never seen a tire wear out on the edges.

Well here is one.

I stand corrected -- by several folks. (Just further proof that I ride like a grandma.)

 

[wheatonFJR]

No, further proof that others choose to ride to the edge. I can honestly expect my tires never to wear out that way...but it in no way do I feel I have deprived myself of a full deep FJR experience.

 

[0Face]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

Is that Marty's tire?

Hey Now!

I'm headed down there in a couple weeks, I know tires are available in Searcy and Harrison... you know why.

Try plugging a tire at the Oark Store after one of their cheesburgers and Pie a la mode.

 

[smithpa68]

One thing I thought I would contribute from my PR4 experience is I had a lot of cupping on the PR4s. So I switched to the PR4GTs. It made a big difference for me. I do admit to a Traxxion upgrade also.. not sure if that will affect tire wear or not.. but wanted to mention it for full disclosure. I ride 2 up 40% of the time. Mostly twisties in the N GA and NC mountains. A handful of heavily loaded camping trips. Tire PSI religiously checked 39F 42R. No cupping at all this time. My rear tire is just barely above the wear bars at 10.5k. Front is better. Probably has 1500 miles left. This set did quite a bit more slab than normal from the Big Money Rally.
Overall, I thought the GT version was better than the standard PR4s. The non GTs cupped really bad. If I recall, correctly, I think my standard PR4s lasted about 8k with the same front to rear wear ratio as the GT. IMHO, the advertisement from Michelin for PR4GT as intended for the heavier sport touring/GT type bikes has panned out for me. Just ordered another set.

Fyi.. update. Since I posted this I did a long twisty ride two up on the last bit of these tires. The cupping is there now. Not as bad as the regular PR4. But it wasn't prevented 100%. Rear is now smooth in the center.. very little scalloping but you can feel it. The front probably still has 1000 miles and the cupping is noticeable. A bit noisy but not terrible.

 

[petey]

Petey, there's still plenty of life left in that tire if you slab it home.

No, not on my bike. This bike is from a friend of mine after an outing in AR.

Is that Marty's tire?

Hey Now!

I'm headed down there in a couple weeks, I know tires are available in Searcy and Harrison... you know why.

Try plugging a tire at the Oark Store after one of their cheesburgers and Pie a la mode.

So will I...

I hope my tires make back home.

 

[Uncle Hud]

After 14,000 miles (OK maybe 14,200 miles), here's what griff and I removed:

PR4-GT rear. Looks OK, still has a little at the wear bars:

PR4-GT front. Cupping (ie. tabletop profile). Looks like I'm more aggressive with turns in one direction than the other.

Excellent tires. Wet weather grip was very good. No noise. How can you argue with that mileage?

Caveat: I ride like a grandma.

 

[Fred W]

https://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/

PS - I'd still be riding on that rear tire. Lots more tread left on the sides

This is how mine tend to look when I remove them:

 

[wheatonFJR]

I think Hud would too...but a little birdy told me he may be doing a Coast to Coast farely soon and would rather not change tires in the middle of that fun event.

Yeah, Hud...what's with that front tire? The roads only curve to the right over there in GA? I thought you were a NASCAR fan.