Worn PR2s

[maddad]

So we did a trip to the Dragon from New Brunswick. About 3800 miles. Had put a set of PR2s on about 1000 miles before that. So total miles on these tires was I would say around 5K. Any comments on the odd wear, or did I just love the twisties a little too much.

Front: Center had tread about 1" wide but down below the wear bars. (maybe 0.5 mil in the dead center) Sides, no tread at all. Had to replace on the way back.

Back: Tread on sides more than expected, just about showing the kevlar in the center. So flat in the center I think the bike could stand up by itself.

Never had a front wear out faster than the back or such different wear from back to front.

 

[SkooterG]

Blows me away how the same tire on the same bike can get such different results. I mean, I can understand some variation based on riding style, weight, and road surface, but WOW.

I am on my first set of PR2s. I currently have 12,000 miles on them. Rear has several thousand left and is not really squared off at all. Definitely not as much as other tires I have run.

Front is close to being done. No weird wear either. Maybe 1,000 miles left on the front.

Not a lot of twisties on these, but definitely some. First time ever I have worn out a front before the rear and I am a bit disappointed in that. I do love the tires. In the future I may try another brand front with the PR2 rear to get similar mileage out of both. I am not sure what that will be however.

You must have been hammering them. I don't think the PR2 is the ideal twisty tire, but still...........

 

[Nikk]

Sounds very strange. Can you comment on:

how you had the bike loaded

what pressure you run front and back

how often did you check tire pressure.

 

[Burnspot]

I was just reading a thread over on Sport-touring.net about a guy with some PR2's that were apparently either knockoffs or a manufacturing incident gone horribly wrong...wonder if there's a connection? His PR2's were manufactured in Thailand as opposed to Spain. Sounds like a slightly different problem, but you never know if there's a problem at the factory.

https://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,57194.0.html

 

[maddad]

75% of the riding was one up with probably 70lbs of luggage. Total weight around 350lbs including me.

Of the 5000 miles, 3500 would have been hi-way driving, the rest moderate ridin with 3 runs on the dragon, the snake and blue ridge which most people are familiar.

I tend to drive it more like a sport bike, and tended on this trip to do some peg dragging but nothign crazy.

Tires did not wear like the link above. Run roughly 42 psi in each. No scalloping and although strange to have it wear our on sides and not middle or middle and not sides, where it did wear was very even and smooth.

Will check the tires to see where they were manufactured.

 

[exskibum]

Pretty strange. I'm on my 3rd set of PR2s, and got 7K and 9K miles out of the first two sets, very much of it 2 up and loaded for long week+ long trips (hardest use and greatest weight on the 7K set). Looks like I may get 9K on the current set.

The PR2s are the best mileage tires I've had on the FJR or my Blackbirds. What you've described sounds like what I'd expect from a set of Pilot Powers on the FJR or XX -- great sticky tires, but would be scrubbed off like you described in 5K miles for me, with the rear gone before the front. Any chance there was a manufacturing defect that had Michelin making some sets (yours included) with Pilot Power compound(s)? BTW, I've run Michelins made in France, Spain and Thailand, including PR2s from Thailand, and I haven't noticed a difference.

 

[bradman]

My back tire looks almost square. It is flat in the center and flat on each side angled out. What makes that happen?

 

[RaYzerman19]

The side compound on the fronts is softer than the side compounds on the rears. If worn out in the center or flattening, you're doing a lot of slab....... you will benefit by running 42/44 psi to keep heat buildup down.

 

[skifrik]

Mine did the same thing after about 3500 miles. I never go two up and don't carry too much gear. But I ride very hard into corners and I'm very hard on the brakes. I think I'll be looking for a different tire next time. Maybe a single compound.

 

[dbvolfan]

I noticed my last set (Made in Thailand) has lasted far less than previos sets. I Normally get 7-8k out of a set but my front is toast at just under 5k and the back is squared away.

Interestingly enough, I just installed a et on my C14 (Made in Thailand as well) and this set has the bke pulling to the right. Stealership rode the hell out of it and believes its the tires as well but wont warranty them b/c Michelin wont cover them (BS but escalated to SVC mgr with no sucess so they wont see mycredit card again).

Either way, I find it odd after having 4 previos sets that performed great, my last two have been far less satisfying.

 

[RossKean]

So we did a trip to the Dragon from New Brunswick. About 3800 miles. Had put a set of PR2s on about 1000 miles before that. So total miles on these tires was I would say around 5K. Any comments on the odd wear, or did I just love the twisties a little too much.

Front: Center had tread about 1" wide but down below the wear bars. (maybe 0.5 mil in the dead center) Sides, no tread at all. Had to replace on the way back.

Back: Tread on sides more than expected, just about showing the kevlar in the center. So flat in the center I think the bike could stand up by itself.

Never had a front wear out faster than the back or such different wear from back to front.

On my second set of PR2's. The first set lasted for a 9000+ mile coast-to-coast ride plus another couple of thousand miles after I returned. Majority was highway getting from point A to point B but some twisties in between. Maybe 275 lb total load, 42 psi rear and 40 psi front; not particularly aggressive riding. They squared off pretty badly but I was nowhere near the cord when I took them off. No idea why PR2's wouldn't last longer for you. Maybe there are some manufacturing oddities - my first set of tires which were new on the bike when I bought it (used) this spring were Dunlop Roadsmarts and I got less than 5000 miles out of them.

Ross

 

[maddad]

My back tire looks almost square. It is flat in the center and flat on each side angled out. What makes that happen?

How they wear is completely dependent on the road. Hard compound is about 1.5 inches wide. So if you are doing corners, that have your tire sitting partyly on the hard compound and partyly on the soft, the soft will wear first leaving you with no or less tread on the outer side. But we always do hi-way, so that wears the center down. My last couple of sets of PR2s towards the enf of life had

Tread (On Edge) - No Tread (1" in),- Tread (1.5" in) - No Tread (center) - Tread - No Tread - Tread

End of life looks like I'm starting to go Dark Side.

Anyone know if the insides of the PR2s have white kevlar, have only a couple weeks of driving left and wear indicators went out long ago. Trying to squeak by.

 

[BobbyBlue]

I have almost 16K !!! on mine and although the front does have some strange cupping and the rear is squared off a bit, these puppies may well last another 2K. The caveat is handling sucks...very trucklike and unsmooth from about 5K on...I miss Avons but with this kind of mileage and my lack of fundage a new set is in my near future. Glad to see they're still sorta popular..later gators !

Blessed but smelly,

Bobby