Pilot Road 4 tires after 4k miles

[sardineone]

I've been a fan of the Michelin Pilot Road series since I tried my first set of the 2 series. Really got the best mileage ever (7,500 miles-rear) with minimal handling drop off with my set of PR3's. When I got my PR4's I was ecstatic with the improved steering response. Now that I have 4300 miles on a matched set of PR4's I'm disappointed. For the first time since I've owned my ST my front tire has the uneven wear you feel when rubbing backwards with your hand. In the last few hundred miles the steering response has degraded rapidly, with a rear center tread depth of 3/32 inch. Now I might have to find another choice as these tires handling fell short of the mileage typical of their predecessors.

[mwood7800]

My pr4 gt's were so thin and limber I mounted them without a tire iron. They were wore out at 8k, the rear tire was plugged the first month. Front tire started cupping at 4k

[Smoky]

PR4GT's are the hardest tire to mount I've ever done. But last longer than anything else, I like how they stick on wet roads too.

 

 

 

 

[Ponch]

I have a feeling that the type of road material must play a big part in how long a tire lasts. I got over 12K out of my first PR3 rear and 9500 out of the second. The last one I rode every day for months through 100+ heat, so that would explain the difference. I have a PR4GT on the back now. We'll see.

[Guest Kakugo]

Michelin had some issues with the very first batches of PR4 fronts.

I was a launch customer here and I experienced precisely the problems you describe: (slightly) uneven wear and worsening handling as miles piled up, coupled with a bone-rattling ride over uneven surfaces.

 

They must have changed something during the production run however because my present set is working great. Even the rear, which is very close to replacement, holds far better than previous PR's in the same conditions, even in pouring rain.

 

One thing I can say for certain, however: PR4's are much closer to PR2's than PR3's in the mileage department. All those extra performances in any condition came at the price of reduced mileage.

[Michael B]

Not to try to outdo everyone, but right now I have 15,703 on the rear PR4 GT on my '11 RT. There is enough tread left that I will have no problem going 16K plus, and plan to let it go just to see what it will do. I ride mostly twisties with some slab road trips thrown in and am not shy with the throttle.

 

My last set of tires were non-GT PR3's and I got 13,900 on the rear. The fronts don't hold up as well, but then they come with a couple of 32nds less rubber. Every tire has cupped, but then they also get great mileage.

 

All and all, my Pilot Road experience has been good...and long! Cheers!

[PadG]

Not to try to outdo everyone, but right now I have 15,703 on the rear PR4 GT on my '11 RT. There is enough tread left that I will have no problem going 16K plus, and plan to let it go just to see what it will do. I ride mostly twisties with some slab road trips thrown in and am not shy with the throttle.

 

My last set of tires were non-GT PR3's and I got 13,900 on the rear. The fronts don't hold up as well, but then they come with a couple of 32nds less rubber. Every tire has cupped, but then they also get great mileage.

 

All and all, my Pilot Road experience has been good...and long! Cheers!

One of my theory regarding tire wear has to do with the individual riding style. I theorized that if you ride a lot of twisties, even aggressively (as I do), and do full-lean turns even at low speed, then you will spread the wear on your tires all around rather than just in the middle. Ponch is also right in that the rate of wear will have a lot to do with the nature of the road surface.

 

I had bought my previous '07 RT used, and it came with PR2 rear and Power 2CT front (dual compound but softer that PR2) that had looked pretty good, but I didn't know how much they had been ridden. I ended up putting more than an additional 11,000 miles on the tires before needing to replace them with PR3s.

[Ponch]

Like I said, I think the road material figures in a lot. Some materials are very hard on tires.

[Oms]

I installed PR4 front and 4GT rear on our RT in May at 12500km, my first set of Michelins. Did not like the feel of the Metzlers that came new on the bike, and they were toast by 12.5K, the front cupped out really bad and should have been changed at 10K.

 

Wife and I did a cross Canada trip to the Maritimes in July/Aug. I already had 5000km on them before leaving and debated putting on a fresh set but left with the idea if I need tires I will get them.

We put on 12750km 2up, loaded, and cruise set between 120-130 kph depending on traffic flow. Temps ran in the low to mid 30's C the whole time. Kept a close eye on tire pressure 36psi front and 42 rear. I really like the feel of the tires on the bike, they feel very solid and grip the road wet or dry. Just coming up on 20K on the set now will probably get another 4-5 K out of them. Must say I am impressed and happy with the set, will definitely buy the same replacements.

Cheers.

[sardineone]

Hi all just to reinforce my original message, in my opinion the PR-4's handling drops off early & rapidly compared to other tires I've used on the same bike and riding conditions. Mileages will differ so I just gave a reference for my case, I'm just warning of my experience & disappointment with the PR-4's.

[Trobinson]

Not to try to outdo everyone, but right now I have 15,703 on the rear PR4 GT on my '11 RT.

 

I have gotten upwards of 20k miles out of PR3's on the rear of my '96 1100RT! Mostly highway miles so they would get pretty flat in the center, but handling was still ok and the last one had plenty of tread when it got two holes punched in it!

 

Edit: Sorry, just had to upstage.