Michelin Power 2CT vs. PR3

[Michaelr11]

I'm sorry, this is a tire thread.

 

I'm burning through tires on my R1100RT, especially front tires. My tire of choice is the Pilot Road 3. I get between 4,000 and 5,000 miles on the front. I just got an email with a vendor special on the Pilot Power 2CT - this would be a front 120/70-17.

 

So I'm asking if there's any experience here on the Power 2CT regarding grip and mileage. If you have experience comparing that tire to the PR3 that would be ideal.

[Guest Kakugo]

I got about 4,000 km out of a set of Power 2CT on my Honda. By contrast I routinely got 10,000/11,000 km out of PR3's on my RT.

Mind the 2CT not only lasts considerably less and grips much worse in the wet but has some handling quirks you may not like, somewhat reminiscent of some track-oriented Dunlop's.

 

If you get so little mileage out of those PR3's it means:

 

1)You ride very very fast

2)You usually ride on highly abrasive tarmac/macadam

3)You keep your tyres underinflated

4)there's soemthing wrong with your bike's front end

 

Nothing that can be done about the first two though.

[Michaelr11]

I got about 4,000 km out of a set of Power 2CT on my Honda. By contrast I routinely got 10,000/11,000 km out of PR3's on my RT.

Mind the 2CT not only lasts considerably less and grips much worse in the wet but has some handling quirks you may not like, somewhat reminiscent of some track-oriented Dunlop's.

 

If you get so little mileage out of those PR3's it means:

 

1)You ride very very fast

2)You usually ride on highly abrasive tarmac/macadam

3)You keep your tyres underinflated

4)there's soemthing wrong with your bike's front end

 

Nothing that can be done about the first two though.

 

Thanks - I appreciate the feedback. As far as your 4 points:

 

If you get so little mileage out of those PR3's it means:

 

1)You ride very very fast - Somewhat true

2)You usually ride on highly abrasive tarmac/macadam - Yes

3)You keep your tyres underinflated - No, usually 39/40

4)there's soemthing wrong with your bike's front end - hope not, Works performance recently rebuilt.

[Guest Kakugo]

 

1)You ride very very fast - Somewhat true

2)You usually ride on highly abrasive tarmac/macadam - Yes

3)You keep your tyres underinflated - No, usually 39/40

4)there's soemthing wrong with your bike's front end - hope not, Works performance recently rebuilt.

 

If you keep the front at 40psi, it's actually overinflated on an RT. Michelin recommends to run both PR3's and PR4's at 36psi front and 42psi rear on boxers.

Overiflation may affect wear as well, albeit it's a far rarer occurence than the opposite.

 

[lkraus]

You might look at the PR4, which is basically the PR3 with some additional rain sipes and slightly harder compounds for longevity. The Michelin site is not clear on the differences between Pilot Power and Pilot Road. Maybe you could use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/ to ask about relative longevity?

[temesvar]

Never thought Michelin will take over Pirelli's

I like my PR4, mostly because the rain riding stability!

I find them also to be fairly lasting, at least at my riding

pace. Have 14K km on a set on my Triumph, with maybe 1/3 life

left , mostly rear, maybe less front. The set on my RT have 11K

on front, rear has had a 5" nail at 5K. I tend to believe same

would work for the RT as for the Triumph. Should look for better

front tire. Am using GT for rear now, wonder if front GT would be

more suitable. But 5,000 miles( 8000km)is way below what them tires

were meant to last!

[Guest Kakugo]

You might look at the PR4, which is basically the PR3 with some additional rain sipes and slightly harder compounds for longevity. The Michelin site is not clear on the differences between Pilot Power and Pilot Road. Maybe you could use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/ to ask about relative longevity?

 

I won't bore you with the details but the differences between the two tyres go far deeper than that. The whole construction is different and while compounds belong to the same family, those used on PR4's are a step forward compared to those on PR3's, especially in low grip situations.

 

Regarding Power/Road.

Power are the sport family, with products suited both to road and track use, while Road are touring tyres in the European sense.

[lkraus]

I won't bore you with the details but the differences between the two tyres go far deeper than that. The whole construction is different and while compounds belong to the same family, those used on PR4's are a step forward compared to those on PR3's, especially in low grip situations.

I re-stated what the Michelin rep said at the MOA rally, which seems to be in line with the very limited info available on the Michelin website for the PR3 and PR4. The PR4 page attributes improved wet grip and even wear to the XST+ siping and chamfering, and longer life to the harder rubber compounds. Neither web page provides details on construction, though I did find more detail in this review. The review also includes Michelin's claims of 20% longer PR4 life, which was Michael's concern. Since he liked the PR3, I thought the PR4 might work well for him. I've liked both - the PR3 gave me a little more confidence in perceived dry traction, but the PR4 is definitely wearing longer and more evenly.

 

 

Regarding Power/Road.

Power are the sport family, with products suited both to road and track use, while Road are touring tyres in the European sense.

But which would give Michael more mileage? I'd expect the PP's track orientation to mean softer rubber for dry traction, but less mileage and less wet grip than the PR4.

[Michaelr11]

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess the Power 2CT is off the table. But, I'll have to take another try at the PR4. I tried a PR4 a couple of years ago shortly after they were released. I got just over 4k miles on that front tire (no PR4 in the 160/60-18 for the R1100RT).

 

It seems like road surface and myself are the primary factors in my tire life. I use a TPMS and never let tire pressure fall below 37/38 and now I'm trying PSI in the upper recommendations of 39/41.

 

Two lane back roads here are rarely smooth macadam. Most are chip seal stone. My pace has quickened. I ride a couple of Airheads too, and my rear tires are now worn out just as I'm reaching 6,000 miles. So, I'm seeing reduced tire life on all of my bikes.

 

I'll give the PR4 front another try and see how it goes.

[PadG]

I'm sorry, this is a tire thread.

 

I'm burning through tires on my R1100RT, especially front tires. My tire of choice is the Pilot Road 3. I get between 4,000 and 5,000 miles on the front. I just got an email with a vendor special on the Pilot Power 2CT - this would be a front 120/70-17.

 

So I'm asking if there's any experience here on the Power 2CT regarding grip and mileage. If you have experience comparing that tire to the PR3 that would be ideal.

When I bought my (used) '07 RT in 2012, it came with Power 2CT front and PR2 rear. The combination was great in the handling department, and they both were worn after I had put in about 12k miles. I guess that the PO must have put in another 2k or so on top of that. When the tires were replaced, the rear had fairly normal wear, but the front, the Power 2CT, had pretty severe cupping. Not a big surprise, since the Power 2CT (dual compound, like the PR2/Pr3/Pr4) uses softer compounds than the PR2/PR3.

[Bob H.]

I had run PR3s and PR4s on my 04RT and averaged 10,000 miles the same goes for the PR4s I've been running on my 14RT 11-12,000 with an average of 10,000 , I could get more miles out of the front tire but I always change them at the same time, run 36psi front and 42psi rear. Don't know why you are getting such bad millage but it isn't the norm.

[Bernie]

I have had very good experiences with the Pirelli Angel GT tires on my 2007 R12RT.

They don't last as long as the PR-4 GT's, but they also don't cup and handle wet and damp roads better.

I get around 8k on the PR4'S and 6 to 7k on the Angel GT, but that is cores peaking through miles, not wear bar mileage.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Bernie