Pilot Road 4 tires wearing out quickly

[Mad Mike]

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I get my tires from Fawaz at Speedworx. He’s the one that got me into the GTs. Same price as Fortnine and he installs and balances for $40. I give him new wheel bearings every 2nd change, never charged me to put them in.

^^
Thanks. I was riding my bike as hard as I could, so I'll chalk it up to that as well. Total mileage was around 7000km, because I rode through PA on my way home today to try and finish them off.
I'm going to try the Michelin Road 5 next.

When I got my Wee, I put a set of Metzler Tourtecs on her, I wanted to do 10K on the road before going to something more ADVentureous. To my surprise, they handle brilliantly and as the miles pile up I can't believe how durable they are. I ride 250Kn/week thru the city and another 500-800K harder miles each weekend on rural highways, These tires have 15K and lots left.

 

[Relax]

First hand experienced, confirmed by several other riders.
They can use the same construction process and use an identical mold, but not all tire rubber is created equal.

Assuming this is true, how do you know which plant makes the "good" tires?

 

[MacDoc]

Shane look at the Avon Storm 3d X-M for mileage. New tech ...pretty enthuiastic reviews.

Mike - that's impressive. I do like the feel of Metzlers as well.

 

[Baggsy]

Interesting. I've got a Michelin Trail 4 on my front and a Road 5 on the rear.
In late September I'll be heading to Alabama and back, so I'll probably see how they wear on the way.

I had Avon Storms on a Connie 10+ years ago.
I imagine they've improved the formula since, then.
About halfway down, they started to feel like you were riding on wet newspapers when it rained.

 

[canw650]

i've got 12k and 2 track days on my pilot road 4 rear. Not even half way towards the wear bars, I'm on a street triple. Something strange in those tires for sure.

 

[jc100]

Only time I ever blistered my tires (Michelin pilot roads too!) was on an extremely hot day in New York State on some very very hot tarmac doing some elevated speeds for long periods without a cool down break. I don’t doubt that pushing it for a few days in hot weather is going to leave a fair bit of your tire on the road.

Tire preference is very personal and bike specific I find. I’ve had Metzlers that I got rid of well before they wore out because they felt down right dangerous in the wet. Also my current Anakee 3s treat any tar snakes like ice. I’m used to a bit of instability over them but this is levels more than I’ve had before. Not sure what to go for next.

 

[Trials]

Assuming this is true, how do you know which plant makes the "good" tires?

The tires I had the experience with were Pirelli trials block pattern radials, the product stamped 'Spain' were widely considered the tire of choice for competition at that time, the same product stamped 'USA' began to appear on the market and they were nowhere near the same soft rubber compound. The same model tires were being produced in multiple plants at that time.

Easy in-store tell of soft knobby tire rubber is just to grab one of the tread blocks and give it a squeeze&twist with your fingers. On street tires I do a 'key test' (push a car key into the thickest part of the rubber and observe how deeply it insets the rubber, very much like Brinell testing metal for hardness) Try that key test on a racing slick and you will easy see the difference for future comparison.

 

[basmn]

Trash the Michelin tires and try the bridgestone t31' s . transformed my FZ1 into a far better handling bike...great all weather tire and good mileage.

 

[ReSTored]

Trash the Michelin tires and try the bridgestone t31' s . transformed my FZ1 into a far better handling bike...great all weather tire and good mileage.

I really liked the T30 and T30 EVO, great handling, but lousy mileage at 7,500 km and 10,000 km respectively. I'm on a new set of Avon XM 3D (with GT rear) this season and about 5,000 km in I can tell this is going to be a 10,000 km ++ tire based on wear to date. Not as sticky a tire as the T30's and can slide a bit in tight turns, but very predictably.

I purchased a set of T31's for when the Avons wear out. What sort of mileage are you getting?

 

[Trials]

CSBK top riders go through ~20 radials in a season. :| just sayin

 

[Blacque Jacque Shellacque]

This is my fourth set. Never had less than 15k off a rear before.
Maybe I'll try the GT and see if that provides more life.

The fact that you had 4 tires previously with more than double the mileage leads me to believe there was something wrong with this tire. Maybe its worth saving the tire and writing a letter of complaint to Michelin? You never know, maybe they will give you a new tire. Only 7kkm on a P4 is absurd.

 

[J_F]

You are not getting 10k out of a tire at Deals Gap if you are doing it right. We put about 1500 km on in the area this past week. We have one rider on Road 5 tires who put noticeable wear on the edges. I finished wrecking a Q3+ front and mostly trashed a rear.

is there something about this tourist trap that makes it different?
900 km and your tires are done?

would rather go elsewhere
lots of interesting places to see
less tourists
and normal tire wear

 

[Hardwrkr13]

The Multistrada guys have favoured the Roads line and most have said the 4 was a letdown with cupping and crap mileage. They say the 5 is back to being excellent.

 

[jc100]

The Multistrada guys have favoured the Roads line and most have said the 4 was a letdown with cupping and crap mileage. They say the 5 is back to being excellent.

Heavy powerful bike though. V Stroms might be the same weight.

 

[Brian P]

is there something about this tourist trap that makes it different?
900 km and your tires are done?

would rather go elsewhere
lots of interesting places to see
less tourists
and normal tire wear

More time spent leaned way over. The H-D and touring riders wouldn't understand. Shane would ... I've seen him ride. The Q3+ tires that I was on had some mileage on them prior to this trip. Front was done in about 3000 km. Rear still has something left on it (haven't changed it yet) but it will be done soon.

I know people whose only street riding is in the Smoky Mountains area. For me, it's only about half. It's that good (for sport riders). Non-tourist-trap roads in the area are easily found; it's not ALL about Deals Gap (although for some riders, it is).

For a point of comparison, a set of Q3+ tires on my race bike lasts 4 weekends, about 1000 km, and that's a 40 hp bike (r3).

I have no use for droning along straight motorways on a motorcycle just to get somewhere and to put on mileage. If I have to do that (and I do, to get to either the track or to the mountains), the bike is in the van and I'm doing a straight-through overnight run to get it done.

 

[HarleyHare]

Got 40K on my original Bridgestone Trail Wings, and only 30K on my second set. I accelerate slowly that reduces torque and rubber being scuffed-off, then more aggressive in 3rd. Trail Wings are for a split of offroad and on, but I have another bike for offroad so never go offroad on my regular ride. Have switched to Bridgestone A41 which is a new formula and more of a road tire and is dual compound with the centre made of a harder compound for wear resistance and the sides a softer compound for grip in cornering. Will find out eventually if the switch was worth it.

 

[MacDoc]

Seems all the brands are coming with variable compound across the tread to improve longevity but retain grip.

RoadSmart 3 are now on the front of the CB500x due to a nail in the OEM and rear is due for a change due to wear at 13k km tho I might continue with the existing tire ...squared off does not bother me as not riding hard at all.

The Avon Storm 3d offers some 20% better mileage due to compound and design over previous Storm designs. I was considering a full set but since I have the Road Smart already on the front.....

The Dunlop seem to offer a similiar upgrade for RoadSmart 3 in terms of wear,

Speaking of testing, and considering how the Roadsmart III’s apparent claim to fame lies with the consistent handling over time, Dunlop relied on data acquisition from extensive tests using a control rider and Roadsmart III tires at various levels of use. Telemetry systems on their BMW R1200RT relayed the vitals over to the developers, and they were able to track a visualized margin of variance among tires that were either brand new, 3,000, or 5,000 miles along in their lifespan. Grip, lean angle, corner entry speed, slippage and corner exit speed were among the key aspects focused on by the team of developers, and a high rate of consistency was observed.

Dunlop also provided the Roadsmart III tires to an independent testing agency in Texas, and the resulting information after testing with a BMW R1200RT projected a hypothetical 12,500 mile lifespan on the rear tire, while the front showed a projected lifespan of 20,000 miles. This was gathered by analyzing the tires after 5,000 miles of use, using formulas to gauge the probable life expectancy. Which is to say that the tires haven’t been tested to that mileage, only projected to last that long. There’s a difference there, and 20,000 miles is a lot, even for a front tire.

Now that bike is 140 lb heavier than the CB500x so I'm hoping for a long run with them

Dunlop Roadsmart III Motorcycle Tire Review

 

[J_F]

More time spent leaned way over. The H-D and touring riders wouldn't understand. Shane would ... I've seen him ride. The Q3+ tires that I was on had some mileage on them prior to this trip. Front was done in about 3000 km. Rear still has something left on it (haven't changed it yet) but it will be done soon.

I know people whose only street riding is in the Smoky Mountains area. For me, it's only about half. It's that good (for sport riders). Non-tourist-trap roads in the area are easily found; it's not ALL about Deals Gap (although for some riders, it is).

For a point of comparison, a set of Q3+ tires on my race bike lasts 4 weekends, about 1000 km, and that's a 40 hp bike (r3).

I have no use for droning along straight motorways on a motorcycle just to get somewhere and to put on mileage. If I have to do that (and I do, to get to either the track or to the mountains), the bike is in the van and I'm doing a straight-through overnight run to get it done.

not going to argue any of that
you and others do what you do
to each their own......

don't like to tour?
cool

***** because you you get no miles on your tires?
meh........

 

[Lakota]

The fact that you had 4 tires previously with more than double the mileage leads me to believe there was something wrong with this tire. Maybe its worth saving the tire and writing a letter of complaint to Michelin? You never know, maybe they will give you a new tire. Only 7kkm on a P4 is absurd.

I agree with this thought process.

If it is any help here is pics of my front and rear PR4GT's with exactly 10,210km (all Trans-Canada highway @ 20-30km+ and a week of running around city of Edmonton) they are square, but lots of tread left.

 

[GreyGhost]

I agree with this thought process.

If it is any help here is pics of my front and rear PR4GT's with exactly 10,210km (all Trans-Canada highway @ 20-30km+ and a week of running around city of Edmonton) they are square, but lots of tread left.

Images didn't work. Just shows two minus signs instead of your tires.

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