I love my Michelin PR3s...

[Biggles]

Well, don't keep it all to yourself

Well, let's all in on it

Let's just say I was able to watch him disappearing into the distance up through the twisties.   

[BigTed]

Not much left now... but hey - winter's nearly over so maybe I can run them as slicks for a while and see out the summer. 

There is quite a bit of cupping, but I think that's largely due to me forgetting to check the pressures: they got down to 37, now back to 44 psi.

Front – 120/70ZR18 @ 34,050 km


Rear – 170/60ZR17 @ 31,961 km

[Wild Rose]

How good is that, Getting a set Pilot Road 4 GT in about a month, I hope they do this good
I will get only 18,000km out of the OEM Bridgestone

[Biggles]

18,000 is actually pretty good for Bridgestones.
Plenty of riders report less.

But you won't regret the PR4s.  And I think the money is about the same.

[Davoxt]

Hi

Just got home from my 16,000km round trip, I had a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3 fitted just before I left.

I have done east- west four times now 3 on my DL1000 other on my ST1300 but I know 16,000km is nothing to sneeze at Its just I never seen so much uneven wear on one side of the rear tyre before.

Is this normal for a shaft drive bike or just normal for PR3's.

[Streak]

Hi

Just got home from my 16,000km round trip, I had a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3 fitted just before I left.

I have done east- west four times now 3 on my DL1000 other on my ST1300 but I know 16,000km is nothing to sneeze at Its just I never seen so much uneven wear on one side of the rear tyre before.

Is this normal for a shaft drive bike or just normal for PR3's.

i would say neither to be honest Davo, unless you have spent the whole trip leaning to one side!

[nate]

Lots of driving around Canberra's roundabouts??

[Brock]

Long hours on the bike, combined with road camber, maybe slightly under inflated and a strong is sidewind thrown in maybe...

[DBfive]

I've been following this discussion for a while and was all set to get a set of PR4's but apparently none in Australia and dealers have no idea when stock will be arriving.  Given that rear is down to wear marks I thought I'd check out Jake Wilson but came across this in the fine print:

Please note:

    Items that include, but are not limited to: Chemicals, Batteries, Attack Graphics, Oversized and Heavy items such as: Tires, Fenders, Full Chassis Skid Plates, Loading Ramps, Nerf Bars, Bumpers, Trunks, Snowplows, etc. are excluded from international shipping.
    Also, certain brands or product lines cannot be shipped internationally due to vendor restrictions.

[/i]

Has anyone been able to source tyres from USA recently (I notice Saaz got some a while ago)?

Any comments/guidance greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[Williamson]

....... I thought I'd check out Jake Wilson but came across this in the fine print ...... Tires....are excluded from international shipping.

I got my tyres from Jake Wilson, no problems with shipping, only took a couple of days from US to Melbourne.

[DBfive]

Cool - thanks Michael,  Was that fairly recent?

Must be in there to ward off lawyers and irate local dealers.

Cheers 

[BigTed]

I got mine from Jake's mid-June - took 6 days.

[Williamson]

Cool - thanks Michael,  Was that fairly recent?

Must be in there to ward off lawyers and irate local dealers.

Cheers 

July 2014, just checked my records, delivery was five days.

[alans1100]

....... I thought I'd check out Jake Wilson but came across this in the fine print ...... Tires....are excluded from international shipping.

I got my tyres from Jake Wilson, no problems with shipping, only took a couple of days from US to Melbourne.

Ordered on the 20th June and delivered to my door on 26th June and that was my third set from them.

[alans1100]

Cool - thanks Michael,  Was that fairly recent?

Must be in there to ward off lawyers and irate local dealers.

Cheers 

More likely it's our local wholesalers supported by some tyre companies. I did read something about this a year or two ago where some tyre companies look at where their profits come from on a regional basis and others look at a global level and don't care to much where the tyre is sold and to who (free market???).

[DBfive]

Thanks for that - that's actually better than some interstate deliveries!  Anyway, we'll see if they can find Capella!

Cheers

[BigTed]

This will be my last update for the PR3s – wear bars have just started showing in some places both front and rear. Interestingly, the right side of both seem to wear the fastest. People say it’s the camber in the road, but I’m surprised it would make that much of a difference. Also, if you look closely, you can see what appears to be join in the lamination of both halves of the tyre.

As usual most probably due to my riding style, I can't really say I've noticed anything different in handling.

I'm fitting the front PR4 next weekend, and the rear probably the weekend after that.

Front – Michelin PR3 120/70ZR18 @ 37,000 km


Rear – Michelin PR3 170/60ZR17 @ 34,900 km

[Biggles]

People say it’s the camber in the road, but I’m surprised it would make that much of a difference.

That's phenomenal mileage, Ted!  Can only envy it.  I'm happy with 2/3 of that.

Regarding the uneven wear issue, my preferred theory is that riding on the left side of the road, it's further around RH corners than it is around left, therefore we're leaned over to the right longer.  It's not much taken as a percentage of the tyre's travel, but it's enough to make the difference.  The 2^o of road camber isn't enough to do the deed across 30^o of tyre profile.

[StinkyPete]

This will be my last update for the PR3s

Big Ted, 35,000km is truly remarkable.  I was pretty pleased with my own 22,000 from a set of PR3's, and I think Diesel managed around 27,000km.  There may be lessons to be learned here for all of us.    What pressures do you use, and to what do you attribute your long tyre life?

[BigTed]

Thanks Biggles & Pete,

44psi both front & rear. However, I don't check the pressures as often as I should (only every 3-4 weeks) - I usually have to put about  3 pounds in the front & about 6 in the back.

Looking at one of my previous photos there appeared to be a little object in the rear that may have caused that.

However, I'm convinced it's my riding style that had greatest effect. I'm a bank manager's son at heart & therefore a tight-fisted w***er through 'n through... I rarely fang it through the corners, always gentle on the throttle, & stick to the speed limits. I also never go 2-up.

Of course, it might be that I'm just lucky - hopefully I'll get the same or better from the PR4s.
Rob.

[Wild Rose]

That is truly amazing
Looking forward to seeing what u get out of the PR4's 

[Couch]

It's not necessary to ride hard and fast to enjoy riding a bike. The mileage that you're getting out of your tyres is truely amazing, I've recently fitted PR2s to my bike and as yet have only travelled a couple of hundred kms but so far they feel great. The only reason I fitted PR2s is because I purchased them a couple of years ago before PR3s came out from Jake Wilson in the US and I've had them sitting in my garage since then. I previously had Dunlops and was happy with them as far as handling goes, but I never came anywhere near what you've been able to attain. I try to keep my tyre pressure at 42 psi but occasionly I'll ride with a couple of pounds less pressure, simply because I've been a little slack in checking the pressure, but I've never ridden with less than 39 psi. 

I rarely fang it through the corners, always gentle on the throttle, & stick to the speed limits. I also never go 2-up.

[HunterTodd]

I have a set of PR3s with about 5000 kays on them. A guy who would supposedly know was looking at them and said I had cold tearing on the edges.  He said I should run the tyres at lower pressure to heat them up more.

I have been running them 42 front and rear like the manual says and I don't ride particularly hard,  although just prior him seeing them I had a bit of a fang, well a lot of a fang through some of my favourite half dozen corners near home.

I know the tyre pressure thing has been done to death but would a half dozen high speed corners do that?

[Brock]

Pictures might help, I havent heard the term before.

If it looks like this, then I would think that the tyre is under inflated and overheating. I have seen tyres like this after guys have been to a trackday.

[alans1100]

a half dozen high speed corners do that?

That's the softest part of the tread and I've had some BT 23 rears do that within the last 1000 km of the tyre's life. Taking 85 k/h bends at 100/110 k/h did that for me on at least two of them.

Pressure may have been down a little and tyre got to hot and the rubber just melted off while gripping in the bends might be a better reason.