Michelin Road Pilot 3 Tyres

[zevk]

I just spent 3 hours at Peter Stevens Ringwood, $600 later   ,  I now have a pair of new “Michelin Road Pilot 3” 
 
I even surprised myself and had the foresight, to request the install of 90 degree valve stems ($30) instead of the original, short, vertical stems were very painful to get at  .
 
The ride is now smooth, solid and the bike leans into turns with much less effort as the original rear was squared and the front was scalloped on the left side.
 
(I did get 22,000 km from the pair, which, for such a heavy bike tipping scales at 300 kg, is truly outstanding)   
 
Their workshop is spacious, modern and clean. My only gripe was the "mechanic” never at any stage (I watched thru the observation deck) used a torque wrench on reassembly of components! 
 
When I returned home, I torqued all the axle pinch bolts, front / rear main axle bolts with my torque wrench and of course they were all VERY loose and off spec...

pix attached

[Brock]

How accurate is your torque wrench????

I tested a new one for a friend, and it was way off and couldnt be adjusted into spec...

[Marcus]

Nice one. That was a good amount of km's out of the old ones.

From memory there is a tire place in Geelong which give us 10% discount

I think it's listed here somewhere

[zevk]

hi brock, its a good quality tool, not china made and brand new so I expect it to give accurate readings, the fact that NO torque wrench was used is my point that dealer mechanics often cut corners...

[Cerebral Knievel]

Nice one. That was a good amount of km's out of the old ones.

From memory there is a tire place in Geelong which give us 10% discount

I think it's listed here somewhere

Tyres for Bikes 

[Sicman]

What pressure were you running the rear tire on? The pic seems to show uneven edges around the tread grooves

Cheers

 

[zevk]

42 front and rear.
I questioned the tyre tech about that and he reports that the front tyre on all bikes get scalloped due to the road camber. Considering both over 20k still not bad. the bike handles sooo much better with a new set of rubbers

[Sicman]

I found lots better road holding moving from Bt 20's to PR3's. I was running 42 front and back and found the same uneven wear on the rear trailing groove edges which made me think that 42 is not enough when adding weight of top box and gear, gear in panniers and weight of pillion, and towing camper trailer so I have upped it 46 rear now.

[STeveo]

I have Dunlop road smart 2 and run 50psi in rear with passenger and luggage, 38 front. Seems much more stable.

 

[Odyssey Rider]

I found lots better road holding moving from Bt 20's to PR3's. I was running 42 front and back and found the same uneven wear on the rear trailing groove edges which made me think that 42 is not enough when adding weight of top box and gear, gear in panniers and weight of pillion, and towing camper trailer so I have upped it 46 rear now.

just did 8,000k on a pilot 3 with 3,000 already on them 2up and trailer the edges were scrubbing badly, kept adding PSI until i got to 48, seem to bo ok from then on but the damage was already done.... undecided weather to try another at 48  straight up or go to the pilot 2. the etra grip they promise is probably coming from to soft a compound on the sides?... at 12k i think the pilot 3 is as good as done. the p2 on the front went ok.  When the p3 does wear you get a very stepped wear edge across the grooves which looks pretty dodgy, wouldn't be good for stability if you were counting on it. will try to put a pic up at some point.

[Cerebral Knievel]

I am replacing the PR3 that came with my bike when purchased in late February with a new one tomorrow from tyres for bikes.
The front was new when purchased/still in good nic now , the rear had ? km on it - now with an extra 17k .
Reasonably shot - was flattened after middleton , now balding on the right side & getting holey after Biloela.
 

[youngSTer]

Hi Silver Fox, have you got cruise control fitted? If so make sure Tyres for Bikes don't bend the sensor bracket on the rear wheel as they have to two other members.

[Cerebral Knievel]

Hi YoungSTer , no cruise control, but i will be making sure the 90° valve stems are still there after the new tyre is fitted   

[jwm]

I've been giving some thought to tyres the last day or so. Not much left on the Metzler Z6 which is on the front of the bike and as a tyre, I don't have much faith in them anyway. There's a brand new Metzler Marathon on the back and while I'm sure they would be a good durable tyre, I'm not sure about their grip levels.
I've been running PR2's or Pr3's on the FJR for years now and had a lot of faith in them and found them good in the dry and wet and long wearing. They are my preferred tyre.
So, I'm just wondering if I should bite the bullet and throw a set of PR3's on the new lady in my life and be done with it. At least I would have peace of mind, although I would also have a diminished bank balance.

[youngSTer]

Hi, For what it is worth my local Honda Dealer has said that Pirelle Angel's are the best for an ST and they have the right weight capacity.

Also Dicko has just purchased his second set after getting 30,000 out of his first set.

[Biggles]

I got 24,198 kays out of my last pair of PR3s.
$440 fitted and balanced in north Brisbane.