PR4 Disappiontment...

[Warren]

Not to beat a dead horse (but I will!), I have had excellent mileage from the Dunlop Roadsmart 2's.... I'm just sayin'

Mike

When my current set of PR3's wear out I think I am going to give the Roadsmart 2's a try. They are considerably less expensive then the PR3 or PR4's and both David (Woodaddict) and Mike seem to have have gotten good mileage with the Dunlops. For example from Revzilla a set of PR4's will cost you $333.65 while the Roadsmart 2's will cost $262.95, a 20% savings.

 

[mikesim]

When my current set of PR3's wear out I think I am going to give the Roadsmart 2's a try. They are considerably less expensive then the PR3 or PR4's and both David (Woodaddict) and Mike seem to have have gotten good mileage with the Dunlops. For example from Revzilla a set of PR4's will cost you $333.65 while the Roadsmart 2's will cost $262.95, a 20% savings.

Good luck with the Dunlop's, Warren. I hope you will be as happy with 'em as I am.

Mike

 

[Miairhead]

http://mototirereviews.com/sport-touring-motorcycle-tire-reviews/

 

[Miairhead]

Anyone wants to be guinea pig

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NANKANG-ROADIAC-Motorcycle-Tire-Set-Front-120-70R17-Rear-150-70R17-201x301-/171843067819?hash=item2802a51fab&vxp=mtr

 

[junglejim]

My Bridgestone T30s were only $155 for the set (after rebate).
Economical? YES
Good tire - Questionable

They rode a little harsh at first, but after scrub-in they warmed up and performed normally (for a new tire).
Now after about 6,500 miles they are squared off and don't hold a good line in corners. Neither do the premium tires, but these are worse.
I'll probably buy something else next time. Probably not Nankang either.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Having returned from Reno, I am doing major maintenance next Spring before touring season...valves, coolant, brake fluid, yada yada yada...
My PR3's have 15,300 on them. The front is cupped in an odd manner but the tire tracks true and has lots of wear on it to go. The back is ready to be replaced so not being able to get our size in the PR4 GTs I am still getting the regular PR4s. Don't know if the smallest PR4 GT would fit in the NT or not but am not going to chance it. I ordered the Standard PR4s. With 21,000 on the odometer, the new tires should last me for awhile.... I am happy with getting 15K out of the Michelins. My standard touring load is 80-100 lbs (which went up a bit coming home from Reno as it appears the Grocery Outlet in Stead likes to sell booze dirt cheep....) I weigh 165 dry weight.

 

[Macka]

I have posted on this subject previously but thought that I would put in an update.
I have just returned from a Rally which involved about 2oookm of highway travel.
Up until departure the tyres had about 7oookm on them. The front was looking about 1/2 worn and the rear was looking a little better but was just starting to show some "squaring off".
After a further 2oookm of highway the rear is looking very square at 9oookm. There has been a dramatic change in just a few days.
This rear tyre, at 9oookm, looks like my previous Pilot Activ did at 20ooo+km. I replaced them at 27oookm but they still had 3-5oookm left in them.
Added to the noise factor which I have mentioned previously this is a major disappointment.
I will not buy PR4s again and will probably go back to the Pilot Activs if I can still get them. They were much cheaper too.
Bike tyres are very expensive in Oz so it is helpfull to get good distance out of them.

Macka

 

[Warren]

I am curious. When reporting how many miles you (list members) are getting on your tires are you figuring that down to the wear bars or are you going further than that. I have seen some pictures posted here that make it appear that some of you are running them until the groves are all but gone.

 

[Comanche]

I am curious. When reporting how many miles you (list members) are getting on your tires are you figuring that down to the wear bars or are you going further than that. I have seen some pictures posted here that make it appear that some of you are running them until the groves are all but gone.

For me, I replace at the wear bars.

 

[Miairhead]

I've never gone to wear bars, usually because I have a trip coming up and look at wear. If I think they won't get 3K or so I replace before a trip. I can not remember not doing that on tire replacement. I never want to be away from home and need to replace tires, Paranoid I guess. I always hope for 10K on tires, but the 84 never gets anywhere near that amount, just to narrow, (6-8K).

 

[Pick]

I put Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact tires on my NT a couple years ago. They were expensive, but they are providing great treadwear and handle beautifully, wet or dry. That would be my recommendation. Not sure how many miles I have on them (not nearly as many as I'd like, of course), but I'd bet it's close to 10,000. I'll have to check when I get home tonight.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Excellent question....everyone says "look for the Mich. man and he is pointing to the wear bars....I will take pics of mine tomarrow when it is light but if that is true, My front PR3 is far from the wear bars at 15k, but the rear is hard to perceive exactly where the tires are due to the odd cupping and wear patterns...but I would say the rear is at the top of the bars...as far as the bars in the center at least. There seem to be bars on the sides and in the center....

When I get my new PR4s, I will document exactly where the bars are and how deep they are and put that in my maintenance log.....had I thought these tires dangerous I would have never taken them to Reno....and perhaps the rear would have been sub standard in the rain, .....but out west, rain seems to be hard to come by.....but if it did, I would have slowed down....pics tomarrow... here are the PR3s when new....
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/CoyoteChris303/media/motorcycles/nt1.jpg.html?sort=3&o=13
Rear at 8,000.....note wear bar....
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/CoyoteChris303/media/NT misc/cup1_zpsd0fbbad3.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
Note two different wear bars.....at 8k
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/CoyoteChris303/media/NT misc/cup2_zps6d832488.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

I am curious. When reporting how many miles you (list members) are getting on your tires are you figuring that down to the wear bars or are you going further than that. I have seen some pictures posted here that make it appear that some of you are running them until the groves are all but gone.

 

[Pick]

OK, I checked and I have about 9500 miles on my Metzelers. The front still looks great, but the rear looks like it is about two-thirds gone. I guess I hadn't looked at them for a while. Still, that's way better than the 8,000 that I got out of the original tires. I'm still happy with them. What's the most mileage anybody got out of a set of tires, and what were they?

 

[Coyote Chris]

OK, got my new PR4s today....all wear bar depths are on unmounted tires and measured with a digital depth gage. Note the front tires have only wear bars in one place on the circumference. The rear have three places.
I could be wrong but that is what I saw....The PR3s clearly need replacing but IMHO were not dangerous to ride at 15k miles. Miles were by far highway miles, most at 55 mph to 75, with a few at 80 mph. I don't use the
brakes much on my cars or bikes....

 

[Macka]

Re: Disappiontment...

I have only about 5000km (3200 miles) on my PR4s and I am not overly happy with them.
The grip level seems to be OK although I have had it feel "vague" a couple of times on fast wet bends.
The rear tyre is noticeably "squared off" already. The front one seems to be wearing evenly but has already lost nearly 1mm of thread.
I always run them 2-3psi above the Honda recommended figures.
The main problem I have with them though is the noise factor. As they wear they are becoming very noisy. Many of our road surfaces in Southern OZ use "course-mix" bitumen and the surface is very aggressive on tyres. On a smooth surface they are very quiet but on a coarse surface they "rumble" quite loudly. It is clearly audible above my music and wind noise.
The first time I noticed it I thought that one of the pannier lids might not have been closed properly. It is that hollow, plastic, rattling type of sound.
I suspected all sorts of other possible causes and it took a few rides to track it down to the tyres.
The old tyres that came off were Michelin Pilot Active and although I was never confident in the wet they did 27,000 km (17,000 miles) with still about 2-3,000 km left and they were absolutely quiet.
I chose the PR4s to get the best possible wet grip but at this stage I am not sure that I would buy them again next time.

Macka

UPDATE:
I now have 11,2ookm on the PR4s.
The front tyre is looking quite good with even wear and it is holding its shape. It is about 40-45% worn so it appears that it might go to 25-26,oookm before replacement is needed.
The rear tyre is now very noticeably "squared off" but is still only about 45% worn. Tread wise it looks like it might go to perhaps 23,oookm but I doubt that it will still be there then as it would be VERY square. At this stage I cannot feel any effect from the change of shape.

Macka

 

[junglejim]

Re: Disappiontment...

At this stage I cannot feel any effect from the change of shape.

Ya, I thought the Michelins were more supple and rode better that other tires I've had in the last half of their life (with the possible exception of Avon Storms).
But now I have the Bridgestone T30s and they transmit the square shoulder effect a lot more than the Michelins. They rode more harshly when new, but seemed to soften up with use (or I just got used to them). The T30s were quite a bit stiffer when I installed them.

 

[Chuck 500]

For what it's worth, I am on the second rear T-30. First picked up a piece of metal that threatened to puncture. I like them. They seem to wear much better than the BT-30s I had before. No cupping on the front tire. I tend to get a lot of miles from the Bridgestones.

 

[Warren]

Chuck, did you mean better than the BT-023s that you had before ?

 

[Warren]

They look pretty good to me. You must have smooth roads.

 

[Phil Tarman]

You are a cruel and tacky person. :-(

I sure wish I had gotten that much wear out of my PR4s. The Bridgestone T-30s are doing pretty well at over 8,000 miles. Much, much better than the last set of PR4s which were burnt toast at 8K.