Michelin Pilot Road 3s...I joined the club

[Cormanus]

Loathe as I am to mention the earlier Pirelli Angel discussion (see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8570]here), to the best of my understanding there was no single event that caused the wear. It was simply that, once the tyre got near the end of it's life, the wear was a great deal more rapid than expected. The last part of its life was on straight roads and it copped most of its wear in the centre. And boy did it go fast.

It happened to me with a BT45 a couple of years ago. I hoped to get one last trip out of it but had to change it less than half way through. It happened to Pterodactyl's rental bike in the US last year: the rear tyre was old-ish but OK when we picked the bike up; by the day after the rally it was getting unsafe to ride on.

FlynRider, Pterodactyl, Ulvetanna, kmoney and others are right about this: if you have a tyre getting to the end of it's life before the start of a trip, change it before you go or be ready to change it on the way. As Pterodactyl reported, tyres for the CB1100 are not all that easy to find in remote places and it can upset ride plans to have to lose a day or two while you wait for a tyre to be shipped from somewhere.

[emptysea]

Good points, all, Ulvet, but I haven't seen anyone on this forum encouraging others to squeeze every mile out of their tires. I have only seen members state how many miles they got out of their own tires as a source for comparison to others. Those posts probably ought to also mention that no rider should use another's mileage as a gauge for replacing their own tires...they should use a gauge to gauge this.

Personally, I replace front and rear as soon as one or the other is nearing end of life. Doing it this way gives me at least one more potential riding day in my short season and assures that I have good tread at all times.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

My front PR3 just turned 10K miles. Looks like it'll make it to 12K or more.



My main complaint with the OEM BT-54 was that the front was bald at 6K miles. This is a definite improvement!

I have between 7K and 8K on my current set with a 4000 road trip coming up in 3 weeks. I think they would make the trip if I pushed it but I'd also hate to be wrong. I should go take some tread depth measurements and try to calculate how much useful life is really left.

I could also have the new set shipped to my hotel in Nebraska and install them half way through the trip.

I know how you feel. I started a long road trip years ago with a rear tire that was a bit iffy. It seemed to me like it had enough to make the trip, so I went with it. On the road, I found that the tread starts to disappear faster towards the end of the tire's life. Long story short, I wasted a day of vacation riding around the middle of nowhere trying to find a replacement tire (and someone who would actually install it).

That experience left me very leery of starting a big trip without knowing for sure that the tires had enough tread to make it. Especially a trip that will be primarily across sparsely populated areas.

I'm still on my first set of PR3s, but I know that my original BT-54 front tire went from just barely showing wear bars, to completely bald in less than 1K miles. It'll probably take a set or two to get a good feel for the kind of mileage I can count on from the PR3s.

+1 and well-said.

The single most important system on a motorcycle is the tire/pavement interface. Second most important is the brakes.

Tire wear out exponentially, much more quickly toward the end of their life because of the rapid buildup of heat.

I understand the idea of not wanting to spend money on new rubber if one can get a few more safe miles out of a tire, but this is a system that is not convenient; oil changes and other kinds of maintenance can be done near the due date, but to keep tire performance optimal, often we will need to change the tire sometime before it's reached the end of its useful life.

The way to find out just when the tire has reached this "end-of-life" is not to arrange for the rider to reach his/hers concurrently.

I"ve read several threads quite recently where every nearly every response is to encourage forum members to squeeze every last kilometer out of the tires. Few, other than Flynrider's above, stated that prudence is the better course.

Don't run the tires past the wear bars. Keep them at recommended pressures. Your tires and brakes are your life. They allow you to stop, turn, and go safely. Replace them before they wear out.

I take it several threads means more than one or two. Would you mind providing a link or two?

Cheers

[CIP57_imp]

My front PR3 just turned 10K miles. Looks like it'll make it to 12K or more.



My main complaint with the OEM BT-54 was that the front was bald at 6K miles. This is a definite improvement!

I have between 7K and 8K on my current set with a 4000 road trip coming up in 3 weeks. I think they would make the trip if I pushed it but I'd also hate to be wrong. I should go take some tread depth measurements and try to calculate how much useful life is really left.

I could also have the new set shipped to my hotel in Nebraska and install them half way through the trip.

I know how you feel. I started a long road trip years ago with a rear tire that was a bit iffy. It seemed to me like it had enough to make the trip, so I went with it. On the road, I found that the tread starts to disappear faster towards the end of the tire's life. Long story short, I wasted a day of vacation riding around the middle of nowhere trying to find a replacement tire (and someone who would actually install it).

That experience left me very leery of starting a big trip without knowing for sure that the tires had enough tread to make it. Especially a trip that will be primarily across sparsely populated areas.

I'm still on my first set of PR3s, but I know that my original BT-54 front tire went from just barely showing wear bars, to completely bald in less than 1K miles. It'll probably take a set or two to get a good feel for the kind of mileage I can count on from the PR3s.

+1 and well-said.

The single most important system on a motorcycle is the tire/pavement interface. Second most important is the brakes.

Tire wear out exponentially, much more quickly toward the end of their life because of the rapid buildup of heat.

I understand the idea of not wanting to spend money on new rubber if one can get a few more safe miles out of a tire, but this is a system that is not convenient; oil changes and other kinds of maintenance can be done near the due date, but to keep tire performance optimal, often we will need to change the tire sometime before it's reached the end of its useful life.

The way to find out just when the tire has reached this "end-of-life" is not to arrange for the rider to reach his/hers concurrently.

I"ve read several threads quite recently where every nearly every response is to encourage forum members to squeeze every last kilometer out of the tires. Few, other than Flynrider's above, stated that prudence is the better course.

Don't run the tires past the wear bars. Keep them at recommended pressures. Your tires and brakes are your life. They allow you to stop, turn, and go safely. Replace them before they wear out.

+1 and well-said.

The single most important system on a motorcycle is the tire/pavement interface. Second most important is the brakes.

Tire wear out exponentially, much more quickly toward the end of their life because of the rapid buildup of heat.

I understand the idea of not wanting to spend money on new rubber if one can get a few more safe miles out of a tire, but this is a system that is not convenient; oil changes and other kinds of maintenance can be done near the due date, but to keep tire performance optimal, often we will need to change the tire sometime before it's reached the end of its useful life.

The way to find out just when the tire has reached this "end-of-life" is not to arrange for the rider to reach his/hers concurrently.

I"ve read several threads quite recently where every nearly every response is to encourage forum members to squeeze every last kilometer out of the tires. Few, other than Flynrider's above, stated that prudence is the better course.

Don't run the tires past the wear bars. Keep them at recommended pressures. Your tires and brakes are your life. They allow you to stop, turn, and go safely. Replace them before they wear out. =

1 & 2

Just because tires are not to the wear bars doesn't mean there not due for replacement. Tires usually get cupped around 5K which means less rubber is in contact with the pavement. Riders should keep a close eye on tires after that mark. Running your hand back and forth on the tire will show low and high spots. Tires should also be changed in pairs, if one is shot so is the other. I mount tires that wear @ 5-6K which is usually a season for me. Replacing both tires usually runs about $300.00 if you dismount yourself, cheap insurance and confidence knowing your on good rubber.

[kennyw]

A riding season for me is 30-40K miles. Basically year round commuting. I have no problem running my tires as long as they are still safe. I also have no problem replacing them a little early for a long trip. Part of me just doesn't like seeing that unused safe tread go to waste. But I'm not going to risk my life over it.

[kennyw]

I forgot to record the mileage on my bike when I installed the current set 9 months ago. Looking through old posts I know I have at least 10K miles on them (I'm at 26K miles today, tires were installed October 17 with an estimated 14K miles). Probably closer to 12K miles on these. They would easily go a little longer but it's time to replace.

[bflint]

Joining the Michelin Pilot Road 3 owners today. Front 110/80ZR18, Rear 160/60ZR18.
These are my first cb1100dx tire replacements at 5200 on odometer. Front was past wear marks. Rear was still ok, but I generally replace/upgrade in sets. Thanks to all the arrow-takers on this forum who ferret out the good from the bad

[rboe]

I ordered my pair yesterday.

[rboe]

Well that was weird. My rear tire just showed up ( I don't think I request expedited service). But I really need the front tire. Ordered from Bike Bandit.

[Ron in MO_imp]

Caught a nail in my rear tire last week, so replaced the OEM tire with a new Michelin Pilot Road 3 in the 160/60R-18 size. Put 100 break in miles on it this morning and it felt so good I was really leaning it into the curves. I was surprised when I got back home to see I still had another inch of rubber to scrub in.

Funny how you can feel like a road racer only to see that you are only scratching the surface. Front replacement tire to match the PR3 rear is on order. I'm hoping it makes as big a difference as the new rear tire did!

[url=http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/ronsteinbruegge1/media/4B2B1D48-088A-4BDE-B979-C2F1168414A4_zpsgrdrrjgn.jpg.html]