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

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Love my PR3's. If you can use more than 1/2" more I will really be impressed lol
 
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Being a 160 it's got a wider profile. In order to get to the edge on that tire you have to be really cranked over. I haven't been able to do it. I think Pterodactyl has though.
 
Got to test ride the RP3's this morning - oh man on corners they gave me a scare. They kinda drop in and unlike the stock tires it takes a wee bit of effort to get back up again. Weird. Will take a bit to get used to them. Not as flickable as the stock units because of the added input to get right again; but initial turn in effort is much smaller than the stock tires.

I found my self dropping into a much sharper turn than expected or wanted and a few times I just held on and let her track through otherwise I was trying to dial her back which was too much and had to drop her back in again - oiy! Have not had a tire do this before. Gonna be a learning curve with these.
 
I replaced my worn out stock Dunlops with PR3s this Satuday. The 2 things that I have noticed the most so far are; stable lines in the corners, and the little shimmy the Dunlops gave me every time I got on a snake is now almost nonexistent.

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Rboe_imp said:
Got to test ride the RP3's this morning - oh man on corners they gave me a scare. They kinda drop in and unlike the stock tires it takes a wee bit of effort to get back up again. Weird. Will take a bit to get used to them. Not as flickable as the stock units because of the added input to get right again; but initial turn in effort is much smaller than the stock tires.

I found my self dropping into a much sharper turn than expected or wanted and a few times I just held on and let her track through otherwise I was trying to dial her back which was too much and had to drop her back in again - oiy! Have not had a tire do this before. Gonna be a learning curve with these.
And that's why I stuck with the stock sizes. I had a '99 Nighthawk 750 years ago and I put a 150 on the rear instead of a stock size 140 and experienced the same thing. The taller rear tire made it "drop into" turns with very little input on the handlebars. I can't imagine what a 160 would do. To each his own...
 
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That's interesting because none of the rest of us, and there are quite a few of us that have made the transition to the Michelins, have had this experience. I ride just about nothing but curves on my local roads and for me they are very natural going into turns, and in transitions from right to left and back to right again, never a scary moment.
 
Rboe_imp said:
Got to test ride the RP3's this morning - oh man on corners they gave me a scare. They kinda drop in and unlike the stock tires it takes a wee bit of effort to get back up again. Weird. Will take a bit to get used to them. Not as flickable as the stock units because of the added input to get right again; but initial turn in effort is much smaller than the stock tires.

I found my self dropping into a much sharper turn than expected or wanted and a few times I just held on and let her track through otherwise I was trying to dial her back which was too much and had to drop her back in again - oiy! Have not had a tire do this before. Gonna be a learning curve with these.
The rear ride height is taller because of the rim being too narrow to really quite accommodate the 160. You could try to drop the suspension to the next softer setting but the stock shocks are pretty flaccid, I don't know what that would be like for your setup as far as stability.

You could also increase the preload on the front end and leave the shocks alone; this bike is really responsive to that, but then the overall ride height would be taller.

That's the issue with one tire being a width mismatch; it puts the contact patch farther off center when you lean the bike. Modern bikes are designed to accommodate this with the very wide tires used but still feel very different than the narrower tires on the CB1100 and take a different kind of technique and feel.

I just do not like mismatched sizes, and am glad that now after three years I can get the right sizes in a good tire.

As far as getting to the edge of any given tire, the only tire that can be "edged" is a stock 140/70, as the bike starts to scrape pegs well before a 150 or 160 can ever be touched near the edge. There really should be no concerns about that for the vast majority of riders.
 
justarida_imp said:
Wear bars are showing on my Bridgstones. I been following this thread thinking I want to go with a new set of PR3's. Call up dealer get a price on the tires. Good price 135.00 for the front 168.00 for the rear. Then I tell them what bike I'm putting them on. Service Manager says no way. They refuse to put the 160 on the rear. Safety and Liability reasons. I know I can go somewhere else. My point is that dealers want to make money and for a dealer to send me somewhere else for this reason leads me to believe there may be validity in their reasoning. Comments from the CB1100 community? (I have been doing business with this dealer for a long time and have a good relationship with them).
Sounds like that guy knows his stuff. You mean he did not put them on and recommend cutting the bike or sanding some rubber off to make it fit? No?

Glad you have a competent Service Manager. If it were me, and it is in a sense, I say stay with that dealer.
 
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we had one member grind some of the inside foot off his center stand, even though it wasn't necessary, and no one has sanded rubber off lol

personally I don't care what anyone else runs on their bike, but there are enough of us running the 160 Michelins without any issues that it shouldn't be a concern for anybody. If you do have any concerns you can always go to your dealer and order stock tires in stock sizes by oem part number. No biggie.
 
That's simply the opinion of that dealer. My Honda dealer had no problem ordering the PR3's and I went up on the front also with a 120. Absolutely no issues with these tires on the CB and after 6000 miles they still look new with no cupping or unusual wear on front or rear. There is generous clearance and, because of the different aspect ratio, the actual diameter of the tires is within a couple of millimeters of the OE tires thus not significantly affecting the speedo or trip meters.
 
So, you talked me into it. What opinion does the shop book have on acceptable alternative tire sizes? Anyone? Thanks.
You know, like my auto owners manual even. It lists two sizes acceptable for my car. The dealer will sell and mount either but not something else. I suppose it is because he is a good dealer and I would not change tire sizes on my car to something other than that specified. Especially if I then put my kid in it or risk someone else's kid in a vehicle I share the road with while driving my car with tires not meant for my car.

So I need to get this right. What does Honda say?
 
I'm getting used to the new handling of the PR3's now and they are not as alarming as the first ride. I do have to be careful to not drop into a corner too aggressively as the bike is too willing to go for it.

I think I may have to try them on the Griso next.
 
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NightRider_imp said:
So, you talked me into it. What opinion does the shop book have on acceptable alternative tire sizes? Anyone? Thanks.
You know, like my auto owners manual even. It lists two sizes acceptable for my car. The dealer will sell and mount either but not something else. I suppose it is because he is a good dealer and I would not change tire sizes on my car to something other than that specified. Especially if I then put my kid in it or risk someone else's kid in a vehicle I share the road with while driving my car with tires not meant for my car.

So I need to get this right. What does Honda say?
10W30

Seriously, not trying to talk you into it Nightrider, use whatever tires you choose for your vehicle, use whatever weight oil, use whatever brake pads, or spark plugs, or grade of gasoline. Check your valves at whatever mileage you want, change the air filter when you want, change the oil at whatever mileage you deem appropriate, use whatever oil filter you want, change your clutch and brake fluids when you want, or go exactly as Honda recommends for all that stuff. It's your bike.
 
NightRider_imp said:
So, you talked me into it. What opinion does the shop book have on acceptable alternative tire sizes? Anyone? Thanks.
You know, like my auto owners manual even. It lists two sizes acceptable for my car. The dealer will sell and mount either but not something else. I suppose it is because he is a good dealer and I would not change tire sizes on my car to something other than that specified. Especially if I then put my kid in it or risk someone else's kid in a vehicle I share the road with while driving my car with tires not meant for my car.

So I need to get this right. What does Honda say?
10W30 or 10W40 in warmer weather.

For tyres: 110/80R 18M/C 58V for the front; 140/70R 18M/C 67V for the rear.
 
The ferret_imp said:
NightRider_imp said:
So, you talked me into it. What opinion does the shop book have on acceptable alternative tire sizes? Anyone? Thanks.
You know, like my auto owners manual even. It lists two sizes acceptable for my car. The dealer will sell and mount either but not something else. I suppose it is because he is a good dealer and I would not change tire sizes on my car to something other than that specified. Especially if I then put my kid in it or risk someone else's kid in a vehicle I share the road with while driving my car with tires not meant for my car.

So I need to get this right. What does Honda say?
10W30

Seriously, not trying to talk you into it Nightrider, use whatever tires you choose for your vehicle, use whatever weight oil, use whatever brake pads, or spark plugs, or grade of gasoline. Check your valves at whatever mileage you want, change the air filter when you want, change the oil at whatever mileage you deem appropriate, use whatever oil filter you want, change your clutch and brake fluids when you want, or go exactly as Honda recommends for all that stuff. It's your bike.
10W30

Seriously, not trying to talk you into it Nightrider, use whatever tires you choose for your vehicle, use whatever weight oil, use whatever brake pads, or spark plugs, or grade of gasoline. Check your valves at whatever mileage you want, change the air filter when you want, change the oil at whatever mileage you deem appropriate, use whatever oil filter you want, change your clutch and brake fluids when you want, or go exactly as Honda recommends for all that stuff. It's your bike.
I'm afraid we are discussing something more serious than oil viscosity. We are instead discussing using the wrong tire size. using a wrong tire size is unsafe. Unsafe for the rider and the family car approaching you on that curve when your bike handles incorrectly when it really counts.

So, I am afraid it is not just my choice in this instance if I endanger others in the interest of experimenting with my bikes handling, and that is what I would be doing, outside the track. While I might experiment with my bike's oil I will not make that oncoming family carload of kids pay for my indulgence with tires.

I would not experiment with my car's tires for the same reason so why do so with my bike?
 
First off....the PR3s are not "the wrong size". Rather they are not the stock size and it's only the rear tire that is different in any case. The rear tire fits perfectly well on the rim, does not rub on the center stand, and generally does what a tire is supposed to do. Second, it is not "unsafe" to use a tire that is a different size on either your car or your motorcycle. It might be unsafe to do so if the tire was extremely different than the recommended tire for the vehicle. The PR3 rear tire would not qualify as "extremely different" in size. Third, if you're going to go down the road that the tire size IS unsafe if different than stock, then should you also refrain from buying a tire in the correct size, but from a different manufacturer than Honda mounts as stock? What about the same brand, but a different rubber compound? Would that be unsafe?

I understand your concern for safety; I do. But, there is no evidence that the PR3s fail prematurely or suddenly, that they handle erratically, or that they do not perform as well as the stock tires. In fact, almost all the evidence (anecdotal though it may be) favors that the PR3s are safer (at least in the rain), more durable, and better performers than what Honda provides as stock.

I suggest that you buy the same replacement tires as the ones you have on your CB1100 because you will at least FEEL safer. Feeling safer is important.
 
I think the many PR3 testimonials on this forum are likely quite valid and justified (I have no experience with these tires on my CB), but you should absolutely adhere to Honda's recommendation if you have any concerns. The second-guessing is not worth the anxiety. There is nothing wrong with that decision, and there is nothing wrong with the OE-recommended tires.
 
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