Michelin PR 3's

SupraSabre

48 Years of SoCal Lane Splitting/Commuting-Retired
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... The PR2 front tire that it replace was 15 months and 32,000 miles old and still had a few miles left in it. ....
32,000 miles on a front? Have you checked your front end to make sure it's touching the ground when you ride? :eek:4:

Best I have done was about 12,000 on the front with a PR or a PR2...
 
Joined
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69
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Santa Clara, Ca
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2007 ST1300
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8525
I liked my BT023s, but I am really pleased with the handling of the PR3s. These tires are wonderful. My Sunday ride on Skyline in the wet was like riding in dry. I finally slowed down just because you do that when it's wet, not because of the tires.
Now we shall see if they have equal or better mileage compared to the BTs.
 

Two Brothers

Walking, Talking, and Smiling!
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Lawrenceville Ga
We just swapped a set of the PR3's off a Kawa Concours. He had about 10, 000 miles on the tires and they where still in pretty good shape.

The key to getting the mileage is air pressure on these tires. He kept the pressure 40-42 and received excellent mileage.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
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Cincinnati, OH
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2006 ST1300
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7482
I returned home last Monday from a 2,700 mile trip to the east coast area. I mounted a rear PR3 back in June and a front PR3 about a week before the trip. I rode in quite a bit of rain during this trip, especially the storm that rolled through Ohio this past Monday as I was heading west towards Columbus. The PR3's felt extremely planted in the rain compared to other tires I've run on. Even during the heaviest part of the rain on Monday when I had to lower the windshield enough to see over it, I was still running at 70-75 mph and didn't feel the need to reduce my speed. I'm extremely pleased with them. I was a little concerned when I mounted them about the extra sipes that were added. I expected them to feel a little squirmy, but they didn't. I typically get high mileage out of tires compared to others. I had 12K on the previous front OEM tire and it still had plenty of tread left. I just wasn't sure it would last through the trip so I replaced it beforehand. I did a lot of backroad riding across PA and along the coast, so the trip was more than just a lot of slab miles.
 
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'08 Connie C14
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I've got about 7500 miles on my PR3s (on a Connie) and they look like they have a long way to go, like maybe 1/2...Which is already farther than anything I have had before. (023's OEM and Storm 2 Ultras).

I have got very mixed roads, 6000 miles on my summer trip, some slab, some back roads, some extreme twisties, some rain, and I REALLY like these tires. I'll update this as the mileage rolls along....
 

tlartist

Tom Laux
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Apr 27, 2007
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Fall River, WI
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Can you compare to 023's please?

I've got about 7500 miles on my PR3s (on a Connie) and they look like they have a long way to go, like maybe 1/2...Which is already farther than anything I have had before. (023's OEM and Storm 2 Ultras).

I have got very mixed roads, 6000 miles on my summer trip, some slab, some back roads, some extreme twisties, some rain, and I REALLY like these tires. I'll update this as the mileage rolls along....
 
Joined
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'08 Connie C14
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023's are OEM on the Connie. I got the bike with 4400 miles on it, rode home 2000 miles and was scared to death the last 500...On the FRONT tire...It really went away fast and ugly.

That said, it seems Mamma Kawi bought a bad batch for the original run. I understand the 09's and up did much better...
 

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
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023's are OEM on the Connie. I got the bike with 4400 miles on it, rode home 2000 miles and was scared to death the last 500...On the FRONT tire...It really went away fast and ugly.

That said, it seems Mamma Kawi bought a bad batch for the original run. I understand the 09's and up did much better...
Concours 1400 OEM was the Bridgestone 021 - not the 023.

No one seemed to like the 021 which was BS first dual compound sport touring effort. Some folks in here tried them on ST1300s and got the same results as Connie pilots. The 023's are a totally different tire - it wears symmetrically with good feedback and handling. It just does not deliver the mileage.
 

st11ray

2006 ST1300
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charlotte, nc
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'06 ST1300
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Concours 1400 OEM was the Bridgestone 021 - not the 023.

No one seemed to like the 021 which was BS first dual compound sport touring effort. Some folks in here tried them on ST1300s and got the same results as Connie pilots. The 023's are a totally different tire - it wears symmetrically with good feedback and handling. It just does not deliver the mileage.
My 023's have 11k on them.
 

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
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My 023's have 11k on them.
Maybe I should have said "they just don't deliver the mileage Pilot Roads tend to give".

Normally I replace tires as a set when the rear is done and I got 6000 to 7000 miles out of a rear tire for the first 75,000 miles miles no matter if Bridgestones, Metzelers, Avons. I got 5700 out of a 023 rear. PR2s go 9000 for me. I have about 6000 on a PR3 rear now and the depth is 5/32" of the original 8/32". It seems to be wearing more symmetrically, no noticeable cupping or lumpy wear, than a PR2 does but we shall see it that holds up the last half of the tire.

If your ride smoothly and sedately enough to get 11,000 plus miles out of 023s I would guess you will get 30 to 40% more miles out of PR2s or PR3s compared to the 023. That is my experience anyway.
 

tlartist

Tom Laux
Joined
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Fall River, WI
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ST1300
Thanks for the comparison to 023. I got about 4000 on my rear 023 so it will be interesting on the pr3. Really liked the 023. Can you compare handling characteristics between 023 and pr3?
 
Joined
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You are right, they were 021s. My bad.

It was the front that went away first, and it was scary when I got it home....

For the record, I got 16,000 miles out of 2 sets of STorm 2 Ultras....
 

BakerBoy

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My most recent sets of tires were PR2's, BT023's, and now am on a PR3 rear / PR2 front. In all three cases, each set of tires was subjected to some pretty hard riding: lots of twisties on day rides, some 2-up day rides, and a number of long trips weighed down in high temperatures, with the tires always at 42 psi.

My PR2's went 9760 miles. Here's what I noted when I pulled them: "front mostly used up", "rear is very buzzy, below wear bars on one side of scallops, lots of tread remains otherwise". The scallops are not on ceneterline of the tire, but are about 1/3 of the way to the edges, on both sides of centerline. I recall that I could have run the front PR2 a bit longer, but I chose to change it out anyway.

The 023's were installed next. The front went to 9617 miles, and the rear went to 6818 miles. Here's what I noted when I pulled them: "front with ~1mm remaining in center of tire. Sides down to wear bars. Retained as emergency spare to get someone home, superslab.", "rear BT023 used up (0.5mm remains)". The rear wore very evenly across all the tire, and I recall no buzzing and no noise from the 023s.

A PR3 was installed on the rear following the 023, and then a PR2 was installed on the front following the 023. At this time the rear PR3 has 5902 and there's easily over half the tread remaining, but it is starting to scallop at the large sipes, about 1/3 of the way to the edges, on both sides of centerline. The front PR2 is at 3103 miles and looks great. I have added one change to tire pressure with this combo: when I have the bike loaded for a multi-day trip, I run the tires at 45 psi. I think that may be helping reduce the rear PR3 scalloping a bit, but I don't know for sure as this is my first PR3.

The 023's have been by far my favorite set because the feel of the road and consistency of feel when transitioning between straights and curves is very good. The 023's don't require heavy steering force to lean, nor counter-steering force to keep from over-leaning -- the 023's simply go where I think and they don't wander or hunt/twitch while going straight. They are the most confidence-inspiring tire I have run and they invite a bit more hooligantics than the PR2/PR3s. :eek:: And I suppose that is part of the reason why the 023's lasted fewer miles.

The big drawback of the 023 (to me) is the poor rear mileage.

The PR2s, and PR2/PR3 combo in use now both have the bike wandering/twitching a bit in the straights, and when I turn into corners they require countersteer to not dive into a tighter corner. The buzz of the rear PR2 from half-life onward and from the rear PR3 now at half-life is quite annoying to me.

The PR2s and PR3s are a lot easier to mount onto the rims than the 023s--those 023's are very stiff sidewalls.

All 3 sets have had excellent wet traction.

:yes:
 
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