Michelin Pilot Road 2

[RaYzerman]

Sorry for getting my terminology mixed... BT-023 has a GT spec, and PR2 a B spec... available in only 180/55.

 

[Gizmo]

I've got just over 13,000 km on the set installed in April this year. There is a bit of cupping on the rear tire but nothing significant. Wear bars are starting to show so I'm about to order another set. Seems like they are a little hard to get right now in Canada but I've found somewhere with 3 sets on order.

 

[970mike]

Dave and Ray, This is indeed a 180/55-R17 "B" Pilot Road 2. I asked for help with the ply rating because I got conflicting info on the phone. On another thread Mr. Padden and I discussed the possibility of the "B" model meaning bias-ply. We discovered it is not a bias-ply but in fact a radial. I then called Michelin help line and asked to speak to someone in tech support to see what the difference is. That person was very short with me, not wanting to talk. I asked about the difference(s) and all she would repeat is that the "B" is rated differently. I asked if the plies were different. She said, "NO". I asked if the pressure was different and she said, "NO". Me being me, I just had to find out for myself!

Thanks

I have the 180/55/17 PR2 on my ST now and I don't like the way it corners on a tight twisty road. I had this tire start to slide out on me twice on a back road ( Harris Grade Road ) that I ride all the time. I was not pushing the bike hard at all when it slid the first time, my thinking on the first slide was the tire hit the center painted line. On the second slide just up the road I had not touched the painted line. Now I will not take corners very fast with this tire on the rear. I just wanted to post this as I stated on another thread that the 180 tire was handling just fine. I want to replace this tire soon and I am awaiting Tim at twobrothers to send me out the new Shinko tires that I will try. Just my :tc1: Good luck with this tire.

 

[BakerBoy]

I am looking for some help! Would anyone be willing to go out to your bike (or if you have one unmounted) and look at the sidewall to get the information from a 170/60R17 Pilot Road 2?

I am experimenting! I ordered a new tire from Tim Keel and received it today. I took pictures of the info I wish to compare with a 170/60R17. If some would jot down what the tire says on the sidewall and let me know if/how it differs from this picture. Thanks!

Jeff

Mr. D-squared:

Info on two PR2's is attached.

Tire 1 (manufactured 5107) was just pulled off my bike last night and Tire 2 (manufactured 4009) was just pulled off st11ray's bike a few weeks ago.

HTH

 

[Dinkie Diesel]

Yes it does, thanks!

Here's a bit of trivia. I was told that even though a tire may say it is a 2 ply or 4 ply or a 16 ply doesn't necessarily mean it physically has that many plies. That is merely a rating meaning it has an equivalency to that many plies. A load range E truck tire may not have 10 plies. In fact it may only have 4 physical plies. Weird huh? I haven't gone fishing to see if this is true.

 

[xrated]

Well, after going through two Michelin PR2's on the rear and one on the front, I'm officially done with the Michelin for the ST1300. The first rear netted me approx. 5100 miles and this most recent one netted me 4950 miles. Cupping was horrible, even with the rear suspension being dialed in for two up riding, which is what the bike sees 95% of the time. I guess I should be thankful though, my track bike gets about 250 - 275 miles per tire.......and that's flipping it between track days.

 

[olegeezer]

I just replaced a PR2 on the rear after returning from the Blue Ridge Gathering. I had 9538 miles on it and it may have had another 500 miles of tread remaining? It was at the wear bars near the middle (kinda flat here) and the sides were cupping which seems normal to me. The installed cost came to 1.8 cents per mile which I believe is high. The tire performed fine for the way I ride (like an old phart). I replaced it yesterday with the OEM Bridgestone (BT-020F). The side walls on the BS seemed to be a lot stiffer than the PR2, so I took it to the tire man to put it on the rim. He charged me $10 to avoid the blood, sweat and tears. I liked the PR2 but I question whether it's worth the extra money.

 

[ksievers]

lj., did you feel that the handling esp in wet conditions was worth it (PR2's)? I don't mind paying extra if they're safer and more secure.. On the other hand if they are not, the OEM tires seem fine to me. I have a PR2 on the back of mine (early flat tire for me, went ahead and replaced the rear).. it's seems great but I'm not sure it's "better."

 

[Down Under]

I've had a set of PR2's on my ST1300 for the past 4000 km's. I can only compare them to the B020's and Dunlop Roadsmarts but I have to say that I really like them. The bike tips into corners much quicker and little effort is required to hold a good line. They provide plenty of grip in the wet and so far tread wear has been very good. Most of my riding is 2 up and I when I have the co-pilot on board my riding style is very law abiding.

I have noticed the noise that the rear tyre makes at highway speeds but it doesn't worry me as I wear ear plugs. Actually, it was my wife who noticed it first but I wouldn't say the noise was a problem by any means. IMHO the PR2 seems like a good hard wearing touring tyre which I think I'll stick to for now.

 

[xrated]

Down Under wrote:

Actually, it was my wife who noticed it first but I wouldn't say the noise was a problem by any means. IMHO the PR2 seems like a good hard wearing touring tyre which I think I'll stick to for now.

If you are riding two up, and ride somewhat at a brisk pace, don't expect any good mileage numbers. See my above post............5100 on one and just under 5000 on the next one......with horrible cupping!!

 

[ksievers]

I have 7,000 miles on the rear one (OEM on front) and so far no weird noises or poor wear. seems very fine. mostly 1 up for me, very careful about 42 psi, etc.. rear shock maybe less damped than some of you prefer (FWIW)

 

[Throttlejockey]

I've been running 44psi and my rear is wearing quite well at 5K miles. Barely a flat spot and very slight feathering on the sides.
The front still looks perfect.

 

[Down Under]

Down Under wrote:


If you are riding two up, and ride somewhat at a brisk pace, don't expect any good mileage numbers. See my above post............5100 on one and just under 5000 on the next one......with horrible cupping!!

I reckon I'll get about 12000 km's out of my current set of PR2's......which I'd be happy with. I never ride hard 2 up......that's probably the main reason for my tyres lasting a bit longer. What pressures were you running?

 

[ksievers]

FWIW, and this may or may not be related to tire life and other issues with tires, and I have no way of really knowing... but my sense is that a lot of riders have their damping/rebound (is that the right term?) set too hard. If the point is to keep contact with the riding surface, from what I've read and as I understand it, having that cranked up is not what I want. That may play into the weird wear and such that some report (with any tire). just a thought.

 

[olegeezer]

lj., did you feel that the handling esp in wet conditions was worth it (PR2's)? I don't mind paying extra if they're safer and more secure.. ."

I don't have much experience on wet roads as I avoid riding in the wet as much as possible. I'm not an aggressive rider and in 30K miles I've only scraped pegs a few times. The PR2 did not feel any different than the others I had tried as far as grip goes. Now they were noisy after the flat spot wore in the middle and the sides cupped a little, only noisy when you started leaning the bike so I'm sure the cupping was causing the noise. I liked the PR2 but I didn't like the price cause I'm "tighter than Dicks' hatband".
Some folks call it "cheap", some "frugal"..........etc.

 

[Mellow]

I've done some very wet riding on the PR2s as well as the BS 020s and they both felt very confident. Neither tire ever gave me any problems.

 

[ksievers]

I'm no MotoGP rider either.. I get to within 1/4" of the edge of the tread/chicken strips as far as I know, and so far that's it. Never scraped anything. I too had no gripes with the OEM tires. And there is something to be said for the sturdy sidewall, as when I did have that flat the tire held the bike up fine, even though it was FLAT, not just low on air. Fortunately I was going slowly.. but at speed that might be a life saver.

thanks for the feedback -

 

[olegeezer]

I've done some very wet riding on the PR2s as well as the BS 020s and they both felt very confident. Neither tire ever gave me any problems.

After wearing out the BT020, if I feel the same way as Mellow, it would be hard for me to justify spending 40% more for the same performance. The PR2 cost me 40% more than the BT020. FWIW.......... Now if the PR2 gave me 40% more miles I would have to re-calculateum...

 

[Mellow]

After wearing out the BT020, if I feel the same way as Mellow, it would be hard for me to justify spending 40% more for the same performance. The PR2 cost me 40% more than the BT020. FWIW.......... Now if the PR2 gave me 40% more miles I would have to re-calculateum...

I got 4900-ish miles from my last BS 020. Just some very aggressive twisty riding basically. But, in the past I'd get about 7800 out of an 020 and close to 9500 out of a PR2.

The 020s are like a trusy friend... solid and always there.

The PR2s are like a roller coaster ride... some easy moments but when you crest a hill... yiiiipeeeee.......

At the moment I like the PR2s better due to their feel.

The 020s are a great value if the mileage difference is close across brands.

 

[JasonFJ]

My rear PR2 is down to the wear bars now at 8,000 miles. With tire pressure of 42PSI checked once or twice a week, by 5000 miles there were obvious signs of cupping on the sides. Between moving to 45PSI, and Lycoris not being on the pillion seat for a couple of months after her accident, I was able to stretch out the remaining life of the tire.

The front has some life left in it, but I'll be replacing it along with the rear in the next couple of weeks.