190/55 ZR17 PR3 on my ST1300...

Jefro

I ride to Sturgis
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I decided to try putting a 190/55 ZR17 Pilot Road 3 on the back of my 05 ST1300.
Having really liked the PR3 tire, and finding no posts of anyone who has tried the 190 wide tire, I gave it a go.

It was much easier to get on the rim than my Bridgestones, and was about half an inch taller.
The tire rim settled in just fine, and was in no danger of slipping or coming off in any way.
This particular tire did seem to need quite a bit of BMW brand lead weights to balance properly.
There were no issues at all putting the tire/rim on the bike, and the speedometer didn't seem to be affected.

The bike leaned over on the side stand just a bit more than usual, and the tire felt wonderful under power.
But my only real concern was the tire radius profile on the narrow rim.
With a 170 tire, the "chicken strips" were almost non-existant, but with the 190 tire, the strips are pretty wide.
When looking at the tire from the rear of the bike, it is obviously more rounded, more balloon like. Whereas the 170 has a flatter profile to allow you to use the tire from edge to edge while corning hard.

Since I do mostly city riding, I am good with this tire, but I would not recommend this if you do a lot of mountain riding.
Would I do it again? If I get really good mileage, yes!
Otherwise, no.
Jefro.
 

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I put a 190/50R-17 on my ST. Originally it was because that was a tire I took off my Hayabusa.
I desperately (headed out of town) needed a tire and that was what I had.
It's about 1/4 of an inch shorter than the original, it handles fine. When it came time to replace it,
I went with another 190.
 
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If it helps..... I put a 190/55 on the FJR which normally takes a 180/55..... speedo partly corrected, a bit taller, and the handling changes..... falls into the turns easily, and no issues with the mountain roads at all. I did both a Z8 and most recently a PR4. Prefer the PR4 for sure, will do it again.
 
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You skipped the 180 and went for the 190. Most say you shouldn't even go up one size. I still want to try a 180.
 

970mike

Mike Brown
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I tried a PR2 180/55 tire on my ST and it made the back end slip twice on a road I ride all the time, I removed that tire as it never happened with the 170 PR2 tire.
 
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Many rave about the PR2's, but I think mostly because of the good mileage........ I had one step out on me too, and I sought grippier compounds after that.
 

970mike

Mike Brown
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That is interesting,, Mike. I am replacing a 170 rear because that slid out on me,, and it is getting a 180/55 Angel GT. Cat'
Many rave about the PR2's, but I think mostly because of the good mileage........ I had one step out on me too, and I sought grippier compounds after that.
I had been running PR2's before I had to replace the tire down in LA when I got a flat and that was the only tire they had that would work. The first time the back started coming around I had hit the painted line and thought maybe that was what caused it, but just up the road it did it again and it scared me enough where I replaced the tire. Went back with the 170 PR2 hit the same road with no problems. I am not sure why that would happen as the size is not that much different.
 
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I had been running PR2's before I had to replace the tire down in LA when I got a flat and that was the only tire they had that would work. The first time the back started coming around I had hit the painted line and thought maybe that was what caused it, but just up the road it did it again and it scared me enough where I replaced the tire. Went back with the 170 PR2 hit the same road with no problems. I am not sure why that would happen as the size is not that much different.
When my rear slid out,,, I think that it was a combination of factors, Mike. The current 170 is a bit of a misfit (Dunlop 851 HD) which was still pretty green on the strips. The round-about's pavement was fairly polished and a tight radius. And my '04's engine has some EFI surge that I was not familiar with,,, and I was being aggressive. It all adds up, and I am making adjustments accordingly. Cat'
 
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Jefro

Jefro

I ride to Sturgis
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UPDATE...
I now have about 5,075 miles (mostly stop and go city riding) on the 190/55 ZR17 Pilot Road 3 on the back of my 05 ST1300.
It still handles very well, and appears to have plenty of tread life left.
And in fact, I expect to get close to 10,000 miles from this tire.
Very happy so far.
Jefro.


Edit...
With the tire wear being mostly in the very middle, the sides have plenty of tread left.
So, after a closer inspection, I anticipate getting about 8,000 city miles out of this tire.
On a side note, I have nearly 90,000 flawless miles with NO repairs, just regular maintenance.
 

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Update,,
I just passed 10,000 hard miles on my Angel GT 180/55 zr17 A-spec rear. It has worn well,, and still has at least another 500 miles left in it. I give it an "A" on performance,, and would use it again. Interestingly,, I did find a small piece of metal in the tread face,,, that seemed to become exposed as the rubber wore off. I believe it was mould contamination from when the tire was built. I pulled it out with a pair of needle nose pliers,,, and the pressure is holding fine,,, but I am watching it. I have a new Roadtech 01 HWM to go on in a couple of weeks anyway. Same size as the GT,,, and I think it has the potential to get an "A+" rating,, otherwise I am back to the GT. Cheers,, Cat'
 
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If the rim is not wide enough there is more stress on the side wall. ST1300 have wide enough rims for the 190/?? . More rubber on the ground is always better.
 
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