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Michelin Pilot Road 2, 9800 miles


CharlesW

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My original intent was to post a half a$$ed review of the Pilot Road 2s on my 2004 at the 10,000 mile mark.

It's raining right now and this seemed like a good time to do it even though the miles are not quite to the 10k mark.

Since I'm not really an aggressive rider and we don't have many curvy roads, (I don't know if the entire state has 313 paved curves), my observations could be a little different than many.

The tires were purchased from Garvis Honda in Des Moines, IA. Installed and balanced by them as well.

I run 36# front, 42# rear, checked weekly and stays within a pound. That 1 pound variance could be my doing during the checking process. Good gauge, verified readings at a tire shop.

1. My bike had Pilot Roads when I bought it used and I had no complaints with them in the 4,000 miles I rode on them.

2. PR to PR2 handling is not that good of a comparison in my case. I do corner faster on the PR2s, but that could be because it took me a while to get familiar with the bike.

3. I do think the PR2 turned in a little quicker, but that might have been because they were new.

4. I have experienced very little side slip and even when I have hit small patches of sand/gravel, the PR2s seemed pretty forgiving. Meaning I stayed on two wheels. The tires are much more capable then me.

5. Ride is excellent. Smooth well into triple digit speeds. They took a very small amount of weight to be balanced.

6. I did notice some scalloping on the front tire around the 7,000 mile mark and it not only doesn't seem to have gotten any worse, it may have smoothed out a little. It was on the left side only and only on the side. Anyway, it has never been a problem.

7. I'm surprised that I am not yet to the wear bars and probably will get at least another couple of thousand miles out of the tires. Hard to say for sure since that last little bit of tread seems to go in a hurry.

8. It's very likely I will need to replace the front when I replace the rear. I read about people going through 2 or 3 rear tires to 1 front, but that has never been the case for me. I seem to wear them out about the same.

9. To the point. I'm happy with them and will most likely buy them again.

Rear, showing wear bars and straight road wear pattern.

HPIM0175.jpg

Front, showing wear bars.

HPIM0177.jpg

Front left. Scalloping hardly visible if at all.

HPIM0181.jpg

Front left. Scalloping more evident, (I think), at the bottom of the picture. Could be the lighting or the camera angle.

HPIM0182.jpg

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I'd say you got your moneys worth. How was it dealing with Garvis for tires? I always have mixed feelings about that place, though I'm not really sure why.

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I'd say you got your moneys worth. How was it dealing with Garvis for tires? I always have mixed feelings about that place, though I'm not really sure why.

I would agree on the money's worth, but I also have a set of Kenda's on my Nighthawk with about the same mileage and about the same wear. Both Kenda's cost less than just the front PR2. Probably not as sticky as the PR2's but still not too bad.

I have very good luck dealing with Garvis for anything. Not always the cheapest, but if you have an internet price, they will at least look at it and tell you how close they can come to it.

I can't remember the last time I bought anything motorcycle related that didn't come from either Garvis or eBay. :smile:

If you have a particular problem or question, talk to Steve in parts, Kurt in service, George Garvis Jr. in sales. If they can't take care of it for you then you probably will need to go elsewhere.

PM me if you have any questions.

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Cool, looks like you got another 5k left in them.

I think there a great tire, I run a PR2 rear and avg. 3500 miles from a rear, but live in the twisties! :tour:

BR

So what is the best mileage you have gotten out of a rear? I have my first PR2 on now but note enough miles to even get it a grade..

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Cool, looks like you got another 5k left in them.

I think there a great tire, I run a PR2 rear and avg. 3500 miles from a rear, but live in the twisties! :tour:

BR

Since the season is drawing to a close here, I would like to finish the year on these and not have new tires setting in the garage all winter.

Should be pretty close. I have averaged about 1750 miles a month this year and a month is probably all we have left before the snow.

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Cool, looks like you got another 5k left in them.

I think there a great tire, I run a PR2 rear and avg. 3500 miles from a rear, but live in the twisties! :tour:

BR

So what is the best mileage you have gotten out of a rear? I have my first PR2 on now but note enough miles to even get it a grade..

The Most miles I've ever got out of any rear tire over the last 125,000 miles on VFR's was a PR2 rear that got 3800 miles! :ohmy:

Worst was 3300 miles from a PR2 rear.

I have dropped my Pace a little after my big crash so I'm sure that's helping my mileage numbers. :rolleyes:

If you've run Pilot Powers, I avg. 2200 miles from a rear for comparo.

BR

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My question is also related to riding habits affecting tire wear. You already said not much cornering or at least higher speed cornering...I get that with your roads and seeing the squared off tire it is self-explanatory. But how about throttle? I bet you rarely get into VTEC and get 40+ mpg ...am I right?

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My question is also related to riding habits affecting tire wear. You already said not much cornering or at least higher speed cornering...I get that with your roads and seeing the squared off tire it is self-explanatory. But how about throttle? I bet you rarely get into VTEC and get 40+ mpg ...am I right?

High speed cornering is pretty much a matter of opinion. Our "twisty" roads usually consist of a few 35 to 40 mph posted corners. 20 over those posted speeds is pretty regular, 30 over on occasion, 40 over when I need to elevate my heart rate. Most corners are taken in the 65 to 80 mph range.

Writing speeding tickets seems to be part of the revenue around here and they do a lot of radar patrolling. Hey, 5 over is $97 and it goes up rapidly from there. 3 moving violations in a year can cost you your license and you only drop one a year if you stay clean for 12 months. We won't even talk about what it does to your insurance. (Or so I have heard) :tongue:

As far as VTECH, I don't hit it every time I take off, but I do hit it a few times most every ride. I don't pay a lot of attention to mpg, but I do think I'm usually around the low to mid 40's.

You are defintely right about riding styles. I have a friend that rides both a VFR and a ST1300. The tread on the Pilot Road 2s he just replaced on the ST was almost V shaped. The sides were worn far more than the centers. He is what I would call a very aggressive rider.

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Charles, what is your weight if you don't mind me asking?

I believe that this MAY have something to do with longevity of tires as well.

Also, if you don't treat each stop light as a drag strip, it will def. help with milage.

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Damm! I think I'll get 3500...on my Metzler M-3 M5 Combo...My M3 rear is getting close to the worn out at a little of 3k. 9k is incredible!

Doesn't the M-3 compare with the Pilot Power rather than the Pilot Road?

I don't think very many people get a lot of miles out of a true performance tire.

1. The obvious softer compound

2. The rider that buys the M-3 or the Pilot Power is usually a more aggressive rider.

One thing that I think contributes to my tire life is my attention to tire pressure. I'm almost fanatical about maintaining proper tire pressure.

Proper in my mind being what the motorcycle manufacturer recommends.

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1. Charles, what is your weight if you don't mind me asking?

2. I believe that this MAY have something to do with longevity of tires as well.

3. Also, if you don't treat each stop light as a drag strip, it will def. help with milage.

1. 207# right from the shower. I would guess close to 220# with helmet, boots, Kevlar jeans, leather jacket.

2. I believe you are right.

3. Absolutely.

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I think it compares to a Pilot Power. This tire has one Compound. Fairly sticky. I ride pretty aggressive. But I am light. Only way about 140-145. I really don't have any chicken strips. that mileage is amazing though.

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Well, you're not a slow poke for sure...Baileyrock (I have an idea after listening to folks that have ridden with him) is on the other side of the spectrum. I expect he brakes hard into corners and gets on the throttle before standing his bike up and uses the throttle to steer his bike out of the corner. I ride like that at the track, and to some degree on curvy roads that are traffic free. At the track, the asphalt is relatively smooth...on most public roads where I have ridden there is a much more abrasive quality to the surface for durability. I believe this variation in surface abrasion and application of heavy throttle on corner exit contributes most to tire wear off the center.

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Damm! I think I'll get 3500...on my Metzler M-3 M5 Combo...My M3 rear is getting close to the worn out at a little of 3k. 9k is incredible!

Doesn't the M-3 compare with the Pilot Power rather than the Pilot Road?

I don't think very many people get a lot of miles out of a true performance tire.

1. The obvious softer compound

2. The rider that buys the M-3 or the Pilot Power is usually a more aggressive rider.

One thing that I think contributes to my tire life is my attention to tire pressure. I'm almost fanatical about maintaining proper tire pressure.

Proper in my mind being what the motorcycle manufacturer recommends.

Yeah, I think I only got 1800 miles from a rear M3. Good tire, but no life for me. :sad:

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Doh! 1800...your ripping it up good. The roads out here in the Bay area sure are fun...You should google Mines rd in Livermore...75 miles of turns! I bet you'd enjoy it.

It's right outside the door to my house almost.

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Doh! 1800...your ripping it up good. The roads out here in the Bay area sure are fun...You should google Mines rd in Livermore...75 miles of turns! I bet you'd enjoy it.

It's right outside the door to my house almost.

Is that an invitation?

Just for Baileyrock or is everyone invited?

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oh hell ya...everyone...I don't ride with any viffers...my two budds have a Versys and a streetglide. It's the 3 stooges out there!

The friend I ride with the most, (I ride alone a lot), has a 1200 Sportster and the group of friends I ride with occasionally includes the Sportster, an 1800 Gold Wing, a ST1300, a Shadow 1100, a VFR 800 and my VFR 800. Talk about a motley crew when we all get together.

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oh hell ya...everyone...I don't ride with any viffers...my two budds have a Versys and a streetglide. It's the 3 stooges out there!

The friend I ride with the most, (I ride alone a lot), has a 1200 Sportster and the group of friends I ride with occasionally includes the Sportster, an 1800 Gold Wing, a ST1300, a Shadow 1100, a VFR 800 and my VFR 800. Talk about a motley crew when we all get together.

I realize we have cruiser riders on VFRs, but

Doesnt the slow A$$ riding Bore the crap out of you, Couple years ago , I had a few cowrkers ask me to ride, I couldnt even get my bike into top gear, they were riding so slow, never rode with em since.

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oh hell ya...everyone...I don't ride with any viffers...my two budds have a Versys and a streetglide. It's the 3 stooges out there!

The friend I ride with the most, (I ride alone a lot), has a 1200 Sportster and the group of friends I ride with occasionally includes the Sportster, an 1800 Gold Wing, a ST1300, a Shadow 1100, a VFR 800 and my VFR 800. Talk about a motley crew when we all get together.

I realize we have cruiser riders on VFRs, but

Doesnt the slow A$$ riding Bore the crap out of you, Couple years ago , I had a few cowrkers ask me to ride, I couldnt even get my bike into top gear, they were riding so slow, never rode with em since.

Define slow A$$ boring riding.

The guys I listed were all flat track racers at one time other than the Sportster rider. He was a hill climber.

10 over the speed limit is their normal cruising speed and a couple of them rarely are under 80. Triple digit speeds are pretty common. I'm not bored, I'm happy to keep them in sight. :smile:

Our area is mostly flat land and great for radar speed traps. I wouldn't call them speed traps if it wasn't for the fact that they are mostly after the revenue rather than being concerned with traffic safety.

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We have small towns patrolling the Interstate highways that loop around their town, but are in their city limits so it's legal. I always thought the city cops should patrol their city's streets and let the highway patrol take care of the interstates.

The state of Iowa has now equipped the "diesel bears" with radar guns so they can write speeding tickets now that the economy has slowed freight enough that they aren't as busy with truck enforcement.

One small town we go through drops from 55 mph to 25 mph at their city limits which is at least 1/2 mile beyond any residential or business areas. That same town has 5 or 6 stop signs in an eight block stretch. Town population is 775.

Several cities not only have stoplight cameras, but speeding cameras as well. They get the license plate number and ticket the vehicle owner.

It's all about the money.

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