Shinigami Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 ...thy name is Michelin Pilot Road 4. I'm a little gobsmacked at how nicely the occasionally jouncy RC79 suspension has been completely tamed by these little black donuts. Changed from OEM D222's at exactly 2600 miles. Rear OEM was done, at the wear bars across the center 2/3rds of the tire. Front was still in very good shape. Turn in, feel, grip, etc of the PR4's are all superb, just as it was on my '03 with these tires. Notably the new PR4 front is around a pound lighter than the worn OEM front. I would call the feel relatively plush, yet well connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted September 16, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thats Great news Shinigami. I was hoping to get some feedback on the PR4's as they were, and are now to be my next set of treads. Only ever had the PR2's on previous models. Looking forward to the PR4's as I'm very pleased to hear what your impressions are, a little softening of the ride won't go astray! Cheers. Grum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtwindr Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 2000 mils in and I am still finding things quite harsh compared to my versys 1000. That is my only complaint and on a smmoth road it's fine but the roads here are shockingly bad. Just backed thr front rebound down some more today. Had already taken some off the rear. Definitet improvement but will look at PR4s when the Dunlops are shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriverDave Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 ...thy name is Michelin Pilot Road 4. I'm a little gobsmacked at how nicely the occasionally jouncy RC79 suspension has been completely tamed by these little black donuts. Any Idea what your preload/rebound settings are at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinigami Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42. Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag Rear rebound -1 turn from max Front preload, -8 from max Front rebound, +1 from MIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viffertje Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Changed from OEM D222's at exactly 2600 miles. Rear OEM was done, at the wear bars across the center 2/3rds of the tire. Front was still in very good shape. How did you do so ? Mine are still in perfect shape and have been doing 3000km. So the next few km will be full trottle to tear it down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtwindr Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42. Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag Rear rebound -1 turn from max Front preload, -8 from max Front rebound, +1 from MIN today I have been fiddling with settings, preload is untouched apart from 1 click harder on the back. After 2000miles of being bounced around I spent the morning riding a twisty and in places bumpy moorland road repeatedly ad making adjustments. The front is now 1/2 turn softer and the rear 1 1/4 turns softer from the standard Honda settings. For me (83kg naked) the ride is now 100x better in terms of comfort. Dunno who those standard settings are aimed at but I'm gussing Hondas equal opprortunties policy has opened up the role of testrider to Sumo wrestlers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viffertje Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Mine is all the way open at the back for the moment only 65kg On a vfr and standard settings don't match Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinigami Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 How did I wear the tires out? My total weight in all gear is around 104 kg and I don't live in Belgium ;) We have lots of mountains and canyons here with very grippy roads. Belgium is a beautiful country, but it's rather flat. With lots of deer at sunset too! A little scary when riding there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Hey guys, I'm back! Today we exchanged bikes with a coworker, who has a Kawasaki 10-R, and I have to say, his bike rides much smoother. I always assumed that sportbikes ride harsh, but mine is 10x times worse. Over bumpy roads, my VFR is really bad, whereas his 10-R is soft and compliant. I'm 245lbs in gear, and would like to set up the bike as a 3-4 on a 1-10 scale of touring to sport. Any recommendations for somebody that as no clue? Is dealer a good place? Shinigami, you gave your settings, but I'm sure you are a lot more aggressive on the bike, what do you think I should set my bike at? Thanks for any help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42. Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag Rear rebound -1 turn from max Front preload, -8 from max Front rebound, +1 from MIN I'm trying your settings, but I have a question -are you counting full turns? For front preload - not sure what max is, as the nut seems to go all the way in. I now have it set at barely showing second line. The front rebound only has 2 1/4 rotations so yours is 1/4 softer than stock? And on the rear, I measured sag by putting it on the center stand and measuring, then sitting on the bike and getting my buddy to measure the same spot. At 3rd line, the sag is 38mm. I figured that's ok? I would really appreciate any help, I just want to get the bike to run smoother but not loose the great handling. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer windyrun Posted December 12, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 12, 2014 Were those standard PR4s or the GT version for heavier sport touring bikes? Which do you recommend for a 8th gen? Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriverDave Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I currently have the standard PR4's with over 1000 miles on my 8th gen. I am quite happy so far. I didn't notice the huge handling difference that Shinigami did, but they are still better in every way than the OEM Dunlops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer windyrun Posted December 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2014 Thanks. Appreciate the info. Am also thinking of the pr3s. Somewhere I heard they may have better handling since the pr4s are not as oval as the pr3. Could be malarky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriverDave Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I ran PR3's on my 07 a couple times. In the first 100 miles with the PR4's on this bike, I have zero chicken strips on the back and less on the front than any tire on any bike I've ever had. I could never get that last 1/8" off the back tire with the PR3's. A lot of it is the bike... the 8th gen just handles so much better than the 6th gen, but I would still have a hard time saying the PR3's have better handling than PR4's. Plus the PR4's have longer life (20% according to Michelin). Unless cost is a big issue, I would go with the 4's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer windyrun Posted December 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 14, 2014 Thanks. I'm waiting for the 2015s to be available after a test ride a few weeks ago. Trying to decide if I should put new tires on right away since my previous experience with oem tires is they work, but I'm happier when I choose my own (upgrade). I have pr4s now on my cbr650 and they seem great, but I've never experienced pr3s so was wondering about real world experience. With that all said--thanks for your feedback. Very helpful ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinigami Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 As an update, I am now at 3000 miles on these tires, and they have about 50% life remaining, which is pretty good for me. I had to replace the OEM's at 2500. I'm seeing some uneven wear on the front tire, with the tread blocks "wedging" at the leading edge, but it's only noticeable at very slow speed. The grip on these has been exceptional, even in cold temperatures. An exceptionally fast pace on some very twisty roads and I still have a bit of untouched rubber on the rear, about 1/8". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JamieDaugherty Posted December 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 15, 2014 It isn't surprising to me that you found these results. With stock suspension (read: poor suspension) the Michelin tires seem to shine. If everything is setup properly something that isn't a stiff carcass like the Pilots would actually serve you better. The stiff construction of the Pilots also makes them a decent choice for the track where you can drive enough heat into them to soften them up. Tires are definitely one of the most important factors when it comes to suspension. It is the part that touches the road after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriverDave Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 BTW, I did finally touch a peg feeler on left hander a couple months ago. It was on one of my favorite sections of road with lots of tight, technical curves. It was just a quick scrape that only lasted a moment, but I was ready for it, so it didn't startle me at all. It was starting to bother me that I had run the rear tire (PR4) all the way to the edge without touching a feeler. Maybe next summer I can start hitting both sides regularly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogman Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I changed my OEM tires at 4000Kms. I had totally lost confidence in the front one having had a few slides from it, and the rear was toast anyway. I have a Dunlop Q3 on the front and a roadsmart2 on the rear. The feel from the front end is outstanding, I have increased the front rebound damping 1/2 turn left the preload stock and on the rear about 1 turn extra preload to get the right sag. Rear rebound is stock so far I have raised the front forks about 8mm also. The bike turns in very fast and the handling is really very good, with the front end feeling superbly planted. The feeling is very taught but thats how I like it. It may be possible to get it better with an aftermarket rear shock and front end transplant but its pretty good as it is IMHO and changing anything would be very costly. Its just a shame that we didn't get any compression damping adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rectaltronics Posted March 22, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 22, 2015 Shinigami, or whomever, what sort of life (in miles) can I expect from the PR4's treads? I've managed to get crazy mileage out of my BT-02x tires in the past. Like upwards of ten thousand miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinigami Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Well, I can say that I expect to see wear bars sometime in the next 200 miles, so on grippy and aggressive canyon riding I expect I will end up around 4800 miles. That's right down the line of the ~20% increase claimed by Michelin for my personal experience, over dozens of sets of tires on my previous Interceptor and now, this one. Will be trying the Q3 front/RS2 rear next, because I'm not too thrilled with the way the siped blocks are wearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01ragtop Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 How are you're sipes wearing? Unusual wear on the sipes says more about your suspension than your tires. I ran pilot power 3s on my zx7r with a shagged rear shock, and the leading edge of the sipe rounded off while the trailing edge peaked. My next set of pilot power 3s were installed with a Penske rear shock, and they wore nice and even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rectaltronics Posted September 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted September 7, 2015 ...thy name is Michelin Pilot Road 4. I'm a little gobsmacked at how nicely the occasionally jouncy RC79 suspension has been completely tamed by these little black donuts. Changed from OEM D222's at exactly 2600 miles. Rear OEM was done, at the wear bars across the center 2/3rds of the tire. Front was still in very good shape. Turn in, feel, grip, etc of the PR4's are all superb, just as it was on my '03 with these tires. Notably the new PR4 front is around a pound lighter than the worn OEM front. I would call the feel relatively plush, yet well connected. My 2c... After three plugs in my rear tire (thanks Dynaplug for making that fairly neat 'n easy) I decided to ignore the fact that I had tons of tread left front and rear at around 5,000+ miles and changed from the OEM supplied D222's to a set of PR4s. I wish I had remembered to weigh all the tires before mounting the new ones but I'll take Shinigami's word for the weight reduction. Surprisingly the PR4s don't come with the little dots that mark the spot that's supposed to align with the valve stem. Perhaps that would have helped save me the trouble of installing yet MORE weights on my rim. The tires feel very gummy to the touch. This makes the steering a bit heavier in parking lot maneuvers. Oddly they feel heavier at speed too. I thought the heavier steering might ease up after some scrub-in but two weeks later I'm not feeling much improvement. They do seem a bit more compliant so the ride quality is incrementally improved. Steering remained nearly as neutral with the PR4s as with the D222s but I sensed a slight increase in tendency to stand up in bumpy corners. It's possible that some attention to suspension settings might help with that but we'll have to see about that later. The PR4s didn't give me any rude surprises on a fairly aggressive scrub-in ride. About a centimeter of hero strip does remain. I haven't used the PR4s in the rain yet. The big test in my opinion is to see how the feel on the mid-curve metal expansion joints on the approach to the upper level of the Queensborough Bridge, along with the smooth worn concrete deck slabs they join. The only tire that didn't slide around noticably on those joints was a BT-020. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatshoutybloke Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 My rear PR4 a few weeks ago, it's done about 5,200 at this point. Still fantastic in the wet, or (as we call it here) 'summer'. I should say I'm light on rubber, on my 6th gen I regularly had over 10,000 out of PR3s front and rear but I think I use the new bike a bit more enthusiastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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