Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres on 2014 Honda VFR800

[raspberry]

These suit the Viffer, much better than the standard dunlop sportmax that it came with, but then again so they should be, they cost loads more. The Dunlops were OK but not so grippy when lent over and you give it some juice. Pilots have done 900k at the moment and got about 11k out of the Dunlop back tyre. Pilots follow joins in the road now and again, (must be the profile) and not too sure about shiny melted roads in the wet, may need more running in. Loads of confidence leaning in dry and accelerating like hell. Corners nice, stable in a straight line, also turns easy. Doing about 12k a year so it will be interesting to see how long the back tyre lasts. If I can get over the shiny slippery wet road problem, which I think it should as the tyres are getting better all the time. The pilots are smooth on the road, and kill any small vibes that come up from the road.

[WNJ]

Have them on my 636 finding them really good all round, this my first set of them, have done just over 1500 k on them with no issues,be interesting to see the kms I get since I ride like a nana :lol:

[Blackbird]

On my second rear on the Street Triple. The first lasted for about 15,000 km. I think the front will last for 17-18k. This is pretty much identical to the 2 previous sets of PR3's, despite Michelin's claims of 20% better life. Grip is much the same as the PR3 (outstanding, particularly in the wet). The front feels slightly more planted than with the PR3, maybe due to the wider sipe spacing. Brilliant tyre and I'm sure that you'll love them!

[Viking01]

These suit the Viffer, much better than the standard dunlop sportmax that it came with, but then again so they should be, they cost loads more. The Dunlops were OK but not so grippy when lent over and you give it some juice. Pilots have done 900k at the moment and got about 11k out of the Dunlop back tyre. Pilots follow joins in the road now and again, (must be the profile) and not too sure about shiny melted roads in the wet, may need more running in. Loads of confidence leaning in dry and accelerating like hell. Corners nice, stable in a straight line, also turns easy. Doing about 12k a year so it will be interesting to see how long the back tyre lasts. If I can get over the shiny slippery wet road problem, which I think it should as the tyres are getting better all the time. The pilots are smooth on the road, and kill any small vibes that come up from the road.

Hi, riding a 2008 VFR800 with Ohlins suspension on rear and Michelin PR4's (previously PR3's). Agree with your comments how well they perform on the PR4's. Typically get 14-16k from the tyres, though less more recently due to tyres damaged by screws. Shiny wet tar - don't think that experiment will have a happy ending - best left well alone. Cheers.

[caspernz]

PR4s are a good all round tyre. On a modestly powered bike like the VFR you'd get to 12-15 thou I'd guess. About 8 thou on mine, but that's a hefty bike in several ways.

The shiny wet tar problem will remain to some degree, personally I try to keep the demands on the tyres modest when traversing shiny stuff, that's if I can't duck around it easily enough.

If there is a downside with the PR3 and 4 is that they're quite a slow handling tyre to start with, and get slower as they wear. On the upside they don't mind wet roads :woohoo:

[G4L4XY]

If there is a downside with the PR3 and 4 is that they're quite a slow handling tyre to start with, and get slower as they wear. On the upside they don't mind wet roads :woohoo:

What do you mean by slow handling? Just wondering as mine are over the 10-11k mark and still have some life left, I'm starting to see I guess where the softer compounds are, like ridges in the middle of the tyre. Also I've had a couple of moments where the front feels real loose, whether that's just from the road surface I'm not sure.

I don't particularly do much wet weather riding anymore but I did have an "oh shit" moment on a straight in the wet where pretty much the steering damper saved it. I deliberately missed what appeared to be a big puddle (almost pothole-like in size) and perhaps the road surface was smooth and tar like or something.

As far as mileage goes these easily double the S20's I was using prior

[Gremlin]

If there is a downside with the PR3 and 4 is that they're quite a slow handling tyre to start with, and get slower as they wear.
PR2 were quite a neutral tyre, the PR3 and PR4 actually less neutral, ie, a quicker handling tyre.

All tyres get slower as the profile gets messed up (well, for most, as we unfortunately wear out the centre first) :(

[nzspokes]

PR4s are a good all round tyre. On a modestly powered bike like the VFR you'd get to 12-15 thou I'd guess. About 8 thou on mine, but that's a hefty bike in several ways.

The shiny wet tar problem will remain to some degree, personally I try to keep the demands on the tyres modest when traversing shiny stuff, that's if I can't duck around it easily enough.

If there is a downside with the PR3 and 4 is that they're quite a slow handling tyre to start with, and get slower as they wear. On the upside they don't mind wet roads :woohoo:

Agree with all of that. PR range is slow handling but for the market its aimed at thats perfect. After I put BT016r's on my Hawk the difference was stunning.

And not much helps on tar bleeds.

[caspernz]

What do you mean by slow handling? Just wondering as mine are over the 10-11k mark and still have some life left, I'm starting to see I guess where the softer compounds are, like ridges in the middle of the tyre. Also I've had a couple of moments where the front feels real loose, whether that's just from the road surface I'm not sure.

I don't particularly do much wet weather riding anymore but I did have an "oh shit" moment on a straight in the wet where pretty much the steering damper saved it. I deliberately missed what appeared to be a big puddle (almost pothole-like in size) and perhaps the road surface was smooth and tar like or something.

As far as mileage goes these easily double the S20's I was using prior

The PR4s are classed a sports/touring tyre, and the S20s more focused on sports. Look at them side by side and you'll see the S20 is pointier, or mildly triangular even. PR4 will show a gentler radius on the tread. On the S20 your bike would have felt more keen to change direction, with smaller inputs of body English. Whatever you prefer I suppose. Seeing how far tyre tech has come since I started riding I sure as heck ain't complaining :drool:

And Gremlin summed it up nicely :2thumbsup

[Banditbandit]

Yes, I love them on the big Bandit ...




If there is a downside with the PR3 and 4 is that they're quite a slow handling tyre to start with, and get slower as they wear. On the upside they don't mind wet roads :woohoo:

Yes - I have found that, which is why I don't run them on the small Bandit ... that's the bike I like to play on ..


What do you mean by slow handling? Just wondering as mine are over the 10-11k mark and still have some life left, I'm starting to see I guess where the softer compounds are, like ridges in the middle of the tyre.

Hmmm . the bikes turns slower than a sports tyre - I really noticed this on the big Bandit following an R1 and not being able to corner as fast as him. The profile on the R1 tyre was different to the PR4, allowing the R1 to tip in much quicker ... I had Conti Road Attacks on the big Bandit and it did turn in much quicker on those tyres, but I didn't like them for the kind of riding I do on that bike so I went back to the PRs ..

[Maha]

I had Conti Road Attacks on the big Bandit and it did turn in much quicker on those tyres, but I didn't like them for the kind of riding I do on that bike so I went back to the PRs ..

I had issue's with the T30's I put on the FA, they let go a few times in one day in cold/wet conditions so I went back to the PR3 tyre. Managed to sell the T30's.... thankfully. I now what to do the same with the current Pilot Road's on the Tiger.

[SVboy]

I had issue's with the T30's I put on the FA, they let go a few times in one day in cold/wet conditions so I went back to the PR3 tyre. Managed to sell the T30's.... thankfully. I now what to do the same with the current Pilot Road's on the Tiger.

I too had issues with the T30's in the wet on my Inazuma GSX1200. Never felt the trust in the wet. My FZ1 currently has PR2's on it. Just love em!

[V4-Junkie]

I run PR4s on my Track day (litre) bike when it is damp/wet. They are that good.


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