New tyres, question

[Mushu]

He just got home and checked and they have the B as shown in the above photo. Any other ideas?

[Blackbird]

He just got home and checked and they have the B as shown in the above photo. Any other ideas?

Difficult without real facts. Can we accept that the quoted 42 psi tyre pressure was accurate? i.e, a decent gauge as opposed to a gas station forecourt. How about before and after the ride pressures in case there was an air leak? So many heavy bikes like ST 1300's, Connies and so on happily use PR3's so occurrences of this nature are rare. Looking at you Dad's photo again, there's a lot of damage/wear on the edge of the rain grooves which is really unusual over so little distance.

One thing is for sure, I'd be taking it back for an objective examination by a Michelin rep. Even if your Dad rides hard, there are substantial chicken strips so unless he's been drag racing, I doubt whether cornering forces have been particularly high. Would love to hear the likely outcome if he takes it further!

[Mushu]

Difficult without real facts. Can we accept that the quoted 42 psi tyre pressure was accurate? i.e, a decent gauge as opposed to a gas station forecourt. How about before and after the ride pressures in case there was an air leak? So many heavy bikes like ST 1300's, Connies and so on happily use PR3's so occurrences of this nature are rare. Looking at you Dad's photo again, there's a lot of damage/wear on the edge of the rain grooves which is really unusual over so little distance.

One thing is for sure, I'd be taking it back for an objective examination by a Michelin rep. Even if your Dad rides hard, there are substantial chicken strips so unless he's been drag racing, I doubt whether cornering forces have been particularly high. Would love to hear the likely outcome if he takes it further!

The GTR has on board tyre pressure sensors so we are assuming they are accurate and he monitors them regularly throughout the ride, he will be making contact with Michelin to ask what they have to say on the subject, at the moment I'd like to know the manufacture date of the tyres because the supplier (local kawasaki dealer) already had them in stock so possibly they are quite old, but whether this would be a major factor, I don't know, tyres never last long for me so I've never ridden on old ones.

Also I'm wondering if his suspension settings will be a factor as the bike is usually used for 2 up touring so I set up the suspension quite hard to compensate for the added weight of passenger and luggage, his wife doesn't exactly pack light, panniers and top box are always filed to their limits. He didn't soften the suspension for this ride but it was never a problem on the factory Bridgestones.

Also traction control was on for the entire ride so there couldn't have been any major over throttle throughout the corners or the TC would have sorted it out anyway.

[nzspokes]

Build date is on the side of the tyre. From memory the first 2 numbers are week # and second 2 are year. Normally in a rectangular box.

[haydes55]

Show and tell time with PR3's.

Mine got hot too easily in the dry and I never really enjoyed them as much as I'm liking the new T30's.

I originally used 38/40psi. But the tires were over heating and didn't feel right. 42/42psi was better, but still got too hot on a spirited ride.

I'd avoid PR3's on the future, their "superior" wet weather grip didn't shine through. In the rain I don't exactly push it, so anything bar slicks would handle my wet weather riding anyway. I'd stick to sport/sport touring tires in the future with bigger tread blocks. Every groove in the PR3 rounded off/got the sharp edge, after only a couple thousand K's and I replaced them after 6,000km because their shape was screwed, some tread was down to flat and the bike handled like shite. I've done 2000km so far on the T30, no uneven wear, tires look good and still feel great. Best of all, they can be run at 38/40psi and not over heat on hot days of spirited riding.

[nzspokes]

Show and tell time with PR3's.

Mine got hot too easily in the dry and I never really enjoyed them as much as I'm liking the new T30's.

I originally used 38/40psi. But the tires were over heating and didn't feel right. 42/42psi was better, but still got too hot on a spirited ride.

I'd avoid PR3's on the future, their "superior" wet weather grip didn't shine through. In the rain I don't exactly push it, so anything bar slicks would handle my wet weather riding anyway. I'd stick to sport/sport touring tires in the future with bigger tread blocks. Every groove in the PR3 rounded off/got the sharp edge, after only a couple thousand K's and I replaced them after 6,000km because their shape was screwed, some tread was down to flat and the bike handled like shite. I've done 2000km so far on the T30, no uneven wear, tires look good and still feel great. Best of all, they can be run at 38/40psi and not over heat on hot days of spirited riding.

You went the wrong way. When i ran them 36/38 they were nasty on a hot day. Over heated. Remember Michys are a stiff carcass with soft tread. Higher pressure means more heat. I ended up with them at 32/34 for road and 30/30 for track and they worked much better.

[Mushu]

I told him to play with the pressure a bit go up and down a couple of pounds and see if it makes any improvement but since he works long hours and most weekends it may be awhile before he gets a chance to try it out.

[p.dath]

You went the wrong way. When i ran them 36/38 they were nasty on a hot day. Over heated. Remember Michys are a stiff carcass with soft tread. Higher pressure means more heat. I ended up with them at 32/34 for road and 30/30 for track and they worked much better.

Higher pressure reduces tyre flex, and makes them run cooler.

[dinosaur]

I found I didn't get real good kilometers out of any tyres - i ride a heavy bike Bandit 1200, and ride like I'm on a sports bike

The 3's I found re awesome - good grip and not bad wear 4000ks

looking at your dads tyres they wear like mine did - real normal for hard into the corner, full throttle out
The problem with the tourers being ridden hard is the wider torque curve and lower HP than the sports bike equivalent
Basically you can use all the available HP and torque comfortably to slow down and rip out of a corner - do that on a sports bike and the rear wheel tends to get real twitchy and can spit you off - I love the way the bandit has such usable power on the road in so many conditions without having to be a track guru
I can ride it faster and harder than a GSXR 1000 (until the straight bits of road)

Just generally slowing down will make a huge difference

To get better ks I modified my riding - not opening it up so much on exit of the corner (I use to love the feeling of the back wheel coming around slipping as i rolled on the throttle)
then breaking a bit earlier into the corner and breaking less, not dragging an almost locked up rear wheel into the corner. the bandit has lots of torque so the rear wheel will drag on de-acceleration

the big difference came when RT up-graded my suspension - Ohlins rear and racetech front http://kiwirider.co.nz/ckt/

I got about 8000ks on my last set

[Blackbird]

the big difference came when RT up-graded my suspension - Ohlins rear and racetech front http://kiwirider.co.nz/ckt/

I got about 8000ks on my last set

Yep, when I fitted a Penske rear unit with adjustable compression and rebound damping to my 230 kg Blackbird, my rear tyres lasted on average 2000 km more than with the OEM unit, through not carrying so much shock load.

[Mushu]

Yep, when I fitted a Penske rear unit with adjustable compression and rebound damping to my 230 kg Blackbird, my rear tyres lasted on average 2000 km more than with the OEM unit, through not carrying so much shock load.

I found I didn't get real good kilometers out of any tyres - i ride a heavy bike Bandit 1200, and ride like I'm on a sports bike

The 3's I found re awesome - good grip and not bad wear 4000ks

looking at your dads tyres they wear like mine did - real normal for hard into the corner, full throttle out
The problem with the tourers being ridden hard is the wider torque curve and lower HP than the sports bike equivalent
Basically you can use all the available HP and torque comfortably to slow down and rip out of a corner - do that on a sports bike and the rear wheel tends to get real twitchy and can spit you off - I love the way the bandit has such usable power on the road in so many conditions without having to be a track guru
I can ride it faster and harder than a GSXR 1000 (until the straight bits of road)

Just generally slowing down will make a huge difference

To get better ks I modified my riding - not opening it up so much on exit of the corner (I use to love the feeling of the back wheel coming around slipping as i rolled on the throttle)
then breaking a bit earlier into the corner and breaking less, not dragging an almost locked up rear wheel into the corner. the bandit has lots of torque so the rear wheel will drag on de-acceleration

the big difference came when RT up-graded my suspension - Ohlins rear and racetech front http://kiwirider.co.nz/ckt/

I got about 8000ks on my last set

Since it's a near new bike and he's still paying it off I doubt he will want to upgrade/modify any part of it, he was just hoping for something better than the factory rubber since he needed to replace them anyway.

The PR3s came recommended after a few days of Internet trawling on my part but so far they seem worse in both grip and wear rate. I guess we'll just have to see what effect playing with the pressure has and if no luck there we will contact Michelin and see what they say.

Like I said he doesn't ride to often and he owns 2 bikes so they should still last until next year and then he might have to try something else maybe Pirellis or Metzlers or something.

[Gremlin]

The PR3s came recommended after a few days of Internet trawling on my part but so far they seem worse in both grip and wear rate. I guess we'll just have to see what effect playing with the pressure has and if no luck there we will contact Michelin and see what they say.

Dunno what you read, but opinions are like arseholes, everybody has one... Whether they are qualified is another matter...

Tyre choice is always subjective...

[p.dath]

The PR3s came recommended after a few days of Internet trawling on my part but so far they seem worse in both grip and wear rate. I guess we'll just have to see what effect playing with the pressure has and if no luck there we will contact Michelin and see what they say.

The Pilot Road 3 (PR3) is a good tyre. Michelin recommend Pilot Road 3's for for sub 1000cc bikes. Michelin don't recommend them for 1000cc and over bikes in general. That's not to say you can't fit them to 1000cc and over bike.

Michelin normally recommend the Pilot Power 3 (PP3) for 1000cc and over bikes. The PP3 is a much stronger tyre construction. So if you have a 1000cc bike, and like opening the throttle right up and laying down a lot of power you are less likely to rip the tyre up. By contrast, the PR3 will wear significantly - but only if you are laying down a lot of power.

The other twist is if you have a 1000cc and over bike and it is heavy (your case). You should be choosing between the Pilot Road 4 GT version (or PR3 B spec), or if you like to lay down lots of power all the time the Pilot Power 3.

[pritch]

My brother runs a Concours so I have asked him some questions. He is in West Australia though so he won't read my post for a couple of hours at least.
There was a fishing trip planned, I hope he hasn't left yet.

[Blackbird]

My brother runs a Concours so I have asked him some questions. He is in West Australia though so he won't read my post for a couple of hours at least.
There was a fishing trip planned, I hope he hasn't left yet.

From memory, KoroJ and Bandit Rider (ST1300 and Concours respectively) have both run PR3's and got decent life from them. I don't think either riders are slowcoaches so without actual data, it's nigh on impossible to determine root cause.