Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

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Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby BoyBastos » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:44 pm

Here's my review from my motorcycling blog (pics can be found on the link):

http://findingneutral.tumblr.com/post/6878741169/review-michelin-pilot-road-3-manufacturer


Content:

REVIEW: Michelin Pilot Road 3

Manufacturer: Michelin
Model: Pilot Road 3
Front Tire: 120/70ZR17
Rear Tire: 180/55ZR17
Date of Purchase: June 7, 2011
Vendor: E-Moto Motorcycle Tires (info@swmotorubber.com)
Tire Mounter: Beemers Uber Alles
Satisfaction Level: Medium (so far)
Price Paid (USD): $129.50 + $161.50 = $291.00
Motorcycle used for review: 2006 BMW R1200ST
Miles on the tires reviewed: 0-400 miles

Review:

Two years ago, I was going down the local interstate at about 60-65 on a turn when my motorcycle seemed to move slower and won't turn. I pulled over and my rear tire was punctured badly. I replaced the rear tire with a Metzeler Roadtec Z6. Last month, it happened again and my rear tire was punctured. Thankfully it was just 3 miles from my house and I was able to limp the bike back.

This time, I thought I would try the newly released Michelin Pilot Road 3 for both the front and rear tires. According to Michelin, these tires are designed for sport touring and have "sipes" for more effective water channelling. These also uses Michelin's 2CT two compound technology.

How do they perform?

From the get-go, these tires seem to be more "stable" than the Z6. Mainly, with the Z6's, it was easier to turn the bike. Usually when leaving the house to go riding, I would have to "super slab" it for an hour or two before I really hit the nice roads with the twisties. When it's fairly safe, I try to warm up my tire by leaning left and right going straight while staying on the same lane. Basically, "zig-zagging" within the lane to scrub and warm the tread shoulders and not just the middle. Doing this on the Z6 is easy enough and the bike seems more maneuverable and easier to lean into turns. The Pilot Road 3 is more resistant to leaning than the Z6 in my opinion.

However, on the Z6, since it's easier to lean, it's also easier to lean too far and sometimes it feels that the bike might go down from under you, if you under or overestimate your lean vs. your speed. This is where the Pilot Road 3 shines, in my opinion. While not as easy to lean as the Z6, I find it that I am more confident once the bike is leaned with these tires. Also, gravel while making a leaned turn on the Z6 might freak me out, but the Road 3's take them without much drama.

Of course, it HAD to rain during my first 400 miles with these tires. I can honestly say that the performance of these tires in the wet is superb. I was taking it easy the first 100 miles as I needed to make sure the tires have been broken in correctly with various heat cycles and what not. What I found after riding it longer during the rain is that I am more concerned about the traffic, or deer or my fuel consumption than actually thinking about how the tires would handle the wet roads. These tires are predictable and confidence inspiring in the wet. Please note that while I rode in the rain which was hard at times, I didn't go through any big puddles.

Braking is good but I found no difference from the Z6.

As far as dry pavement performance, I was not able to test this yet with significant mileage. I'll update the review once I get the chance to do so since the Z6 is sticky once warmed up and a joy to ride. I'd like to see how these Road 3's perform. I had the Pilot Road 2 before but it was on a smaller bike.

I'd also like to see if these tires would last long but I would be happy if I get 8k miles on these, specially the rear. Hopefully my string of bad luck with rear tires being punctured has ended..
BoyBastos
 

Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby BoyBastos » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:45 pm

Kudos to George too from Beemers Uber Alles for installing the tires quickly!!
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby anoop » Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:26 pm

Check this out, post #88.
Somebody had his PR3s disintegrate on him:
http://www.fz6-forum.com/forum/fz6-gene ... ere-9.html

Image
Image
anoop
 

Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby ChaseH » Fri Jun 24, 2011 9:09 pm

Wtf is that helmet doing in the back of that Murano?
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby BoyBastos » Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:22 pm

WOW! Should've checked THAT forum before buying - we'll see how it goes.
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby apastron » Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:21 am

In my best Frank Barone, "Holy Crap!".
I wonder if this guy could have gotten a pair of counterfeits???

Also, if I read that thread correctly, that's not just a helmet in the back of the SUV -- that's the whole rider staying put where he landed :shock:
apastron
 

Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby anoop » Thu Jul 21, 2011 9:24 am

yeah they didn't want to move him until the ambulance came.
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby Bicyclist » Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:36 pm

I have close to 10K on a set of PR3s on my Honda. They appear to have plenty of miles left in them. I've noticed some cupping on the rear which is interesting because that usually occurs only on the front. It makes the tire noisy when heeled over, but doesn't seem to affect the handling any more than any other tire with 10K on it. The front looks almost new. I've gone through a set of PR2s on my F800 and the front looked very good when it came off at 13K. I could probably have replaced just the rear. I like these tires. Good handling, good wear and good in the rain.
Last edited by Bicyclist on Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby Unity » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:20 pm

I had a pair of PR3s installed at Chippewa Falls and I've been impressed by the feeling of confidence they give me. Much more than the Metzelers they replaced.

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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby ERC Scott » Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:55 pm

In May I installed a front PR3 on my Tiger to replace the PR that came stock (will do a rear install soon). Nice, neutral handling. Cornering grip in the dry is excellent; haven't seen any rain yet, but looking forward to that as the Michelin PR was a pretty good wet tire. Scott
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby apastron » Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:37 am

Got me a pair. Having a dog of a time getting the beads to mount, because they were thoughtlessly stored flat somewhere. They're out in the hot sun now stuffed like prom dresses to stretch them out a bit.
Front is made in Thailand, rear made in Spain. Weird.
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby JimVonBaden » Mon Aug 01, 2011 9:44 am

I installed them on an R1100RT a month or so ago. No issues at all. Easy on and off. I think the sun will help you.

The owner took them to the track. They look like they were gripping well, right up until the crash! :flask:

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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby apastron » Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:42 am

Yep - hot sun and a spray-bottle of Ruglyde did the trick.
Had a nice 200 mile break-in yesterday. One small "chirp" on a downshift early, but once they got good and broke-in, they were nice and sticky on the way back.
apastron
 

Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby jlaurino » Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:15 am

awesome!..coz it seems too dangerous when your not using safety device such as tires when your on the rainy road trip even under the heat of the sun...
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Re: Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review

Postby ObiWan » Fri Aug 12, 2011 11:35 am

anoop wrote:Check this out, post #88.
Somebody had his PR3s disintegrate on him:
http://www.fz6-forum.com/forum/fz6-gene ... ere-9.html

Image
Image



This is a bit misleading. The pictures are from 2 separate accidents on 2 separate days, as claimed by the poster himself. Poster claims rear tire came apart just under 10,000 miles (9999 on the odometer in the pic). The poster claims the front tire "shredded" at a later date and that is what caused the accident seen in the second pic.

I read all 17 pages on the FZ6 forum thread. Something is fishy there for sure. The poster's story is just not quite fully believable. That is as far as I can go for "opinion" based off of a forum.

From the posters comments, it was 110 degrees that day and he was riding on the concrete highway at 85mph in a 70mph zone.

It looks to me like there are 2 factors at play here. 1: I bet the tire pressure was indeed too low for the bike (despite the claims from the poster as "spot on") He never stated the actual pressure. 2: it is possible that he got a bad rear tire. It is not totally unheard of for a tire to separate compounds (think high heat and not enough quantity/strength in the glue between layers).

However, that is just for the rear tire, not the "shredding" front tire (no pics of that ever provided). PR3, like PR2 are made in different countries. Front: Thailand or Viet Nam, Rear: Spain

No way this is totally a Michelin problem. Rear, maybe. Front, impossible to tell.

I have used PR2 for several years now. +/- 13K miles per set on my heavy bike. Love 'em. Will likely try the PR3 next, despite the FZ6 post and comments. I think it was ultimate rider input that caused his problems, not Michelin.
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