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temesvar

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I am more than happy with what Micheline has to offer: the Pilot

Road 4 . For rear, i find it to be more than great. Am not happy

with the front tire, though. It wears unevenly, and wonder what

else is there i should replace it with. Any suggestions?

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I don't mix brands and models of tires, front to back. I think they are made to function as a set and engineered to do so regardless of brand or model. I actually think the engineers that design these tires know what they are doing, but I'm a retired engineer so I am probably prejudiced. But, I also don't think anything catastrophic is in store for someone who does. I had 8500 miles on my PR4's when I changed them. (Trying the Metzler Roadtec 01's) My PR4's were still performing well although the rear was showing quite a bit of flattening. I changed them primarily because I wanted new tires to start the 2017 riding season. They never turned evil and front cupping was almost undetectable. Just my opinion.

 

Larry

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I am more than happy with what Micheline has to offer: the Pilot

Road 4 . For rear, i find it to be more than great. Am not happy

with the front tire, though. It wears unevenly, and wonder what

else is there i should replace it with. Any suggestions?

 

Morning temesvar

 

I need to start off by saying that what works for me might not, or probably won't, work the same for you as we ride on different road surfaces at different aggressiveness, at probably much different speeds & braking inputs.

 

Like you, I can't get the PR 4's to wear evenly of wear worth a darn (especially the front, but for me even the rear is prone to uneven early wear).

 

My favorite (at least for even wear) on the hexhead 1200RT's is the old Metzler Z-6. I am a pretty aggressive rider & seem to be very hard on motorcycle tires so I never see much more than 4-6k on any of them but at least the Z-6 gave me consistent even wear with no cupping or feathering (they just wore out without any odd issues)

 

I really liked the front Z-6 as it did all I ever asked & showed me when it was worn out. I also liked the handling of the Z-6 (especially at high speed aggressive lean angles) but the rear was the part I didn't like as even though it wore evenly I could never tell exactly when it was worn out as the wear bars were off center & the first sign of severe wear was the center cords showing.

 

The one problem with the Metzler Z-6 (other than rear tire wear indication) is that they are no longer made so are very difficult to find now.

 

I bought a number of Z-6 way back & am about out of them now & am having a very difficult time finding more.

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I don't mix brands and models of tires, front to back. I think they are made to function as a set and engineered to do so regardless of brand or model. I actually think the engineers that design these tires know what they are doing, but I'm a retired engineer so I am probably prejudiced. But, I also don't think anything catastrophic is in store for someone who does. I had 8500 miles on my PR4's when I changed them. (Trying the Metzler Roadtec 01's) My PR4's were still performing well although the rear was showing quite a bit of flattening. I changed them primarily because I wanted new tires to start the 2017 riding season. They never turned evil and front cupping was almost undetectable. Just my opinion.

 

Larry

With all respect,Larry, i would not put engineers to high on a pedestal just because they are engineers!

As far as mixing different brands of tires, i see no problem there at all. As long as is not sport/touring rear and off road front!! :rofl:

But i notice you are switching from PR4 to Metzeler Roadtech 01.

May I ask why? I have nearly 9K miles on my Triumph with a set of PR4,

and the rear still looks good, the front not so much. Yes, the bike is 80lbs lighter than the RT, and that makes a difference!

I would say that 9-10K miles with a set of tires is not bad at all!

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I am more than happy with what Micheline has to offer: the Pilot

Road 4 . For rear, i find it to be more than great. Am not happy

with the front tire, though. It wears unevenly, and wonder what

else is there i should replace it with. Any suggestions?

 

Are you running the standards, or the "GTs"?

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I had the standards on the Triumph, i have a GT rear on the RT, after a 3"nail destroyed a nearly new standard PR4 rear.

Never had a GT front.

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I have heard good things about the 01's, particularly the handling and they handle just fine, as did the PR4's. Will see what kind of mileage they go and how the handling deteriorates or not as they gather the miles on them. I am not particularly thrifty when it comes to tires; I really like riding with a fresh set.

 

"With all respect,Larry, i would not put engineers to high on a pedestal just because they are engineers!"

 

I said I was prejudiced.

 

Larry

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Larry, Happy New Year!! :wave:

Good luck with your new choice in tires.

Let us know how you compare them with the PR4

I know, it will take time, but is good to know

how they perform. I personally, like the PR4

for the way they perform when is wet. JMHO

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Got nothing to really add, except the Z 6's were the best and nothing that they replaced with came close, IMO.

Mixing and matching, YMMV, not my choice, as I believe that F/R

are designed to work together.

Given the small footprint on a mc, I always chose to err on the side of caution and replace both at the same time with the same brand.

Ran about 10-12 sets of the original Z 6's and only had one issue with early wear (@7500) when I had the regular rear insteat of the "B" or whatever the designation for MY Gt was supposed to run. All the others went a consistent mileage and got changed at the same mileage, ususally w/more tread than most choose to replace, but that was my nod to peace of mind.

.02

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I had the standards on the Triumph, i have a GT rear on the RT, after a 3"nail destroyed a nearly new standard PR4 rear.

Never had a GT front.

You may want to try PR4 GTs both front and rear. The front wear may be due to the standard being too close to max weight. The GT's handle the weight better. I run GT's on the Duc.

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Got nothing to really add, except the Z 6's were the best and nothing that they replaced with came close, IMO.

Mixing and matching, YMMV, not my choice, as I believe that F/R

are designed to work together.

Given the small footprint on a mc, I always chose to err on the side of caution and replace both at the same time with the same brand.

Ran about 10-12 sets of the original Z 6's and only had one issue with early wear (@7500) when I had the regular rear insteat of the "B" or whatever the designation for MY Gt was supposed to run. All the others went a consistent mileage and got changed at the same mileage, ususally w/more tread than most choose to replace, but that was my nod to peace of mind.

.02

I had a 3"nail in the rear tire, at about 4000Km.(about 2500 miles) I replaced only the rear, and this time i chose GT.

Would you have replaced both? I have 10K km on front, and it shows signs of wear. But still safe to ride.

I strongly believe is good to change both, front and rear at same time. I find that to be logical. But will not believe

that both tires front and rear, HAVE to be same brand/model. Did you ever experience handling problems because

using different tires?

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I had the standards on the Triumph, i have a GT rear on the RT, after a 3"nail destroyed a nearly new standard PR4 rear.

Never had a GT front.

You may want to try PR4 GTs both front and rear. The front wear may be due to the standard being too close to max weight. The GT's handle the weight better. I run GT's on the Duc.

I had to replace the rear at about 4K km (2500 miles)after a 3" nail found its way to punch my rear tire. Just in the spur of the moment, i chose

a GT. After 10K km( 6200 miles) front shows wear, rear is like new. However, will keep GT next time.

Edited by temesvar
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Knock on wood.

Hundreds of thousands of miles, never a flat.

I would replace the rear and do more burnouts to catch up

:grin:

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Knock on wood.

Hundreds of thousands of miles, never a flat.

I would replace the rear and do more burnouts to catch up

:grin:

Replaced the rear! To old to do burnots!! No hart for that

stuff anymore! To old!!

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Been running PR4GT's for a couple years now. The front does wear the left side faster than the right on all my sets. But I still get around 9-10k on them. I go thru 2 sets a season. If I didn't run thru tires so often I might be tempted to try another type, however, I really have NO complaints with the Michelin PR4'S. Mixing tires ? I've only done it once with no noticeable handling problems. My RT1150 uses the GT's according to the Michelin specs as indicated on their Web site. After riding with a flat tire at speed for quite a distance, I can't complain about the stiffer GT sidewalls. As Dirtrider opined, what works for one may not work for another. Lots of good choices. If you come up with a real winner, Please let us know. Enjoy

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I will echo the last guy, I get 8 to 12 out of PR4's GT's. I do notice some front cupping, but my shop guy says keep the pressure up on them and it will not be noticeable, so I run 40/40. Also think about you are running a shaft drive bike, so the right side rear get some additional wear due to the placement of the drive, or so I think. I love the PR4 GT and get very good wear and find then do everything I want.

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  • 1 year later...

I know this discussion is ~8 years old, but this morning I noticed the most extreme difference between left and right that I have ever seen with a PR3 front tire. I normally park on the left side of the garage, almost against a wall, with the handlebars full left, so what usually catches my eye is the right side of the tire, which looked great. But today, I looked at it front on, and was shocked by what I saw:

 

qOraLAd.jpg

 

This probably explains why the front tire wasn't "singing" as loudly as last year.

 

Time to look for a replacement. What do people like in 2018? (I'll search, but thought I might ask here as well).

Edited by Selden
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Selden, that looks like a totally normal worn out PR3 front tire (for an R11RT). I've used a lot PR3 fronts - still like them. I recently tried the Dunlop Roadsmart III on the front. Pairs well with the PR3 on the rear and gives me the same or slightly more miles than the PR3 gave. I'm on my 4th RS3 front now.

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Thanks. I don't normally ride that far into the tread; this was sheer oversight on my part.

 

I have been reading some very good reviews for the Pirelli Angel GT 120/60ZR-17

 

My last three sets have been Michelins, and while I have no complaint about the Michelin rear tires, the front PR3 starts howling at ~4000 miles. The noise begins at ~55 mph in a straight line, but disappears in curves. Unfortunately not all roads are full of curves. Even with earplugs it's annoying. I don't remember any other front tire making this much noise.

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Selden, not unusual wear.

 

I used to walk around my bike first thing every ride, recheck at stop.

Spin rear tire on centerstand, eyeball front, check lights, horn.

Allowed me to find an issue or two I might not have found as quickly''' including a rear tire

that wore out much earlier than the previous 6 versions of the same brand.

 

After a while, had to remind myself to do the walkaround.

:dopeslap:

Getting complacent I told myself.

:eek:

Not a good thing on a motorcycle.

So, I got back in the habit, helped me get ready to ride, mentally.

Your esperience is a good reminder to do a preride check, every time.

Best wishes.

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I know this discussion is ~8 years old, but this morning I noticed the most extreme difference between left and right that I have ever seen with a PR3 front tire. I normally park on the left side of the garage, almost against a wall, with the handlebars full left, so what usually catches my eye is the right side of the tire, which looked great. But today, I looked at it front on, and was shocked by what I saw:

 

qOraLAd.jpg

 

This probably explains why the front tire wasn't "singing" as loudly as last year.

 

Time to look for a replacement. What do people like in 2018? (I'll search, but thought I might ask here as well).

 

 

Selden,

 

Are you carrying all your money in your left pocket??

 

I've been using the PR4's on my R11S (second set) with excellent handling, wet or dry, and no howling.

 

I bought a K12RS last year that came with almost used up Battle Axe front and rear and I've had a hard time wearing out that rear. Found a good deal last fall on a set of Pirelli Angel GT tires for it, mounted the front several months back and it is doing very well, wet or dry, and no howling. Don't know yet what the mileage will be, have less than a thousand on it so far, but zero complaints.

 

Come see us up in Roswell!!

 

 

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The tires that came with my 2016 RT were Metzler Z8, if I remember correctly. I liked them, I felt glued to the ground, very confident feeling, but a little noisy. They felt so grippy I had no problem pulling the bike over. I had my foot booted off the peg more than once. Anyway I don't ride like that a lot, and I wanted quieter tires, so I went with the Angel GT's. They are quieter, and they feel lighter on their feet. It's hard to explain, but they are definitely more responsive. I'm used to them now, but I still miss the Metzlers. Not sure what I'll do next time around. Noise is a big factor to me.

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The tires that came with my 2016 RT were Metzler Z8, if I remember correctly. I liked them, I felt glued to the ground, very confident feeling, but a little noisy. They felt so grippy I had no problem pulling the bike over. I had my foot booted off the peg more than once. Anyway I don't ride like that a lot, and I wanted quieter tires, so I went with the Angel GT's. They are quieter, and they feel lighter on their feet. It's hard to explain, but they are definitely more responsive. I'm used to them now, but I still miss the Metzlers. Not sure what I'll do next time around. Noise is a big factor to me.

 

Interesting. My experience with the Z8's and Angel GT's are almost opposite from yours. I had the least confidence on the Z8's vs. Conti Road Attacks (came with bike), Michelin PR4 GT's, and Angel GT's. The Z8's started cupping and became noisy at about 6k miles, the front left side wore like in the pictures several posts up although not quite that severe, and the cords starting showing on the rear tire at just under 9k miles. So far, the Z8's have provided the least amount of miles. The Angel GT's were immediately noisy and just for that reason I'll probably try something different for the next set of tires. However, the Angel GT's are performing terrific. I only have about 500 miles on them but I'm very happy performance-wise. Of the three sets I've went through, the PR4's have suited me best.

 

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