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Dunlop Trailmax alongside Michelin PR4...night and day difference!

GoRovers

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Despite having only 2000+ miles on my 2016 NC700X DCT, I've decided to ditch the stock Dunlop Trailmax tires for a set of Michelin PR4s. I'll have my mechanic mount/balance the front and rear PR4s this week. I took this side-by-side photo of the current and new tires. I ride 100% for pleasure (no commuting, mainly canyons and sweepers) in dry conditions only. I realize Trailmax are 80/20 tires, so I've been cautious, but while accelerating out of curves I've felt the rear tire lose traction on several occasions...butt-clenching moments to be sure.

From this visual perspective it's clear the PR4s will instill a bit more road-riding confidence.

Michelin-PR4-front-w650.jpg
 
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For me it was night and day. I’m new to riding and the grip of the PR4s was very confidence inspiring - especially on wet roads. I do 99% of my riding on asphalt and love the mountain twisties, and these are a great choice.


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I commute most days and got about 6k miles or so if I remember correctly on the OEM Dunlops. Switching to the PR4's was pretty impressive to say the least!
 
I am biased towards the PR4 myself but I like them for the rain. I think if you ride only in the dry you have more options for tires. If your moving from an 80/20 I think you will feel the improvement...does it get better...with no rain I would want to try the Metzler Roadtec 01 *no rain hysterical giggle*

My favorite reviews: Best Touring Motorcycle Tires of 2017 - YouTube
 
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For sure PR4's work well on an NC. However I would not be too quick to knock Dunlops based on the fact that they are not performing as OEM's on the NC. I will elaborate . I had Z8's on my NC as OEM's. They were poor tyres and I was experiencing slippages and issues like those described above to the point that I almost lost confidence in the bike. I then fitted PR4's and all was well. However when I looked up Z8's on the web, lots of folks had a lot of good to say about them. I thought nothing more of it.

Fast forward to my Africa Twin purchased last year. It had Dunlop Trail Max or the like as OEM tyres. Boy were they scary. They were possibly the worst tyres I ever had on a motorcycle. I parted with them way ahead of time, and with Pirelli MT90's all was well. However I also use Dunlops on my Triumph. That is one heavy bike yet the Dunlop Trail Smarts on it are the best tyres for it having tried Anakees and Metzelers. I could not believe why there was such a difference in performance between two similar tyres from the same manufacturer. It troubled me enough to write to Dunlop Europe about it. They more or less disowned the Africa Twin Dunlops. They explained to me that those tyres were built by Dunlop Japan, very precisely to Honda's specifications. As such, the tyres were of a different spec to normal.

Given the poor Z8's on my former NC I now suspect that they also were built to Honda specs as they are otherwise good tyres on other bikes. I now have Bridgestones as OEM's on my X-Adv. I was cautious with them at first because they are also built to Honda Spec. They are good fortunately, but I am not as confident in them as I am in the Dunlops on my Triumph. The reason is not psychological, but more seat of the pants. They haven't slipped but they do squirm a little more than I would like. I may well replace them with the same tyres but I will also look at PR4's and Dunlops.
 
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To me the stiffer sidewall of a Bridgestone tire feels and handles better than the softer carcass construction of a Michelin. Feedback from the tires provides confidence to me in dry and wet conditions. I don't pay much mind to Youtube type of tire reviews. Opinion of one person is just that. Bike magazine, Motorrad magazine do blind tire testing on a track with professional riders and I give more attention to objective reviews that present repeatable data.

To be fair I never tried the 4s, only the first three generations of Pilot Roads on different bikes. Why would I pay a premium for a tire that doesn't feel as good under me?
 
PR4s are a nice tire but they don't last. T30's last longer, are less expensive and I'm with dduelin on the handling. I just switched from the PR4s to the T30s.
 
Has anyone used the Dunlop Road smart 3 tires ?? Recently read an article about them and it was a positive review.
I am a big fan of the RoadSmart 2's. Haven't tried the 3's yet. I commute almost every day and it rains a lot up here in the northwest. The Road Smart 2 has been terrific.

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I have the RoadSmart 3s and have no complaints. No spins in the rain, no slippy feeling in the rain. Very predictable. That said, im a new rider so i dont have anything to compare to. Im tempted next time to get the PR4s and compare.
 
I have the RoadSmart 3s and have no complaints. No spins in the rain, no slippy feeling in the rain. Very predictable. That said, im a new rider so i dont have anything to compare to. Im tempted next time to get the PR4s and compare.

I’m new to riding as well. The OEM Dunlop’s were ok but not great on wet roads, and mine wore out in about 4K miles.

The first set of new PR4s was an amazing change - even with my very limited experience. No fear of wet roads! I️ got about 9,300 mile out of the rear and about 10,500 out of my front before changing again (and I️ change once I hit the wear bars). Based on my riding (all pleasure riding) that’s about a year and a half. So worth the relatively small additional cost to me for the confident rides. Haven’t tried other tires mainly because I don’t ride off pavement enough to need even a 90/10 tire, and most reviews comparing the PR4 to other road tires seems pitch alternatives as “just about as good” and a little cheaper. Since riding is a hobby for me, I’m not that concerned about the few extra $ every year and a half or so.

My $0.02 and YMMW.


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When the Trailmax rim protectors wore out, I replaced them with Avon 3D-Storms. When those needed replacing, Dunlop had a rebate on the Roadsmart 3 and I put those on. I like the Avons quite a bit better. They had more grip and the bike handled better. Both were fine in the rain. I don't think I'll be getting Dunlops in the future, since there are better sport bike tires out there.
 
I've replaced Dunlops with Avon 3D Storms also, I love the Avons, what a wonderful tire compared to the Dunlops.
 
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