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D609 Tires Longevity

You don't have to be hitting the twisties as fast as possible to appreciate the ride difference between the Avon Trailrider and the PR4. The Avon just flows well in any condition and the feedback matches that. Really it doesn't seem like there's a transitional behavior, or need for correction. It's easily as good in wet/cold too. It just seems to do what it's supposed to without any fuss. Beats me why a more affordable and all-purpose tire (compared to the PR) like this doesn't attract way more interest here.

As far as Bridgestone goes, the BT023 was a surprisingly good tire. No flies on that one. Right now I'm running Adventurecross AX41 on my WR250R for about a year and it seems to be a great tire for 50/50. Only thing to know now is mileage...
Part of the reason is that a helpful salesman quickly gets very quiet when you start to mention more affordable brands like Avon and Shinko.
 
Part of the reason is that a helpful salesman quickly gets very quiet when you start to mention more affordable brands like Avon and Shinko.
Avon isn't real cheap in the States, but with the Trailrider AV54 you are getting a premium dual-compound rear that lasts a long time and costs at least $30 less than the PR5. The similar-in-appearance Shinko 705 is a great bargain too, a lot cheaper though it won't clock as many miles. If the weather didn't vacillate so much and run to extremes where I lived I'd probably be happy with them. But once the road is a little cooler and/or wetter you really notice what a well-designed dual-compound tire can give you. So I'm sold on dual-compound for the climate here – at least Avon's formulations. Also it extends my riding season insofar as I don't have to slow down so much or pucker up during the late fall and early spring, those times when it's really pushing winter ; }
 
Avon isn't real cheap in the States, but with the Trailrider AV54 you are getting a premium dual-compound rear that lasts a long time and costs at least $30 less than the PR5. The similar-in-appearance Shinko 705 is a great bargain too, a lot cheaper though it won't clock as many miles. If the weather didn't vacillate so much and run to extremes where I lived I'd probably be happy with them. But once the road is a little cooler and/or wetter you really notice what a well-designed dual-compound tire can give you. So I'm sold on dual-compound for the climate here – at least Avon's formulations. Also it extends my riding season insofar as I don't have to slow down so much or pucker up during the late fall and early spring, those times when it's really pushing winter ; }

That's what I was thinking! I just gave like $330 for a set of Avon Cobras for my cruiser! But they will last every bit of 10-11k miles.
 
That's what I was thinking! I just gave like $330 for a set of Avon Cobras for my cruiser! But they will last every bit of 10-11k miles.
Yeah, my cruiser buddy used them on his custom Honda VTX1800 and really dug 'em for longevity and performance although he eventually darksided the rear.
 
My 2nd set, they wear and grip great. And I'm anti-darkside lol
Based on how well I saw it work on his VTX 1800 once he found the right tire (first one only got 15,000 miles before he took it off and didn't handle as well), I'd do it if I rode heavy cruisers. He could haul through canyons pretty fast and said he didn't have to work at it. I think his VTX weighed in near 800 pounds. But I sure can't see it on lighter bikes, especially if they only have the power of a NC.


2017-08-18 13;11;39
by greenboy, on Flickr


2016-08-27 15;54;19
by greenboy, on Flickr
 
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I'm with you. I am not a fan of Michelins on dry pavement and I'm not a racer or ex-racer though I get down the road pretty well. They seem to always require a mid turn correction or two to hold my chosen line and the only time they feel really good is on wet pavement. I've tried the original Pilot Roads, the Pilot Road 2, and the PR3, the latter on both a long term ST1300 (I went through approximately 26 rear tires during the time I owned that bike, primarily Bridgestone BT023s to T31s) and my 2012 NC700X and they all did it plus the odd lumpy wear and noise from the lumpy wear patterns. The odd thing is that I think it is primarily the rear tire that contributes to the squishy vague cornering feedback. On the NC700X I tried the PR3's thinking it might be the weight and handling dynamics of the ST1300 that overtaxed the soft sidewalls and the PR3s would be great on the lighter weight NC but that was not the case. On the NC the rear PR3 was eventually worn to lumpiness and the front still had good 50% tread so I bought a rear Pilot Power 2CT I got a bargain price on. That NC was transformed in the dry and the rear tire never gave me pause in the wet. I did like that combo but the I sold the bike before needing to replace the tires. I surmise it was the rear tire feeding the vagueness. Bridgestones never gave these problems for me and I ran these almost exclusively after giving up on PR3s. The Bridgestones exhibit better cornering stability, they handle side to side transitions much better and the T30s Evos and T31s aren't far behind the Michelins in the wet.

The 2015 NC came on the OEM Dunlops which were quickly replaced by 35,000 miles of BS T30s and T31s. I recently sold that bike and bought a BMW RT that was shod with Pilot 5s. I can tell you that they exhibit the same problems as before. Squishy ride and lumpy wear. The tires had 4500 miles on them when I bought the bike and now at 7500 miles they still have about 40% of tread left but I can hardly stand them. The BMW has the Telelever front end and it's feedback is vague compared to a good traditional fork to start with and the Michelins hobble it even more. I will replace the P5s with Bridgestone T31s.
I have to post what has transpired since I posted this. I had been using the factory recommended tire pressures on the R1200RT. The BMW owner's manual and the tire pressure sticker under the seat recommended 32/36 front/rear for solo rider no cargo and I followed these in the Road 5s on the bike. In an ongoing tire thread on an RT forum it was suggested to try 38/40 or 40/42 so I bumped up the pressures before riding down to Horse Country a few weeks ago. Horse Country is around Ocala, FL and has a lot of twisty roads, both tight corners and flowing 60 to 80 mph sweepers. I'm getting to know the RT better and pushing the bike harder and harder. The vague feedback that was my chief complaint with earlier versions of Pilot Road tires was no longer present. I rode that area a couple of times a week apart and logged a couple hundred miles pushing very hard. I changed my opinion of the Road 5s so much I just ordered another set of them. This is a huge change of opinion for me. The Michelins currently are about $340 a set compared to $240 for the Bridgestone T31s, my former favorite tire. I had a set of T31s on the same bike previously and really like them but I'm gone over to the Michelin Road 5s for at least another set.
 
I have to post what has transpired since I posted this. I had been using the factory recommended tire pressures on the R1200RT. The BMW owner's manual and the tire pressure sticker under the seat recommended 32/36 front/rear for solo rider no cargo and I followed these in the Road 5s on the bike. In an ongoing tire thread on an RT forum it was suggested to try 38/40 or 40/42 so I bumped up the pressures before riding down to Horse Country a few weeks ago. Horse Country is around Ocala, FL and has a lot of twisty roads, both tight corners and flowing 60 to 80 mph sweepers. I'm getting to know the RT better and pushing the bike harder and harder. The vague feedback that was my chief complaint with earlier versions of Pilot Road tires was no longer present. I rode that area a couple of times a week apart and logged a couple hundred miles pushing very hard. I changed my opinion of the Road 5s so much I just ordered another set of them. This is a huge change of opinion for me. The Michelins currently are about $340 a set compared to $240 for the Bridgestone T31s, my former favorite tire. I had a set of T31s on the same bike previously and really like them but I'm gone over to the Michelin Road 5s for at least another set.

Makes sense, air em up, takes the wiggle out of the soft carcass. I ran 35/35 in mine, they weren't terrible at that, just had trouble maintaining good lines through curves. I never did put more air in em though. 35/35 is always what I ran in Pilit Powers and other street tires, so figured it was good for the Road 5's too. Maybe some more air would have helped. I still have the Road 5's, if I go on a long trip, I may slap them back on and try airing them up.
 
I have to post what has transpired since I posted this. I had been using the factory recommended tire pressures on the R1200RT. The BMW owner's manual and the tire pressure sticker under the seat recommended 32/36 front/rear for solo rider no cargo and I followed these in the Road 5s on the bike. In an ongoing tire thread on an RT forum it was suggested to try 38/40 or 40/42 so I bumped up the pressures before riding down to Horse Country a few weeks ago. Horse Country is around Ocala, FL and has a lot of twisty roads, both tight corners and flowing 60 to 80 mph sweepers. I'm getting to know the RT better and pushing the bike harder and harder. The vague feedback that was my chief complaint with earlier versions of Pilot Road tires was no longer present. I rode that area a couple of times a week apart and logged a couple hundred miles pushing very hard. I changed my opinion of the Road 5s so much I just ordered another set of them. This is a huge change of opinion for me. The Michelins currently are about $340 a set compared to $240 for the Bridgestone T31s, my former favorite tire. I had a set of T31s on the same bike previously and really like them but I'm gone over to the Michelin Road 5s for at least another set.
Dang it Dave, you are not supposed to mention the curvy roads around Ocala (LOL, hehehe)...We are supposed to give the impression that Florida has no good roads to ride (all straight, no curves)...For you guys who do visit Florida....I have found the most curvy roads/hilly are east/west oriented...the north/south roads are typically straight and level (example...US19 from Chiefland to Crystal River-46 miles and approx 6 curves-look at the map on google-not exaggerating....ride that road quite often when trying to get to Crystal River in shortest amount of time. Back to tires (so not to hijack the thread)...the Shinko Ravens get about 8000-9000 on the rear and about 12,000-13,000 miles on the front (Honda NC700x) while the Shinko SR777 feels much better in the curves (about the same price as the Raven) gets less than 7000 miles on the rear... on my cruiser (C50 Bouldevard) I am going to go back to the old faithful tire, the Pirelli MT66 Route 66 tire-on the rear gets about 15,000 miles and on the front; 18,000 to 20,000 miles). I currently have a Kenda K761 on the front of the Boulevard, which has been on there for 16,000 miles and I when using a penny, the thread still covers the top of Lincoln's head-however, I hate the tire-always feel slippery (even though it isnt), not catching any grip (but it does)-I just never felt comfortable with the feel of the tire (had the Kenda K761 on the rear but it wore out at 5,000 miles). This spring, I am going to go back to the MT66s on the Boulevard (front and rear-if the front ever wears out), and the Shinko Ravens on the NC700 (got the Sr777 on the rear, which is almost wore out at 6500 miles and the sr777 on the front, which has 10,000 miles on it) for both the front and rear-why-I do 99% street riding and I can get a pair INSTALLED for less than $200 (US).
 
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