New tires mounted, plus Ride-on report.

[JDE]

Got my new Michelin PRC3's mounted up today. Thought I'd give them a try and see what the hype is all about. I didn't have a problem with the Metzelers put about 9,200miles on them before needing to change the rear, but supposedly the Michelin's will last longer.

Did the swap myself in the garage with hand tools and tire spoons. Wasn't too hard, reminded me of changing bicycle tires as a kid. Just bigger and more of a pain to deal with.

I had Ride-on tire balancer/sealant in the old tires for about 8k miles. Lots of people talk about how messy it is changing a tire with this stuff in there so I thought I'd take some pics to show how NOT messy it really was. The Ride-on stayed in the tire for the most part only a little on the rim for the rear tire. Wiped it off with a shop towel. None got on the front rim. There were NO signs off corrosion on the rims, just as their website states. Overall it wasn't any messier than changing any tire is as there's always gonna be the mounting lube or soapy water used to lube up the tire to get it on and off the rim that needs to get wiped up anyways. Bottom line, when the B.T.o.J. gets here today, I'll be putting Ride-on in my new tires also.

Here's some pics.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Looks great! I may be swapping tires in day or two. Why couldn't it have been 65 degrees when they needed replaced!

 

[JDE]

Looks great! I may be swapping tires in day or two. Why couldn't it have been 65 degrees when they needed replaced!

I know! I got up early to tackle this before it got too hot. Supposed to be 96+degs today. With triple digits for the next 4-5 days.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

I worked until 6:00 am this morning and it was miserable all night. Not really what I would call cool when I rode home @ 6:30 am. Guess I'll have the fan and beer ready!

 

[JDE]

I worked until 6:00 am this morning and it was miserable all night. Not really what I would call cool when I rode home @ 6:30 am. Guess I'll have the fan and beer ready!

Yeah, I go back to work tomorrow for two day shifts then two graves on Sun and Mon when it supposed to be the hottest. The forecasted low for Sun night is 70degs!

 

[jelo]

Good write up and pics. Is there any difference in the feel of the ride using Ride-On vs weight-balanced-wheel? How does it act in cold weather? What's the down side if any? Do any of you that have been riding a long time have comments about this stuff?

 

[fouzilogic]

What tire spoons did you use to change the tires? The pr3's are sure sharp tires. How long did it take you for both tires?

 

[JDE]

What tire spoons did you use to change the tires? The pr3's are sure sharp tires. How long did it take you for both tires?

I used a set of Motion Pro ones. It's a three pack, one really long one, a medium sized one and a shorter one. I'm a total noob at this and have never changed a motorcycle tire before, so I'd say it took maybe a total of 3-4 hours to pull the wheels off swap tires and put the wheels back on and align the rear. Also had to run to the store to get a 17mm allen head socket to torque the front Axel.

 

[JDE]

Good write up and pics. Is there any difference in the feel of the ride using Ride-On vs weight-balanced-wheel? How does it act in cold weather? What's the down side if any? Do any of you that have been riding a long time have comments about this stuff?

I've been using it for a while. The only difference is a little vibration early in the ride after installed, and then also if you haven't ridden in a while and the stuff settles to the bottom. On my daily ride to and from work, I don't even notice. Cold weather it may take a little longer to spread out until the tire warms up from the ride. Other than that I've had no issues with it. I used it in my last bike, in my car (separate formula for autos) and now in my NC.

 

[NCer]

Ride report, please!

 

[JDE]

Ride report, please!

I'll try and get a report in this weekend. Be riding it to work tomorrow and Saturday. Figure I should give them a couple hundred miles before judging them, as new tires always need some scrub in miles.

 

[JDE]

Ok, I guess 150 miles is good enough. So far I like them. The Michelins seems suprisingly grippy from the get go. Not sure if washing them after mounting the tires on the rim with some car wash soap cleaned off the mold release agent that makes new tires a little slick did the trick or if they are just that grippy from the factory. They seemed much more stable and SMOOTH, I guess I'd say than I remember the Metzelers feeling brand new. Might have been my own anxiety after getting back on a motorcycle almost one year after my accident on my last bike, but I don't recall the Metzelers feeling this grippy and confident this fast. Also the Michelins feel like they have softer/thinner side walls, some of the bumps and dips in the road don't bother me so much and it does feel like it takes just a little bit more effort to change direction than with the Metzelers. I think the Metzelers were definately sportier tires compared to the Michelins.

For me my NC is mostly used as a commuter, 50miles each way to and from work. So I don't really need sport bike tires, I beleive the Michelins are more of a touring tire (don't quote me I'm just guessing) and from what I've heard is that people were getting some pretty good mileage from these tires. I got 9234miles out of my Metzelers, so if I can get more than that with the PR3's I'll be happy. For just $10 more per tire I think it was the increased comfort alone was worth it. I've been a fan of the Metzelers in the past, but if these hold up well I may just have been converted to a Michelin Man!

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

I've read a lot about these tires before purchasing.

Michelin Pilot Road 3 Review - webBikeWorld

New (No) Mold Release Compound?
This was in marked difference to the other pairs of Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires (review) that have been on the Multistrada 620 (blog) since I replaced the original equipment Pirelli Diablo tires after only about 1,500 miles.
Previously, I had to spend time removing the sprue nubs and roughing up the surface on a new pair of tires. I would even search out gravel roads to put on a few dozen miles, hoping to grind away the slippery mold release compounds typically used on motorcycle tires.
I went on about this in some detail in the Pilot Road 2 review. In fact, it took about 300 miles, a roughing-up with Scotchbrite and a tour through the same gravel roads before previous sets of the Pilot Road 2 tires felt broken in. This has been my experience with other motorcycle street tires as well.
Not so with this set of Pilot Road 3 tires, which felt "stickier" when new than any other motorcycle tire I've ever tried. Normally, I have to tip-toe around on the bike(s), being careful to wear in the surface of the new tires.
Every motorcyclist has probably heard the story of the rider who drops his or her bike as they're turning out of the dealer's lot with a new set of tires. Not so here -- in fact, I had to keep reminding myself that these were new tires and I shouldn't be doing the types of things

 

[JDE]

He did a much better write up about the tires than I did, but that pretty much reflects my experience with them so far. I kept feeling like I should be taking it easy with a new set of tires, but the tires seemed to be talking back to me saying "it's ok, we can take that turn at 60mph" while my brain says "NO, these are new tires!" LOL That article sure makes me feel better about trying these tires out as opposed to sticking with the Metz's.

 

[draco_1967]

The PR3s profile is not as sporty (hence the turn-in difference). I had PR3s on my Nighthawk, and replaced the rear with a Z8 on a recommendation from another forum. They are sportier, but I will be switching to the PR3 once the Metzs wear out. They just feel so secure!

 

[JDE]

I went to CycleGear today on my way to work to get some of their Heat-out gear since it's been so freaking hot. When I pulled into the cycle parking area I parked right next to a Honda CBR600 I think (sport bike) and noticed right away that he had the Michelin PR3's on his bike. The tires looked fairly new too. Well when I went inside the guy who rung up my purchase was the owner of the bike, and he also noticed that I had the same tires. We got to talking and he has over 7,000miles on his tires he says!! 7k miles and they look almost brand new!!! Now I'm even more excited to see what kind of mileage I get with these tires!

 

[Garydj]

Those are some sharp looking tires! I'll surely consider them when it comes time to change out mine.

 

[Vescol]

I can highly recommend PR3s. On my Suzuki GSF1250SA i first had two sets of PR2's and later on two sets of PR3s. PR2s has excellent milage and PR3s even better. When i sold the bike (for the NC) it had 20.000 km on the PR3s. Both tires was flat in the middle but far from corded.

 

[StratTuner]

another vote for Michelin Pilot Road Tires

My Honda mechanic looked at my Metzler's and said
"you need new tires... soon!"

so I found a deal on the PR2s. ($375 installed)
The difference was really something. The Metzler's had started to "square off" on the top. That's a tire condition where the tire flattens on the road as it wears leaving the sides squared off. I'd noticed that in cornering, the steering felt "heavy", and I'm betting that's what happens when you try to lean the bike on to the right angle ridge that forms on the sides. I'm used to this phenomenon on road tires on a bicycle. I didn't think it would happen on a motorcycle tire, but it did.

The PR2s were new and still have a cross section that looks like an arch, to a table top!
turning with them was much easier/smoother.... the steering "heaviness" was gone.
It almost felt like they were losing traction, when in fact, they were turning smoothly as they should.

99% of my riding is asphault, so a good road tire makes sense.
I got 7K out of the Metzlers, and I hope to double that with the Michelin PR2s.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Good piece on Ride On in the tires. I have to admit at first I was a non believer in Ride On. Now I would not leave the house without Ride On in my tires. All you can do is lead a horse to water, you just can't make him drink it.