Tyred of the same old thing

[ribbert]

Anyone had Michelin PR 4's and 5's and care to pass on their observations between the two? (or suggestions on other grippy tyres) I'm on the last of my 3rd set of Metzeler 01's and just seeing what's out there, I didn't particularly like the PR4's.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

On my old PR-4's I noticed some light squirm while leaned over powering out of a curve.
On my current PR-5's there is no squirm. Michelin reinforced the sidewall and widened the shoulder.
The new 180/55-17 PR-5 is now too wide for my hugger. I had to take it off.
I got 8500 miles out of the PR-4's (rear) and I expect the same out of the 5's.

Next set, I want to try the Metzeler 01's

Cheers

[oldktmdude]

   G'day Noel, you know my bike and how I ride so the following maybe useful to you. Had a pair of Road 5's fitted just before the Dartmouth Rally last year. Good grip in the dry but had a few rear end slides in the wet. If you lean far enough over in the wet, you run out of tread and also grip. In my opinion they would be a much better tyre if the tread went all the way to the edge of the tyre. Got 10,101kms out of them which is pretty good milage for me.
I did not like the PR4's very much, good wet and dry grip until I had about 3;500 kms on them. After that period I had too many front end slides on them, always on the slower sharp corners. The front would understeer and slide too easily. Rear end grip seemed good but hard to judge accurately as the front wouldn't let you push the rear to it's limit. Got about 8,000kms out of them.
  Metzeler 01's felt great when first fitted, handled well both wet and dry. Not long after fitting them I rode to Melbourne, taking as many backroads as possible.
By the time I arrived there the rear tyre had worn flat across the centre of the tyre. This happened after only about 1,000kms. To say that I was disappointed was an understatement. I ended up getting 8,072 kms out of them. Recently thought about giving them a second chance until I read a few recent reviews on them and found out the rear tyre is made in Germany and the fronts are now made in China.
  Metzeler Z8's had been my tyre of choice until I found out all the latest ones are manufactured in bloody China, so no more Z8's for me.
  Just bought a set of Pirelli Angel GT2's in "A" spec, fitting them tomorrow, interested to see how they go. I have used the earlier ST's and found them very good until the front tyre ended up wearing to a pointed shape which made turning into corners very unpredictable.
  Regards, Pete.

[Motofun]

Kudos and great respect to you guys for riding your FJ's so hard that you're sliding the tires around and (hopefully) not crashing!  Hats off!   

[ribbert]

.....you know my bike and how I ride ....

  Regards, Pete.

Haha, I do, but I bet the tyre manufacturers never imagined it.

Thanks Pete and Pat for the feedback.

I had a set of PR4's on the FJ which let go enough times in the dry (rear) to suggest it was more than enthusiasm or coincidence and had to be the tyre and I lost confidence in them, the front also became prematurely heavy requiring much heftier steering inputs than normal, for the amount of wear, to get around corners. On two occasions I was forced to buy a tyre (F&R) while on trips and you guessed it, the only thing resembling a decent tyre both times was a PR4!

I find that problem you had with the 01 wearing in the centre weird, even my Covid lockdown tyre (basically 8500km around town and a few long twisty trips beforehand) still has a reasonable shape and it hasn't seen a corner for 18 mths. I've got them on 3 bikes, the FJ, RT, Versys and shortly, a GS and would happily recommend them but I like a change and want to make sure there's nothing out there that might be better.

That treadless outer section on the PR5's is something they promote as a good thing, it's a bit boy racer but they reckon if you're over that far in the dry you need a slick and if you're over that far in the wet and you haven't done so already, you're about to part company with your bike anyway so you don't need tread.

Haha, good luck trying to avoid Chinese manufactured goods, I understand the sentiment but I think it's becoming increasingly unavoidable.

I have a bit of time as I won't get the tyres until lockdown is over and the current ones are good enough for around town so I'll be interested to get some feedback when you mount up those Pirelli's and take them for a fang.

Tyre technology seems to have plateaued a bit, for a few years there every time you needed tyres there was something light years ahead of the last set.

Once again, thanks for the feedback guys.

Noel

[Mike Ramos]

Anyone had Michelin PR 4's and 5's and care to pass on their observations between the two? (or suggestions on other grippy tyres) I'm on the last of my 3rd set of Metzeler 01's and just seeing what's out there, I didn't particularly like the PR4's.

Noel

Howdy Noel,

With the first set of Road 5's there were had no complaints although it seems as you observed, the Road 5's had reduced wet weather performance re: lean angle.  The 3's & 4's were quite confidence inspiring while cornering in wet conditions.  The Road 5's are a good sport tire, I had good results from that aspect.

However I have not had good luck, in some ways, with subsequent Road 5's.  The 2nd set cupped to such an extent they were replaced with plenty of tread but the steady vibration was not acceptable! 

The next two sets it was keeping them in balance.  Each successive set the problem became more pronounced.  My last set every 1,500 to 2,000 they needed to be rebalanced.   

So I switched to the Power 5 (the replacement for the R/S which was a great tire, in my estimation).  Same decline in quality control, or so it seems.  Just returned from the ECFR and had them rebalanced.  The vibration issue started long ago & if I had been in this area, rebalancing would have been sooner.

It is difficult to keep the same ambient conditions however I have the same upgraded suspension front & rear and weather conditions & roads are pretty much the same for each set of tires.

Anyway, I'll probably follow Pat's idea, but we'll see.

Ride safe!

[oldktmdude]

   Fitted the new Angel GT's "A" spec today. Had a short ride to Tathra and back, a total distance of about 70kms.
First impressions are very good, confidence inspiring, great turn in and very good traction powering out of slower corners.
Road condition was dry and warm. If these prove to be as good in the wet I'll be very happy. If milage is similar to the previous Angels, I'll
be very happy indeed.
Reminds me of the first impression of Metzeler 01 and Z8's.
2mm chicken strip on the RHS but none on the LHS, got to be happy with that for it's first gentle break in run
Regards, Pete.

[Motofun]

Never understood the whole "chicken strip" thing.  Seems counter intuitive to me.  If I'm keeping up and not using the edge of my tires, isn't that a good thing?   

[Millietant]

Never understood the whole "chicken strip" thing.  Seems counter intuitive to me.  If I'm keeping up and not using the edge of my tires, isn't that a good thing?  

Yes, it is, it says you're using your body position more effectively, using less lean angle for the same corner speed  

But it's still cool to see a tyre worn to the edge of the tread 

[Tuned forks]

I envy you guys that have fitted 180's to a FJ.

[FJ1200W]

Old ID Chart, still applicable.

[Pat Conlon]

I envy you guys that have fitted 180's to a FJ.

You can do it. The folks here on the forum showed me how.

If you can take off your back tire, you can do it.

You will be happy you did. Not many options left in the 150/80-16 size and getting less and less every year.

[ribbert]

   Fitted the new Angel GT's "A" spec today. Had a short ride to Tathra and back, a total distance of about 70kms.
First impressions are very good, confidence inspiring, great turn in and very good traction powering out of slower corners.
Road condition was dry and warm. If these prove to be as good in the wet I'll be very happy. If milage is similar to the previous Angels, I'll
be very happy indeed.
Reminds me of the first impression of Metzeler 01 and Z8's.
2mm chicken strip on the RHS but none on the LHS, got to be happy with that for it's first gentle break in run
Regards, Pete.

Thanks Pete, but I may have shot myself in the foot, my children gave me a voucher for a set of tyres for Father's Day, I chose the place and only now realise they only sell Michelin, Metzeler and Continental so I may well be lining up for yet another set of 01's.
I'll still be keen to hear how the tyres are going after some decent use.

Thanks for the feedback.

Noel

PS: Did you ever notice the 01's needed more frequent pressure top ups than usual?

[wainot-Phil]

Anyone had Michelin PR 4's and 5's and care to pass on their observations between the two? (or suggestions on other grippy tyres) I'm on the last of my 3rd set of Metzeler 01's and just seeing what's out there, I didn't particularly like the PR4's.

Noel

Hi Noel ,Hope all is good with you Mate,,
About PR4 Tires through my eyes .
I have put on and run about 4 sets of PR4 's GT  Tires on my fleet of  FJ , FJR 'XJR Bikes , I have found that no matter what Bike I fit them to the front Tire's always start cupping after about 3000k .
They get a big scallop in them , Very noticeable if you stand up on the pegs and look over the screen at the front wheel while riding along , (vertically challenged  people might have a problem doing this) ha ha
Due to this scalloping / cupping on the side of all my PR4 Tires ,no matter what bike  they are fitted to ,I will never be Buying them again ,
I have just finished rebuilding a FJ1100 and when looking for tires for it ,  I came across  a unknown to me brand of Mitas Sports Touring Force Tires ,
These Mitas Tires are Multi Compound , High in Silica and ZR Rated , They are sold on Aussie eBay and are shipped out of a Melbourne Based Motorcycle Shop ,
I have only done about 2000 k on the Mitas Set that I put on my FJ1100 but could not be happier with them , They feel GREAT ,, Like being on Rail road tracks , No wear at all after 2000k ,

I ever have another front Tire on its way to me to replace yet another 1/2 worn Scalloped out PR4 Tire

[ribbert]

About PR4 Tires through my eyes ......

Thanks for the feedback Phil, those new tyres look interesting, how did you hear of them? are there any testimonials or did you just take a punt? What about cost? a set of PR5's or 01's etc are over $500, as you know.

Dissatisfaction with PR4's seems to be fairly common, other than dry grip issues, my FJ had never been heavier to turn in it's life than when the front became worn, and I change my tyres in pairs so the fronts never get that worn.
The feedback on the PR5 from Pete and Mike is hardly glowing either.

The bulk of reviews on tyres are when they're new and as we all know, they're all good then. Knowing how they perform for the other 3/4's of their usable life is much more useful information.

Noel