Well as some of you know, after smoking a BRAND NEW S20 rear tyre in 1200 miles in Scotland (mostly in the wet) I decided I needed something a little more agricultural that would last me my 3k 8 day euro tour without having to change tyres mid way like normal. After seeing Dave v rag these on track, and Andy off here hooning it in the wet up in bonnie Scotland, I bit the bullet, tried not to look at them and had the pr3's fitted. Initial impression was they felt a bit slow in turn in, but this I put down to having a 50 rear and not a 55 that I'm used to, but generally they felt decent, however the ride home was limited so thought I'd save judgment until a proper ride, that was yesterday!! 250 odd miles, mixed A and B roads... 1st impression was they were very smooth with a good feel but had a weird tip in mid lean (theyd almost lean in then tip in again?) which was chatching me out and not inspiring much confidence to push... As we stopped lunch the rear was prob about 10mm off but plenty on the front which summed up my confidence on them... Fed and watered it was time to man up, push on and see what they were all about, as the road temps rose, my confidence increased I was able to push them much much harder, the mid tip issue was going away and the tyre felt incredibly planted, very stable at speed in the corners and no issue powering out of corner which was allowing me to corner at 80% of my comfort zone no issues. The rear felt fine with only a small slide but that was cranked over and me trying to make it move... By the end of the ride I was very impressed. My early apprehensions I'd put down to the fact these are a "sports touring tyre" and prob need a fair bit more scrubbing in (something im normally confident doing in not many miles tbh) as now the front is much closer to the edge, and rear almost gone bar approx 3mm but roughed up nicely to the edge, they feel much more like the normal (if not the same) as the sports tyres I'm used to! Warm up time is def longer, but as long as you remember that it's fine, and certainly worth it for the return in miles I'm expecting. And not ridden properly in the wet yet but from what I've seen I won't have an issue In summary a class tyre, great dry performance that will LAST, need to get my head round the design and the fact they do stick, even managed a couple of cheeky knee downs on some known bends and even a couple new and guess what, even starting to like the tread ; ) No doubt ill have a better idea of them after razzing them round Europe in June - cant wait to give you the feed back chaps. Jimbo.
What pressures are you running? My Tyre fitter put in the stock Honda pressures but I found they feel better at 34F 32R Cold, which when pressure checked immediately after coming home after an hours ride out were reading 38 psi Hot in both. There's plenty on here who go far lower than that but so far that seems to suit me fine.
I think thats the pressure Michelin recommend for track days And spirited riding Using their tyres.thats probably why It works well.
Funny you put this Jimbo, these are what I am looking at for the CB1K next, let me know what you think of them in the wet if you get chance
will do matey - although after seeing Dave V and Andy in the wet in Scotland, I can honestly say you wont have an issue.
Cool read a lot of good things about them, look forward to giving them a go, although so far I am impressed with the BT015's fitted beat the crap out of those poxy Q2's they fitted to the blade !
jimbo's right almost full throttle no wheel spin and endo's are possible in wet, the front is better than the rear for grip
Hey Jim have you tried Sportsmart? I have found them amazing but then again I don't ride at Andy or Dave pace
yes mate, very very good all round tyre, but didnt get huge mileage from them either. slightly over hyped if you ask me (other brands are as good imo), but fantastic all round tyre. end of the day, all subjective and my veiw might be diff to the next guy...
nice jimbo just had them fitted me self and like said seemed slow to turn in .and when i set off i felt almost like my steering was tight ? but felt good when warmed up i did have the odd slide on sun when out on the north run and pulled over to see if i had a slow puncher at one point but it must of been gravel on the road ? so lost a bit of confidence in them for abit ? then played catch up and they were the dogs bollocks
I don't think you can go wrong with PR3s they are a GREAT tyre IMO... I love them! Look pants but well worth putting up with the looks! SOOOO planted they make you question why bother with anything else...
I love the tread pattern me self, gets loads of positive comments from others to, not all from Bikers either. What pressures do you run Andy seeing as you're an apparent 'God' in the wet on them?
I have Bridgestone S20's on my blade and may go for these next. decided to have another S20 on the rear as front is still fine and not best to mix and match?? the pressures in mine are front 38 and rear 42 would that be different by tyre make/type then?
I'm running 32f and 36 r , not checked after a wet ride, but spirited dry road pressures go up to 36 f 40-42 r with the heat.
one question for all the guys fitting new michelin tyres....did you claim your £25 free fuel card? if not you have three days to do so, check the michelin website for details.
I think it's just that you are the reaper when it comes to shredding tyres Never have I seen a tyre in that state as that S20 after 2 days riding. Especially considering it was in the rain. Do you think that it's maybe a suspension issue that you have mate?
