Tire ratings

[Greg_S]

Used 'take offs"

They are tires that are used at the track for racers or track day riders. Middle of tire is basically brand new and the edges are worn. I try to sell my track day take offs for $60/set. Dunlap Q3's 120/180 and the sides aren't burnt, just worn enough for me to replace.

[red baron]

So,after 4 sets of PP3's I decided to try something different. Mostly due to having lunch with the Dunlop fellas and them buying me a beer.

I've levered on a set of Q3's and can say wow, what a difference, first day up on Palomar I warmed them up with a speed limit run up the MTN to look for popo and help scrub off any mold release. On the way down they were feeling fine so, lets drop a knee and see how they are. They are much more forgiving than the PP3's and the steering is nearly effortless.

I'm sure that these won't last as long (got 5,000 miles from the PP3), but I really love the way they're feeling under me.

[The Don]

Just swapped my Angel st for Michelin road 4s. Only my second set of Michelins ever. Got over 12000 on my front angel.
Michelins seem nice, only have about 50 miles on them so far. Has anyone noticed road noise or humming from the front
of road 4s? Or is my front bearing going bad?

bdub

I need to replace my Dunlop RoadSmart and have been looking around at reviews, the jury seems to think that the Michelin 4s are a great tyre. I see you have had yours since October and was wondering if you could give me a update?
Don

[bdub]

Hey Don,  I still haven't run my tires in the rain much, but the little I have they were very good.
I "feel" I'm getting better leans but that is probably just new tires.

Did you get a set? How are they for you?

[Dirty Duc]

If your rides include some of the dirty stuff, Shinko 705s are now available in 170/60/17 rear and 120/70/17 front... for about half the cost of a set of TKC-80s.

They seem to do pretty good on gravel roads and such, and if they wear like they do on an ADV bike they won't break the bank on mileage.

[koko64]

Michelin tyre pressure.

Fitted another Michelin Pilot Power 3 today. The tyre guy (very experienced bloke) said that the Pilot Power 3 and Pilot Road 4 series require higher tyre pressures than what people are used to. He said the tyre construction is much lighter than say what Dunlop run and that a pressure range of say 36 front/38 rear. I often use the 33/36 or 32/35 as a base line with street tyres, but he said I should have a few more psi with these tyres due to the light sidewall construction. Sounds like a carryover from the Pilot Pure style of light construction. The bloke also said that lower pressures than suggested will lead to abnormal wear. He is not a Michelin rep, the shop sells Dunlops, Pirellis, etc, he said it's just a tyre characteristic. I'm wondering if the new extra tread patterns are causing issues with wear and this is a way to mitigate it.


Dunlop are going the direction of heavy sidewall construction allowing lower pressures (especially their race tyres) and Pirelli appear to be more that way, so it seems that Michelin are going their own way on this. I wonder if this approach/philosophy has had ramifications at the racing level with the tyre issues Michelin are having at Moto GP?

I decided to try some different pressures starting with 34-35/36-37.

Anyone also heard this advice or different?

[Howie]

I have noticed that I feel low pressure when running pilots sooner than others.  I run 32-34 in the front, 34-36 in the rear, higher as the weather gets cooler and lower when the weather is getting warmer.  On the other hand, from the Michelin website:

Front    120/70 ZR 17 M/C (58W) F TL    Front pressure    2.1 bar    2.1 bar
Rear            180/55 ZR 17 M/C (73W) R TL    Rear pressure    2.3 bar    2.3 bar

We also tend to run higher pressure in NYC due to crappy roads.

[ducpainter]

I've always run 32F/34R with Michelin street tires. Maybe a pound or two less when the temps drop to the 40's

You'll flat spot that rear pretty fast at 37 pounds.

[koko64]

Yep, that's what Im thinking. I dont know how the things would warm up at those pressures on a cold day.
I went for a ride for a couple of hours tonight. I felt happier with the tyres at the lower pressures I normally run. It was cold (but dry) tonight about 10 C. I won't go over 34/36, probably sit around 33/35 and see how they wear.

[ducpainter]

I still think 34/36 is too high.

Michelin tires are nothing like Dunlops for sure, but they don't need high pressures.

[SpikeC]

 I put  over 6k miles on a pilot power 3 at 35psi and it had very even wear. The only reason I replaced it at that time was because I was about to leave for California and my buddy insisted that it would not last, but I was sure that it had another k in it easy.

[koko64]

G'day Spike. Was that a rear tyre? I'm guessing it was.
That's great news, I'll go back to my normal tyre pressures.

[koko64]

I bet the bloke I spoke to is used to heavier bikes or bikes with a front end weight bias. The Hyper is very light, as is the front.

[Speeddog]

Not relevant to Michelins, but I run 32/34 with my Pirelli Angel GTs.

I've found that the Michelins tend to have a floppy carcass, compared to the others.

Bridgestones, stiff carcass.

I mounted up a Shinko on the front of a bike once, counseled the owner against it, but he wanted it.
That thing was a brick.
To be fair it felt like it had been (inadvertently) baked.

[koko64]

They are noticebly lighter tyres. A pound or two more shouldnt hurt. 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 sounds a bit much.