Pilot Road 2's Rear Tire Wear

Bah! It's a fact of commuting but I hate replacing a tire with so much tread left on sides.

I'm thinking there are way to many variables in all of this tire wear stuff. My PR'2s I changed out last Monday were into the wear bars at 8,000 miles but have gotten 11,500 out of one set.

Rider weight, road surfaces, aggressiveness and weather all have a lot to do with the wear of a set of tires.

I just spooned a set of PR3s on yesterday and took off a half worn set of PR2s. I am heading to Arkansas next week and I didn't want to risk wearing through the old PR2 before I got home.

Well, new tires always feel very good to me regardless of what tires they are, but I believe the PR3s feel better than any other new tire I have tried. They just seem stickier and turn-in feels neutral, no surprises. I haven't hit a stretch of tar snakes yet so I'll reserve judgement on that until I experience it. I get about 10-12k miles out of a set of PR2s and I hope to get the same from the PR3s. I'll know soon enough.

SwollenRaccoon said:

carlson_mn said:

I have 2500 miles on my PR2 and it is 50% wore down. Going to Arkansas for 4 days of twisites so at least I'll be using the sides more... a little nervous still.

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Matt, as you know, I made that trip 2 weeks ago. My tires (PR2)were new last fall, and looked pretty good when I left, with no more than 1,000 miles on them, probably closer to 500 to 600. We put on 2,350 miles in 5 days, and my front is destroyed. Rear has a few more rides in it, but not many. I'll be ordering a new pair this week.

By the way, you WILL have fun.

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Thanks good info! Actually my front is a PR3 with 2k miles so it should be ok. I'm trailering down there with the other guys so luckily I don't have to put 1400 miles of slabbing on.

GeorgiaRoller said:

Fontanaman said:

I changed my rear Pilot Road 2 today, decided to learn something and share what I learned. The rear tire had nearly 11,000 miles. 2,000 miles before I changed it, it had 1/16 inch of tread left above the wear bar.

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I just changed my PR2 this weekend. It looked worse than yours and only had 6,400 miles on it.

SkooterG said:

Good to know. Makes it easy not to spend the premium associated with the PR3s.

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My local dealer just priced-matched Amazon.com for me on a new PR3 rear tire and gave it to me for $169.00 and installed it for $32.00 (I just rode the bike in & didn't take the wheel off myself).

Not too sure that's paying a "premium".

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So what can you learn from this boys & girls? Nothing! Tire wear is completely individual and all over the board. And one tire a guys says is "dangerous" another guy loves and will buy another set in a heartbeat.

Just another information overload session here on fjrforum.com that leaves one scratching your head...thanks for tuning in though!

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I learned how much tread is left on my tire when the center wear bar is nearly gone - 3/32 of an inch. I did not intend to learn anything else.

Fontanaman said:

I learned how much tread is left on my tire when the center wear bar is nearly gone - 3/32 of an inch. I did not intend to learn anything else.

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Oh I know Fontana, it's just so crazy how the same tire can have vastly different tread wear per each rider. I liked how my PR2's handled but I'm trying out the PR3 now. Of all the street bikes I've owned I've never gotten more than 7,500 miles on a rear tire on any of them. Usually it's right around 6k that I seem to get. If I could get 10k out of the PR3's I'd be ecstatic. I rode 150 miles yesterday to break in the new rear tire and it handled identically in the twisties as the PR2 to me...I could not tell a difference!...other than it was a new tire and had a better arc to it.

GeorgiaRoller said:

Fontanaman said:

I learned how much tread is left on my tire when the center wear bar is nearly gone - 3/32 of an inch. I did not intend to learn anything else.

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Oh I know Fontana, it's just so crazy how the same tire can have vastly different tread wear per each rider. I liked how my PR2's handled but I'm trying out the PR3 now. Of all the street bikes I've owned I've never gotten more than 7,500 miles on a rear tire on any of them. Usually it's right around 6k that I seem to get. If I could get 10k out of the PR3's I'd be ecstatic. I rode 150 miles yesterday to break in the new rear tire and it handled identically in the twisties as the PR2 to me...I could not tell a difference!...other than it was a new tire and had a better arc to it.

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Very true points, but you'll notice that others who ride similarly and similar road conditions get the same mileage. If you like to click through the gears and have fun in the twisties beyond a gingerly 'keep it in 5th' style cruise, there's no way you'll get anywhere near 10k out of a PR2. Remember a lot of liter bike guys get about 3,000 on average out of their tires, and that's not even riding overly aggressively. So to get 5-6k out of a PR2 on a much heavier bike is not too bad. But yes, still depressing when you hear the guys talking of getting 10-17k out of them.

Nuts! Debating the pointless recurring tire wear for different folks wasn't the reason I started this thread. I just want to share how much tire was left when the center wear bar was nearly gone. How quick your tire gets there is how quick it gets there.

My recent trip report never got this much traffic. :dribble:

Shoot, this ain't nothing. Next time you get your oil changed, have an analysis done and post it up. That'll bring you some traffic!

carlson_mn said:

But yes, still depressing when you hear the guys talking of getting 10-17k out of them.

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I know right!

gixxerjasen said:

Shoot, this ain't nothing. Next time you get your oil changed, have an analysis done and post it up. That'll bring you some traffic!

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+1...Ain't that the friggin truth!!!!

Fontanaman said:

Nuts! Debating the pointless recurring tire wear for different folks wasn't the reason I started this thread. I just want to share how much tire was left when the center wear bar was nearly gone. How quick your tire gets there is how quick it gets there.

My recent trip report never got this much traffic. :dribble:

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Keep it together Brother...it's gonna be ok! Don't you know all threads about wear of any kind always dissolve into something like this. ....plus it's slow at work today for me and I've got nothing better to do than make comments on motorcycle forums.

BTW I like your ride reports. (95% of people just look and never post or say anything is all)

Good info thankyou. I got just over 12k out of my Z6 Metzeler.

Fontanaman said:

Nuts! Debating the pointless recurring tire wear for different folks wasn't the reason I started this thread. I just want to share how much tire was left when the center wear bar was nearly gone. How quick your tire gets there is how quick it gets there.

My recent trip report never got this much traffic. :dribble:

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You didn't make an opinion on tire wear or correct brand of oil to use in your report did you?

Well now you'll know for next time.

Nice RR BTW.

carlson_mn said:

I have 2500 miles on my PR2 and it is 50% wore down. Going to Arkansas for 4 days of twisites so at least I'll be using the sides more... a little nervous still.

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I would strongly suggest that you install a new set of tires. Arkansas chip and seal plus a dose of a bit more acceleration and braking than your usual riding will result in your tires not wearing any where near as long as you are expecting. Every, I repeat every, time there is a gathering that has out of state riders, someone needs a new tire installed. Just last weekend I had to install a tire from my trash pile on a fellow riders bike so he could get back to his trailer in Russellville. If you are at 2500 miles and already at 50%...they probably aint gonna make 4 days of riding. Granted, I probably ride harder than most, but for comparative purposes...my tires only last from 806 miles to under 3000.

I'm glad I ordered a new set of PR3s. Rear will be going on when they come in before trip. Front is still at 80%+ so I'll keep that one on. I wear out my rears in 5-6k here in MN/WI so I figure I'll get maybe half that in AR...

carlson_mn said:

I'm glad I ordered a new set of PR3s. Rear will be going on when they come in before trip. Front is still at 80%+ so I'll keep that one on. I wear out my rears in 5-6k here in MN/WI so I figure I'll get maybe half that in AR...

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Good call. Now you shouldn't lose any precious riding time and big bucks if the dealer does it...or... evening socializing time if I did it, to have a tire installed.

Fontanaman said:

Nuts! Debating the pointless recurring tire wear for different folks wasn't the reason I started this thread. I just want to share how much tire was left when the center wear bar was nearly gone. How quick your tire gets there is how quick it gets there.

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It's all about you! We gotcha bro

Since Fontanaman cut his tire when it hit the wear bars, figured I'd share mine that started showing cords. Like most, I usually wear the center down first, but this time the right side showed cords way before I anticipated it would. Again, the usual disclaimers apply and I'm not going to run any where near this far on subsequent sets, but this PR2 "B" spec tire only had 5598 miles on it, with about 70% of that, two up. The caliper measurement conversion of 167/1000s works out to about 5/32 of rubber before the wind escapes, but obviously judging by the wear bars is still the best way to go. I was amazed as to how much rubber remained, however using this info to run more than the minimal number of miles to get it replaced was not my intent, but just to share the results of my dremmel fest. Enjoy!



Cord measurement

I just turned in my PR2s at 14,000 miles. The front still had a lot of life - maybe another 2000-3000 miles while the rear was at the wear bars. With a 2500 ride in CO coming up next week, I decided to make a change to a PR3 rear, and a PR2 front. So far, after a warm-up/break in ride from Phoenix to Payson/Pine/Strawberry/Clint's Wells/Camp Verde/New River (mostly sweepers with a few 20 MPH curves), tires are working well together. I was happy with the PR2s but rumors of still higher mileage from the PR3s plus the $30 difference pushed me in this direction. More later.

My rear B spec PR2 made 10,500 and was shot. Center was smooth and sides hitting all the wear bars.

I have to say handling was spooky the last few hundred miles. I dont find that too bad for tire life but I am not a carver like some of you are. I can haul the mail but I dont do it all the time.

I am trying the Z8's now with the rear being a C spec, and have to say I love them after 400 miles. Of course new tire syndrome makes the old tires shit anyway.

Always on the quest for the tire for me.

I have high hopes on the Z8, but have a set of PR2 in the shed. This time I bought a non B spec rear.

CAJW said:

Since Fontanaman cut his tire when it hit the wear bars, figured I'd share mine that started showing cords. Like most, I usually wear the center down first, but this time the right side showed cords way before I anticipated it would. Again, the usual disclaimers apply and I'm not going to run any where near this far on subsequent sets, but this PR2 "B" spec tire only had 5598 miles on it, with about 70% of that, two up. The caliper measurement conversion of 167/1000s works out to about 5/32 of rubber before the wind escapes, but obviously judging by the wear bars is still the best way to go. I was amazed as to how much rubber remained, however using this info to run more than the minimal number of miles to get it replaced was not my intent, but just to share the results of my dremmel fest. Enjoy!

Cord measurement

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Nice post and thanks for sharing!