Michelin Pilot Road2 // 7,500 miles.

[BA BUSA]

It's the rear that's cupping. I use the term "cupping" for lack of a better term. At every tread sipe (groove) the front of the tread block is worn front to back where it turns up a lip on the very back edge of the block at the next groove. I think it has something to do with throttle application at the soft compound lean angle.
Front is fine, no cupping at all, just an inch and a half of the sides starting from about 1/4" from the edges up toward the center are almost wore out.
We have a lot of rough "chip 'n seal" roads around here, good grip but rough on tires. Well, good grip except where the "seal" has oozed up through the "chip", those sections can be very greasy.
Next time I get the Busa out I'll take some pictures of the tire wear patterns, post 'em, and see what everyone thinks is going on.

Pics would help

 

[GSXcite]

What kind of tire pressure are you running in the rear?

 

[Scar]

It's the rear that's cupping. I use the term "cupping" for lack of a better term. At every tread sipe (groove) the front of the tread block is worn front to back where it turns up a lip on the very back edge of the block at the next groove. I think it has something to do with throttle application at the soft compound lean angle.
Front is fine, no cupping at all, just an inch and a half of the sides starting from about 1/4" from the edges up toward the center are almost wore out.
We have a lot of rough "chip 'n seal" roads around here, good grip but rough on tires. Well, good grip except where the "seal" has oozed up through the "chip", those sections can be very greasy.
Next time I get the Busa out I'll take some pictures of the tire wear patterns, post 'em, and see what everyone thinks is going on.

A suspension set-up will definitely stop the cupping. I had that once, also a couple of years ago...took her in and did the deal...and now? No cupping.

 

[shawnski]

that is great scar
i got 7200 miles out of my original tires but it was getting flat in the middle i use 36 tire pressure cold ,what do you use?

 

[HillbillyTom]

What kind of tire pressure are you running in the rear?

38-39 lbs.

Now that the weather is finally warming up a little I'll re-check my front and rear sag, and double check the clickers. Not having any handling issues or anything, just have always burned up tires fast.

 

[Scar]

that is great scar
i got 7200 miles out of my original tires but it was getting flat in the middle i use 36 tire pressure cold ,what do you use?

7200 out of the stock tires is amazing. You did VERY well with that!

For me? 34/34

I tend to keep 'em as close to that pressure as possible...always know what you're gettin'.

 

[mike04busa]

I put the dunlop roadsmart on the rear the end of last year. It's got about 2k on it,I wrote down the mile's when I put it on. I do alot of highway for work and not too much twisty road's at speed and the center of the tire has shown almost no wear yet. When I had the quialifer in the rear it would show alot of wear in the center by now. I still use the quialifer in the front.I get 7-8k out of a front and usually 5k out of the rear quailifer. We will see how far the roadsmart goes. I will keep everyone posted.I don't beat the bike up as much as when I first got it either. 38psi front, 40psi rear.

 

[HillbillyTom]

7200 out of the stock tires is amazing. You did VERY well with that!

For me? 34/34

I tend to keep 'em as close to that pressure as possible...always know what you're gettin'.

Hmm, there's another thought. I'm running 37 front and 38-39 rear trying to get more wear out of them. Wonder if I'm using too much pressure. Only actual handling issue (if you want to call it that) is that I get a lot of really small wiggling and moving around feelings when I'm leaned over, always figured it was the afore mentioned chip & seal irregularities. Maybe I'm a little over inflated () causing it to move around and wear the tires more.
I see from your pictures and vids you don't fool around it the corners either, so other than the different road surface, there's got to be some reason why you can get almost twice the milage out of the same tires.
Another motorcycling mystery.:confused2:

 

[Scar]

Hmm, there's another thought. I'm running 37 front and 38-39 rear trying to get more wear out of them. Wonder if I'm using too much pressure. Only actual handling issue (if you want to call it that) is that I get a lot of really small wiggling and moving around feelings when I'm leaned over, always figured it was the afore mentioned chip & seal irregularities. Maybe I'm a little over inflated () causing it to move around and wear the tires more.
I see from your pictures and vids you don't fool around it the corners either, so other than the different road surface, there's got to be some reason why you can get almost twice the milage out of the same tires.
Another motorcycling mystery.:confused2:

I've never had the pressure that high. Maybe check it out.

I will add this caveat, though...it's best to experiment to see what's best for you. With different suspension set-ups, different pilot weights, throttle happiness, different surface and tire temperatures, too many variables exist to take anyone else's settings and make them your own, unless, of course, they work!

Good luck, Tom!

 

[kot]

from my last ONE rear Pilot Road 2 i got:
22000 km, it is 13700 miles !!!
and it still runnin!

 

[Scar]

from my last ONE rear Pilot Road 2 i got:
22000 km, it is 13700 miles !!!
and it still runnin!

I'd love to see a pic of that! That's incredible!

Sweet!!!

 

[HillbillyTom]

I've never had the pressure that high. Maybe check it out.

I will add this caveat, though...it's best to experiment to see what's best for you. With different suspension set-ups, different pilot weights, throttle happiness, different surface and tire temperatures, too many variables exist to take anyone else's settings and make them your own, unless, of course, they work!

Good luck, Tom!

Dunno yet about wear but, dropped the front pressure to 35lbs and am now getting some feed back out of the Road 2. Bump it up to 37lbs and it's like a steer by wire thing, totally numb, NO feel at all. Keeping the rear at 37-38 and will see how it goes over time.
Tire wear for me, in all reality, lies in our chip 'n seal pavement and my aggressive riding style.
Be interesting to see if the Road 2 front can last as long as the Road 2 rear though. Power front threw in the towel 1000 miles early.

 

[dddd]

Does anyone know what the speed rating is on the PR2 , I would not think its rated as high as we need on a busa

 

[kot]

Does anyone know what the speed rating is on the PR2 , I would not think its rated as high as we need on a busa

same speed rate as was bridgestone from factory.

 

[flombo13]

Interesting thread, food for thought. Cheers Scar .


Think my mate has just put a BT-016 on his Blade.

 

[Jimingle10]

i run 2 sets of bt021 rear tires, and average about 4200 miles. The center still wears out before the sides (although the ratio is much better than with softer tires).

I for one, will give these PR2's a try!

 

[yodaonabusa]

my 05 LE is a commuter, 40+ hwy miles daily until the temps in the low 30s. i got 7500 miles on my stock bridgestone (still a newbie) rear tire, and 17,500 on the front bridgestone. so i wanted to try the pilot road 2 after trying a few other crappy tires and just put the stock bridgestone back on the front. the stock front only lasted about 12k miles that time (more aggressive rider now) so i put the pilot road 2 on. WOW what a difference! LOVE that tire on the front! certainly no complaints from it on the back either because wet riding is pretty much no different than dry. of course i take it a little easier, but i can still take sweeping hwy curves at 65mph with no loose feeling at all. i finally have 32k+ miles on my busa and the pilot road 2 on the rear is finally starting to come down to a change. that comes to a total of about 15k miles on my back tire! im a fairly conservative rider..leaving stops and intersections i shift each gear at about 4k rpm, BUT i love my curves, so i like to hang them at decent speeds (70-80mph). every now and then pull the front wheel up...and i get about 46-47mpg. as long as they make the pilot road 2's...im buyin 'em!

 

[ky busa]

glad this topic came up i just put on the pilot road 2 first time for me trying this tire i do highway for work curves on weekends hopeing for good mileage out of them

 

[Bosshound]

So, day before yesterday, I had my most recent set of Road2's replaced.

At that replacement mileage, I calculated how long they lasted.

Many of you know how I ride, and most of you know how much I ride... That said, ending with a very nice (still rather round profile), I logged 7,468 miles on those puppies (since December 9th, '08, btw).

Personally, I find this incredible; it's the 2nd time I've gotten near that number of miles out of a set of tires (also the Road2)... One of the other sets I got only 6,700 miles, which is still extremely respectable. This is the 9th set of tires on my Gen2.

So, anyone who is looking for a great all 'round tire which can be used for the mountains/canyons and for commuting, I can heartily recommend the Road2. With the cost of tires being what they are, and if you go through them like I do, well you are always looking for the best value for your money. This is one.

As mentioned in a previous thread, Wasabi's currently sporting the Bridgestone BT-016's a three-compound technology tire which is supposed to rival the Road2 (I'm hoping).

I'll let you know how it all turns out...

I thought you had Pilot Pures ???

 

[Scar]

That's right, Robert. Sporting two sets of them now...

This thread is almost a year and a half old...