Tires: Pilot Powers of Pilot Roads?

[Scott C]

Well I need new tires after 5000 miles on my new 07. To my dismay after reading on here for hours on end I have found that my stock Dunlop 552 are only a OEM tire and I cant buy them. I had planned on only buying a rear tire since the front still has plenty of life in it but if I gotta switch I want a matching set.

So... I had seen a lot of talk about the pilot powers but no one seemed to mention the pilot roads. Anyone using them? Anyone ever run both, how do they compare to one another? What about the pilot power 2's or the pilot road 2's? Is it worth spending the extra cash to get the softer shoulders? Will they wear more even or will the dual compound rubber or feel weird on the road when transitioning from the hard compound to soft and vise versa. Is it even noticeable?

[wrightme43]

Scott how would you feel about being our Pilot Road 2 guinea pig?

YOU!!!! could write the review for them. It would be really great if more people would write reviews on different tires. I will try a set of michelin pilot roads, but I should have 12000 miles left on my avon storm st now.

[Cloggy]

I am also looking for anyone who has experience with the pilot road 2's or the bridgestone BT021. My back tyre needs replacement and I want to change the set (I don't like the OEM Dunlops).

As I have previously said I've only done 3800 miles on the OEM's so I am looking for a replacement which not only has a good grip but also a reasonable milage and reasonable grip in the cold/wet (as I ride in the winter as well).

Originally I was going to buy the BT021, I had run the BT020 on my previous bike without any problems and got a lot of milage out of it, so I assumed the BT021 would have similar characteristics.
I heard from a mate of mine who rides a FJR that the new bridgestone's wear out pretty quickly, especially the front tyres (this is info he got off his (dutch FJR) forum. So as you can guess I changed my mind about the Bridgestones.

I was also looking into the Michelin Pilot Roads, 1 & 2. the pilot road 1 is supposed to be a good tyre but has less grip than the 2 on the edges. The pilot road 2 is said to be a good tyre with plenty of grip but apparently the front tyre can sometimes wear down unevenly on the edges so that you have to replace the front tyres first.

My friend with the FJR explained that one of his mates (with an FJR) was running the pilot road 1 on the front and the pilot road 2 on the back and was very satisfied with the result.

Anyway I went down to my dealer today to ask for a quote for these tyres and he recommended the Metzeler roadtec Z6, which was also cheaper than the other tyres mentioned so far.

Well I decided to do a bit more research and found an old test (a year ago) on a German site, which rated the Metzeler better than both the pilot road (1) and the Bridgestone BT020. As you can guess I am not sure if they rated the Metzeler better as it was German (although generally German tests are generally considered (in holland) trustworthy and technically correct).

In Holland the police bikes run Metzeler tyres, I assume they are the Metzeler roadtec Z6, so they can't be all bad.

I would be interested if any of you know of tyre tests (on sites, in magazines or whatever) done with the pilot road 2 or BT021.

has anybody had any experience on the previously mentioned types of tyres and are willing to share the info. Please help!!

[VEGASRIDER]

Scott,

I'm in the same situation as you, and having over 8000 miles on my stock Dunlops, I'm looking at the Michellin's PP's. However, only getting 3000 miles on the tires doesn't seem very inviting. I am looking at the Roads too. I see that Cycle Gear carries the tires, and has a pretty good tire comparison between the Michellin brands.

Cycle Gear - MICHELIN: Pilot Road Street Motorcycle Tires, FRONT

[Cali rider]

I installed a pair of Pilot Road² in October. After 1900 miles I can offer these initial impressions:

1- Excellent grip. Don't let the term "Sport Touring" get stuck in your mind. These are great tires PERIOD. After a few calm highway miles I put these to the test along a section of canyon road I'm quite familiar with. They were consistent, predictable and rock solid. NO slides at full lean, with great feel when I applied quick counter-steering input. The only area that they fell short was on extreme braking (a controlled stoppie). It was here that they yielded as I tried to keep the rear off the ground. A few practice panic stops were fine, no problems. For normal road riding these will give plenty of traction.

2- Feedback. They turn in a little quicker than Pilot Powers will but that really has to do with the more parabolic form than anything else. When you first look at them mounted they look "small", like they are not the right size for the FZ. However, in town and other tight areas they work perfectly. You can quickly change direction with very little input, more weight shifting than handlebar pulling. Yet, at highway speeds, the bike tracks perfectly straight, with rain grooves and other road seams having no affect at all on your position.

3- Smoothness of ride. This is a bit more subjective as we all run with different tire pressures, speeds, body weight, etc. And, I might be analyzing this part of the performance with "rose-colored glasses". But I really think that the bike rolls down the road just a bit easier and with less road noise than before. BTW, I run 32 front/36 rear out here in SoCal as it never gets cold enough to warrant dropping air pressure during the winter.

Price was $310.90 delivered from Southwest Moto Tires. The one area I won't comment on at this time is longevity as I expect them to last at least 8000 miles. At my current rate of 1200-1500 miles/month I'll post a follow up report around April or May.

I hope this is helpful to those of you making the tough decision about tire selection. With a helmet, handlebar or other mod it's easier to give a test ride and if you aren't happy you can change back in many instances. However a tire choice is somewhat of a all or nothing proposition. It always nice to read feedback from other riders but you won't know if it's right for you until you've plopped down the cash, install them and then take it out on your particular bike on a familiar road. All I can say, as someone who uses Michelin tires EXCLUSIVELY is I'm very happy so far.

[Cloggy]

Originally Posted by Cali rider

I installed a pair of Pilot Road² in October. After 1900 miles I can offer these initial impressions:

as someone who uses Michelin tires EXCLUSIVELY is I'm very happy so far.

Thanx for the review, sound like good tyres.

I'm just curious how many miles you can get out of them, unfortunately I can't wait until May

Are the front tyres showing any signs of uneven wearing?

[Bo67]

Pseudo Cloggy,

I posted something on the Metzeler Roadtec Z6 tire about two months ago in the technical forum.

I swapped out my stock Dunlop D252's for the Metzelers at 8800 miles. The Metzelers are, in my opinion, a great tire. Very good grip and feedback however, after about 4000 miles on them the rear tire started squaring off (flat in the middle of the tread) and I lost some of the confidence that I had when they were new. The tires still have a lot of tread left so I just had to start riding a little more conservatively once they started wearing.
BTW- I believe Metzeler and Pirelli are the same company from what I've read on the internet. I don't know who bought who or when they merged. I don't know if they run independent tire lines or just change the embossing on what might essentially be the same tire so I'll leave that answer to someone who knows more about tires than me.
At any rate, I like the Metzelers but personally want to re-skin with Pirelli Corsa's next time. A friend of mine runs them on his R6 and thinks they're great. Just my 2 cents (pence) worth. Cheers!

[OneTrack]

Originally Posted by Cali rider

I installed a pair of Pilot Road² in October. After 1900 miles I can offer these initial impressions:

2- Feedback. When you first look at them mounted they look "small", like they are not the right size for the FZ.

That's interesting.....do you think they lower the seat height at all?
(Being 5'8" tall, I need all the help I can get...

[Cali rider]

Originally Posted by OneTrack

That's interesting.....do you think they lower the seat height at all?
(Being 5'8" tall, I need all the help I can get...

No, it's just an optical illusion. The odometer is still perfect and the speedometer reads 10% fast, and a smaller diameter would have changed these values.

[OneTrack]

Oh well....Pilot Road 2's are still my first choice in the spring.
Maybe I can get boots with thicker soles.