How many miles where you getting? I ran Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's on my 2006. Got about 6-7K on the rear. This is a dual compound tire.

 

:iamwithst

I've been running the regular Pilot Powers for about 7 years and consistently get over 8,000 miles out of them. It probably helps that I'm a lightweight at about 140 lbs. The 2CT has the same center as the regular PPs in case you were wondering.

Mark
99 R1

 

michelin road 2 or 3

 

:iamwithst

 

Pilot road 2ct. Best of both worlds.

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Motorcycle.com Free App

 

agreed with those who said michelin road 2's. I got 10K out of my first rear. and around 13-14K out of the front...it could have gone another 2-3K but had the suspension setup wrong and it went bald on the left ride.

 

:lol

 

Basically you want any sport touring tire(Road 2 or Road 3 or BT023 or Roadsmart II or Angle ST), you will give up a little in grip but for road riding its OK.

The 2CT is a dual compound with the softer part being the last 11% of the tire on each side, although a couple of people say they get a lot more miles out of them my experience with multiple bikes and rider ability has been between 2K and 3.5K out of the 2CT and the PP, and really any sport tire they are softer so they just ware faster.

 

Do you guys think I'll have big issues if I put a Road 2/3 or BT023 on the rear while keeping my half used up Q2 on the front?

Is that pretty much it, then, Pilot Road 2 or 3 if I want hard rubber in the middle with some grip on the sides? Also, well, while I don't have too much trouble keeping up with/passing regular joes in the turns, I'm no knee dragger, and I'd rather get that extra grip just as soon as the bike starts to tip.

I look at

and it doesn't tell me a lot! Which tire is actually stickier compound?
From

I gather darker colors are harder, but why change to a blue scheme for a different picture?

I have put 49,000 miles on my ST-1300 and averaged 9000 on the rear and 10000 on the front until now. I bought this PR3 after good experiences with two sets of PR2s. This tire must have been a dud if everyone else is giving it five stars. Liked the wet traction but the sipes wore off in no time and the tire is just junk. Maybe I got a dud but I'm not buying another to find out.

This guy dislikes the 3's I guess.

Ah, here we go, the definitive picture:

One more review:

I wore one of these out on the way back from Alaska and got approximately 8000 miles out of the rear tire on my FJR. As with the PR2s when these fade the cupping and wear patterns give rise to really funky traction. Felt a few slips. Stability is great, wet or dry. Will I use PR3's again? Hell yeah - I wouldn't consider another tire.

.. and I think I'm sold. I see a lot of people saying there's "no" break in on this tire, less mold release compound or some such. Everyone but one says they are getting very good mileage, my only real concern is that everyone who reviews it is riding some 700 pound ungainly bike. They all say it improves stability -not really something I'm needing.

Such is life. Thanks everyone. Still interested to know if you think I should avoid mixing tire types.
-Abe.

 

With a q2 up front you would be fine, you want the softer compound in the front, less chance of losing the front.

The Road3 is stickier then the road, this is why people are on average getting less miles out of them then the Road.

The mich charts are not 100% reliable in that just because it says soft or medium its not the same compound as another one that says soft or medium. What is does tell you is that there are different compounds on different parts of the tire.

 

While the Road 3 might be a fine tire, you might want a bit more side grip for the type of riding you described. I still think the regular PP or PP 2CT's are the way to go. Good mileage and great grip. I can drag pegs on my regular PP's. As far as break in, there's not a tire out there that's good to go from the start. You MUST scrub them in. I go to an empty parking lot and start doing circles. I slowly increase my lean angle til I'm out to the edge. Rinse and repeat for the other side and I'm good to go. Takes all of 5 minutes. Also, I wouldn't worry about mixing tires. You might notice a little front/rear tire conflict but if you're not racing...

Mark
99 R1

 

Ha, certainly I'm not going to hit the track on still shiny tires. But I'd heard it's a lot faster with these, we'll see. Normally I just take my first 10 miles as you said - slowly increasing lean angle.

I always wonder, to get the sides touching, is it good to lean the bike but lean against it to go straight? Sort of the opposite of knee dragging? It's what I always do.

FYI, the Q2 got me 3,000 miles. Ridiculous.

 

Here's a little tidbit for you....
So, my total cost (assuming I'd had the tire put on, and I got a good price on the tire itself) was ~265. The pair would have been $450 installed.

That's 2,988 miles, let's assume the front tire lasts two rear tires, we're still over 10 cents per mile.

At 37 mpg and $4/gallon, you're looking at far more money spent on tires than gas. People say not to count the cost of tires, but there's a sane cut off on everything. Instead of feeling happy you're riding a motorcycle and saving the world with your 35 mpg, instead realize you're spending as much, counting tires, as a 17mpg full sized modern pickup, which likely has better emission controls and for that matter, you're dumping a bunch of burnt up tire bits into the environment.

Just a thought. Not saying everyone should burn their bikes, but consider a tire that lasts twice as long if you spend more time commuting than not - a second set of rims for track days makes more sense than it sounds.