Tyre info please

[Mikerhayward]

Hi guys. I decided it was time to get the trx ready for the summer. New plugs, good job I have small hands, bike running a treat. Checked tyres and discovered the my Pirelli Diablos will be 9 years old come summer.The tyres look fine but me thinks its time for a change. At 61 I really dont think I will be looking for track day action but still like to push things along a bit. Looking for a sports touring tyre that will work in the dry and wet. Rain scares the life out of me these days, Its and age thing. Any suggetions will be greatly received.

Regards all. Mick

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

New Michelin pilot 3's seem to get gerat reviews and quite a number of the boys over here run them and have nothing but praise with good grip wet and dry
10,000km would not be an issue before replacement.

[Snod Blatter]

I've had 10K miles out of my PR3s and there's still a bit to go, highly recommended. Not tried anything else though so nothing to compare them to..

[Mikerhayward]

That's some mileage. Been reading about the pilot road 3. They seem to be the tyre of choice at the moment.

[Stu99]

I would be looking at the Pilot Road 4. They are supposed to be awesome in the wet and pretty damn good in the dry. Just look at the siping, they look like a wet tyre.

If you want someting sportier try the Pilot Power 3. The different profile and compound will give you greater contact patch and grip at bigger lean angles in the dry. I just put a set on and they are outstandinding wet or dry. And you are still supposed to get good miles out of them.

But for the absolute best in the rain (if that is what you want), I would suggest the Pilot Road 4. I haven't ridden them, but they are said to be better again in the wet than the Pilot Power 3 and judging by the wet performance of my PP3 that would make them an a sensationaly good tyre in the wet.

I am a big fan of Michelin. I have ridden numerous of their tyres over the years and they have always performed as claimed. In Michelin I trust.

[Con Rod]

I have just over 10,000km on my Michelin Pilot Power 3s, ther is about 200km left in them. I love them and will be replacing them with the same tyre.

I loved them from day one and said to my self if I get more than 10,000km out of these I will be stunned. They are seriously grippy so I am very impressed with the tyre life

[Rod.s]

+ 1

[Snod Blatter]

That's some mileage. Been reading about the pilot road 3. They seem to be the tyre of choice at the moment.

I read about people getting this kind of mileage out of their PR3s and found it very difficult to believe, thought they must ride like very old men. But mine have done two trips to Germany, a track day, quite a lot of commuting and general running around and it's mainly the middle of the rear that is now worn, the front has a couple of thousand left in it and the rear has loads left on the sides. I am astonished. The only downside is I think the front has become harder with age/heat cycles and is not so clever in the wet now, despite there still being at least 2mm of tread depth all the way round.

I shouldn't be surprised, the TRX is quite light and the power is far from savage but I never thought sticky tyres could be like this. Even so I'm looking at the Pirelli Angels next, they seem similar but cheaper - Anyone tried those yet?

[Silver]

I have used a Maxxis (the sportiest one they do). on the rear of my track bike. Used it most of last season and looks like it will do all this season too. Brilliant tyre for not much money. Not suggesting you get this one but just saying i have used Maxxis and think its great, was previously using supercorsa pro's, still got one on the front.
I have used most of the modern road tyres and they are all good.

[M.V.]

Best all round tyre I've used on the TRX is the PR4, closely followed by the Dunlop Q2's. Dunlop Q3's have replaced the Q2's, but much the same thing.

Obvioulsy the Q2's are a stickier sports tyre, but the PR4's have never lost traction on me & they last a lot longer!

[dfh]

I get to be the dissenting voice... yay
My favourite is the Pirelli Angel GT. Just got back from 5500km trip in 10 days on my TRX- Adelaide- Snowys- Genolan caves- Thunderbolts way - Oxley Hwy ( 2 times ) - Nymboida Hwy - Gwydir Hwy - return via Sydney (Putty Rd) - Snowys again then back to Adelaide. With bike fully loaded & in the peak of the Oz summer. Put on new tyres before I left, rear now about 80 percent worn. One of the great thing about the Angel GT is the front wears well and keeps its profile & steering feel better than the Pilot Road 2 & Dunlop Roadsmart 2 tyres tried previously.

[Stu99]

I get to be the dissenting voice... yay
One of the great thing about the Angel GT is the front wears well and keeps its profile & steering feel better than the Pilot Road 2 & Dunlop Roadsmart 2 tyres tried previously.

Ooh rebuttal. To be fair Michelin have admitted to some of their previous front tyres having a tendancy to scallop with wear, but they have addressed this issue with compound and tread changes for the new Pilot range.
I had it with Road 2's and Road 3's and yes also with Dunlop's Roadsmarts.

I have not had the issue on my Power 3's and I have spoken to a few blokes running Road 4's and they have had no issues either.

Don't we love talkin' tyres.

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

Don't start on tyre pressures
Construction of the individual tyre comes into play here

[dfh]

Don't start on tyre pressures
Construction of the individual tyre comes into play here

Indeed, as does riding style. I'm a trail brake-er (brake-ist?) so I tend to be a little bit harder on front tyres than others & front feel is important. Pirelli fronts seem to suit me on the TRX.

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

This is one area I found the michelins did let me down due to the wall construction,hard, heavy trail braking into the corner tended to want to stand the bike up and I then realised why the michelin pilot pures I currently run need to run a slightly higher pressure than the original pilot powers I had used for a number of years.
The Dunlops I ran on trackdays have a lot stiffer carcass and sidewall so lower pressures can be run to gain the best contact patch.
But then again Pirelli and conti tyres run a different profile and construction again so it all comes down to personal preference but 95% of riders only utilise 80% of the potential in their tyres.
Just need to have a little faith as they all give pretty good feedback if your suspension is tuned well.