I'M DONE WITH MICHELIN TIRES!

[stevewfl]

Well, apparently PR3s are on "hold" according to my dealer.  He says his supplier won't give him any update other than Michelin stopped supplying them. I heard a story about the rubber not cured and almost melted off a set.

Has to be true.  Since its now posted on the internet its all factual.

Anyone needs PR3's let me know, I'll put you on them.  Even the highly sought after 190/55's with the mad handling abilities.

[CRocker]

By all means, try a different tire though. There seem to be a bunch available to choose from at the moment, which is all great news for us riders.

Brian

Can't tell you how much a comment like that hurts us C-10 riders...

[stevewfl]

Tire  expert saw the pics and said the pattern of that tires shows it overheated due to be very under-inflated, or overloaded, or both.

[Steve D]

Tire  expert saw the pics and said the pattern of that tires shows it overheated due to be very under-inflated, or overloaded, or both.

Yeap, I aggree. Not a tire expert but I have had several trailer tires end up just like this with no doubt that they were overloaded and overheated with low pressure being a contributing factor.

[cablebandit]

Silly me...I sent a note to Michelin and they said they know nothing about tires not being available until September...Hmmm

[B.D.F.]

It was not aimed at 'you guys' riding C-10s, merely stating that at the moment there seems to be a good selection of sport- touring rubber that works very well on a C-14. And even beyond that, there is an entire selection of sport and racing rubber that will also work very well although the 'stickiness' is offset by the very short life of these types of tires. I think it was a great move on Kawasaki's part to use tire sizes that are about as standard as any available on the C-14.

Brian

Can't tell you how much a comment like that hurts us C-10 riders...

[CRocker]

It was not aimed at 'you guys' riding C-10s, merely stating that at the moment there seems to be a good selection of sport- touring rubber that works very well on a C-14. And even beyond that, there is an entire selection of sport and racing rubber that will also work very well although the 'stickiness' is offset by the very short life of these types of tires. I think it was a great move on Kawasaki's part to use tire sizes that are about as standard as any available on the C-14.

Brian

It was a joke!  Nothing at all to argue with in your comments.  Every time I think I would LOVE to have 17" wheels for the selection of tires...I think about the mileage of the newer tires and I think back to a guy I know who got 25k miles out of 491 Elites on his Voyager XII...repeatedly!

Not comparing that bike to a C-14...but, I'm thinking those days are gone!

Good luck!

Brad

[stevewfl]

Silly me...I sent a note to Michelin and they said they know nothing about tires not being available until September...Hmmm

I tried responding and axing that runmor in two threads already.

Did you tell them "you read it on the internet", in the same bogus thread about an "internet" complaint

[Boomer]

Well, I've had almost 8,000 miles out of my PR3 rear with no chunking/cupping/abnormal wear or bits flying out.
The middle is mostly gone but it still grips like poop on a blanket.
I will be replacing it with another PR3 and keep the current front PR3 as that hardly looks worn.

Looks like I'll get about the same mileage as the PR2 on the rear and maybe a bit better on the front.
Given how much better the pR3 is in the wet, and how much it rains here, they are the tyre of choice for me.

Can't comment for those of you who live in hotter climes with yer roads made from Carborandum.
I guess if I lived there I'd want to fit some longer life tyres.

[tonedeaf]

Quote from: B.D.F. on Yesterday at 07:51:24 pm

By all means, try a different tire though. There seem to be a bunch available to choose from at the moment, which is all great news for us riders.

Brian

Can't tell you how much a comment like that hurts us C-10 riders...

This is one of the reasons I am a former ST1100 owner -- the Dunlop D103 is the only rear tire available for the bike.

Speaking of which, the ST1100 would scallop a front tire almost immediately if you were not fantatical about the front tire pressure.

[CRocker]

Quote from: B.D.F. on Yesterday at 07:51:24 pm

By all means, try a different tire though. There seem to be a bunch available to choose from at the moment, which is all great news for us riders.

Brian


This is one of the reasons I am a former ST1100 owner -- the Dunlop D103 is the only rear tire available for the bike.

Speaking of which, the ST1100 would scallop a front tire almost immediately if you were not fantatical about the front tire pressure.

WOW!  I didn't know...I'm feeling better already!  I think that's part of why I got rid of my ST1100, too...

[Fretka]

#1 : our mythical hero (no-one in particular) decides to purchase the world's most powerful sport-tourer.
#2 : he then proceeds to add some goodies and a wife to the bike.
#3 : Because suspension set-up seems like a black art he never gets around to setting his suspension for the conditions he rides in.
#4 : He sets tire pressure to a number he reads on the tire sidewall and infrequently checks it.
#5 : He forgets that outside temps and weight and riding style and highway and mountain riding (ad.inf.) affect tires immensely.
#6 : he reads this board and comes across second-hand mini crises (my tire bends in half !!!, I'm gonna proclaim to the world that we are in danger!) and assumes this must be accurate "info".
End result?

Screw all that engineering that IS his sport-tourer and stick a car tire on it....

Unfortunately I'm not known for my tact and diplomacy skills, so hammer me if you will, but afterwards... go set your suspension and tire pressures properly.

Fretka

[CigarSki®]

Unfortunately I'm not known for my tact and diplomacy skills, so hammer me if you will, but afterwards... go set your suspension and tire pressures properly.

Fretka

Consider yourself hammered...

[CRocker]

Consider yourself hammered...

Ouch!  That was pretty harsh...

[Rawman]

STOP!  Hammer Time!

[ZG]

Consider yourself hammered...

 

[B.D.F.]

What are you saying? We don't all have to hate Michelin tires? How can that be possible? I thought there was a forum quorum and it was already decided....? Didn't we vote and everything? Are you sure you are allowed to go against the masses will like this?

 

I am almost done with Michelin tires myself. Well, at least this set. Then onto the next set….

And as far as your diplomacy skills, that's OK with me- truth and accuracy will beat a gentle but incorrect delivery every single time. Besides you were only mildly sarcastic and modestly funny, which I personally think is a great combo.

And what is this about a 'mini crisis- I thought it was a full- blown, five alarm panic we had there?

Finally, what kind of car tire do you reccomend?

Brian

#1 : our mythical hero (no-one in particular) decides to purchase the world's most powerful sport-tourer.
#2 : he then proceeds to add some goodies and a wife to the bike.
#3 : Because suspension set-up seems like a black art he never gets around to setting his suspension for the conditions he rides in.
#4 : He sets tire pressure to a number he reads on the tire sidewall and infrequently checks it.
#5 : He forgets that outside temps and weight and riding style and highway and mountain riding (ad.inf.) affect tires immensely.
#6 : he reads this board and comes across second-hand mini crises (my tire bends in half !!!, I'm gonna proclaim to the world that we are in danger!) and assumes this must be accurate "info".
End result?

Screw all that engineering that IS his sport-tourer and stick a car tire on it....

Unfortunately I'm not known for my tact and diplomacy skills, so hammer me if you will, but afterwards... go set your suspension and tire pressures properly.

Fretka

[dolomoto]

YMMV, I reckon. With my two previous C10's...I had the best luck with the Avon Elan II sized to fit the GL1500 (higher sidewall than the OEM C10 IIRC)...they stuck great (no chicken strips!) and lasted at least 20k miles.

With my current C14...I'm rather fond of the the Michelin PR2's. I'm getting about 15,000 mile per rear and about 20,000 on the front....ridden in all conditions.

I've always been easy on tires....riding habit maybe? (I regularly get 46-48mpg on my C14).

YMMV.







I was gonna put a set of PR3's on next..(headed to the Indy MotoGP via lots of sport riding)...buy maybe I'll keep looking for some more PR2's.

YMMV.

[B.D.F.]

Me too- on all counts. I have gotten 16K + miles out of three sets of PR2s on a C-14. Currently running a fourth set and have 10K miles on them and both look good. Even all of America, twice, did not wear through a set of PR2s although it did flat them pretty good. I was also going to try PR3s but I am wary of the siping cuts on then (that usually affects performance on dry roads negatively) and the PR2s have performed so well for me I hesitate to change to the -3's.

Brian

YMMV, I reckon. With my two previous C10's...I had the best luck with the Avon Elan II sized to fit the GL1500 (higher sidewall than the OEM C10 IIRC)...they stuck great (no chicken strips!) and lasted at least 20k miles.

With my current C14...I'm rather fond of the the Michelin PR2's. I'm getting about 15,000 mile per rear and about 20,000 on the front....ridden in all conditions.

I've always been easy on tires....riding habit maybe? (I regularly get 46-48mpg on my C14).

YMMV.

<snipped photos>

I was gonna put a set of PR3's on next..(headed to the Indy MotoGP via lots of sport riding)...buy maybe I'll keep looking for some more PR2's.

YMMV.

[rcannon409]

It was a joke!  Nothing at all to argue with in your comments.  Every time I think I would LOVE to have 17" wheels for the selection of tires...I think about the mileage of the newer tires and I think back to a guy I know who got 25k miles out of 491 Elites on his Voyager XII...repeatedly!

Not comparing that bike to a C-14...but, I'm thinking those days are gone!

Good luck!

Brad

I had an xs11 yamaha with full fairing and bags when the touring elite/sport elite  were released.   I believe the numbers were 291 and 491, but its been a while. The sport was the 291 and it was the meanest looking tire I ever saw. It looked like a racing slick with very few grooves cut in it.  The touring elite, the 491 had more grooves, but looked good.

My father had the identical bike. His bike wore out the oem tire in 4500 miles..cords showing. He could get 6000 miles from a rear 491, and 8000 from a front 491. The sport 291's would last half of that.  My mileage was  a thousand less with either tire.

The zx11 was about the same size and weight as the voyager, maybe smaller, but I never saw anyone get close to 25k from a rear tire. Or a front. It was not unusual to find a heavily loaded Goldwing owner bitching about getting 2k from a rear. Plus, neither tire would come close to matching the performance of even the original tires on the c 14.  Comparing them to what is available now is like comparing the concours 14 to the xs11.  As far as cost goes, the local shops are selling tires for roughly double the price I paid in 82. Not bad considering the price of the motorcycle has gone up 6 times, or more.