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Michelin Pilot Road or Pilot Road 2????

kyoung

New member
I am going to need a new set of tires in the near future on my R1200st and am having trouble deciding what tires to get. I purchases the bike with 5000 miles on it and it had the original Michelin Pilot Road tires and they have been great. I have roughly 11,000 miles on them now and they are just starting to get close to the wear indicators. My question is should I stick with the Pilot Road's or go with the Pilot Road 2's. From everything I have seen the discriptions of the tires are very similar. Has anyone tried the Road 2's and what do you think about them? Is it worth the extra $40-$50? Do they handle better? Are they better in the rain? Do they have more even wear?(not that I have any signs of uneven wear)

This is what I do with my bike:
I use the bike for pleasure most times but do commute 40 miles(each way) to school once a week or so. If I can help it the bike never see's the rain but if it does I want to make sure I have good rubber under me. I would not consider my riding style to be really aggressive but due to how well the bike handles I can and I do use the whole tire (my current tires show wear all the way up to about 1/2" from the side walls). On average I would say that I ride 10,000 miles a year.

Thanks for any input!
 
I am going to need a new set of tires in the near future on my R1200st and am having trouble deciding what tires to get. I purchases the bike with 5000 miles on it and it had the original Michelin Pilot Road tires and they have been great. I have roughly 11,000 miles on them now and they are just starting to get close to the wear indicators. My question is should I stick with the Pilot Road's or go with the Pilot Road 2's. From everything I have seen the discriptions of the tires are very similar. Has anyone tried the Road 2's and what do you think about them? Is it worth the extra $40-$50? Do they handle better? Are they better in the rain? Do they have more even wear?(not that I have any signs of uneven wear)

This is what I do with my bike:
I use the bike for pleasure most times but do commute 40 miles(each way) to school once a week or so. If I can help it the bike never see's the rain but if it does I want to make sure I have good rubber under me. I would not consider my riding style to be really aggressive but due to how well the bike handles I can and I do use the whole tire (my current tires show wear all the way up to about 1/2" from the side walls). On average I would say that I ride 10,000 miles a year.

Thanks for any input!

I've two sets of the Pilot Roads (not the II's yet) on my K1200RS, and tried the Metzeler Z6s. For me, the Z6s are twice the tire. I got better mileage and MUCH better handling - sharper and more precise. I've also ridden the Z6's over a thousand miles of rain and they were great for me.
 
The pilot road II are a dual compound tire with a softer "racing" outer portion of the tire and a more durable "street" rubber compound in the middle. This isn't supposed to give you longer tread life over the Pilot Roads, BUT if you are used to riding on Pilot Race or Pirelli Diablo Corsa tires (which are softer track oriented tires), it should increase your tire life. The Pilot Road II tires are marketed to people who might drag a knee from time to time, but also want the longevity of a street tire. They typically ride motorcycles that come from the factory with racing type tires, ie Jap. sportbikes. If you come close to scraping the valve covers on your ST when you ride, then you would probably value something like the PRII, if not, then save the money and just get regular PR.
 
I had Pilot Roads on my R1150R. Great tyre. Good life.

A work mate has Road 2s on his 1200 Bandit, just came back from 11,000klm run around Aus, and loves them. He had Roads on before these, and reackons the 2s are a better tyre.
And he doesnt sit still when riding.
 
Pilot Road2

I got 12,000 miles on my Pilot Roads (R1200RT) and have 5,000 on Pilot Road 2 tires. My observations so far:

1. No major signs of tire wear yet
2. Less road noise due to changed tread design.
3. The old Pilots developed uneven wear on the front tire sides, I've not seen than on the Pilot 2.
4. If you pay to have the tires balanced and mounted and the Pilot 2 gets 4-6,000 more miles, the extra cost may be worth it.
5. Since the Pilot 2 is fairly new there is not much information out there yet on tire wear history.
 
Pilot Roads II

Ok now - many more opinions but here it goes. I had Metzlers z6's on my other bike - K75. I'm going to the rally in Wyoming in July and wanted to get new tires. I could not get the Pilot Roads that I always got for my K1200RS. Instead, I ordered the Pilot Roads II. Had them put on by dealer who ordered them for me. They said that this would be a much better tire. I went on a short trip of 125 miles on Sunday in a monsoon- actually it was a total downpour about 25 miles into the trip. The TIRES - Pilot Roads II are excellent. I really like them. Even in the heavy rain, it was like the bike was glued to the road. I will replace them with other II's. They are great tires. Secret to good tire life is to check the tire pressure often. Good luck.. Pilot Roads II - :thumb
 
I got about 9K out of the stock Z6 on my 1200ST. I swapped to the pilot road II and so far they are great. I have about 5K on them and there is just a little sign of wear on the front, but they still have a long way to go. I ride it pretty hard and try to stay off the highways for the most part. They seem good in the rain and are very quiet also.

Brian
 
All these answers, including mine, are subjective, of course. I changed the original Pilot Road rear at less than 6,000, then both at just under 12,000. The latter I went with PR2s. I'm at 18k now, and the rear is toast, the front would likely go another few thousand, maybe as much as the extra 6000 the original PR did.

In other words, my mileage is about the same for the two models. I put almost 2000 miles on the PR2s in the rain, both freeway and mountain riding, and they were perfect. I can't comment on the original PR wet traction.

What I really want is a rear tire that will last 12,000 miles, not 6,000.
 
The OE Pilot Roads that came on my 04R lasted 11300mi. Changed both, even tho the front could have gone maybe another thou.
I try to pull away from a stop very smoothly (read: I'm not going out -drag anybody), but am fairly 'aggressive' after that. The PRs have never given me any reason not to trust them.

Went with Pirelli Stradas when they offered a free front when you bought a rear, LY.
They lasted just over 8000mi. I'm not good enuf to say they 'held my line effortlessly' or 'they turned in perfectly' etc like some some riders can...I couldn't tell any difference. I just was not happy w/ 8000mi.

I'm back to the PRs, and at just over 10000mi on this set, the rear looks like it will make 11k no problem, the front looks to have another 2k on it easy.
It's tough to quibble w/ almost 12k miles on a tire, but I may try the new Dunlop RoadSmarts next....:bolt
 
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