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Road Pilot 3 problems - 07 RT

greggsnider

G Spot
On my way home from a Blue Ridge Parkway trip, I discovered that my rear Road Pilot 3 was effectively trashed: the left sidewall was showing white cord all the way 'round, with deeper flat patches showing through the cord. I got heart palpitations when I saw that - we could have had a major failure, and likely on the interstate.

It had been starting to cup, but had plenty of tread. I check pressure every 2-3 days when touring. I run 41 lbs rear; it never lost more than 1-2 lbs, and the sidewall looked fine the day before. Fortunately, we were a mile from a BMW dealer in Wilkes-Barre who replaced the tire in 2 hours. Glad we caught it before spending the day on I-84. I should have taken a picture before the dealer scrapped it.

So, two questions:
1. I run Road Pilot 3 front/rear. The dealer only had an RP-2 rear in stock, so I went with that. Anyone know whether the RP-3 front with the RP-2 rear will be an issue? It seems somewhat less smooth, but I don't know if that's due to 'combining' tires or just that the RP-3 rear was that much smoother. Wondering if I should suck up the $ and get an RP-3 rear or not.

2. Any idea what could have caused that kind of sudden, dramatic wear, bordering on imminent failure? The tires had around 9k on them. I got around 10k on the last PR-3s, and replaced them due to tread depth - they were otherwise normal for 10k. My RT is definitely heavy, but no more than on previous trips. We rode on some cement-type interstate the previous day, wondering if the surface might have trashed the tire. Or could the tires just be defective in some way?

Thanks for the input, o tire gurus.
 
Sounds like a bad batch. Sometimes they have manufacturing issues and defects. Or, the tires might have been old that you purchased. You should contact the manufacture of the tires if they are not old tires. My p3 tires have 10K on them and still have good tread.
 
I have run PR2/PR3 combos on a few bikes before with no issues...not much design diff and they are both radials. The old school rule is to never run a radial/bias combo.

Is 41 kind of low pressure for a heavy loaded 2 up RT? My RT with PR originals and 2's was 44 on the rear.:dunno
 
I always run 42 in the rear. What's the max cold tire inflation pressure on the sidewall? I thought it was 42.
 
You should be fine with the PR-2 on the rear and the PR-3 up front.

Curious as to whether the replaced rear was a 'B' spec or not.

As mentioned, 41psi is a bit low from recommended especially, fully loaded.
 
42 is the cold pressure max on sidewall on the PR2's and 3's . My owners manual for my R12S says 36.3 solo 42.1 with passenger:laugh .1 ...really? That bike never sees a passenger anyways and I run 36.But it is way lighter than the RT.

I don't have my RT anymore to see, but I thought it recommended 43 or 44 with two up loaded?
42 cold in TX in August will get you +/- 46 hot at 3PM!
 
42 is the cold pressure max on sidewall on the PR2's and 3's . My owners manual for my R12S says 36.3 solo 42.1 with passenger:laugh .1 ...really? That bike never sees a passenger anyways and I run 36.But it is way lighter than the RT.

I don't have my RT anymore to see, but I thought it recommended 43 or 44 with two up loaded?
42 cold in TX in August will get you +/- 46 hot at 3PM!

Just checked the owner's manual online for the current R12RT. The recommended rear tire, cold inflation pressure, for two-up riding is 2.9 bar, i.e., 42 PSI.
 
I've had pilots on other bikes and found the same issue, looks good and wham! white casing showing... I now keep a rear good eye on my tires and the ware bars, as soon as I get close I replace them, other companys I don't seem to have the same issue with... I have run Bridgestons down to nothing and still have rubber without case showing, not with Mich's....
 
I've had pilots on other bikes and found the same issue, looks good and wham! white casing showing... I now keep a rear good eye on my tires and the ware bars, as soon as I get close I replace them, other companys I don't seem to have the same issue with... I have run Bridgestons down to nothing and still have rubber without case showing, not with Mich's....

won't do that with Metzelers either...nice metal strip down the middle
 
Sounds like a bad batch. Sometimes they have manufacturing issues and defects.

I have it on reliable authority that sometimes these "bad batch" tire when sent to be destroyed by Michelin, don't always get destroyed. Sometimes they get redirected and show up on disreputable web order sites. My advice is only buy your tires from a known reputable source that you trust to buy from Michelin (or whoever).
 
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