PR5 and RoadSmart 3- How do they feel ??

It's the end of season and I'm now looking for new tires. It's come down to PR5 and RoadSmart 3. Not looking for mileage so much but how they feel on the bike, presently R1200rt 2016 . I ride primarily in the Northeast so I'm on the sidewall a great deal. I have ridden the earlier RoadSmart on my FZ1, but when I bought my FJR switched to PR4 family and have been there since. Have read enough caddywampush technical data, so just tell me how it felt to you when the foot peg slid on the pavement.: brow

I'll add a bit to your title. It will increase specific attention to your question.
Good luck.
OM

It's hard to go wrong with any of the premium sport touring tires now. With dual compounds they all have good grip when leaned over.
I've had quite a few Pilot Road 4s and one set of Dunlop Roadsmart3s. For me I did not notice a big difference between the two.
Both my wife and I tried a front Road 5 with a rear Pilot Road 4 and the front for both wore out faster than any other front tire we have used in the past.
You'll probably need to change the front Road 5 before the back wears out.

One big difference between the Roadsmart 3 and Road 5 is price.
A few weeks back I bought two sets of Roadsmart 3 tires from Cycle Clinic (independent shop) in Des Moines Iowa.
Price per set was $229. $159 after the $60 rebate from Dunlop. You need to buy from a Dunlop Pro dealer to get the rebate.
Looking at Revzilla I see a set of Road5s is $384 for the 180 size.

There is a new Roadsmart 4 and if I remember right a set costs approx $100 more the Roadsmart 3.

Forgot to mention, the mileage on the Roadsmart 3 was similar to the Pilot Road 4 for us.

The rebate from Dunlop runs out tomorrow but I would not be surprised if they have another for December.

crows,
Have used up many Michelin PR4's and 5 GT's on a 2012 R1200RT. Switched due to price and noise / vibration / howling from front tire (I think) at 60 - 70mph, even with ear plugs and full helmet. Just took off a set of Dunlop RS3's and put on a set of Bridgestone Battlax T31's. Ride mostly solo at factory air pressure settings. Daily commute is 45 miles one way over 3 (small) mountains in WVa to Va.

For handling, the Michelins had great grip and instilled much confidence year round in dry, wet, slushy snow. But when transitioning onto the softer sides of the rear, there is a bit of a squirm then it hooks up nicely. When front tire wore down, straight line stability diminished. I got about 8k miles with front tire worn to wear bars and rear still usable for another 1k or so. Nothing better for wet tar snakes than the Michelins.

Dunlop's are harder and handled well thru out their 8+k mile life. Rolling into a turn was very stable and predictable. Straight line stability is less than the Michelins. Did experience a bit of squirm on wet asphalt and line paint. No front tire noise. Would get them again for summer use.

Have 1+k miles so far on the BS T31's so far. Rubber feels softer than the Dunlop's and handling is just as good. Trying the GT tire in the front and standard rear to see if they will both wear out at the same time. The RT is front / nose heavy with the faring and 6.5 gallons of fuel which seems to wear out the front faster. No front tire noise.

thanks

Thanks for the input , both of you seem to get the same wear and handling I have been getting on the RT. I got about 7,500 mi on the front and the rear still has about 1,000 mis. on it. Ill let some more guys or gals way in ,but I think it may end up being a coin toss.

I’ve had Roadsmart IIIs on my 2016 RT ever since replacing the OEM’s - I gave up tracking tyre longevity on all of my bikes a long time ago FWIW

I reckon all heavy sport tourers with RT-horsepower put a strain on any brand of tyre, so my 2¢ is to go with what you’re comfortable with, especially if it’s a toss-up.

That said, I would “recommend Roadsmart III’s to a friend”.

I had a set of Roadsmart IIIs and loved them. Excellent mileage but its important to run them at factory spec pressures - I ran the first front I had at 32 instead of 36 pounds and it wore quickly. My fault. The second one I ran at 36 pounds and it lasted well past 15,000km. Same for the rear. This was on a K1200S. Handling was exemplary, grip was very good dry or wet. Price was really good as compared to the Michelins I had previously.

Overall, the Roadsmart 4's are probably even better but I haven't ridden on them.

As always, YMMV.

I went from the howl of Michelin Road 5s to the silence and great handling of RoadSmart IIIs. One of the factors which aided in my decision was a PodCast by MOA's Wes Fleming which featured a Dunlop motorcycle tire engineer, and the discussion of the engineering of the tires.

FWIW, I run 38PSI in Front and 42PSI on the rear.

Well I do not feel too bad about the mileage on the road smart 3s so far. I have around 9000 on the rear and 8000 on the front. I suspect I might get another 1000 on each. I believe the brake use from the front is what eats up my front tire more than the rear. I am going to put on the roadsmart 4s next. My dealer has already ordered them for me and I will pick them up next week. Dunlop claims greater mileage and better grip as well as quicker handling. The grip on the others was fine although better is always good. Quicker handling is not something I need though as this bike 2020 R1250RT feels very light and easy to change lines as it is. I am getting adapted to the quickness of the line change with this bike compared to my former bike a 900 plus pound goldwing. Riding a shorter wheelbase bike that is around 300 pounds lighter is a big difference. The RT feels like it will change lines in a corner if I merely thing about a change.

By comparison the big six cylinder on the wing made about the same torque as the RT but did so at idle or just above. I got lots more miles out of the tires on the wing for the rear and suspect it was due to the more even power pulses from a six cylinder motor vs a twin and a much larger tire. Front tire on each bike seems about the same for longevity.