Just rode my bike home with the Pilot Road 3's...

[ticktock]

Alright, maybe I'm crazy, but the bike feels really different. I've only ridden my FZ6 with the stock Dunlops that came on it, and even just cruising a few miles home after the new tires were put on the bike feels a hundred times better.

I don't have to fight it as hard to turn in, and in general, it just goes where it's supposed to a whole hell of a lot better than before.

Hope to take a long ride with them on Wednesday; but so far I do not regret my decision one bit!

 

[FrozenBiker]

You are not crazy.. A set of "real" tires transforms the entire feeling on the bike. My Metzelers are night-n-day different from stock.
Feels like a superbike now. I'm going to get in trouble with these things :spank:

 

[iSteve]

Also a set of new tires will always feel better then old worn tires. When the 3's wear out and you replace them you'll feel the same way.

 

[darius]

You might want to look at "lowering the front" to quicken the steering.

 

[7UPyours]

I had the same feeling when I got my new rubber, bike felt night and day different

 

[trepetti]

Alright, maybe I'm crazy, but the bike feels really different. I've only ridden my FZ6 with the stock Dunlops that came on it, and even just cruising a few miles home after the new tires were put on the bike feels a hundred times better.

I don't have to fight it as hard to turn in, and in general, it just goes where it's supposed to a whole hell of a lot better than before.

Hope to take a long ride with them on Wednesday; but so far I do not regret my decision one bit!

Not sure how many miles you had on the old tires, but once the rear starts to develop the flattened center, steering feel gets really different (bad different). Last year I replaced the stock Bridgestones on my 05 (11k miles) with Pilot Powers. Leaving the shop, I needed to take a clover-leaf off the highway and my first thought was that I was going to drop it. The speed was way too slow for it to have been the grip, and the tires were not even scuffed yet. Nope, the older tires were so flat in the center that leaning the bike really meant 'tipping' it over the ridge that separated the flat top from the rounded sides. The new tires had a smooth transition from center to side, and without the extra effort needed to lean the bike over the ridge, the new tires felt unbelievably responsive....which they were.

Enjoy them.....they will get old and cranky too. But the good news its that you will ALWAYS get the 'WOW" feeling whenever you replace the tires.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Although I have runnned exclusively on Michelins after the stock tires, I am not fond of the 3's after all of the negative reviews and threads created. Not sure if they all were true but enough to steer clear of them since it was just not worth the risk for me. But I'm sure there are a lot of satisfied customers too.

 

[Goop]

These get my vote for "Wackiest Tread Design"

 

[SweaterDude]

Although I have runnned exclusively on Michelins after the stock tires, I am not fond of the 3's after all of the negative reviews and threads created. Not sure if they all were true but enough to steer clear of them since it was just not worth the risk for me. But I'm sure there are a lot of satisfied customers too.

It was just a bad batch. i havent heard anything bad since, and its been over a year. i know a lot of people running the PR3's and im putting some on mine this summer. The WET GRIP on these is supposed to be incredible, and for somebody that does actually ride in the rain, that is how i base my tire purchases. All tires have sufficient grip in the dry, the wet is where they get separated.

 

[nivag]

I love PR3s!!
I've got mates that have them on a blade and a Busa, they do ride in all weathers and never had problems.

 

[Timon]

You might want to look at "lowering the front" to quicken the steering.

OP actually mentioned the new tires made it easier to turn in, so I'm not sure that would be necessary. I don't know what you mean by "lowering" exactly, but from what I understanding going with a small series (lower profile) tire would actually cause it to be slightly more difficult to steer.

Although I have runnned exclusively on Michelins after the stock tires, I am not fond of the 3's after all of the negative reviews and threads created. Not sure if they all were true but enough to steer clear of them since it was just not worth the risk for me. But I'm sure there are a lot of satisfied customers too.

I was a little afraid of buying Michelins as well after reading some reviews a few years ago (not sure what tires exactly, I think the predecessor to the 2CT). I read that the tires basically disintegrated (chunks of rubber flying off). Not sure if this is what you're referring to or if it was something similar.

I waited a few years before considering them again and as you know from my other thread I picked up a set of Pilot Power 3's. I'm hoping I don't encounter any issues such as what I had read about previously...

Update: It turns out it was the PR3s that had some issues as described http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145717. It turns out that most of this story is believed to be BS, but it's not like it hasn't ever happened before.

 

[KingY]

To lower the front he means to drop the front forks by approx 5mm in the triples so the front end is a tiny bit closer to the floors, aids with turn in and higher speed stability ( even more so with luggage and passenger)

 

[ticktock]

Not to beat a dead horse, but the failure issue with the PR3's years ago was a very isolated problem that got blown out of proportion due to the internet.

What seemed to be hundreds of failures was really only TWO defective sets of tires from one factory in Europe. If you look around the internet, you'll find the story that was on this website just repeated over and over and over and over, along with ONE other user who experienced a similar issue.

I'm not saying these things to defend my purchase. Only writing this out of logic.

I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, and one of the parts of my job is to do failure analysis. No matter how good your production process is, some items will be bad. Even with the best quality control, some bad product may wind up on the shelves. It's just how it goes.

As for lowering the front, I don't really think that's necessary yet. I want to get a better feel for how the bike performs with these new tires before I start to do any more mods. I feel like I'm modded out right now. Haha.

 

[FIZZER6]

PR3's are my next tires. I am on my first set of Michelins currently (Pilot Power 2CT) and they handle great and are barely worn at 4,100 miles! I expect to get 7,000 out of these which means I should expect closer to 9K out of the PR3's! :thumbup:

 

[iSteve]

To lower the front he means to drop the front forks by approx 5mm in the triples so the front end is a tiny bit closer to the floors, aids with turn in and higher speed stability ( even more so with luggage and passenger)

You can't have both quicker turn in and high speed stability. Lowering makes for quicker turn in and less stability. But I would guess 5mm would make almost no differences.