Pilot Road 4 (trail) rear tyre wear

[Neil W]

After some bad experiences with the Annakee 3 tyres fitted on my GSA WC last year I had the bike fitted with a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 4 (trail) tyres , since then they have done about 4500 miles and they are shall we say bloody noisy.

The rear tyre, however, has developed an odd wear pattern with the sides of the tyres becoming quite heavily scalloped ( in the direction of travel ie the leading edge of the tread is higher than the rear). The wear pattern is very similar to that on a car tyre on a vehicle with a shot shock absorber.

Tyre pressures have been fine and I am wondering if this is a particular foible of the Pilot Road 4's on a GSA or yet another problem with the rear suspension on my bike

 

[roamer]

I have had the same wear issue, it doesnt seem to affect grip, they are noizy,
Other friends bikes, zzr1400. Ktm 950 sm, triumph speed triple, all the same at rear,
Dont get more than 4000 , miles, on second set, The annakees didnt last any longer,
it could be the torque driving out of corners fairly hard,carrying a bit of speed,
Cant fault the performance, looking at avon trail rider next time,
Roamer

 

[StewMcGrew]

That's an interesting comment about switching to trailriders. I have trail riders and was going to switch to the pilot road 4s! The TR rear is ace but the front gives a bit wobble in bars around 30-40mph

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[Neil W]

Thinking about trying Dunlop Trail Smarts next, used to have the earlier TR91's on the TC and they were brilliant

 

[vRSG60]

I have Anakee 3s and find them bloody noisy

 

[Spartacus]

I was in Austria and renewed my rp4 and mine was really feathered. I always ride two up the tire fitter asked what pressure are you running I said 2.9. In the rear .he said no run 3.2 two up he was correct it handles better and wears more even , the tyre fitter was based at the Enzian hotel. So a lot of experience I am still 3.2

 

[Neil W]

On mine at least 2500 miles out of the 4500 total has been done solo

 

[RedRick Esq.]

You suprise me with the comment about them being noisy !
My experience was silence compared to the Anakee 3s

 

[rodsharp]

Never heard of anyone running 3.2 I find 2.8 best and wear was very even and not too flat spotted . The ride seemed slightly smoother and no grip issues

 

[Beemerman59]

Just about to replace my rear PR4 with another. They are the best road tyre by far that I've had on my '08 GSA in terms of confidence and grip wet or dry. Just a shame they do tend to drone on a bit and the rear is now shot after 4K miles. The front is lasting well though, 8K on the present one and not even half worn.

 

[OldCroc]

Also have PR4 Trails and the rear has not lasted well - about 4000 miles. It squared off sometime back and as a result tracks on overbanding etc. The wear is fine - ie no feathering - except for the squaring off. I plan to replace with the Standard (Tour) rather than the Trail which, I understand, has a softer compound. I am hoping the Standard will not square off so quickly. Never found the Trail much good off the tarmac anyway.

 

[malcopopolo]

After some bad experiences with the Annakee 3 tyres fitted on my GSA WC last year I had the bike fitted with a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 4 (trail) tyres , since then they have done about 4500 miles and they are shall we say bloody noisy.

The rear tyre, however, has developed an odd wear pattern with the sides of the tyres becoming quite heavily scalloped ( in the direction of travel ie the leading edge of the tread is higher than the rear). The wear pattern is very similar to that on a car tyre on a vehicle with a shot shock absorber.

Tyre pressures have been fine and I am wondering if this is a particular foible of the Pilot Road 4's on a GSA or yet another problem with the rear suspension on my bike

Same with my rear pr4 after 4500 miles....

 

[Rushy]

I have Anakee 3s and find them bloody noisy

Me too , they were on a Gs that I bought a they sounded like driving a Landy with some serious off road tyres on it.

 

[N111BJG]

Part worn noisy Anakees replaced by PR4's, 4500 miles done & still plenty of tread, mostly Euro travelling mountains & lots of fast motorways

So no common ground here

 

[thumperbob2002]

Pr4s are a great road tyre. All modern tyres are great in the dry. It is the wet performance that sets them apart. What I find on my GSA is that wear on the rear is very good and don't really square off too much ( but I don't do motorways ). The fronts tend to wear a little strange. I don't get two rears to one front.
Have a set of battlax a40s ready to go on next. I actually think the GSA is too big a bike for pr4s.


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[ymfb]

I've had PR4s on other bikes, including a RT and K1300S, they were not noisy on those bikes but did have AstraZeneca looking wear pattern. I had a couple of punctures in them but that's fair enough.

As another thread on the subject of tyres on a GSA I'm trying Dunlop Roadsmarts next, the wear of the Anakees has been fine and would eke a bit more than the 6000 they will have done, but they are noisy. But maybe they all are and its the bike !

 

[Neil W]

Bike was in for service today and I had a look at half a dozen used bikes fitted with PR4's both TRAIL and GT versions and all of them had scalloping to the treads to some extent but the TRAIL version more so

 

[Max_W]

Quick post because several people have mentioned tyres other than those in the thread title. I've tried pretty much all the main tyres on my GSA and thought the PR4s were great, but I had a couple of punctures and lost confidence in them (possibly unfairly). I went to Avon Trailriders and reckon they are just as good a road tyre, at all speeds and in all conditions (I'm commuting 1000+ miles per month year-round so have plenty of time to compare tyres!) After a couple of Trailrider rears I fancied a change and have recently had Dunlop Trailsmarts fitted front and rear. They seem to handle much the same as the Avon Trailriders except they generate a really annoying whine on the road at motorway speeds which I've not had with any other tyre, including Annakee 3s which are supposedly a noisy tyre. For me, Avon Trailriders seem to beat the rest in all areas, including tyre life (though I've not got much more than 4000 miles from any rear tyre...!)

 

[Tonyplod]

I had pilot road 4's (trail) and the rear tyre ive got 3000 miles and they were bald. have now switched to Anakee, on rear, still have road pilot on front.

 

[ManicMic]

I had Pilot Road 4 (trail) tyres on my GSA. I was more impressed with the 3's than the 4's to be honest.

Now I've changed to Metzeler RoadTec 01's.

Absolutely awesome tyres and they take the piss out of PR4's in every way.