Pilot Road 3 - 10k Mile review x 2

[botticelli]

Ok so quick thoughts on the PR3's that many of the stock bikes come with.
 
I have just pulled off my second set, after 10k on the bike. The first set did 12k.
 
So why wait ~20k before giving an opinion on tires, well....
 
I do a lot of miles 550-800 weekly so yes most of miles are Freeway, but that said, I rip Palomar every other weekend and ACH almost every other day. (My office is less than a mile from the base of the crest)(your jealous, I know)
 
The first set was hard to judge as they were stock and the bike was all new to me. I certainly was not blown away, but I thought good enough not to instantly change them. For everyday road riding, cruising and the occasional weekend canyon trip (more later) these are excellent tires. Truly. I got 12k out of the first rear and the front probably could go another 3-4 easy.
 
The freeways here in southern California are terrible. Terrible. They are concrete, corrugated, trash and shet everywhere, and potholes like swiss cheese. This is truly brutal pavement to subject any tire to. The tires held their own, but I did notice with the first set especially, before my office was at the crest's base, they square off very very quickly if your not mixing in the turns and lean angles frequently. So that it what I did :-)
 
Now for the good stuff, the twisties.
 
The tires actually perform better than I expected at Palomar mountain. Palomar is motorcycle heaven and has lots of tight twists and lower speed turns. Most supersports(liter bikes + i4600's)with good pilots (my wife) will do the whole mountain in first, mortals (me) shift to 2nd and 3rd. For the FZ the mountain is done in 2nd,3rd, and if your fast enough (my wife) 4th. Side grip is excellent when the tire is at temperature. The tire heats up pretty quickly by scrubbing it side to side, but riding straight will take longer the middle takes some time to heat up, but once the heat is in keep it in, ride it, because it doesn't hold the heat for long. No taking 3-5 minute breaks at the top / bottom. Get to the top, collect yourself, 30sec and back down you go. Transitions from straight to left, back to straight are excellent. (same true for right) Where the problem lies IMO is when you have a chicane or a left-right transition.
 
 
This brings us to Angeles crest. Those who know, know. Those who don't live vicariously through YouTube. (Sorry but the road is that good) The road is much faster with lots of sweeping sections through the mountains, wide opening hairpins as you climb and good left right transitions. The side of the tires feel great, Its the middle that feels different. When you make the transition from all left through the middle to all right the unsettling part, and risky IMO is when you transition out of the middle and onto the other side. You instantly get more grip, which is great unless your past the limit in the middle. Then you have a "hooking up" feeling, put this too far and risking a high side. Brand spanking new to about 4-5k this was not an issue, but the deeper I got into the life of the tire, the more this became apparent.
 
In summary a great tire with amazing life. Not the best full on canyon or twisty road tire, but we knew that. Honesty 10k out of any rear is amazing.
 
Would I buy these again, after 2 sets and 20k logged, no. But... I would recommend them for the FZ07 if ridden on the street, and not hard in the canyons. If your using this bike a commuter then hand down these are the tires. If you ride the canyons everyone in a while, then maybe change these every 6500. 6500 is still a lot of life from the rear. If you 100% commute then these are your tires, the back will square up, but so will every tire if all you do is freeway.
 
These tires perform excellent in the rain. We got a lot of Rain this year in So-Cal and I ride everyday. The PR3's did excellent. Good grip and excellent front end feel. The back does not step out at all.
 
If this is your Canyons, weekend warrior, and mountain carver that I can personally say they Dunlop Q3's give the FZ and incredible feel and are exceptional. The life is not great. I got 2500 out of the rear, and that was probably too much, 2k of spirited riding is likely the limit.
 
I have also tried the pilot road 4's, They were more or less the same to me. I got 7k out of em and, would by the PR3's over them. The PR4's for me were less life, higher cost, and very little difference in grip.
 
I slapped on a set of Q3's for the 3rd time on this bike and am looking forward to ripping through them in the next 3 weeks. Once there gone I am going to try some Continentals recommended by my dealer service guy who has a very similar riding style to me.
 
Unless of course anyone wants me to try something else, I go through tires fast, so is there anything out there that needs some testing? (That others here haven't given a spin)
 
~Pete
 
 
 
 
 

[ninjaiceberg]

Agree with you on the PR3. I'm getting a new tire today only because I have a puncture in the rear. I commute everyday and after riding over a year, accumulated 11k miles on it. It's a great everyday tire.

[rossco]

I agree.. and for a review from the cold west coast of Canada.. my friends on their Bt023 or S21 can't handle any corners below 5c outside.. while I keep riding like its 20c out these tires will let you scrape your peg at 5 to 0c out and not flinch. Everyone else has the rear end skipping. Im at 15000km an still have over 3-4k more to go on them and i beat the crap out of my tires.

[ddog]

My thoughts exactly. Very well fleshed out review! I've run through two sets of Q3's in about 1500 miles each, but I don't use my bike for commuting - spirited twisties and track days only. Because of that I end up squaring off my side walls, which makes my turn-in feel more like a DROP-in. Nothing a few wheelies can't fix I suppose!
 
EDIT: I don't mind the pr3's, but I would definitely agree that they aren't great for spirited riding. The traction difference between them and the Q3's is night and day.

[bugeyes]

"Then you have a "hooking up" feeling, put this too far and risking a high side. Brand spanking new to about 4-5k this was not an issue, but the deeper I got into the life of the tire, the more this became apparent."
 
Isn't that true for any tires getting squared off from freeway use?

[botticelli]

"Then you have a "hooking up" feeling, put this too far and risking a high side. Brand spanking new to about 4-5k this was not an issue, but the deeper I got into the life of the tire, the more this became apparent." 
Isn't that true for any tires getting squared off from freeway use?

Maybe to some extent, but my tires were not squared off, riding the canyons 3-4 times a weeks kept them nice and shapely. The difference is that the middle of this tire has a much harder compound then the sides. YMMV 
~Pete
 

[Beemer]

Since you go through tires fast but don't like the left to right transitions with the P.R.3's I would suggest you try the Battlax Hypersport S21's. I just talked about them in another thread. The first thing I noticed about them is they are nicely rounded, not giving you that sharp fall to the side feeling. I hated that with the stock, Battlax 23's. They grip really nice and are rated at over 168+ mph. They may or may not last as long as a Pilot Road 3 but they may perform better, without scaring you. (+10 right there)
 
http://www.sportrider.com/motorcycle-racing-sport-tires-bridgestone-battlax-hypersport-S21