PR4's vs T30's Anyone got a preferance?

[attackcat109]

So its that time where the shop gave me shet at 8k and then i waited till 12k tune up, then they refused to ride it and now its 15k and I've decided it probably is time for a new pair of tyres, but that said I like the long lasting mileage tyres that have a little bit of sport to them as most of my riding is commuting (about 1 weekend a month if that is dedicated to twisties these days : /). Anyways it has come down to the T30s and the PR4s and as far as I have read on other sites people mostly only seem to have ridden one pair, that being the PR4s who weren't asked to review them for whatever reason.

 

With that said, has anyone actually ridden both and has a strong opinion? Would love to hear about it.

 

two tyres in question:

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/michelin-pilot-road-4-rear-tires

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bridgestone-t30-evo-tires

[attackcat109]

found these but like revzilla's review (they chose T30 over PR4) I guess anything goes for reviews idk

[jeffkisthename]

I've had both.  If any wet riding, I'd prefer the PR4s.  I feel the T30s are just as good if not better in the dry.  The PR4s will have more thread life.

[Redstang4]

After the stock BT023's (which I liked) I "upgraded" to the newer T30's.  I hated them, they never felt planted to me.  They didnt like to lean, and wore unevenly.  After 7 thousand miles I couldnt take them anymore and put on Pirelli Angel GT's.  The Pirelli's have 10 thousand on them and still am hoping for another 4 by the looks of them. They are Fantastic! I know tires are a personal thing; and I may of had a "bad" set, But I will never get the T30's again unless for some unfortunate reason they are the only thing I can get a hold of.

 

It is almost winter and PR4's are next for me to try.

[faffi]

The only Bridgestone I liked was the BT001 soft. And even that I couldn't read, perhaps because it had more grip than I had balls when warm and I wasn't pushing it anywhere near its limits. On chilly days it slid early, but controlably. Never ridden on a Dunlop I could gel with. I'm not enthused about the PR3s on my 07 either, they fail to give me that "I'm sticking to the road" feel I prefer. Heck, the dual sport knobbies I have on the old Virago scrambler feels grippier and I always know what's going on down there. I liked the Pirelli Stradas on my Sprint and the Pirelli Angels constitute a viable alternative to the Metzeler Roadtecs I plan to fit when I'm done with the Michelins.

[gregjet]

Faffi, don't judge PR4's by PR3's. Hugely different tyre. But I suspect the Metzeler is pretty close from what I have read.

 

[mjh937]

And to add complexity to the issue Michelin just announced the Road 5 will be released on January 1st.  It will replace the PR4 and they are dropping the Pilot name to help avoid confusion with the higher performance tires. 

 

http://www.motorcycle.com/features/michelin-road-5-announced-available-january-1-2018.html

[gregjet]

The thing that makes thr PR4's as good as they are in Moonsoons is missing from the new tyres. The extra sipeing is gone so they won't carry anywhere enough water away. Disappointed.

[njdevils1990]

I've ridden both brands (Michelin & Bridgestone) on my two FZ-07s I've had. My 2015 FZ had the Michelin Pilot Road 3s on it which I put 10,6xx miles on them in a year and a half before I was forced to sell the bike. I'm a Michelin fan as they make great tires for motorcycles and cars/trucks (also sold & installed them for 7.5 years) I've also had the Pilot Power 2CT tires on my two Buells which handle amazingly well but only last between 5,000-8,000 miles. My 2017 FZ has the Bridgestone Battleaxe BT-023 tires. I'm not very familiar with Bridgestone motorcycle tires but with cars/trucks I'd compare them to BFGoodrich tires so a good brand but just not up to Michelin's quality. Once the Bridgestones wear out I'm going to replace them with Michelin Road 5 tires.

Pricing for the factory Bridgestone Battleaxe BT-023s is (from Revzilla)

$120 front

$157 rear

$277 total

 

Michelin Road 5s

$155 front

$199 rear

$354 total

 

Difference of $77

 

Michelin's are a little more expensive but worth it in every way.

[rick]

Keep in mind, what's current for the 'Stones is a T30 Evo and even those are getting a bit long in the tooth for Bridgestone. So the 023s that came on our FZs are 2 generations/tech behind the times. 

 

I'm kinda surprised there are still 023s for sale at this point. They've been sitting around for a few years and stores should be selling at big discounts to get them off the shelves.

[shinyribs]

 Yeah, 023's have been around for a while, but are they out of production? Bridegstone still lists them on their website. Not that that means much. 

[rick]

T30s are still on their site, but not seeing the 023s https://www.bridgestone.com/products/motorcycle_tires/products/category/   I'm thinking if you find them, they are NOS.  

 

And it looks like the T30 Evos have been replaced with the T31 

 

I never really trusted the 023s on my Aprilia. I had a few slides while leaned over with them that were a bit unnerving.  I now have T30s on it and they deal with the weight and power far better, imo. On the FZ, with it's feather weight and limited power, I'm thinking pretty much anything round and rubber will work just fine - ok, a bit exaggerated. Still, there's a reason why these manufacturers continually massage tread patterns and construction. So when I finally wear out the OE rubber, I'll buy what's current.