As some of you might have read, I recently had my second front Roadsmart sent in for warranty, due to poor/abnormal wear which started to become noticable on the second one after about 1500 miles, and the first one sent in at around 4000 miles for the same thing, what was thought to be separation. Last week, for my replacement tire, I obviously opted to NOT replace it with another Roadsmart, so the dealer used the tire credit towards a set of PR2's.....which is what I originally wanted but were on backorder in spring.
So, Ive had the opportunity to ride the PR2's directly after riding on the Roadsmarts, which only had about 1500 miles on them, which i felt was close enough to new to make a decent comparison, without the case of the michelins feeling different just because they were new.
I road to the Honda Homecoming in Ohio this weekend, about 500 miles each way and a few hundred miles of riding while i was there. About 1500 for the weekend....exactly what my last roadsmart had when the second tire wear issue started. First of all, the Michelins are wearing absolutely perfect thus far. 2/3 of this weekends miles were slab, and there is no indication whatsoever, front or rear, of any hint of flat spotting yet. No cupping or anything abnormal on the front at all at this mileage, which with the dunlop is when the wear issue started to become visibly noticeable, on both my first and second tire.
For handling, the Michelin was noticably different as soon as I left my parking lot after having them put on....it really jumped out at you. The front end felt very very different, with the bike wanting to fall easier but only after a certain point/lean angle. Keep in mind again, that the previous dunlop didnt have a lot of miles on, and after replacing two dunlops within just a couple months, i am able to recall what they were like when new, as well as riding on them the day before installing the michelins. The PR is very different. But with the Michelins on the highway, especially in windy conditions, the front of the bike felt more "loose". Not a straightline stability or wandering issue, but more of just a twichyness only with windgusts, dirty air off of semi's, and doing anything sudden with the bars. I might have to say that the Dunlop was more stable overall on the freeway.
Cornering is notably different with the michelin. At certain speeds and when doing certain things and manuvers the bike feels almost heavier at certain times with the PR's compared to the dunlops. But, when going through almost any turn leaned over, the Michelin just keeps the bike in it's line, whereas I remember the dunlop requiring more "correction" and adjustment while leaned, even though the dunlop kind of made the bike feel more flickable in most situations.
Overall, I think I like the Dunlop in cetain situations because the bike overall felt a bit lighter depending on what you were doing with it. But, the Michelins look like they'll be wearing great, which is what my past experiences have been. With both longevity and wear quality. And they're definately more stable when leaned over. The reason I wanted the PR2s is that I felt that I wouldnt have cupping or other wear issues, and that handling wouldnt degrade as well. This has been my experience with 3 sets of the original PR's, and Pilot Powers on my RC. I also like the new PR's stability in corners/leaning; very noticable over the dunlops. Im thinking that "heavy" feeling at certain times wiht the michelins will be just something i'll adapt to, as well as that little bit of uneasiness on the freeway in certain situations. My rear dunlop was at about 7k miles last week when i put the PR's on, so i cant complain about that. The front wouldve easily done 10k or more if the wear issue hadnt kept popping up. But, im already seeing less flatspotting with the michelin if any at all so far, at the same mileage as what I remember the dunlops starting to flatten out at.
If I hadnt had the credit from the front Dunlop, the PR2s wouldve run me $252 from my dealer, plus installation at $20/tire. I originally paid $236 for the roadsmarts. The $20-30 difference is easily worth it to me so far. In terms of wear, wear quality and cornering stability, the Michelins, like the other michelins ive owned make it easily worth the extra $$. Considering my recent tire experiences this summer, I dont think Im going to anything else anytime soon.
So, Ive had the opportunity to ride the PR2's directly after riding on the Roadsmarts, which only had about 1500 miles on them, which i felt was close enough to new to make a decent comparison, without the case of the michelins feeling different just because they were new.
I road to the Honda Homecoming in Ohio this weekend, about 500 miles each way and a few hundred miles of riding while i was there. About 1500 for the weekend....exactly what my last roadsmart had when the second tire wear issue started. First of all, the Michelins are wearing absolutely perfect thus far. 2/3 of this weekends miles were slab, and there is no indication whatsoever, front or rear, of any hint of flat spotting yet. No cupping or anything abnormal on the front at all at this mileage, which with the dunlop is when the wear issue started to become visibly noticeable, on both my first and second tire.
For handling, the Michelin was noticably different as soon as I left my parking lot after having them put on....it really jumped out at you. The front end felt very very different, with the bike wanting to fall easier but only after a certain point/lean angle. Keep in mind again, that the previous dunlop didnt have a lot of miles on, and after replacing two dunlops within just a couple months, i am able to recall what they were like when new, as well as riding on them the day before installing the michelins. The PR is very different. But with the Michelins on the highway, especially in windy conditions, the front of the bike felt more "loose". Not a straightline stability or wandering issue, but more of just a twichyness only with windgusts, dirty air off of semi's, and doing anything sudden with the bars. I might have to say that the Dunlop was more stable overall on the freeway.
Cornering is notably different with the michelin. At certain speeds and when doing certain things and manuvers the bike feels almost heavier at certain times with the PR's compared to the dunlops. But, when going through almost any turn leaned over, the Michelin just keeps the bike in it's line, whereas I remember the dunlop requiring more "correction" and adjustment while leaned, even though the dunlop kind of made the bike feel more flickable in most situations.
Overall, I think I like the Dunlop in cetain situations because the bike overall felt a bit lighter depending on what you were doing with it. But, the Michelins look like they'll be wearing great, which is what my past experiences have been. With both longevity and wear quality. And they're definately more stable when leaned over. The reason I wanted the PR2s is that I felt that I wouldnt have cupping or other wear issues, and that handling wouldnt degrade as well. This has been my experience with 3 sets of the original PR's, and Pilot Powers on my RC. I also like the new PR's stability in corners/leaning; very noticable over the dunlops. Im thinking that "heavy" feeling at certain times wiht the michelins will be just something i'll adapt to, as well as that little bit of uneasiness on the freeway in certain situations. My rear dunlop was at about 7k miles last week when i put the PR's on, so i cant complain about that. The front wouldve easily done 10k or more if the wear issue hadnt kept popping up. But, im already seeing less flatspotting with the michelin if any at all so far, at the same mileage as what I remember the dunlops starting to flatten out at.
If I hadnt had the credit from the front Dunlop, the PR2s wouldve run me $252 from my dealer, plus installation at $20/tire. I originally paid $236 for the roadsmarts. The $20-30 difference is easily worth it to me so far. In terms of wear, wear quality and cornering stability, the Michelins, like the other michelins ive owned make it easily worth the extra $$. Considering my recent tire experiences this summer, I dont think Im going to anything else anytime soon.