Instant Rc79 Suspension Tune...

...thy name is Michelin Pilot Road 4.

I'm a little gobsmacked at how nicely the occasionally jouncy RC79 suspension has been completely tamed by these little black donuts.

Changed from OEM D222's at exactly 2600 miles. Rear OEM was done, at the wear bars across the center 2/3rds of the tire. Front was still in very good shape.

Turn in, feel, grip, etc of the PR4's are all superb, just as it was on my '03 with these tires. Notably the new PR4 front is around a pound lighter than the worn OEM front.

I would call the feel relatively plush, yet well connected.

Thats Great news Shinigami. I was hoping to get some feedback on the PR4's as they were, and are now to be my next set of treads. Only ever had the PR2's on previous models. Looking forward to the PR4's as I'm very pleased to hear what your impressions are, a little softening of the ride won't go astray!
Cheers.
Grum.

2000 mils in and I am still finding things quite harsh compared to my versys 1000. That is my only complaint and on a smmoth road it's fine but the roads here are shockingly bad. Just backed thr front rebound down some more today. Had already taken some off the rear. Definitet improvement but will look at PR4s when the Dunlops are shot

...thy name is Michelin Pilot Road 4.

I'm a little gobsmacked at how nicely the occasionally jouncy RC79 suspension has been completely tamed by these little black donuts.
 

Any Idea what your preload/rebound settings are at?

Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42.

Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag
Rear rebound -1 turn from max

Front preload, -8 from max
Front rebound, +1 from MIN

Changed from OEM D222's at exactly 2600 miles. Rear OEM was done, at the wear bars across the center 2/3rds of the tire. Front was still in very good shape.
 

How did you do so  :ohmy: ?

Mine are still in perfect shape and have been doing 3000km. So the next few km will be full trottle to tear it down  :tongue:

Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42.

Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag
Rear rebound -1 turn from max

Front preload, -8 from max
Front rebound, +1 from MIN

today I have been fiddling with settings, preload is untouched apart from 1 click harder on the back. After 2000miles of being bounced around I spent the morning riding a twisty and in places bumpy moorland road repeatedly ad making adjustments. The front is now 1/2 turn softer and the rear 1 1/4 turns softer from the standard Honda settings. For me (83kg naked) the ride is now 100x better in terms of comfort. Dunno who those standard settings are aimed at but I'm gussing Hondas equal opprortunties policy has opened up the role of testrider to Sumo wrestlers

Mine is all the way open at the back for the moment [image: emoji13.png] only 65kg On a vfr and standard settings don't match


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How did I wear the tires out?  My total weight in all gear is around 104 kg and I don't live in Belgium ;)

We have lots of mountains and canyons here with very grippy roads.  

Belgium is a beautiful country, but it's rather flat.  With lots of deer at sunset too!  A little scary when riding there.

Hey guys, I'm back! Today we exchanged bikes with a coworker, who has a Kawasaki 10-R, and I have to say, his bike rides much smoother. I always assumed that sportbikes ride harsh, but mine is 10x times worse. Over bumpy roads, my VFR is really bad, whereas his 10-R is soft and compliant.

I'm 245lbs in gear, and would like to set up the bike as a 3-4 on a 1-10 scale of touring to sport. Any recommendations for somebody that as no clue? Is dealer a good place? Shinigami, you gave your settings, but I'm sure you are a lot more aggressive on the bike, what do you think I should set my bike at? Thanks for any help!!

Rider weight in all gear- 230 lbs (104 kg), tire pressure 36/42.

Rear preload -7 turns from max, 30 mm sag
Rear rebound -1 turn from max

Front preload, -8 from max
Front rebound, +1 from MIN

I'm trying your settings, but I have a question -are you counting full turns? For front preload - not sure what max is, as the nut seems to go all the way in. I now have it set at barely showing second line. The front rebound only has 2 1/4 rotations so yours is 1/4 softer than stock? And on the rear, I measured sag by putting it on the center stand and measuring, then sitting on the bike and getting my buddy to measure the same spot. At 3rd line, the sag is 38mm. I figured that's ok? 

I would really appreciate any help, I just want to get the bike to run smoother but not loose the great handling. Thanks!

Shinigami, or whomever, what sort of life (in miles) can I expect from the PR4's treads?

I've managed to get crazy mileage out of my BT-02x tires in the past.  Like upwards of ten thousand miles.

Well, I can say that I expect to see wear bars sometime in the next 200 miles, so on grippy and aggressive canyon riding I expect I will end up around 4800 miles.  That's right down the line of the ~20% increase claimed by Michelin for my personal experience, over dozens of sets of tires on my previous Interceptor and now, this one.

Will be trying the Q3 front/RS2 rear next, because I'm not too thrilled with the way the siped blocks are wearing.

How are you're sipes wearing? Unusual wear on the sipes says more about your suspension than your tires. I ran pilot power 3s on my zx7r with a shagged rear shock, and the leading edge of the sipe rounded off while the trailing edge peaked. My next set of pilot power 3s were installed with a Penske rear shock, and they wore nice and even.