pilot roads

[jreynolds48]

I have a question for you riders out there that have some experiance with Pilot roads. I'm leaving next week for a 1500 mile trip and using a tire tread depth guage on the rear tire I have 3mm of tread left. I think that i'm ok. Just wondering if others who use this tire would go with it or replace it first. thanks for the help.

[rgmanley]

Generally, the Roads start out with about 6.5mm of depth. BMW used to recommend replacement when tread was at 3mm rear and 2mm front.
Your type of riding, aggessive, serene, and load, two-up or solo also affect how quickly the tire will wear
My roads, now on 3rd set on an R1200RT, solo, generally are good for around 10K miles. Yes, I could get more, but its cheaper to replace tires than pay medical.

I would probably replace to be safe.

Ron
'05 R1200RT

[Motor31]

Make sure you measure the tread at a wear bar. The tread you list sounds pretty light for a long trip unless you are planning to get tires during it.

[Mr. Frank]

The key variable is how hard you are on tires. For me that would be plenty of tire for another 3K miles or more. The Pilot Roads are very easy to read because the tread goes across the center of the tire. There are no sudden surprises as with the Z6. I've found that the wear is very consistent over time. It does not accelerate toward the end of the tire's life. On the rear the flat area increases which means somewhat slower wear. There is also less squirm as the tire wears. I wouldn't hesitate to head out with that tire. If you are wrong you will have plenty of warning. Talking about only 1500 miles, you won't even be able to eyeball a difference when you get back, unless you are really hard on tires.

[FredRydr]

I have a question for you riders out there that have some experiance with Pilot roads. I'm leaving next week for a 1500 mile trip and using a tire tread depth guage on the rear tire I have 3mm of tread left. I think that i'm ok. Just wondering if others who use this tire would go with it or replace it first. thanks for the help.I am in exactly the same situation for a trip next week, probably about 1,100 miles. I have 3mm on the rear Pilot Road.

I am replacing the tire now, I'll have a good time, and the $20-worth of tread remaining on the old tire will never be missed. That's what you have to do: calculate the value of that last millimeter. It may not be exact, but within five bucks, you'll see how silly it is to be so cheap. Why ruin a good time with that nagging in the back of your mind, especially if there is rain?

Enough lecturing.

Fred

P.S. Getting Road Attacks.

[Mr. Frank]

I don't think we are talking about $20 of tread here. We're talking about at least half of the tire's useful life. That's more like $75. The only time I'd take a half worn tire off is if I had a 5K mile trip coming up. I don't think you can even see the effect of 1500 miles on a Pilot Road tire unless it's the last 1500 miles.

[jreynolds48]

I guess that the reason that I threw this out there is because I only have 7,500 miles on the tire now and everybody seems to be getting 10,000 miles +. I always error on the side of caution but I still hate to waste $. This is the third set of roads for my bike at 23,500 miles and my riding style would not be considered aggressive by any means. I have ridden with guys in the past that have had sport tires that had tread when we left and the next thing you know the're riding on the cord and looking for a shop.

[bikerfish1100]

you already have all the information you need about what to do.
you're on your 3rd set of PRoads. How long did each of the others last for you? That will give you a pretty accurate asessment about what you can expect to get from this pair, and whether you are likely to disappear the tire while out on your 1500 mile jaunt.

as others have already stated, tire wear is generalized for tire brand and model, but quite specific for the individual rider- which in this case is YOU.

[FredRydr]

I don't think we are talking about $20 of tread here. We're talking about at least half of the tire's useful life. That's more like $75. The only time I'd take a half worn tire off is if I had a 5K mile trip coming up. I don't think you can even see the effect of 1500 miles on a Pilot Road tire unless it's the last 1500 miles.The last millimeter from 3mm to the 2mm limit is half of your tire's life?

This is where conflicting advice can get dangerous.

I guess that the reason that I threw this out there is because I only have 7,500 miles on the tire now and everybody seems to be getting 10,000 miles +. I always error on the side of caution but I still hate to waste $. This is the third set of roads for my bike at 23,500 miles and my riding style would not be considered aggressive by any means. I have ridden with guys in the past that have had sport tires that had tread when we left and the next thing you know the're riding on the cord and looking for a shop.10,000 + miles? Just do a bit of research and follow your common sense and healthy doubt about tire mileage claims.

Fred

[FredRydr]

Make sure you measure the tread at a wear bar. Think about this for a moment. If you press your gauge against the wear bars, you'll be subtracting 2mm from your measure of the tread depth. I suppose you could add 2mm back in, but why bother?

Fred

[TomfromMD]

I guess that the reason that I threw this out there is because I only have 7,500 miles on the tire now and everybody seems to be getting 10,000 miles +. I always error on the side of caution but I still hate to waste $. This is the third set of roads for my bike at 23,500 miles and my riding style would not be considered aggressive by any means. I have ridden with guys in the past that have had sport tires that had tread when we left and the next thing you know the're riding on the cord and looking for a shop.
Doing the math: Using the 2mm wear bar as your limit - according to Ron's figure of starting tread depth of 6.5mm or 4.5mm of usable tread, you have used 3.5 or 78% of the tread in 7,500 miles. That indicates a total mileage of about 9,600 before you reach the wear bar so you have 22% or 2,100 miles remaining. Enjoy your trip!
Incidentally, I have a Pilot Road mounted only on the front of my RT, does the rear also sing like a banshee?
Tom

[jreynolds48]

I know that I changed the first two sets of tires early because I was going on 2,500 mile + trips. Went home and checked it again and it was 3mm measured from the wear bar. The front looks like new. I don't think I have anything to worry about. Thanks to all for the advice.

[bikerfish1100]

The last millimeter from 3mm to the 2mm limit is half of your tire's life?

This is where conflicting advice can get dangerous.

10,000 + miles? Just do a bit of research and follow your common sense and healthy doubt about tire mileage claims.

Fred

By the research that i conducted on my bike- i got 11,800 miles out of the first set of PRoads i ran (probably had another 1,000 in them, but was leaving on a 3,000 mile week so i took them off). Got about 8,000 on the second set. First set saw quite a bit of rain, second set not so much.
Certainly one of the higher mileage sport touring tires out there. I now favor more stickum (more canyons to carve here in CO than back east in CT), so prefer RoadAttacks or Diablo Stradas.
YMMV

[kbasa]

Holy cow. I got 5K out of a pair of Pilot Roads and they were completely shredded.

[BubbaZanetti]

Holy cow. I got 5K out of a pair of Pilot Roads and they were completely shredded.

dave, do you run low pressures, or maybe your driveway is made of sandpaper?

haha, although we haven't rode together much i would say our style and pace is somewhat similar and i've gotten just a hair over 10K out of both sets of roads i've purchased.

[kbasa]

dave, do you run low pressures, or maybe your driveway is made of sandpaper?

haha, although we haven't rode together much i would say our style and pace is somewhat similar and i've gotten just a hair over 10K out of both sets of roads i've purchased.


The roads are pretty abrasive here, which is probably the difference. Around here, on roads I'm familiar with, I ride harder than when we headed south.

[hlothery]

Incidentally, I have a Pilot Road mounted only on the front of my RT, does the rear also sing like a banshee?
Tom

I have always run Pilot Roads.....luckily, the "banshee" is only present on the front. BTW, I am averaging 11,000 miles on the rears, and got 16,000 on my first front.

[billpierce]

I went through 2 and 1/2 sets of pilot roads this year. The best mileage was about 7,000.

I would replace them. Even if you can stretch it that extra tread depth will be essential when it starts to rain.

Can't wait for the road 2s should be better yet.

[Mr. Frank]

I just checked the wear bar depth of a rear Pilot Road in my basement. It's 1mm on the tire I have. A remaining tread of 3mm is substantial.

[FredRydr]

I just checked the wear bar depth of a rear Pilot Road in my basement. It's 1mm on the tire I have. A remaining tread of 3mm is substantial.Am I missing something here? This is safety versus parsimony.

MrFrank's take on a Pilot Road with 3mm groove depth:

- He has a tire with 1mm wear bars
- Therefore, 1mm of tread remaining is safe
- His tire has 3mm tread remaining which includes tread above and below the wear bar
- His tire was sold new with 6.5mm of tread depth (from a post above)
- Therefore, his 3mm tire is halfway through its useful life
- That's $75 of tread (from his post above, i.e., $150 for a new tire)

My take on a Pilot Road with 3mm groove depth:

- I have a tire with wear bars which I cannot measure because the bike is at the dealer getting new tires
- Nonetheless, 2mm of tread is the minimum safe depth
- My tire has 3mm tread remaining which includes tread above and below the wear bar
- My tire was sold new with 6.5mm of tread depth (from a post above)
- Therefore, my 3mm tire is 80% through its useful life
- At $150, that 1mm of tread is $30, though at what I pay, it's more like $25.

For my trip of 1,000-1,500 miles, there's no way I'll try to squeeze another twenty-five bucks out of a tire and take the risk of hitting rain with only 2mm groove depth.

Fred

[Mr. Frank]

OK, Fred. I am suitably chastised and guilty of fuzzy math. I'd like to explain how I made an honest mistake and why I think 3mm remaining is more than enough for a 1500 mile trip. When I initially posted, I wasn't thinking clearly and just saw the 3mm and the 6mm. In retrospect, that was a sloppy and dumb thing to do.

Most people who are just riding around town and are not heading out for a long trip will take tires down to the 1mm wear bars. On the Pilot Road that would give you about 5mm of useful tread. If you have 2/5 of the useful tread that would be 40%. My experience with three rear Pilot Roads is the initial wear rate is the fastest because the tire profile is pointed and the soft rubber squirms more. As the tire wears and the profile flattens the rate of wear slows down. The contact patch is getting wider and thus there is less slippage under power and less pressure per square inch. As you get toward the end of the tire's life the wear rate is the slowest in my experience. I would not be surprised if the last 2mm got the same mileage as the first 3mm. That would be 50% of useful life if my experience is common.