Michelin Pilot Road 4 trail

[Athanman]

I've been holding on my report on the PR4s until I get back to Madrid but as an advance, I can tell that after more than 6K KMS these are looking good and love the grip on the dry, specially on these freshly tarmacked roads in Norway.

As for the wet driving, well, after driving two full days in various degrees of rain from drizzle to bucket loads, I can also confirm that I'm very pleased with the grip.

I do concur on one thing, these got to be hot to be at their best.

Will report back on their state once I get back to Spain.

Looking forward mate to read your report.Im sending you my best wishes for a trouble free and enjoyable trip till you return back to your base.Greetings

[Jyrays]

My PR4T tyres have 6000 km now.
Good grip on dry, as well as in the rain we found in three different occasions.As a matter of fact, my front wheel slid some cm sideways on a wet metal lid, but that was all.

Now they are beginning to be worn, and I notice that they behave as if they lacked pressure until they have the right temperature. But perhaps they DO lack pressure, as I haven't checked it at all. 

In short, I like them more than their BattleWing forerunners.

Greetings,

Josep

I agree, I have now 6500 km and rear, with full load, feels "soft" at the beginning...

I had couple of small slides yesterday, one of them on wet steel on bridge.

In general happy, but they wear fast in heavy loads.

[JosepM]

Mine, as stated, have about 6000 km. Ridden mostly straight, and full load.
Also, just as they were mounted, I also had my rear shock renewed.

A few impressions/comments now I've ridden some hundreds km after my trip, in my usual roads:

-great grip, both dry or wet
-I believe the rear one has worn faster than other tyres I've had in the past
-I feel them sort of "unbalanced". I mean to say that the front one is still keen on "tilting", the rear one feels very reluctant to (as if it was much squared)
-the front one doesn't like much to be turned with the handlebar; it feels like if was more stuck to the ground (kinda reminds me the TA I had a short test with on a KTM)
-I feel them "harder" than Anakee 2 or other non "pure road" tyres; to me this makes them less comfortable on rugged roads.

To summarize my own personal impession/feelings, likely to be wrong:
good option if you ride 100% on smooth tarmac, often wet, and don't mind some faster wear.

Greetings,

Josep

[JosepM]

Today, after having ridden 11000 km together, I have finally replaced my PR4T rear tyre.

I must say that in its last 40% of life, it's had very slowly increased its "squaring": by the end of its life, it did feel reluctant to tackle sharp direction changes; and, for some reason, it's ended more worn on its left hand side than on its right hand side (I  ride more agressively on curves to the left than I do on curves to the right, perhaps it's because we ride on the road's right hand side).

To summarize, unlike most other tyres I've had, I've got no complain about it dry or wet.

But I have mounted (again!) an Anakee 2.
I am a not fast yet not slow kind of rider, with a non agressive style. Also, I ride on unpaved tracks once in a while. And I appreciate a tyre that behaves just as good on tarmac (for my riding style) and lasts some 30% longer.

Greetings,

Josep

[MrKiwi]

fitted a set of these to my CT today.  will report on these for the CT in the CT thread

[steve razor]

my pr4 trail have come to the end of their life after 4700 miles to nordkapp & back..very good tyre on tarmac, forestry/gravel roads, & some dry grassy/mud routes. but my pr 3's lasted a lot longer. the local honda dealer said some had complained that they were too soft & square quickly. i agree. each to their own, but i'll not part with £230 a pair for these again. will revert back to pr3 trail when i'm ready..

[aboynamedsue]

I run my Vara on Annakee IIs but decided a couple of years ago to try PR3s for our European trip. I have no complaints about them but they squared off at similar mileage to my Annakee IIs  so I thought the extra £s wasn't worth it for PRs. I may consider Annakee IIIs for this years trip depending on feedback fro a couple of mates on them.

[varaquiero]

Just my 10 cents........Had Anakee 3"s on my TA 700 and found them to be excellent with grip and wear, over 13k Kms [8k miles]

Would defo buy again but will be trying PR4"s next. Which will be before vcim 17. So will know soon about them also.

[MrKiwi]

Ok, so the final report on the tires.

First the pics:

Tire Pics
Rear
https://flic.kr/p/oEyqHo

Front
https://flic.kr/p/oohczy

I think both look pretty good for 10,000 KMS and have some life in them, specially the front one but the rear tire has squared badly and should be replaced soon.

Verdict, in my opinion these are the perfect tires for road use in particular in wet conditions. These are certainly not for going off road, I did some gravel paths and saw no difference with any other road tire taken were there is mud and gravel IE: They are not for that so, if you do 90% or more of your driving on tarmac wet or dry, get these for your Varadero I think you will love them. If you do some driving on not paved road, looks elsewhere.

Cheers
Gerard

I've recently fitted these to my Crosstourer, and I am very pleased with the grip.  Most tires perform well in the warm and dry, it is how they perform in the cold and wet that counts.  My view is for tarmac, the MRP's 4 are the best tire I've tried yet, and previously I really liked the Anakee 2 tire.  I do a mixture of tarmac and light gravel riding.  The MRP's 4 are ok on gravel, but they do show increased wear when deflated for gravel running.  I think it is the soft nature of the side tread.  So now I don't deflate them much at all. I leave the rear pumped up and just mange the skitterish handling from the rear and deflate the front to no less than 30 psi for when running on gravel for any length of time.

[Jyrays]

No chicken stripes 

PR4 at 9k

[TallGuy212]

Had the PR4 fitted to my dero before I went to vcim. In the dry they are great and have tons and tons of grip. I even managed a two week slide while breaking, it was very controlled. So in the dry the tyres perform brilliantly. Sunday I drove a long distance in the rain with a lot of wind. Did not like the grip very much in long winding roads. It felt nervous and unstable. I was going quite fast (150+ kph) but that was never a problem with my Dunlop trailmax and contis.

Don't think I will choose this tyre again. I got them to keep up with a tiger Explorer during vcim and that worked. Next time I need another bike!

[xpdm]

Compared to the BW that equipped the Crosstourer, the PR4 are softer, comfortable, better grip in dry and wet, the "defect" is wearing faster.

[MrKiwi]

The pilot road 4 trail are the best wet grip tyres I've ever ridden with on a big adventure bike. And ridden with most of the tyres in the market place. Haven't yet ridden on a good Dunlop tyre.

[Two Plugs]

Mr Kiwi... since you owned both the Dero and the CT... Which bike are you revering too? Since this is the Varadero rubber section

[Sunscape]

Just about to replace the tyres on my bike and settled on these.  However  I am a little confused by the Michelin site which recommends a 170/60 rear tyre for the Varadero.  Is that correct?  Local dealer doesn't seem to have a view.

Rear size(s) :170/60 R 17 M/C 72V PILOT ROAD 4 TRAIL R TL

http://moto.michelin.co.uk/moto/HONDA-VARADERO-XL-1000-V#

EDIT:
Is there a view on possibility of fitting the "GT" rather than trail.  Seen a few comments on this thread about squaring with this tyre and noted the GT is for heavier bikes and has a harder compound on the centre of the rear tyre.  I am 100% road rider (although some of the UK roads may need redefining as trails given the state of them)

It also seems that the tyre fitters I have tried don't give a rats arse what I put on the wheel as long as I buy something.