Sportbike Forums on WristTwisters banner

Heads Up - Possible Michelin Pilot Road PR3 Tire Problem!

13K views 20 replies 16 participants last post by  Lemonhead  
#1 ·
Spotted on another forum I'm on:
Cross-post from FZ6-Forum: Michelin Pilot Road 3 are here!!!!!! - Page 8 - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum

A guy's rear PR3 literally melts and starts chunking off while riding:

Image


A few days later, after replacing it, the front shreds itself, resulting in this:

Image


Michelin is "looking into it." This is the only incidence of this that I've heard of so far, but I'd encourage any of you guys running PR3s, especially in hot-hot weather, to keep an eye on them until this is resolved.
 
#2 ·
Ouch.

Just quietly if I'd mounted a new pair and the rear did that I'd be replacing both with another brand ......... pronto.

Until the above I have only read good things about the 3's.

They had issues with the first lot of 2's delamination. And there was a recall a few years back on thousands of Powers.
 
#4 ·
Just quietly if I'd mounted a new pair and the rear did that I'd be replacing both with another brand ......... pronto.
For serious.

I just mounted a pair of PR3s last week. To be honest, if my rear even started looking like that first photo, both tires would have been off that day. Damn, hope that dude is alright and hope Michelin takes proper care of him
 
#3 · (Edited)
From pics at the original link, looks like someone at Michelin may have failed to do enough hot weather testing.

From the rider after the rear disintegrated but before the crash:
"My air pressure was dead on. My treadwear was great. I hit no debris. There is no punctures in the tire. The rubber literally melted to the point that the lateral slits in the tire became gooey and by touching them could see straight to the belts. The rubber was literally falling off in hunks in some areas."
 
#8 ·
The rider seems like a straight-up guy. It will be very interesting to see where this goes and if it starts showing up on others bike.

Something has to be odd here. The front and rear tire would likely be from different batches, wouldn't they? What are the odds of both failing, with normal commuting and to one person when no other cases are being reported? Strange...
 
#11 · (Edited)
One thing that stands out is that this rider, unlike many, runs 110 miles per day in an area that's known to get quite warm in the summer. Most motorcyclists do not ride anywhere near that much (witness most of the low-miles 919s around here) and therefore if this is a problem it won't show up until the more pavement pounding among them start racking up serious summer mileage in similar conditions.

Semi-related, since we're talking tires: There recently has been a problem with Avon Storm Ultra rear tires delaminating and disintegrating, also under hot conditions, often enough - but that's finally been traced to the tire being placed on heavy bikes like the ST1300 when it isn't actually rated for their weight. When I was buying tires for the 919 last, they hadn't quite gotten the cause resolved so I got the last of the Storm STs instead. I'll probably get Storm Ultras next time (I'm pleased with these Avons,) now that it turns out to have been a "didn't read the label" problem as opposed to an actual defect.

However... I'm thinking that neither the weight or the instructions will be the problem with these Michelins, so if you have PR3s and especially if you ride in a warm-to-hot part of the world, I suggest you use caution and inspect your tires very, very frequently until this is resolved.
 
#13 ·
Had a new set of PR3s installed 150kms ago. The aforementioned article scared me. I have to admit compared to the Diablo Rossos that I had on before, they feel much more stable and grippier. The problem is that after reading the article I'm not sure if I want to push them too hard.
 
#14 ·
I said it in another thread I think the guy is full of it. Only one person has reported a problem, and that's him. Two. With over 10k miles on them his tires look to be as new as mine with only now 1k on them. Then his rear disintegrates on him and he thinks it is a good idea to keep the front tire on? I don't think so. I think this guy bought some tires he doesn't like and doesn't way to be out the $300+ he paid for them. Unless some one can vouch personally for the guy, it is a scam in my book.

Even his "wreck" seems like he google imaged some pictures of motorcycle wrecks and posted them up.
 
#15 ·
I said it in another thread I think the guy is full of it. Only one person has reported a problem, and that's him. Two. With over 10k miles on them his tires look to be as new as mine with only now 1k on them.
Yes, I tought the same... For a tyre with 10k on it looks pretty new... Also I would have taken pictures from every single angle...
 
#17 ·
And there's a helmet in the back of the murano.

I saw the p3 on display recently. I thought "man I bet that thing's good in rain . It's got more cuts than a depressed goth girl !" But rain tends to cool things a bit. How are the threes marketed?
 
#19 ·