Noise From Michellins

Newbie alert!

Hi guys boy from OZ here. Just got myself a pair of Michellin Pilot Road 2's and am noticing a rumbling from the front. Have checked the pressures, (not cause I distrust the pressures the guy at the store told me, just being in the industry myself, it's something I do as par for the course) it had 40 front and 51 rear! Dropped em down to 36 front and 40 rear to break em in, but it doesn't seem to have quietened down any. Took it out today and did just over 300km of riding (200 miles) through the hills, but the noise is still there. Being dual compound and hard in the centre and coming off a soft Dunlop/Avon combo that the bike came with, could that be the difference? Anyone else had this problem with this tyre? Or do they take a tad longer than standard to scrub in. Used to run Bridgestone dual compound on my old Klunkasaki without drama. But now have seen the light and back to V power Honda after several years on inlines.

Very happy with my VFR and have no real complaints other than this tyre noise issue.

 

I bought PR2s in the (Canadian) Spring and haven't had any rumbling.

 

I'm on my second set of PR2's and I get them pre-scrubbed in since they are track take-offs. I've never had any noise out of them and I've never heard anyone complain of noise coming from them either. I still think that your pressures are a tad bit high. I run both at 33 (cold) on the street which will usually come out to something 10% higher after they are warmed up.

 

Meatloaf, be careful with those PR2's when they're cold... They'll spin up on you pretty easy until they're warm... A set of cold takeoffs on my street bike put me on my face this spring.

My personal experience is that Michellins have a significantly stiffer carcass than Dunlups, and Avons are a little softer still... Although it doesn't affect the grip or traction at all, you get much more feedback through the forks to your hands. With Michelins I tend to notice changes in the texture of the road, where with the Dunlops, they just kind of absorbed most of the noise.

With that said... If you're actually hearing noise, could it be coming from your suspension or perhaps a loose bolt somewhere? The new tire may not be making the noise, but perhaps showing you problems elsewhere. Did you have a dealership mount the tire or did you do it yourself. Take a look at the brake rotor and make sure the tire wasn't mounted backwards and that the wheel isn't backwards. If the wheel is backwards you may be hearing the rotors rubbing someplace they shouldn't be.

Hope this helps...

 

Thanks guys

Tis mid winter here, ambient runs between 10-20 degrees c. Pressures will go down to 34f 36r once I've knocked the tits off em properly. I do feel the extra stiffness in the casing and the sharper tip in response. Ran over the bike lastnight when I got home to check it all out. Nothing loose, rim is running in correct direction, both tyres are running in the correct direction according to the sidewall arrows both front and rear, but to my eye the tread is going backwards on the front even though the indicated direction is good. (Looks like it would direct water INTO the tread instead of away from the centre) Will take it back to the dealer that fitted em today and get the front re-balanced as it has a slight vibration at 100mph. Had a set of rear pads put in while they were at it, but like I stated the noise is from the front.

Hopefully happy days this afternoon! The Dunlop/Avon combo was good in the warm and dry, but now that it is a bit colder the Avon rear was a bit soft and was WELL hairy in the wet spinning up even under mild acceleration. (I had forgotten how good the engine braking is on V-Power is too!) Not very confidence inspiring when the front would randomly push mid-corner. My buddy chucked his ZX10 up the road 3 days from new a couple of weeks back due to a cold tyre/heavy hand misshap, so hopefully will get my problem sorted and enjoy the VFR to it's full potential. Toyed with the idea of a set of Pirelli Angel ST's but decided to stick with what I know and am comfortable with. Michellin it is.

Now to lower and set-up the suspension, round up a set of catless headers and a pair of Staintunes to enjoy the SWEET noise. :tongue:

 

check direction arrow on the front brake rotor and make sure it is going in the same direction as
the tire. I have seen this done once or twice and the rotor going backwards does make some noise untill the pads scrub it in.

 

I've had the same experience with the Pilot Road (not the 2's) on the SV650. The front has about 8000 miles on it now and it STILL makes a weird noise, but it is audible more through the gas tank than from the front wheel, if you know what I mean. The bearings are fine, brakes are fine, etc. There was no noise before I put it on (first time I've tried the Pilot's), so I'm waiting to see if the noise goes away when I try the Bridgestone BT-023's (or is it 022?) in a few thousand miles.

FWIW, I've had the entire front end apart probably 6 or 7 times with this tire (tuning suspension, or should I say learning how little I know about tuning suspension :biggrin, and the noise has remained constant.

 

I run Michelin Pilot Classics, the front one makes a roaring noise. I can't hear it with my earplugs in.

 

That's just how they are...