Quick Rear Tire Question

Hi all, I need a new rear tire for my VFR800, it currently has a pilot power 3 but I am considering the Pilot Road 4. I have done some google searches and it has left me conflicted/confused. Some people say the Pilot Road 4 is great for twisties and is all that is needed unless you are riding on a track. Some people also say the pilot power 3's are the way to go even if you never ride the track if you are an agressive rider. I consider myself pretty agressive in the twisties but the roads in NJ suck and a lot are cheese graters and I do long rides to my riding places (over an hour on highway) so the center gets a lot of wear.

That being said, can you guys give a little advice here?


PS. Is it just me or does taking the rear off only involve removing the nuts and sliding the wheel off? It looks that simple, if so, I guess one of the benefits of single sided swing arm! (I ask because its way cheaper to bring the wheel off the bike for tire change to the shops around here. Half price)

 

Had the 3's and now have the pr4's and have absolutely no complaints, 250 miles a week and they still look new. Yup, for nuts and it's off....that easy.

 

Agree with Duccmann, they are great, you will notice a bigger change when you go to the new PR4 front.

 

I actually run a Pilot Power 3 front with a Pilot Road 4 rear now. I like the turn in much better with the PP3 than I had with the PR2 so on the previous set of tires I went with a PP3/PR2 (F/R) and got 13,600 miles out of both. The front was at the wear markers but the rear still has some tread left on it! This round I went with a PP3/PR4 (F/R) combo and so far I'm happy with it. I have just as much confidence in this as with the previous setup. On my purely for sport riding bikes ('01 VFR/'95 Ducati SS) I run the PP3s front and rear and love them up until near the end of their tread, this is here they start to let you know you need to look into new tires...and sometimes a change of underwear!

 

To answer this specifically, yes, 4 bolts and off the wheel comes. However, make sure where you take the tire to get balanced, that they can do car style wheels. i.e. Single Sided Swingarm wheels. The place I used to go before I got my tire changing kit, had to go next door to the auto shop, where they had a machine that could be used with the fore mentioned wheels. I think more places are getting the proper gear as more makers do have SSSA bikes.

 

Good tip, I didnt think of that but that makes sense. Can a regular car place actually mount and balance the tire or only balance it?

I would think with Ducati using SSSA on bikes that its likely most shops in the area have it since Ducati is popular here. I was going to shop around tomorrow, my regular shop charges $50 to mount the tire OFF the bike ($100 on the bike!) if you dont buy the tire from them. The $185 I spent on the tire from Amazon would probably had been $300+ from them so that was out of the question.

What is a good price for mounting and balancing with the wheel off the bike?

 

Thanks guys! I went with the Pilot Road 4's. I love them on my Vstrom and the tire sounds great from all the feedback I got. I think they give me exactly what I mean, the soft sides for hard cornering but the stronger center for these shit NJ roads!

 

To answer your first question, most would probably not want to mount it, stating "liability" reasons. The guys at the shop I went to had an arrangement with the car place next door, so that's probably something unique. It's possible they would balance it for you though.

Most likely any place that can service a Ducati or Triumph should be able to do the job, but shops specific to those brands might be a little more $.

As far as what's a good price, that's relative. Some shops around me will charge as low as $17 (cash price) to mount and balance off the bike but the average seems to be about $30. Cycle Gear I believe charges $40 off bike but often require a day turn around, depending on the shop. Many shops do charge a little more for mounting tires if you don't buy from them and this is becoming more prevalent. If you think about it, it's a kin to taking a steak to a steak house and asking them to cook it for you.

Best bet is to call around or ask a few fellow motorcyclist where they go.

Cheers

 

If you have a low can, you MAY have to rotate it out of the way.

Also, I'd estimate 90% of riders here will never hit the limit of capability of the PR4s, unless it's by accident (during an accident)~

 

I mounted my rear P4 at some harley shoppe and they did'nt have the proper cones to balance it. I have some custom made nylon cones mounted to a shaft for a static balancer (read-old school, rotate and weight appropriatly.)

I ended up taking rear wheel to a shoppe that charged me $13.00 US to balance it. Not complaining mind you, P4s are the shizzle btw, compliment the rest of the suspension I gots. Shops here charge 30-40 dollars if you bring in your wheels to mount balance tyres, thats if you buy them at "sed" shoppe. Cheers

 

PR4: I love them track and street. They just work!

 

So I found out yesterday that I had been riding on the ragged edge without even noticing.


I got a PR4 put on without considering any other tire. Picked it up today and I'm super stoked to ride it home in the rain this afternoon.

Edit. I case you can't tell in the crappy and for some reason rotated picture, the belt is showing and the tires is flat.

 

I'm guessing the bike feels just a tad different now.

 

Scarey, hope ya took some cleaner to the wheel while off.
PR 4's are awesome

 

I had the bike towed to a nearby shop and they put the tire on, so the wheel isn't any cleaner. And I got to take it for its first ride in the rain when I picked it up. It's a confidence inspiring tire, no noticeable wheel slip in the wet so far, and the extra willingness to turn from a nice new round tire is always nice.

 

Glad it worked out