Guys,
I have a set of Michelin Pilot Road on my XX. The attached pictures were taken this morning and they had 11600 miles. I'm going on a 1500-mile trip next week. Do you think I need to replace my tires before the trip or I can wait until after?
Thanks for any comments.
-mike-

Holy shit, how do you get that kind of mileage out of a Pilot Road?

Based on getting 11,600 miles out of the tire to this point, I'd say you'd probably be fine, but my experience is they go much quicker toward the end of their life. I'd spend the $150 just for the peace of mind on the trip. IMO, YMMV, ect, ect...

Damn! I've got 4,600 miles on mine and I'd trade you! You are right on the cusp. I'd pitch them and ride worry free.

Thanks for the reply, Redbird and Magoo, I have been using OEM Bridgestone and none of them lasted less than 10k miles on my bird and I'm not easy on the throttle either :-) I weight 165 lbs without gear but that shouldn't matter, as I always have my Givi top box with me that weights at least 30 lbs with my tools/first aid kit/ tire patch kit/air compressor etc...

I already have a new set of Michelin PR sitting in my garage and I have the Nomar tire changer. I am just lazy to do anything before the trip. I guess I'll replace them this weekend then...

-mike-

11k out of a PR? Huh. What pressures you running?

I had them on my R1 and didnt get 2600 out of a rear. My PR2's got me 8k on the rear of my XX

I always run 42 psi front and rear...

shit now we know why you are the testrider!

IMO with the tread in that shape with that many miles, it tells me the way you ride should be no problem getting another 1500 miles out of them.

BUT with the tread in that shape with that many miles, it ALSO tells me you aren't a risk taker and it will bother you the whole trip if don't buy a new tire.

If I was going in a straight line and not diving into turns, I'd run it until the belts show.

Since my ankle is still pissed, I'd say change them. Just saw what the insurance covered and I am sooo glad I have awesome insurance!

When it stops being so fucking hot, I will post what my tires looked like. Of course all my riding is now close to home, so I wasn't worried...

If I were you I would not replace them...with your luck you'll get 20k miles out of them

Thank you all, for your inputs and I appreciate them all.

Jaygermeister's comment had the touch of a Zen master :-)

Since there were more 'YES' to replace than 'NO', I'm going to replace them this weekend, since I already have a new set of Michelin Pilot Road sitting in my garage and I also have a Nomar tire changer and balancer. Then I won't have to think about it all the time while on my trip.

Again, thank you all. Your inputs are valuable, as always.
Ride safe.

-mike-

Just out of curiosity, what kind of gas milage do you get?

I got about 40-42 mpg on my 97XX. Yesterday I just replaced my tires with another set of Michelin Pilot Road. The old set had 11810 miles.

That's great mileage, I used to only get ~10 000km's from the PR rears and I get the same roughly from the PR2 rears although with the PR's it was flat spotting the centres and the PR2's I wear out the sides I do ride quite hard and am ~300lb's

Wow, that's incredible mileage. It must be Testrider's weight and his riding style.

Jeeze, my fat ass would never get over 6K on a Pilot Road, ON THE ST1300!!!!!!!!! Too many wheelies I guess.

I weight 165 lbs without gears. However, I almost always have my Givi top box with me to carry the tools/first aid kit/air compressor etc... that weights at least another 30-35 lbs. While I don't do burn-out or wheelies, but I do ride hard and accelerate hard every chance I got. I'm not easy on my throttle. All my previous tires (I have used only Bridgestone BT56 before I switched to Michelin PR) lasted from 10k-14k miles...