Michelin Pilot Road 4s

Update after 4000km (2500mi) on the tires. This includes roughly 700km (440mi) in heavy rain and hailstorms. What fantastic tires!

I did a tour in the US, traveling from Canada to North Carolina (the infamous Tail of the Dragon) and back over 5 days. I went through torrential rain and hailstorms, as well as riding the bike in good weather between 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees F) and 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees F). Performance of the tires in the wet have been fantastic. I would not have dared to do up to 1000km (620mi) per day after the first day of crazy rain, had I been on the old tires. Handling and braking in the wet is nearly as confidence inspiring as in the dry.

The tires provided excellent grip and feedback in the dry, as well, both on the highway and in the twisties, low and high speed. With a fully loaded top case and saddle bags, I still managed to reduce the chicken strips to about 1cm compared to about 2cm on the old Scorpion Trails. This speaks to the degree of trust the tires engender.
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Just purchased Michelin Pilot Road 4s and did about 200 km on them. Wow! What a difference! Night and day difference between the OEM Pirelli Scorpion Trails and the new Michelin Pilot Road 4s (PR4s). Overall rating: 5 out of 5. As a Tiring oriented bike, the Hyperstrada should have originally come with PR4s.

The OEM Scorpion Trails weren't bad by any means, but the new tires seem to perform significantly better on the road. Based on what I've tested in the past couple of days, here are my thoughts (I'm sure many people have used the PR4s, so I'd also like to hear what you think about these tires).

Road Feel: I found the PR4s to be much better at communicating the road surface compared to the Scorpion Trails. You can feel the road so well that I almost expected the bike to steer worse in bad road conditions, such as tracking the cracks on the road surface or respond to impurities by letting it affect the steering. However, despite the better feel, I did not encounter any adverse effects on the steering or handling.

Steering/Turn in: Michelin PR4s turn in very very quick, to the point that you initially wonder if the bike is unstable. This holds true at both slow and high speeds, so benefit the handling both in town and on the highway. I think this is due to the more round profile which creates steeper angles. However, once the bike is leaned over, it feels at least as stable as the Scorpion Trails. Yet, it is much easier to change direction when the bike is leaned over. I haven't yet taken it to the edges of the tire, as the slippery material hasn't yet completely worn off, but overall, love the turn in.

Braking - Dry Road: Better grip = shorter stopping distance. Also feels more controlled and stable during breaking.

Braking in the Wet: Absolutely stellar. Stopping distance feels almost like the Scorpion Trails felt on dry asphalt. Very controlled and predictable. Again, thanks to the excellent feedback the tires provide, you can easily understand the requisite braking power needed and adjust your braking.

Comfort: I thought the Michelin PR4s soaked up the bumps a bit better than the Scorpion Trails. Not a huge difference, but enough to make the PR4s feel more comfortable on bumpy roads.

High-Speed Handling/Stability: I thought the PR4s felt more stable than the Scorpion Trails despite the quicker turn-in. I also felt that more grip was available, and found myself being able to enter curves carrying more speed. Performance close to the tires' edges was very stable with lots of grip and lots of feedback.

Low Speed Handling/Stability: It sounds odd when I say it, but I swear the Strada feels easier to balance during walking-pace or slow-speed maneuvers. Considering the more round profile of the tire, this is unexpected, but it was a welcome characteristic during the rush-hour commute in stop-and-go traffic.

Handling in the Wet: The PR4s were more confidence inspiring than the Scorpion Trails when leaned over. Haven't tested this all the way to the tires' edges, as the tires need another 200-300 km until the slippery material that coats new bike tires is gone.

And here is an article that has a more professionally done test: https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2014/05/08/michelin-pilot-road-4-tires/

ferdi said:

Please do'nt forget that you compare old tires with new tires.
I am quite sure, when PR4s are old and probably square-edged, new Scorpion Trails will feel much better than the old Michelins.
Which does not mean that PR4 is not an excellent tire. But the comparison is not "objective" because the Pirellis you have old and used in mind, the PR4s new and fresh.
I had this feeling all the time when i changed from old to new tires, even between the same brand and model.

But you are right, tires can transform a bike completly.
I use Pirelli Angel GT at time and for trackday use i switched to used Supercorsa SP. The bike handled completly different, more handy.
They have different contour, additional, you wear them on different areas and angles, so, after track use the tire feels different to the time before. The same is with a tire at roaduse.
When i switched back to my used Angel GT now, bike felt completly different the first kilometers until i got used to it again.

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Ferdi, I started using the Scorpion Trails in March, and had the same issues I have highlighted in my notes from day 1. They have felt much less stable when leaned over, especially in the wet.

I mainly ride curves, so the tires were not squared off when I changed them at about 9800 km. I still had about 3-4000 km of life left in the tires when I changed them. Moreover, the Scorpion Trails were nicely worn close to the edges, and I'm testing them against new tires that still need to wear out a bit until they reach optimum grip.

kuksul08 said:

I used PR4's on the hyper. They are great road tires, but get quite sketchy in their last 1000 miles. I was slippin and slidin everywhere.

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Yes, I read about your notes before I bought them. What was the mileage you got out of them? Just curious when I should start to watch out for the loss of grip.

kuksul08 said:

I would have to check, but it was around 6,000 miles.

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Hmm, rather early. I was hoping around 7500-8000.

AussieHyper said:

Ok....tyres are a very personal choice and need to be matched to what you intend to use the bike for so here are a few comments on my experience on the Hyper.

OEM (PS 1) - not a bad road tyre and good for the occasional gravel road. But not a full blown off road tyre but then neither is the Hyper. They are average in the wet and squirly when the bikes laid over. Wear is average, I got 9348 kilometres from them. My reading on the SP 2s suggest they are marginally better in all areas but the wear issue has been addressed.

RP4 - Great in the wet (really great grip in all conditions) and not squirly when the bikes laid over. Very good touring tyre. I got 14394 kilometres from them.

RP 4 GTs - Yes I put the GTs on and I know these are meant for a heaver bike but a friend with a Guzzi Le Mans (about the same weight as the Hyper but lower power) tried them and suggested giving them a go. I now have 4080 kilometres on them. Same grip as the normal RPs and very happy with them but what is interesting is that the 'chicken strips' are presently about 15 mm wide....where as on the normal RPs I was at around 3 mm on both sides. They also feel stiffer (which is the point I'm making) ie because there is less flex due to stiffer tyre walls, the tyre holds it's shape and whilst I'm getting over as much I'm not getting the flex in the tyre and hence not using all the tread available. So really I have to get it further over

I'm also keen to see what sort of distance I get from them.

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Good review. Thanks for the insights. I thought about the GT, but then thought the regular would have more grip due to the softer compound, but I guess not... Interesting.