My experience with Michelin Pilot SC

I installed a new set of Michelin Pilot SC at around 17k miles. Now at 21500 my rear is bald in the center at 4500 mi. The front tire shows some wear but has plenty of tread left.

I drive mostly on the highway, 90 miles per day and in Atlanta that means average highway speeds of 75mph. I am not super-satisfied with the tread life but hear it's average for "sticky" tires (although I was expecting better wet/dry performance out of them for sporty tires.)

I decided to order 2 sets of the rears this time and together they set me back just over $100 from bike bandit. I figured they should last me long enough to wear out the front tire. (not sure economically how this compares with other tires for the same mileage).Then I hope Michelin will come out with a better touring tire (like the city grip or gold standard) or I may throw on a set of Bridgestone Hoops or IRCs (they were the previous brand and may have been the originals with 17k miles on them).

Maybe I will darkside one day if I am up for modding the rear swingarm and if i can find a reasonably priced second rear rim.

Jesse in Atlanta

Thank you for the review Jesse.

For my commute I may look at Michelin as a next tyre, my ride has more corners than highway type roads so the additional grip from the stickier Michelin tyres may be more advantageous to me.

My Hoops are pretty good and give me in the region of 6-7k miles per rear. The front is changed in the ratio of about 1-3.

Here in the UK we don't have the option of 'darkside,' that said I don't think I would bother even if the option existed.

Waspie wrote:

Here in the UK we don't have the option of 'darkside,' that said I don't think I would bother even if the option existed.

I believe we are already on the 'darkside' in the UK because that term is now being used for scooter riders that aren't into the the traditional Vespa or Lambretta 60's stuff. Basically if you ride a more modern powerful CVT scooter as opposed to a "Quadrophenia" throwback, you've gone over to the 'darkside'. There's regular gatherings and rallies for Darksiders who tend to be younger than the now ageing Trad scooter enthusiasts.

I prefer our version of darkside to that rather curious and to us prohibited practice of levering a car tyre onto the rear wheel.

toolboxjesse wrote:

Maybe I will darkside one day if I am up for modding the rear swingarm

Why do you feel you need to mod the rear swingarm??

Wouldn't I need to shave away some metal in order to fit the car tire?

jesse

I just fitted a Metzeler feelfree rear tyre today(or rather i took the wheel to the tyre place and they did). Do you recall Waspie, last year i was asking about tyres.Then the Bridgestone hoop did 6700mls, I replaced it with another hoop, that one has just done 6400mls. Some one ( think from Germany) suggested the Metzeler at that time. The front Bridgestone i got 11000mls out of, i was happy with that.Let's see how the Metzeler performs

Will be changing my front Hoop on Monday, (7th,). That will be 12k miles.

Be interested to know how many miles you get from the Metzler.

toolboxjesse wrote:

Wouldn't I need to shave away some metal in order to fit the car tire?

jesse

As a moderator, I have to look at all the posts made on BurgmanUSA. It is not always enjoyable...especially when they start talking about the darkside. However, I've picked up one bit of info that would be worth noting if you're thinking of going this route.

The car rim is slightly smaller than the motorcycle rim circumference, so the car tire has a hard time seating the bead. One way that mechanics have done this, is to put over 100 psi in the tire. At that point, you are taking some serious potential in damaging the tire, or rim, or even having a catastrophic failure. (Note in the USAF, they consider the danger enough that you only inflate tires after mounting in a steel cage.)

One member wrote in a way to make this work. He took his bike to an old mechanic who kept the bike overnight. He uses time, not brute force, to get the tire to seat on the bead properly. He'll pump the tire up part way, then let it sit for a couple hours. A couple hours later, he'll check it again and put some more lubrication on the rim. It might have to sit 8-10 hours, but he lets the tire stretch to accommodate the slightly larger motorcycle rim, rather than forcing it. It makes a lot of sense.

Chris

toolboxjesse wrote:

Wouldn't I need to shave away some metal in order to fit the car tire?

I have had three Sumitomo Darkside tires mounted without any shaving.

1) ~2,500 miles tire was punctured by debris
2) ~40,000 miles
3) Still running

With the Ariete angled air valve (or equivalent) , I hardly lose any tire pressure.

Daboo wrote:

As a moderator, I have to look at all the posts made on BurgmanUSA. It is not always enjoyable...especially when they start talking about the darkside. However, I've picked up one bit of info that would be worth noting if you're thinking of going this route.

That information is only pertinent to the Suzuki brand since they put a grove on the inside of the rim. The Honda Silverwing does not have the groove or the problems mounting the Darkside tire.

Daboo wrote:

The car rim is slightly smaller than the motorcycle rim circumference, so the car tire has a hard time seating the bead.

Here are the Sumitomo specifications: http://www.sumitomotire.com/assets/products/performance/htrt4_sm.pdf

Product Code: 5515907
Tire Size: P165/70R13
Service Description: 78T
Rim Range(inch): 4.0 - 5.5
Design Rim Width(inch): 5.0
PSI: 51
Max Load(lbs): 937
Overall Diameter(inch): 22.2
Section Width(inch): 6.5
Tread Width(inch): 5.0
Tread Depth(X/32”): 9
Loaded Radius (inch): 10.0
Rolling Circum.(inch): 66.7
Revs per Mile: 949
Weight (lbs.): 11.0

Daboo wrote:

One way that mechanics have done this, is to put over 100 psi in the tire. At that point, you are taking some serious potential in damaging the tire, or rim, or even having a catastrophic failure.

I understand the concern for mounting the Darkside tire on the Suzuki Burgman(s) ... the Sumitomo Darkside tire does not require 100 PSI to seat the tire on the Honda Silverwing.

honda_silver wrote:

...The Honda Silverwing does not have the groove or the problems mounting the Darkside tire...

Cool! One more reason to chose a Silverwing over a B650!!

Chris

Daboo wrote:

Cool! One more reason to chose a Silverwing over a B650!!

Isn't that heresy?

honda_silver wrote:

Daboo wrote:

Cool! One more reason to chose a Silverwing over a B650!!

Isn't that heresy?

Probably - Vive le revolution!!!!!l

x

bigbird wrote:

honda_silver wrote:

With the Ariete angled air valve (or equivalent) , I hardly lose any tire pressure.

Is this a Darkside tire issue or just bad luck?

I do not understand your question.