I know I know… smut smut smut! but hey it’s my blog and I’ll write what I like – and this week has definitely been about my pleasure :-). Seriously though, I can tell you, hand on heart, that thanks to some nicely shaped rubber, in the form of a new set of Micheline Road Pilots, I am a very satisfied woman.
There is that moment in every rider’s life when they know they need new tyres. It’s when your beloved, agile, two wheeler develops the handling abilities of a pig on a spit. Your riding turns from a flowing sweeping god/goddess into that of a gutter hugging newbie on L Plates with a minimal 125cc of power (well we’re all riding gods/goddesses in our imaginations lol!). But like the cavalry to the rescue my Road Pilots have boosted me into the upper echelons (yep my new word for the week ;-)) of riding. No longer do I find myself 50-pencing it in an effort to tackle a roundabout – instead I sweep in and out … with a maahooosive grin on my face lol!
Owning a sports tourer and riding all year round means I look for longevity in my tyres alongside an ability to grip in the wet. Usually a devotee of Bridgestone, at one point I was persuaded to look elsewhere and try out the Metzeler Roadtech Z8 Interact. I clearly recall being like a kid at Christmas anxiously and excitedly waiting for them to arrive. Yet like so many Christmas presents I was deeply disappointed in them 😦
There was always an edgy sense of disquiet in the corners when riding in the rain. Even allowing for the hazard of a wet day, it was disheartening to feel uncomfortable on familiar routes where previous experiences on Bridgestones in the same conditions had never caused me a moment of panic.
I chose the Pilots after my dear bruv raved on about his Pilot 2’s and since his bike is his main form of transport and he knows a thing or two about riding I was sorely tempted. The final deciding factor was the strange coincidence of my purchasing a copy of Fast Bikes, which I never normally do, and finding a three page spread on the upgraded Pilot 3s 🙂
Clearly it was fate. The writer had road tested them to a degree I am clearly never going to, in both wet and dry and not found them wanting. It led me to the website where I read up on the strange new tyre tread with its special pockets aimed at dispersing the water – definitely a tyre planned for the wet weather me thinks! I managed a gorgeously smooth 25-mile ride after having them fitted at Flitwick Motorcycles – then it peed down so I gingerly headed home conscious of the spectre of untried slippy tyres. But several rides later they’ve been scrubbed in and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the riding.
Now it’s just a case of waiting for a good old-fashioned downpour to really test them out…. wish me luck 🙂
Ride safe
A bird's eye view to biking! 
So it will be your fault when it downpours this weekend! x
LOL sis – so not guilty cos this weekend don’t plan to do any fun riding – just getting the air horn sorted.
You won’t be disappointed – I’ve got them on my Versys and they have to be the best sports/touring tyre I’ve tried. A few years ago I had Pilot Road 2s on my Daytona 955i SE and loved them – gripped well wet or dry and lasted forever as bike tyres go. The PR3s are better with the added bonus of requiring minimal scrubbing in and being usable straight from cold. There’s none of that ponderous feeling you get until the tyres have warmed up, these kiddies work straight out of the garage. I’m still amazed at the confidence they give in the wet.
Cool – thanks Loz., I feel really confident on them in the dry (even more so than my lovely old Bridgestones) so am quite looking forward to a bit of proppa rain. I won’t be pushing it madly but itwill be interesting to see how they perform. Its good to know that you have used/are using them and are happy. Dean thinks they;re the bees knees lol!