Tyre performance in the wet.

I'm curious what people's experiences of different tyres are in proper wet conditions. 

I've got the Pilot Road 4s on at the moment,  with 5000km on them,  so not new but not worn out. Interested in these,  and other tyres.

I've read reviews from riders in other countries that say they perform just as well in wet as in dry,  but I find that difficult to believe. Surely traction must be less around corners in the wet. 
And when I say wet I mean it's been raining properly for quite a while,  not just greasy roads. ...

I have the Michelin PR 4s also and did about 400km in rain to heavy rain through Bombala to Lakes Entrance last October.

The tyres performed brilliantly, I had no dodgy moments and by the time I got to my accomodation at the end of the day , I was almost dissapointed to stop riding as I was getting into it so much.

Apart from wet gloves and boots, the riding was great and not once did I have any doubts about the water handling ability of the tyres.

These are good tyres.

I've also had Metzeler M5 roadtech tyres and ridden in similar conditions in similar location and these performed great aswell.

Admittedly, I ride more cautiously in the rain, but I remained confident in the tyres the whole time.

I think if i lose confidence in a tyre, through dodgy moments or lack of traction, then i'd go for something else.

I am sure there are other brands out there and the important thing is if you have confidence in the tyre (whatever brand) it'll make your ride that much more enjoyable.

When I started out riding, an older rider said to me - "even if you have a rusty, smoke blowing bike, make sure you have the best rubber possible between you and the road."

Bridgestone Battlax have served me well in the qty in both 021 and 023. If you roll the power on hard on the wet the rear will break traction, but that's tobe expected

I can remember reading a English tyre in the wet review, they used a Bandit as the test mule and the RP3's came out on top, the rider felt comfortable scraping a knee in 2-3 inches of water

Currently on PR3's.  Last time I rode in the wet they were brilliant!  Apart from the occasional slither down painted lines, didn't move at all.  Was also quite surprised how well the set of Pilot Pures worked in the wet too! Also brilliant.  It does seem that modern touring rubber works in the wet about as well as a Pirelli Phantoms did in the dry...

Truck bandit wrote:

I think if i lose confidence in a tyre, through dodgy moments or lack of traction, then i'd go for something else.

I find myself in that exact position with the Pirelli Angel GTs.  Love them in the dry but I reckon Michelin PR3s are better in very wet conditions.  I'm going back to PR3/PR4s after I wear the Angels out.

So far the OEM Roadsmarts fitted to my (non Bandit) are the best wet and dry tyre I've ever had. Not sure about mileage yet but i've ridden in pretty ordinary conditions (with Ewok).
I'll also chuck in and sat it depends on the surface you ride on as to what feels best for you. Open agregate obviously drains better than fine stuff so just because its wet or raining makes it hard to compare tyre to tyre.

As a side note a mate on a Firestorm did a dry track day on PR2's yesterday and was very impressed with how they went. I've always thought my first pair of PR2 were the best ones I had.

2wheelsagain wrote: I've always thought my first pair of PR2 were the best ones I had.

Might this be related to country of manufacture?

I note that my current PR4s are made in Spain.

stu wrote:

2wheelsagain wrote: I've always thought my first pair of PR2 were the best ones I had.

Might this be related to country of manufacture?

I note that my current PR4s are made in Spain.

Yes mate. I have posted on here about PR3/4 from Spain and Thailand.  I know my Thai PR3 were shyte.

2wheelsagain wrote:

stu wrote:

2wheelsagain wrote: I've always thought my first pair of PR2 were the best ones I had.

Might this be related to country of manufacture?

I note that my current PR4s are made in Spain.

Yes mate. I have posted on here about PR3/4 from Spain and Thailand.  I know my Thai PR3 were shyte.

Guess I missed that thread....

How does Joe Consumer have any control over this? 

Still got no idea how I'd get a knee down on my bike... too hard in the clingy dririders...

I have had PR2s let the rear step out on me a couple of times on corners , but given the surface & amount of water on the road , I'm not sure how the PR3s would have gone either ...............I'm going to try the PR4s next .

Unless I was riding around with race wets, I don`t trust any tyre in the wet.

Many may claim to be great, but I`ll always stay as upright as possible when cornering in the wet.

You only have to chuck into the equation a bit of diesel or the likes of, on the road, and even the so called best will be rendered useless.

Best off riding with anticipation.

I will say it again michelin are overratted and over priced for what you get

I have had both PR3 & currently have PR4's on the bike. My observations after 15k on front & 7k on rear:
1. PR4 rear definately holds better in the wet than PR3 the front is no better than with PR3
2. rear still lets go a little on those white lines
3. 20% more km's as stated in ads is bull, my front is just about done, lucky to get another 2k out of it. The rear looks about half worn
4. PR4 on the front showed signs of scolloping after 3k, the extra sipes combined with heavy bike may be the cause.
5. The dual compound is very effective as there is very little change to the profile, PR4 seems better than 3's.

Don't forget these are an all round tyre, the best tyre I rode on were AVon Storm2 ultras, they stuck to the road like glue in wet & dry but its a different compound & wears out real quick.

Front is due for replacement before Parkes so I am thinking of fitting the PR3 again

What tyres are you running Jim?
Do I recall Shinko?
If so what specific type?

Cannot get the shinkos i want, so currently i have pirelli Angel GT bloody awesome tyre all round, grip right to the death knock, have recently rode a day in driving Rain in victoria where the shiney patches just wait to get you not one slip, slide or anything just grip, but sadly this set wont make parkes so its a new set of equally good dunlops roadsmart 2s for parkes and our extended vic tour

spanna wrote:I have had both PR3 & currently have PR4's on the bike. My observations after 15k on front & 7k on rear:
1. PR4 rear definately holds better in the wet than PR3 the front is no better than with PR3
2. rear still lets go a little on those white lines
3. 20% more km's as stated in ads is bull, my front is just about done, lucky to get another 2k out of it. The rear looks about half worn
4. PR4 on the front showed signs of scolloping after 3k, the extra sipes combined with heavy bike may be the cause.
5. The dual compound is very effective as there is very little change to the profile, PR4 seems better than 3's.

Don't forget these are an all round tyre, the best tyre I rode on were AVon Storm2 ultras, they stuck to the road like glue in wet & dry but its a different compound & wears out real quick.

Front is due for replacement before Parkes so I am thinking of fitting the PR3 again

When I had my front replaced before Christmas. The service manager noted that my old PR3 was slightly scalloped. He told me to up the pressure to 38

madmax wrote:

spanna wrote:I have had both PR3 & currently have PR4's on the bike. My observations after 15k on front & 7k on rear:
1. PR4 rear definately holds better in the wet than PR3 the front is no better than with PR3
2. rear still lets go a little on those white lines
3. 20% more km's as stated in ads is bull, my front is just about done, lucky to get another 2k out of it. The rear looks about half worn
4. PR4 on the front showed signs of scolloping after 3k, the extra sipes combined with heavy bike may be the cause.
5. The dual compound is very effective as there is very little change to the profile, PR4 seems better than 3's.

Don't forget these are an all round tyre, the best tyre I rode on were AVon Storm2 ultras, they stuck to the road like glue in wet & dry but its a different compound & wears out real quick.

Front is due for replacement before Parkes so I am thinking of fitting the PR3 again

When I had my front replaced before Christmas. The service manager noted that my old PR3 was slightly scalloped. He told me to up the pressure to 38

They call it cupping on this site , but it has some interesting info on it................just scroll down to cupping  

http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html

Interesting read there Paul

MM tyre pressures I have been running are 38 front & 40 rear
That's very interesting Paul. I was concerned about the stepping pattern between segments but it sounds like thats OK, just a byproduct of the scalloping effect.

Top end wet season and Monsoon here at present and im getting hammered by it most days. Can't fault the PR3s.

NTBill, does this mean you have you converted your bandit to an amphibious vehicle??

Could be. Although maybe more a submarine. When the tintops are struggling along at around 70km/h with wipers flat out, wind blustering and I trundle past closer to the speed limit (100) with better vision than any car, I'm grateful that the bike is on the lardy side. Keeps it all planted...