Tires Just Got More Complicated

Experience with tires so far on my R1200R is summarized below.  The life of the pair of Conti Motions put on at 8880 miles was pretty so-so.  The Michelin Pilot Roads lasted considerably longer.  The new front Pilot Road 2 is firmly scrubbed in after the WVA trip.  The Pilot Road 2 rear tire installed last April is showing its age with 6155 miles and wear bars in view but not yet at surface, but clearly needs replacement before heading out for any extended riding.

                                               Rear         Front

Conti Motion                             5300         6863

Pilot Road                                6991        10818

Pilot Road 2 to date                  6155           765

 

 My simple intent was to find a new Pilot Road 2 180/55ZR17 at the best price on the internet and have it shipped in.  Not so simple...  I stumbled upon the fact that Dennis Kirk actually lists three different part numbers for this size of Pilot Road 2 at three different prices.

Part No. 543359 (MSRP $252.95, quoted price $148.88) has 3 tread plies (2 Polyamide/1 Aramid) and 2 sidewall plies and weighs 14.05 lbs.  There is a note in the specs that reads, "For those that ride fully loaded or two-up order Part No. 543510".

Part No. 543510 (MSRP $296.95, quoted price (176.88) has  4 tread plies (3/1) and 3 sidewall plies and weighs 15.75 lbs.  It also carries the notation M/C 73 W after the size designation.  The note in this spec reads, "This tire is made for fully loaded sport touring bike or for two up riding - for lightly loaded single up riding use Part No. 543359".

Then I stumbled across Part No. 543611 (MSRP $252.95, quoted price $154.29) with the same 3/2 plies at PN 543359 but the same M/C 73 W designation as the PN 543510 and a weight of 13.3 lbs.  This one has a note which reads, "This tire has a code letter (C), which indicates that it is engineered for the specified motorcycles, and may also have been the original equipment tire.  The compound and construction of the tire is uniquely suited to the weight, horsepower and handling characteristics of the motorcycle listed, even though the rest of the description and specifications may match other tires with the same name."  Of course, there were no motorcycle models listed.  However, in the spec of PN 543510, it lists BMW K1200GT and R1200RT.

Looking at the tire currently on my bike, I see it has the "M/C 73W" designation but is a 3/2 ply tire, so it looks like it must be a PN 543611.

Boy, they make this confusing, and most of the sellers do not distinguish between these three PN's clearly, so it's not clear what you're buying.  I wound up ordering the 543611 from Dennis Kirk since I could distinguish it there and they had the lowest prices I found.