Howdy all, first post. (I've been lurking for 9 months)

I did a ton of reading on this site in the past 9 months. I decided to put new rubber on. I decided to take a chance on the new Michelin Road Pilot 3 tires. I used the 150-70-17 rear and 110-70-17 on the front. Stock suspension set to 7 (I'm 5-10 220lbs). I did NOT need to touch my chainguard. I had already bent my brake rod in preparation so I don't know if that would have been necessary or not.

I have put about 150 miles on these so far. Taking my time to scuff them up safely. I know this tire size has been a topic of much debate here so I decided to share my limited experience with them so far and some pics for anyone that wants to see what they look like etc.

I am definately not an expert and am not making any recommendations. Just sharing my experience at this point. I am a sport touring type that does a lot of commuting. I ride with some buddies that are much more experienced than I and have some trouble keeping up in the corners and bends on the freeway. I know it is just confidence but felt I'd be happier with better rubber on the road. Living in WA we have lots of wet roads so I wanted something that would hold up in the rain.

Personally I feel the tires are great. Bike turns and tracks great on the road. I spent a few hours in an empty parking lot doing laps to try to scuff the tires and build my confidence. This was mostly at between 15-20 MPH. The pictures show where my chicken strips are currently at. They are about the same front and back which I assume is a good thing and suggests the rear isn't TOO big. I tapes some  flexible dowels onto the footpegs that stuck out about 7". I was just scraping these on my deepest leans. NOOB. Doing this left 1/4" chicken strips. I assume this means I could go quite a bit farther over, but my nerves aren't ready for that yet.

When I got home, I leaned the bike over so the same dowels were just touching in the hopes of checking my lean angle. This isn't perfectly precise as the suspension isn't loaded while I hold it up etc. I calculate this to be about 40 degrees.

I am happy with the tires. I hoped posting my stuff would help someone else if they were considering these or similar tires on stock rims.

http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3044
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3043
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3042
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3038
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3037
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3036
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3035
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3034
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3033
http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3032

Steve

Those 150 tires are not rated for a 3.5 inch wheel.They are pinched.The preferred rim width is 4.25 with a range fitment from 4.0 to 4.5.Download the fitment PDF and have a look at it. http://www.michelinmotorcycle.com/pubs/fitment2011.pdf

I went form 130 to 140 on the rear and noticed no difference other than cosmetic.

140s are often specified to fit a 3.5 inch rim. 150 radials are not. Extra size can have some slight benefits in racing conditions. Main reason lots of people run a 150 is that nothing smaller is available in modern rubber.

your poor charging system.... 

I've now tried all tire sizes I consider suitable for the stock 3.0 and 3.5" rims on our GS500s and all of the tires I've run on my GSs have been fitments approved by the tires maker for our rim sizes; 110/70, 110/80, 120/70 fronts and 130/70, 130/80, 130/90, 140/70, 140/80, 150/70 rears.

Almost all 150/70 bias rears are approved and about half of the 150/70 sport touring radials are approved by tire makers for this fitment on the rim to tire fitment charts of the tire makers.  Some don't approve it in their general charts but do approve it for specific fitments like Avon for example who has never generally approved a 150/70 radial on a 3.5" wheel but does reccommend their Storm 150/70 rear sport touring radial for the early 750 Katanas that have the same rear wheel as our GSs have.

As far as I know no tire makers have ever reccommended fitment of the 150/60 sport/supersport radials on 3.5" rims in this country although many are using them on the GS and EX500 twins.  I have not and would not use this fitment on the GS.

Besides looking better to many GS users the bigger rear tires will last longer due to their greater load ratings.  My 140/70 Roadrider lasted about 15k miles and my 150/70 Roadrider lasted about 18k miles, same tire, same rider, same usage.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500tirelogs.jpg

Regarding approved fitment. I appreciate the input and realize this is a controversial subject. I decided I was going to do it, and share my results so people could see real data.

I contacted Michelin and they said the tire was NOT suggested for 3.5" rim. However, it is difficult to know whether companies are being excessively cautious about law suits.

On the flip side, The fitment guide suggests the PR3 as correct for the VX800 and lists that rim in the fitment guide as 3.5" which is correct.

So I think it throws a grey haze over the whole thing as their own data is inconsistent.

I really wanted high quality radial rubber and this was the smallest size so I decided to give it a try. Dealer had no issues installing them, just clarified that's what I wanted to do.

I recognize there could have been issues. I started on them slow, scuffed them in, then started challenging them in slow speed parking lot. So far I see no issues or hint there will be. That is part of the reason I was paying close attention to the chicken strips is to see if any part of the tire, particularly the edge wears funny from being pinched or out of shape. I see no sign of that. I'll continue to slowly push them harder in sweeping highway curves et. to see how they behave. At this point I'm convinced everything is going to be fine. Time will tell if there are long term wear issues. I am mostly a commuter and distance tourer, so I expect the flat center will be more relevant long term than any subtle tire geometry issues.

Quote from: crzydood17 on June 27, 2011, 02:50:41 AM
your poor charging system.... 

Yea, looks pretty bad doesn't it.

Good news, the driving lights are LED's with dimmers. (dimmers work by flickering the LED's on and off super fast). At the high end both lights pull a total of 70W, but that rarely happens. I have them set to the lowest dim setting. This provides a lot of extra visibility. When dimmed the combined pull is like 6W total.

They are also attached to the high beam, so when I flick that on they to to max power. I can see REAL GOOD then.

I haven't had any charging issues yet. I do throw the bike on a maintenance charger every few weeks, or if I'm not going to ride for a few days. Pretty much ride every day for the past few months though.