I'll put in another plug for Michelin...
Just spooned on my second set of PR2s today. The previous set went 14,000 miles and performed flawlessley from new to completely worn out.
My riding buddy (who rides an FJR Yamaha) and I just got back from a trip to the Arkansas and Missouri Ozarks. We both started the trip with well worn sets of PR2s thinking that they had enough life left in them to make the trip. After lunch on the third day, my riding buddy noticed (with some amount of horror) that there was a strip about a foot long and an inch wide of cord showing on his back tire. In the center of that strip was a small area where that layer of cord was worn all the way through. Needless to say, he didn't want to ride any further on that tire. We were in Harrison, Ark. at that time and luckily found a Yamaha dealer who had the rear PR2 in stock. An hour and a half later, he had a new shoe on the back of his FJR. The dealer said that they frequently saw worn out tires there due to the chip seal roads in that area. He said they were like cheese graters on tires.
While all of this was going on, I started worrying about the condition of my tires. I found several spots on my rear tire where the cords were just before peeking through. I decided that my fun riding was over and that I needed to ease back to Tennessee. When I got home, the first layer of cord was peeking through on the back tire and the front was in pretty bad shape too. I have had an extra set of PR2s on hand for some time now and have been waiting for the old set to completely wear out. Well, today I changed them both. I hope this new set serves me as well as the last set did.
This was the first set of tires that I have changed out on a street bike. Thanks to some advice from several of the members here, it went very well. I had bought a bead breaker and static ballancer from Harbor Freight and tire irons from Competition Accessories. I made some rim savers from some old spray bottles. I'll have to second what others have said and that is to be sure to keep the tire and rim lubricated well with soapy water. It makes the job much easier.
Note to self: Always be sure to count your rimsavers after you get a tire on! Preferably before you air the tire up, balance it, and install it back on the bike!