Michelin Road 5

[Globalrider]

Lot's of upright riding there! - Still I ran a tyre in Montana on my 1200S Bandit and made it to the next town to find a racer with some knackered track day tyres - nothing on the shoulders but plenty of meat in the middle and it got me home - 1000kms !!! that is where I earned my handle SHREAD!! WE re-shoes'd them by hand!

Stan

[black14]

do they still feel ok and handle as they should

No - they track white lines and road seams really badly now - last 2-3 weeks (around 2000kms) especially. I find that happens with PR3s PR4s and Road 5s - not sure if any are better or worse. As far as dry grip goes they're fine still - the Road 5s are way better in that regard than the PR3s/PR4s, particularly when you get on the very visible soft compound part of  the tyre.

Lot's of upright riding there!

Yeah - I try to keep it that way on the commute - way too much traffic to be carving S's up the freeway! 

[Mick_J]

Mjgt, i really wanted to comment, i wont.

Well at least I got a nibble 

[Kiwifruit]

Picked up my new tyres. Will get them fitted in the next week or so.
Just looked to see how long the old 5's had been on and 2th Feb 2018 was when l started this thread.
I reckon they have done in excess of 16000kms. Some would still get more milage out of them but with squared rubber the bike handles poorly.
Looking forward to trying the 55 profile.

[grog]

Col, what is the reasoning behind fitting 55. Quicker steer in? My best guess is youve been watching Rins, need more corner clearance. 

[Kiwifruit]

Ground clearance is never an issue Grog. Just wanted to try one. Seems a lot on here are using a 55 profile and no one has said l'm not doing that again.
Say they turn in easier, l wouldnt mind that. Had intended to try Pirelli in which case l would have stayed with a 50.
Pirelli are just so expensive nobody in town stocks them. Mitchys cost me $550 and $50 to fit. Pirelli are another $100.
As an aside l could have bought a pair of Road Pilot 2's for the same price as l paid for the rear tyre. Those tyres must be 10 years old.

[Hooli]

I'm running a 55 profile, but on a 180 tyre. It'll be interesting to hear how that works as the slightly larger OD will gear the bike up a touch (not enough to notice I'm sure).

[KiwiCol]

Yes, I'll be interested in your perceptions of them after you've run them for a while. 

[BlueDragon]

I'm running a 55 profile, but on a 180 tyre. It'll be interesting to hear how that works as the slightly larger OD will gear the bike up a touch (not enough to notice I'm sure).

I wonder how much difference that will make to the speedo.

According to my GPS, my speedo needs to sit on around 106-107kph to be doing a real 100kph.

I have a Michelin Pilot Road 5 on the rear with a Pilot Road 4 on the front.  Was like that when I bought the bike.

It's never let go on me at all, even when leaning right over two-up.  But I don't like the lack of feedback at times and the tyres seem to take a while and number of corners to get warmed up.

I know - totally different bike - but my VFR800 Vtec with Metzeller Roadtec-01 front and rear is fantastic, lots of feedback and next to no time to warm up.  But as with all things - its all a personal thing.  I now have a Pirelli Angel GT on the rear of the VFR.  Feels almost the same as the Roadtec-01, but is a touch firmer in ride comfort. Not badly, but noticeably firmer with the same suspension settings. (I have a CBR929 Fireblade rear shock conversion kit in the VFR, so have preload, rebound and compression adjustment)

But I think when time comes for replacement, I'll go back to the Metzeller, feels better with grip and is more comfortable.  The only reason I changed is that I only got 9800 klms out of the rear Roadtec.  That is 2-up, but but my wife is only 48kg.  So was hoping for a few more kilometres from the Roadtec than what I got.

The michelins on the 1400 still have a lot of life left in them, but will most likely change to Pirelli Angel GT 2 when the time comes for replacement.  I've not really liked Michelins on any of the bikes I've owned.  (The VFR had Pilot Road 3 tyres on it when I bought them - hated them, but they were over 6 years old and felt like they were going to let go every time I went around a corner,  the VFR had spent a lot of its life sitting in a garage until I bought it).

Personally, I've always found michelin's to be  a tad harsh in ride comfort.  Even back to the late 80's and 90's when I had a GSX750EFF and tried a set of Michelin A-49's..  hated them and got rid of them within a few months of fitting them.  Luckily back then my brother had a motorcycle shop, so getting a different set of tyres wasn't an issue.

[grog]

Funny you mentioned the A49, sticks in my mind as one of the worst. A48 wore out so on went 49.Went up thru a favourite road, can remember i thought it must be half flat. Off after just one weekend. Would not hold a line in corners.

[Kiwifruit]

Ok so just got home from a 500km round trip to Auckland and back down the Firth of Thames. Me thinks the new tyres should go on tomorrow.

[grog]

Lets know your thoughts Col.

[Hooli]

I'm running a 55 profile, but on a 180 tyre. It'll be interesting to hear how that works as the slightly larger OD will gear the bike up a touch (not enough to notice I'm sure).

I wonder how much difference that will make to the speedo.

According to my GPS, my speedo needs to sit on around 106-107kph to be doing a real 100kph.

On a 180/55 Angel GT my bike shows 60mph at a GPS 56mph. I think when I had a standard sized PR4 on it'd have shown about 58-59mph at a true 56mph. So not a huge difference.

[Irish in Oz]

My thoughts on this is a 55 profile has a smaller footprint for those that want more life/wear out of their tyres not for you, someone that wants more sports give it a go. Never tried it myself only the 180/55 once still run standard. As for speedo readings who cares, if it worries you that much run a gps all the time.

[Hooli]

55 profile tips in easier as it's 'pointier' that's why I like it. As for speedo, I like to know how far out so I can do the right speed at cameras/average speed zones etc.