NO Michelin Road 5 GT tire coming...

[Jjonahjamison]

Last year when Michelin announced the Road 5, I recall that they said that a Road 5 GT would be available in 2019. Since I hadn't heard anything more about when they will be available (and I will need new tires in the spring) I wrote to Michelin. Here is their response:

"Thank you for your interest n our tires Jonah. I unfortunately do not show any indication for a future deployment of a GT version of the Pilot Rod 5 tire model." (spelling is as received!)

So I guess the Michelin guys among us will have to stick with the Road Pilot 4 GT.

Damn. Because I am not especially happy with the longevity of the 4 GTs, and was hoping for just a little more bang-for-my-tire-buck out of a new GT line.

If anyone has any different information I would like to hear it. I am a little suspect given this fellow referred to "Pilot Rod 5" rather than "Road 5", but presumably he checked with someone before responding.

 

[ST-Traveler]

I think they will eventually come out with the PR5 GT version.

 

[bignslo]

I think they will eventually come out with the PR5 GT version.

Just put on the RP4GT cause the 5's not available. I'm also not happy with the mileage on the 4's, seems I got more mileage out of the old 2's. Don't understand why the newer and improved tires they make for us aren't better. Maybe in the future I might switch to Dunlop just to see how they work again..

 

[CYYJ]

The PR4GT is good enough for me, the mileage I get out of them is amazing.

Michael

 

[fnmag]

I switched to Shinko Verge some time ago and I love the handling and durability.
My wallet likes it as well.

 

[Jjonahjamison]

Fnmag, what kind of milage are you getting out of the Shinko Verges, and what kind of riding style would you say you ride?

I get about 6,000-7,000 miles out of a rear, and about 9,000 miles out of a front PR4 GT, basically all of it either high speed or twisty road riding (I don't commute or otherwise ride locally, basically its 100% on road trips taken for the purpose of riding in a spirited manner). I see lots of guys get double what I am getting out of the PR4 GTs, so I expect speed and cornering force are to blame.

 

[fnmag]

Fnmag, what kind of milage are you getting out of the Shinko Verges, and what kind of riding style would you say you ride?

I get about 6,000-7,000 miles out of a rear, and about 9,000 miles out of a front PR4 GT, basically all of it either high speed or twisty road riding (I don't commute or otherwise ride locally, basically its 100% on road trips taken for the purpose of riding in a spirited manner). I see lots of guys get double what I am getting out of the PR4 GTs, so I expect speed and cornering force are to blame.

I get app 9.5-10K on the rear and 12-13 on the front.
A lot of interstate and secondary roads with some twisties.
You post that you see many riders getting double the mileage on the PR4 GTs.
That would be 12-14K... I've never seen that kind of mileage out of the PR4 GTs.
In fact, I've encountered riders with only 4-5K on the PR4 GTs.
Now, I understand that mileage is dependent on many factors but I can't agree with 14K out of the Michelins.
If you like the PR4 GTs then by all means by them.
I'm simply pointing out that there are cheaper alternatives that perform as well or better.
YMMV
Dang, this could turn into an oil thread.

 

[CYYJ]

You post that you see many riders getting double the mileage on the PR4 GTs. That would be 12-14K... I've never seen that kind of mileage out of the PR4 GTs.

I get about 12 to 14K (miles, not km) out of a PR4GT front tire, and about 8 to 9K out of the rear. But most of my riding on the ST 1300 is long distance, cross-continent highway riding. Not very many twisties where I live in Toronto.

Michael

 

[Al Gully]

Bridgestone T31 GT's suit me just fine and I live in a rain forest.
They have never let me down and last for a decent time

 

[ibike2havefun]

So far so good on the Pirelli Angel GTs I have. At 6,400 miles they look to have some life left in them, though I'll be watching closely for the next couple thousand since this is my first set and I don't know how quickly they'll go from "still look pretty good" to "raggedy-ass worn-out trash".

 

[Tourman]

Hi All, I went to the London motorcycle show in February and spoke to directly to Michelin, who told me the PR4GT Tyre is remaining in production as the PR5 tyre is offering no improvement in performance or longevity when in GT form with the reinforces walls and carcass, so there you have it folks, PR5GT Tyres are not going to be made.

 

[wjbertrand]

They do have a Road 5 in the correct size for the ST1300 rear, why wouldn't you be able to use that? For the Road 4 I don't think there was a non-GT available in the correct size for the ST13, so no real choice.

 

[mcoonbsa]

I chose the PR4GT's primarily due to extremely good wet weather grip. I do almost all solo tripping with a trailer and a fair load of gear. I drive conservatively and managed 9K on the rear and almost 20K on the front, although it could have been changed sooner. I find it curious that with so much riding on that thin layer of rubber, pun intended, that so many riders seem to place so much emphasis on cost. I don't want to waste money but am willing to trade it for value. I like getting home in one piece. 2001ST11, 70K mi.

 

[Jjonahjamison]

While cost is always an issue, the bigger thing I want to avoid is (1) having to source new tires in the middle of a road trip or (2) take tires off the bike before a trip when there is 30% or more life left, because I don’t want to be worried about sourcing a tire on the trip. Because basically all of my riding is done on long road trips, I have found myself riding with “tire range anxiety” on quite a number of occasions, and have several times had “tire range emergencies” after a couple of days of riding twisty hot roads which seems to melt tires off as you watch.

 

[st1300doug]

I went with my 'second' set of Continental Motions for my 1300. The rear got me 9,200 miles. A big $89 dollars from " RMATV-Rocky Mountain ATV". On the front I'm sticking w/the Bridgestone Battleax T-30 GT. Last one got me 13K+ @ $104 dollars.

 

[CYYJ]

Wow, those are very attractive tire prices. Remarkable mileage you got from them as well, considering that your profile photo does not suggest you suffer from anorexia.

Michael

 

[Jim C-G]

I have consistently gotten 21-22,000 km (13K+ miles) out of a front Shinko Verge and and 13,000 km (8K+miles) out of the rears. I have found them to be a great bang for the buck. We'll see how that goes this summer with hauling the trailer for most of my riding. Looks like I need to pre-buy and book front and rear tire change somewhere in California and a rear tire again in Thunder Bay, Ont. on the return leg. I'm going to say my riding style is semi-aggressive and I usually stay off the slab as much as I can. I stay away from them new fangled, multicompound tires that would cost me 10 or more nights camping.

 

[roginoz]

I believe I had 12,000 on the rear PR4GT when I changed tires last. The front was good for a while longer, but I like to change them in sets. If they come out with a Road5GT, I'll try it; if not, I'm happy with the PR4GT.

 

[Ian]

Last year when Michelin announced the Road 5, I recall that they said that a Road 5 GT would be available in 2019. Since I hadn't heard anything more about when they will be available (and I will need new tires in the spring) I wrote to Michelin. Here is their response:

"Thank you for your interest n our tires Jonah. I unfortunately do not show any indication for a future deployment of a GT version of the Pilot Rod 5 tire model." (spelling is as received!)

So I guess the Michelin guys among us will have to stick with the Road Pilot 4 GT.

Damn. Because I am not especially happy with the longevity of the 4 GTs, and was hoping for just a little more bang-for-my-tire-buck out of a new GT line.

If anyone has any different information I would like to hear it. I am a little suspect given this fellow referred to "Pilot Rod 5" rather than "Road 5", but presumably he checked with someone before responding.

I just had a Road 5 fitted to my Pan. (South Africa) Well priced too

 

[ad.hom]

I'm interested in the PR5 for the ST13... The PR2 was THE BEST tyre I found for the old SV650 and my use-case.

PR5, if suitable for the ST13 will be the go-to choice (for me). If anyone else is confused by the naming, it appears that the PR5 GT doesn't exist - they simply called it the PR5. It's still a dual compound tyre sports touring tyre, but seemingly offers improved wet weather handling (they claim, compared to competitors).

However, the advice is that the PR5's weren't available for "heavier bikes" until 2019 - as per the info in this thread. As things currently stand, Michelin don't advertise the PR5 GT, and there's mixed reports online of people using PR5's on heavy bikes.

Luckily, my local tyre shop is very experienced with bike tyres (it's not unheard of for people to ride 80-100 miles for the customer service). I think a chat with them is in order when I'm due a change of rubber feet. Who knows, for my riding style, maybe I don't need the dual compound now... I'm currently approx 5000 miles on a set of Bridgestones.

Anyone riding on PR5's with an ST13, please be careful. Some folk report wiggles when cornering hard - the one time you don't want the damn thing to wiggle!