NO Michelin Road 5 GT tire coming...

[Upt' North]

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".

The GT 2's have just been released so whether the originals will be dropped, I don't know.
Upt'North.

 

[ad.hom]

The GT 2's have just been released so whether the originals will be dropped, I don't know.
Upt'North.

Had to put the cat amongst the pigeon's while I'm already carefully reviewing the Bridgestones daily didn't you...?

 

[Upt' North]

Had to put the cat amongst the pigeon's while I'm already carefully reviewing the Bridgestones daily didn't you...?

For what it's worth AdHom I can't speak highly enough about the T31's, amazing tyre, this in non GT guise for the 11. Compared to the Bridgestones that went before there is no comparison.
But only FWIW.
Upt'North.

 

[Ian]

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!

 

[Ian]

Pic of my new Road 5, not much tread on the outer walls, maybe the reson for the alleged wiggle on harsh cornering....?

 

[Ian]

Pic of my new Road 5, not much tread on the outer walls, maybe the reson for the alleged wiggle on harsh cornering....?

IF my pic loaded...

 

[ad.hom]

Pic of my new Road 5, not much tread on the outer walls, maybe the reson for the alleged wiggle on harsh cornering....?

IF my pic loaded...

It did, thanks.

How many miles on that tyre, out of interest? That's my concern with the PR5 at the moment, slick edges.

There's plenty of corners for me to ride around here. On the old sv650, I was often pretty much OVER the edge on PR2s. With the ST13 on Bridgestones, I can still run to the very edge of the tyre.

If a rear lasts me less than 5-6k, it's probably not worth buying it. Of course, I've not had to change the rear yet, so it's all speculation until I've tried a few brands.

 

[dwalby]

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

I'm not surprised based on your Avatar. They wear out a lot faster with the bike sitting on top of them rather than under them. How many miles do you get out of a seat??

 

[Redneck]

It’s a tire not a phone, how many improvements can they make? The problem with technology is when they perfect something they keep changing it till they screw it up.

 

[CYYJ]

They wear out a lot faster with the bike sitting on top of them rather than under them. How many miles do you get out of a seat??

Ah, that little picture is my ST 1100 - I run Metzeler's on it. I use the PR4GTs on my ST 1300, which so far has managed to stay upright whilst I have been riding it.

Michael

 

[Ian]

It did, thanks.

How many miles on that tyre, out of interest? That's my concern with the PR5 at the moment, slick edges.

There's plenty of corners for me to ride around here. On the old sv650, I was often pretty much OVER the edge on PR2s. With the ST13 on Bridgestones, I can still run to the very edge of the tyre.

If a rear lasts me less than 5-6k, it's probably not worth buying it. Of course, I've not had to change the rear yet, so it's all speculation until I've tried a few brands.

Its a brand new tyre, so time will tell. Tomorrow I am leaving to do a round trip of approx 2000 km, the weather forecast is not good, plenty of rain and cold snap apparently, so I guess this will be a good test ....wet weather wise anyhow...guess I wont be doing any serious low cornering

 

[ad.hom]

Its a brand new tyre, so time will tell.

Jesus. That tread, on a brand new tyre is nowhere near the edge.

I'm brave, but given I live in Wales, UK (lots of corners, and even more rain), I don't think I'm THAT brave. Aquaplaning a heavy bike mid corner might be good for a stunt man, but I'd have to go home & change my underwear.

 

[Ian]

Jesus. That tread, on a brand new tyre is nowhere near the edge.

I'm brave, but given I live in Wales, UK (lots of corners, and even more rain), I don't think I'm THAT brave. Aquaplaning a heavy bike mid corner might be good for a stunt man, but I'd have to go home & change my underwear.

Ha ha, yep I only realised the gap between tread and edge when my mate pointed it out to me, so the theory behind it as far as I understand is that well....you kinda shouldn't be banking a Sports Tourer at the angles that Marquez and Rossi do.... Trust me, the region and territory where I live in South Africa is not unlike Wales, even named Midlands which you would be familiar with, the territory brings with it mist and drizzle, and lots...oh yes lots ..and lots of glorious winding roads, and the urge to scrape albeit along with crater sized potholes in certain areas due to municipal maladministration....so we have that, but all in all, South Africa in itself is gloriuos biking territory, and very popular. Pans are pretty scarce though, but as in most cointrys I guess, the GS 1200 fellas and Harleys abound in great numbers, I mean..geez..I even owned a Harley at one stage I wisened and bought the Pan ha ha

 

[MajorTom]

Ha ha, yep I only realised the gap between tread and edge when my mate pointed it out to me, so the theory behind it as far as I understand is that well....you kinda shouldn't be banking a Sports Tourer at the angles that Marquez and Rossi do.... Trust me, the region and territory where I live in South Africa is not unlike Wales, even named Midlands which you would be familiar with, the territory brings with it mist and drizzle, and lots...oh yes lots ..and lots of glorious winding roads, and the urge to scrape albeit along with crater sized potholes in certain areas due to municipal maladministration....so we have that, but all in all, South Africa in itself is gloriuos biking territory, and very popular. Pans are pretty scarce though, but as in most cointrys I guess, the GS 1200 fellas and Harleys abound in great numbers, I mean..geez..I even owned a Harley at one stage I wisened and bought the Pan ha ha

As I understand the theory, you can and might lean your sport-touring bike to the edge of the tire, but you would only do that on dry pavement and would then want the maximum rubber on the road at that point, basically a slick racing tire. I believe that's why the tread is restricted to the central portion of the tire, for imperfect road conditions when sipes and tread are required to pump water out from under the contact patch.

 

[ad.hom]

...you kinda shouldn't be banking a Sports Tourer at the angles...

My bike, ridden my way... Also my fault if things go wrong.

I've not scraped pegs on the ST13 yet, but I'm not that far off it (I just haven't been rushing enough yet).

Part of the risk assessment for fast riding seems to now rule out the PR5. But at least I've seen the tread close up before it's fitted. So thanks for that at least.

 

[CYYJ]

As I understand the theory, you can and might lean your sport-touring bike to the edge of the tire, but you would only do that on dry pavement and would then want the maximum rubber on the road at that point, basically a slick racing tire. I believe that's why the tread is restricted to the central portion of the tire, for imperfect road conditions when sipes and tread are required to pump water out from under the contact patch.

Agreed.

I think Barry very correctly identified the design rationale behind the lack of tread on the edge of the PR5 tire in his post above.

Below is a picture of the PR4GT on my ST1300. The 'dirty' part of the tire (the area with dust on it) shows how much of the tire has contacted the ground during the past 100 miles of city and expressway riding I have done near my home. Not at all what I would call 'sporty' riding, but certainly with some lean on 270° freeway ramps. This tire is new and only has perhaps 150 miles total mileage on it.

I don't think I would miss the small amount of tread on the very outer edge (the clean part) of the PR4GT if I switched over to the PR5 and went out to seriously attack twisty roads on nice sunny days with dry pavement. But, having said that, I think I will wait until the 'GT' version of the PR5 comes out before switching to the Series 5 tire, this because I have always got amazing mileage out of the PR4GTs - I think that Michelin must do something different with the GT version to increase tire longevity on our heavier motorcycles.

Michael

New PR4GT, showing tread pattern & what gets used during 'daily' (vs aggressive) riding

 

[ad.hom]

Just as an alternate data point, this is the Bridgestone I currently have.

I commute approx 70miles a day, all weathers, and the they're have make 4k miles on them. I basically only ride when commuting (or going shopping).



I get the design philosophy behind the PR5, but it's too much risk for my riding.

 

[CYYJ]

I get the design philosophy behind the PR5, but it's too much risk for my riding.

Your wear pattern (for urban riding) looks much the same as mine.

I think we need to keep in mind that although Michelin has released the PR5, they have not yet released the PR5GT, which is aimed at our kind of bikes. It will be interesting to see what the tread pattern on the GT will be - I think Michelin knows that we don't hoon our bikes around to the same extent as the pure sport-bike riders that the non-GT is aimed at.

Michael

 

[Ian]

Your wear pattern (for urban riding) looks much the same as mine.

I think we need to keep in mind that although Michelin has released the PR5, they have not yet released the PR5GT, which is aimed at our kind of bikes. It will be interesting to see what the tread pattern on the GT will be - I think Michelin knows that we don't hoon our bikes around to the same extent as the pure sport-bike riders that the non-GT is aimed at.

Michael

 

[Ian]

I cant fault the Road 5, after approx 2200 kilos of all weather riding, seriously hectic rain included, it does what it is meant to do. Even on dry very sharp twisties not once did I feel uneasy.