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Michelin Pilot 5 Tires Longevity?

27K views 76 replies 20 participants last post by  Daboo 
#1 · (Edited)
I just purchased the Michelin Road 5 tires and find the grip is tremendous (like magnets to the road) and very responsive! Please let me know your experience with this specific tire?
 

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#2 ·
Yes, they are the best all around tires I've ever owned. I've got about 10k miles on this set so far and expect to get at least another 5k. Grip is good and predictable in cold and wet too.

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#4 ·
First off, I live in the upper midwest where most roads are very straight and either run north south or east west. Very few twisties around here.

Secondly, these days I only ride to run errands around town, commuting (down to freezing temps), and long trips (mostly highway or freeway).

So long story short, I spend most of my time on the center patch of the tires. I lean it over as far and hard as I can on the roundabouts and the few times I find curves, but it makes up a small percent of my miles. But even living this far north (Wisconsin), I still have averaged over 7500 miles a year for 20 years now. So I ride a lot when it's cold, and my long trips are really long. Often 500-800 miles a day, 2-3k miles over a week or two. The cold and rain probably also help save tread.

These tires are perfect for me because of the harder material in the center. I usually swap them out when they developer a flat spot because then I do start to feel that "drop in" sensation. All other tires I've owned wore down in the middle much, much quicker.

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#5 ·
You guys are discussing the Michelin ROAD 5, right? As opposed to 'Pilot 5'? I just want to make sure there is not some other new tire I'm unaware of.

The Road 5 is the latest iteration of the Pilot Road family and like those before it this tire has managed to maintain the excellent grip (especially compared to any other tire in the wet) and yet continue to improve in mileage. I've only used a couple of Road 5 sets so far - different bikes - and they are great.[thumb]

On a light and moderately powered bike like the GT I'd expect 10000+ miles from the rear.
 
#7 ·
Yes, I meant the Michelin Road 5. They dropped "pilot" from the name with the 5th generation. I loved the PR3 and PR4 too, and feel that they keep getting better with each generation.

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#9 ·
Ran several sets on my F800GT. Just gave away one with 5,500 miles on it as I have another with 3,800 miles. Not sure how long they will last as I have replaced them well before they wore out. Last two years I have gone on several long trips of 5,000 to 5,800 miles. Im not sure if a Road 5 rear will make it 11,000 to 12,000 miles on my bike so wind up putting anew rear on for some of the trips. From the last rear I took off looked like it would make 10,000 miles. Biggest problem is on long trips I do too much straight line riding so develop a flat spot in the center. Fronts last much better, changed one out with 12,000 miles on it . Still had plenty of tread but was cupping so changed it. My logic is simple - on a long trip will ride unfamiliar roads and want good tires that are in good condition and will be there if I make a mistake and have to use 100% instead of the 70 to 80% I was anticipating. Actually had that happen to me on my Kawasaki ZX6R, misjudged an entrance ramp, heavy bumps and dips in pavement from big trucks, ABS kicked in and I didn't slow as much as would have liked and upon entry there was a point where I told my self, "just lean it over and trust your tires" good decision as I took them all the way to the edge with no problems. Bike was loaded (for a super sport) with full textile sidecases and a bag on top plus a tank bag stuffed full. At that time was running Bridgestone S21 front and S22 rear. The Road 5s have always been a good tire that worked well in hot, cold, wet or dry conditions. Haven't tried them in snow and ice though.

Get my tires at Cycle Gear, I can walk in put my hands on them look at them check manufacture date. They are good at mounting plus it keeps local folks working.
 
#10 ·
I had high hopes of getting 12,000 miles from my Road 5.......I wore it out at 9,000 miles. I ride a lot of curvy roads, I go to the mountains 2 or 3 times a year......and some of those trips are done with my wife riding on the back.

I have noticed far less wear when riding on roads that are smooth blacktop or smooth concrete. Concrete roads that are milled or have rain grooves cut in them cause more wear - and roads that are "tar and chip" can cause a lot of tire wear in a short amount of time if you decide to ride aggressively!

A few weeks ago I went on a ride with some guys who own big V-Twins, and we rode for over 200 miles and never passed a slow car, never cornered at a speed that would upset a bowl of goldfish on the floor of a minivan.......it was likely the kind of riding that allows you to get a lot of miles out of your motorcycle tires! I don't ride at those speeds, and even with my wife on the back we corner far faster than those fellows (I don't speed on the straights but I do like to corner at speeds that make the ride fun).

The Road 5 tires wore extremely evenly for me. I did get down to the wear bars in the center, the sides were worn a bit less......and the extreme edges had very little wear as I was not able to get leaned over far enough to eliminate all of the "Chicken Strips" and put scuff marks all the way to the edge of the tire. My front tire did last longer than the rear and I have no cupping and only a slight amount of uneven tread wear.....and just like the rear the extreme edges of the tread are unused!
 
#11 ·
Tyre mileage will vary massively due to a lot of factors; Rider weight, riding style, road surface, road surface temperature, air temperature etc etc.

Riding gently on smooth roads in relatively cool ambient temps (sub 20 deg c) will probably see you eek out 10K miles. Riding more spiritedly on a more aggressive road surface in + 20 deg c, you'll get probably 7k miles tops.

I currently use Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's, and average about 6-7k from a rear tyre. However i use it a lot for commuting so tend to burn the centre out relatively quick. If it was more used for 'fun' trips i'd estimate probably 8-9k. I'm looking at the Road 5 as a next tyre choice and estimate i'll get the same mileage roughly with the way i use my bike.
 
#12 ·
Tyre mileage will vary massively due to a lot of factors; Rider weight, riding style, road surface, road surface temperature, air temperature etc etc.
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Yup agree with that but I'd place correct tyre pressure at the top of the list. I'm guessing that quiet a few of these light in weight bikes may well have tyre pressure sensors fitted there by having it on the rider display and, hopefully, in their mind and at recommend setting.

My own experience of these tyres is limited to current set but compared to the Bridgestone and Metz I've been using on a prior F8GT, the ware rate is significantly better with no appreciable loss in grip. (I'm not one for being shy in changing my tyres so change them before they reach the ware indicators.)

Ride safe.

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#13 · (Edited)
Well this is a bit weird - so I will report on it.

I wore out the OEM rear tire while on a trip - so I replaced it with a Michelin Road 5 while at the Tail of the Dragon.....I got 8,000 miles on the OEM tire. My front OEM tire lasted until 11,000 miles more before I replaced it.

A few weeks ago I replaced the Michelin Road 5, as it was down to the wear bars at 9.000 miles.

Last week I rode all week at the Ozark Mountains in Jasper, Arkansas, and I wore the Michelin Road 5 front tire down to the wear bars.......my front tire only lasted for 7,000 miles! This is the first time I have ever worn a front tire out with less miles than the rear tire lasted (9,000 rear - 7,000 front).

I kept the tire pressure at 42 rear/36 front. I do tend to wear the front tire out by using the front brake both prior to the turn and for a portion of the entrance to the turn......but not excessively. I have been trying adjust my riding style and do less braking and ride at a speed that the corner can support without the need for braking a the entrance to a curve.

I like the Road 5 and it was an exceptional tire that seemed to do everything well, and it wore very evenly (if you ignore the fact that I never really leaned over far enough to scuff up the extreme edges of the tread).

I will post photos of the tires in a day or two.
 
#14 · (Edited)
The Pirelli Diablo Rosso II front tire that came stock on my Zero S electric motorcycle only lasted for 4,000 miles before it wore out. [:(] The rear Pirelli tire now has 8K miles on it and looks like it will go for at least another 2K miles.
 
#15 ·
Hummm, looks like Richard230 has 8thousand miles on his rear tire :)

Went by Cycle Gear today to get a front tire for my new bike. Not fond of the OEM tires. They didn't have a Road 5 in stock but did have a Pilot Power 5 in stock so went with that one. It will pair with a Road 5 rear that has 3,800 miles on it. Some folks like that combination as it gives the front a bit more bite but is still a good tire in the wet. I don't trail brake like Thumping but have had trouble with the Road 5 front cupping. Probably due to my aggressive braking and not enough riding in the twists. Will be interesting to see how it works.
 
#16 ·
I moved this thread over to "F800 Rubber and Brakes". This seems to be a thread that applies to more than just the GT model, and the new location is one that is more logical for later searches.

Chris
 
#17 ·
Here is what my rear tire looks like with 9,000 miles. I ride a mix of curves and straight roads...the tire went through a road trip from KY to Alabama for the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Days, several trips to the TN/NC/GA mountains, and the bike was hauled to Arkansas to ride around in the Ozark Mountains for a week of riding double with my wife on the back last year. The bike is ridden with just me the majority of the time - but there was likely a couple thousand miles of riding double.

The rear tire was worn down to just short of the wear bars in the center....and the extreme outer edge was not used. I just don't lean the bike over far enough to use all the available tread on this tire.......it does require an extreme (for me) lean angle to get all the way over to the edge. The tire likely could have been used for a few more miles - but I took it off as we were leaving for a 10 day trip to Jasper, Arkansas and would be riding double for 8 days.....and I believed the tire would not last for that trip. When I removed the tire and felt how thin and flexible the tread surface is......it is a bit scary to think there is so little rubber and cords holding the air in and the motorcycle up.....you can easily deform the tire tread by pushing on it with your index finger.

I also have included a photo of the front tire that is down to the war bars with 6,793 miles of use. I have not yet removed it and I don't have any long trips planned - I could use it for a while longer for local rides on sunny days. The tire wore evenly with no cupping and only a slight bit of variance in the tread depth on the worn portion - and like the rear tire I never used the extreme outside edge of the tire tread.

I believe you need to ride really high speed sweepers if you are going to be wearing down the rubber on the outside edges......I did see a KTM 1290 down a the Tail of the Dragon that had all the tread worn off the edges and plenty of tread left in the center.....obviously his riding style differs significantly from mine!
 

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#18 ·
The individual differences between bikes and riding styles are amazing. Here's my ST and the R5s with over 10k miles on them. Very little curvy roads, lots of 80+mph freeway. Lots of life left. I plan to go at least 2500 more miles on them. Currently very far from the wear bars. Interesting, the wear goes much farther down the side on the rear than the front. Slight flat spot starting to show on the rear, but that's to be expected at this point given my riding style. Also, I keep my front higher psi to avoid cupping that I've gotten in the past. That was based on recommendation from a dunlop sales rep. I run 29 and 40 psi.


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#19 ·
ccramerusc:

Excellent tire mileage results!

One of the indicators of the road roughness and rider styles.....and tire mileage to be expected - is the smoothness of the tire wear surface.

If you look at your tires you will see that the tread rubber is very smooth and there are no irregular surfaces - the tire has been allowed to roll across the pavement without any loads that cause accelerated wear.

When you look at my tires.......or tires on bikes that are cornered aggressively or where the pavement surface is very rough - the tread rubber is jagged and scuffed.

Aggressive riding and/or rough roads causes little chunks of rubber to be bitten out of the rubber. On one trip to Suches, Georgia on my Honda NT700 - the entire back wheel, license plate and rear fender of my bike were covered in rubber dust after 3 days of riding.........the tire was 6 years old, it was 95 degrees, the roads were very rough tar and chip, and we were riding double. There isn't much worse you could do to a tire......other than lock up the front brake and smoke the back tire in one of those burnout contests!
 

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#21 ·
I run 38 in the front and 41 in the back.

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#22 ·
Local early adopters of the Road 5 hated them. Got 75% the mileage of previous and subsequent Pilot Road 4. Really disliked the last half of the tread life. Scalloping. Heavy steering.
 
#28 ·
In case anyone else may benefit from my experience... I have always had to replace the front tire well before it got near the wear bars because of severe cupping. This has been my experience on all 3 bikes I've owned (totaling 150k miles over 20 years). I have read a bunch of stuff about why front tires cup, but can't seem to find anyone who can give a straight answer, or rather find multiple people who give the same answer. So a couple summers ago I was at a state BMW rally and was expressing my frustration about this to a tire rep from Dunlop who had worked for several tire manufacturers over the years. He suggested running a couple extra pounds of pressure in the front to help reduce the cupping.

I soon thereafter put on my road 5s (I had PR4s) and ran the front at 36 psi. Now, for the first time in my life, my front tire has 10k miles on it and no significant signs of cupping. Could be a coincidence, could be the difference in the 5s over the 4s, could be that it was the first time I mounted and balanced my own tires, or could be that the couple extra pounds did the trick. All I know is that I'm happy about the result.
 
#29 ·
The manual, IIRC, says to run pressures at F 2.6 Bar/R 2.8 Bar. that's what i've always ran on the ST and not got the cupping issue on the front, and usually a wear ration of 1.5-2 front tyres to 1 rear. A higher pressure will help the tyre hold its shape better and wear correctly, perhaps running the lower pressure was allowing the tyre to deform and cup.
 
#31 ·
That scenery near Loch Leathan is gorgeous DJ123 [:)]

I must say I've never heard of anyone describing the Tail of the Dragon as having wide open corners.... The road follows an Cherokee Indian walking/hunting trail, when first made for cars it was just a dirt road and now that it is tarmac despite being smooth it twists and turns and flip flops as they seemingly just laid the road over the ground as they found it.

The video above shows it being ridden at gentle cruiser pace, making the curves look straighter. Have a look on Youtube to see how fun it is ridden at a higher speed.

Below is a pre-GOPRO classic vid of a Ducati 999 rider dragging his knee on half of the 318 curves. That's not the classic part though. The classic part is that the chase bike is Yellow Wolf on his yellow Honda Goldwing:

 
#32 ·
The Highlands is a particularly pretty place, as is the West Coast of Ireland. Some spectacular Biking roads to enjoy as well.

"Speed is the difference between a Curve and a corner" is a great saying i once read/heard in the Motorcycle world. I don't doubt it is an enjoyable road to ride, but for me it doesn't have the particular features i would look for on a biking road.
 
#33 ·
Whilst that Tail of the Dragon definitely looks interesting, many of us in the UK regularly tour each year in Europe.
The last few years over the Swiss, Italian, & French Alps have been stunning. You should check out the Stelvio pass, Susten Pass, Ofenpass, Fluellapass, Gotthard Pass, Paso di Mortirolo, B500 in Germany, Grand St Bernard Pass - I've done them all and more that I can't remember in the past few years. Some several times...
And my favourite bike road in Europe - the Route Napoleon. That's 228 miles crossing the french alps from Grenoble to Cannes...with literally '000s of curves and more climbs and descents than I could count.

This year we should have been riding through the volcanic region around Clermont-Ferrand and on to the Pyrenees. But Covid.....

Edit: This is a short video with just a mere 6 mile stretch of the Route Napoleon

 
#35 ·
I have the Road 5s and have done about 5000 miles on them. They perform sooo much better than the stock Metzelers.
The wear so far is excellent. No signs of squaring off. A lot of my riding is on twisty roads but also long stretches of straight stuff up and down the UK and through flat Northern France.
Cramer, those pictures prove there is lots of life left in mine yet! In fact I would say mine look pretty similar to yours with half the mileage. Very impressive. Just as well as they are very pricey.
What I find interesting is that despite my boot touching the road occasionally (I don't ride with my toes on the pegs) there is still a 8-10mm strip at the edges untouched.
I run with the BMW recommended pressures.
 
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