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Michelin Road 6 - never again
- Thread starter bosnjo
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bosnjo
Registered user
This thread I started is getting very long and I understand that people who see it for the first time don't read everything. So I need to put in a few words my experience, again.
The bike came from the factory with Anakee's. I didn't like them because of the noise from the front tyre and I had great experience with other bikes with previous versions of the Pilot Road / Road versions. That was the reason I decided to purchase Road 6 front and rear. Before the swap, my bike was perfect, the tracking was straight. Road 6 was fitted and refitted, balanced and rebalanced 3 times but the result was always the same - bad. Fitted old front Anakee back onto the bike and everything was perfect at the first attempt, again. Now waiting for Scorpion Trail 2 to arrive.
When this problem started, the bike was one year old (+/-) with arround 5000 miles (if I can remember well).
The bike came from the factory with Anakee's. I didn't like them because of the noise from the front tyre and I had great experience with other bikes with previous versions of the Pilot Road / Road versions. That was the reason I decided to purchase Road 6 front and rear. Before the swap, my bike was perfect, the tracking was straight. Road 6 was fitted and refitted, balanced and rebalanced 3 times but the result was always the same - bad. Fitted old front Anakee back onto the bike and everything was perfect at the first attempt, again. Now waiting for Scorpion Trail 2 to arrive.
When this problem started, the bike was one year old (+/-) with arround 5000 miles (if I can remember well).
Yes !! On a few bikes. They came OEM on most Hondas. Although there are many variations of BW.. I wore them down to nothing.You’ve never had Bridgestone BattleWings then
affectionately known as DeathWings
Wet and dry. No problem.
Considering the average age of members in this group is probably 60+, they seem to forget what tyres were like in the past. The technology, materials and development in modern tyres is fantastic. You literally can't buy a shit tyre.
When you read stuff like 'These tyres are lethal' over and over again, I just come to the conclusion that they're shit riders and looking for anything to blame rather than their lack of experience or skill.
You get my sideways on hairpins with modern non-road legal off-road knobblies. Let alone the excellent tyres that people whinge about on this forum.
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I had the 6's on for 1500 miles and hated them. No feedback at all, slipped in wet conditions without warning or need, noisy - especially on the MWay, compromised ride comfort.......i did not enjoy riding the Bike with them on.
Where as the CTA3's i have no issues with at all and covered some 24K miles on various sets the last 16 months. I switched the 6's out for CTA3 and everything was all right with the world again.
Try fitting or using Sunni car tyres. Made in China.Dangerous but cheap.A real crock of shit.
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I doubt there are any bad tyres these days although some will be better than others and of course more costly as in this life you get what you pay for
Some tyres suit different bikes better than others etc and then personal preference comes into play with how "one feels" and there will no doubt be some Psychology involved in the way a rider has confidence in one set of tyres over another - Certainly I was more confident in the wet on Roadtec 01 probably because I believed they were the best wet weather tyre !
Me I was a huge fan of the Roadtec and before that the PR3 and 4 ( despite them being puncture magnets - currently I am forced into Pirelli as they are the only makers of my size tyre but I am very happy with them and they are very good and reassuringly expensive
tw99
Registered user
I've had the same opinion for some time. You only have to read a few posts in any tyre thread where someone will claim whatever tyre it is are absolutely the dogs bollocks, grippiest things ever, and someone else will claim they are total ditchfinders made out of wood.
I reckon in a blind test, for road riding, most riders would have absolutely no clue what tyre was fitted, even whether it was a pure road tyre or a mild trail type.
I'm on my third set......mostly thrashed in Spain, Portugal and the Alps. Dry roads, wet roads and dusty roads. Slow speed and illegal speeds. Two up, no pillion, panniers loaded. Great feedback, like glue in the wet and velcro in the dry.Great
Oh, and he carcass construction resists squaring off on the long slog to the Alps.....as claimed by Michelin.
I bought a lightly used 2022 GSA with Road 6’s already fitted. I assume they were on from new as the bike had only covered 1200 miles. It’s now at 3500 miles with the last 1600 miles being covered fully loaded in France and they’re about half worn. I’m impressed as I rarely get more than 4000 miles from road tyres and their grip and feedback has been excellent 
about to fit the third set to my V4S MTS. I think they’re marvellous…
Only problem I have had with Pilot Roads is they've been more puncture prone than other tyres, I've used, but that could also be down to luck I guess. There is often much tyre snobbery around, for example I know of people who jibed at the CEAT Tyres fitted as stock to the Himalayan, and in reality, they are a perfect match for a Himmie, and do everything a tyre should do.
Apart from punctures on the Pilot Roads, the only other issue I've had was with the A41's on my last 1250GSA, they were actually excellent, until they got to a certain point in their wear, when they looked alright in the morning, and appeared to be down to the canvas by the evening
Apart from punctures on the Pilot Roads, the only other issue I've had was with the A41's on my last 1250GSA, they were actually excellent, until they got to a certain point in their wear, when they looked alright in the morning, and appeared to be down to the canvas by the evening
I've had the PR4's which I hated. Admittedly they were on the bike when purchased it and had a few thou miles on them judging by how squared off the rear was (I think I was told they had about 2.5K miles under their belts), and the front was simply a lethal thing at the slightest hint of wet weather. I got shot very quickly. I got shot for some A41s. I found the A41's much better, and more to the point, quieter and the rear was good for about 5K miles before they started squaring off enough to make it noticeable. I know some have found different but they seemed great on wet or dry roads and had enough grip to inspire confidence to really put the bike on its ear, in the dry at least.
I've now discovered Roadtech 01 se's and haven't looked back since. Got them on the RS now and they're just a fantastic tyre, wet or dry. Great low speed handling too and utterly stable at any speed you care to pin the throttle at. My (worn) PR4's would pull to the left even when there was very little camber and close examination showed not only the front the be unevenly worn, left to right but the shoulders had worn quite steeply on them. Horrible things and put me off ever putting another Michelin PR tyre on a bike...oh, and to add insult to injury, the back punctured too, luckily on my way to have them changed!
As has been said, from premium brands anyway there's probably not a truly bad tyre made but there are better suited to some bikes than others and it's personal choice depending on riding style, speeds and roads. My own experience shows that some offer a more comfortable ride, others are noisier or make for a harsher ride, but in the dry, they're all pretty grippy these days unless they've been on holiday to China.
I've now discovered Roadtech 01 se's and haven't looked back since. Got them on the RS now and they're just a fantastic tyre, wet or dry. Great low speed handling too and utterly stable at any speed you care to pin the throttle at. My (worn) PR4's would pull to the left even when there was very little camber and close examination showed not only the front the be unevenly worn, left to right but the shoulders had worn quite steeply on them. Horrible things and put me off ever putting another Michelin PR tyre on a bike...oh, and to add insult to injury, the back punctured too, luckily on my way to have them changed!
As has been said, from premium brands anyway there's probably not a truly bad tyre made but there are better suited to some bikes than others and it's personal choice depending on riding style, speeds and roads. My own experience shows that some offer a more comfortable ride, others are noisier or make for a harsher ride, but in the dry, they're all pretty grippy these days unless they've been on holiday to China.
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Put some Road 6s on my GS just before a Pyrenees trip. They performed faultlessly. We had some crap weather for a couple of days and I found myself riding as though I was in the dry. I had regular punctures with the 5s but I'm loving the 6s so far. Your ones don't sound right.
The only tyre that I managed to achieve a 4th gear wheelspin in the wet (just by opening the throttle on an 1150 single sparkYou’ve never had Bridgestone BattleWings then
affectionately known as DeathWings
).
Funnily enough, I was considering trying them, and my tyre guru said that it is a common talking point with the Michelin pilot roads. I’ve elected to stick with the Conti trail attack 3 as they have been flawless and allowed me to not worry about what’s attaching me to the road.Only problem I have had with Pilot Roads is they've been more puncture prone than other tyres, I've used, but that could also be down to luck I guess. There is often much tyre snobbery around, for example I know of people who jibed at the CEAT Tyres fitted as stock to the Himalayan, and in reality, they are a perfect match for a Himmie, and do everything a tyre should do.
Apart from punctures on the Pilot Roads, the only other issue I've had was with the A41's on my last 1250GSA, they were actually excellent, until they got to a certain point in their wear, when they looked alright in the morning, and appeared to be down to the canvas by the evening
Agree with that TA3 , best out there , the Pr5 I used once did not even last the trip , and it when to Spain on a lorry , and back. They had great grip but not for long. The TA 3 has great grip all the time and will last a 9 day trip without the worry of knakered tyres ( well just lol)
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