[Lanesmatb]

My girl needs some new shoes and I'm interested in the Michelin's Road 5. I'm a big Angel GT fan, but I'm wearing out the shoulders prematurely and not getting enough mileage out of them. The Road 5 looks to have a better hard/soft ratio than the Pirelli on the rear; The Angel has 40-20-40 (soft/hard/soft) where the Michelin has 17-66-17

Appreciate any feedback. If I decide to bite the bullet and go Road 5, I'll give my opinion.

Thanks,

 

[Johnny]

Had a front fitted today, I shall get back to you in 2K miles ;-)

 

[complexCarlo]

Huge believer in these tyres. After going through 3 sets of PR4 and PR4 GT's they are hands down the best compromise between safety, longevity, and grip.

I would say that if you are new to the Pilot Sport line to give the PR4's a go. I once got 8k out of a rear and still sold them to someone who is still using them till this day!

 

[cb4265]

Huge believer in these tyres. After going through 3 sets of PR4 and PR4 GT's they are hands down the best compromise between safety, longevity, and grip.

I would say that if you are new to the Pilot Sport line to give the PR4's a go. I once got 8k out of a rear and still sold them to someone who is still using them till this day!

What pressures are you running, mine cup badly?

Craig

 

[complexCarlo]

What pressures are you running, mine cup badly?

Craig

Hey Craig. I ride the Multistrada at a conservative 34F 32R. On my Hypermotard I fluctuate but typically stay 33F 30R.

On my first set I ran 32 all around and I did experience a bit of "cuping" or how I would describe as flaring in the tread. Never really noticed a difference in handling so never bothered me..

 

[Lanesmatb]

Well I bit the bullet and have the Road 5's on the way. Chapparral has the best price I could find ($321 a set, free shipping). I'll try to give some feedback in couple of weeks.

Scott

 

[MTSBoom]

Just ordered a set from Melillimoto to be installed on my '15 MTS at the 18k service next month. Looking forward to putting some miles on them during Bikeweek. Will post thoughts on them when we get back.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[JACKIE TREEHORN]

Hey Craig. I ride the Multistrada at a conservative 34F 32R. On my Hypermotard I fluctuate but typically stay 33F 30R.

On my first set I ran 32 all around and I did experience a bit of "cuping" or how I would describe as flaring in the tread. Never really noticed a difference in handling so never bothered me..

I think I have something to learn here, Carlo. Why the lower pressure in the rear, but not the front? From my new experience with the track guys, they always tell me to drop the front psi as well. Help a brother out.:grin2:

PS-I'm 1500 miles out from 10k on my PR4 on the multi, will be replacing them with the same exact flubber.

 

[complexCarlo]

I think I have something to learn here, Carlo. Why the lower pressure in the rear, but not the front?

This is what works for me. I typically try to stay even steven on the road but at the track I'll keep the high psi at the front for ease of turn in and let the rear out a bit for grip. I think this works better for our bikes that have high front suspension.

 

[burnjonas]

Mostly always touring with my wife,36f 38r no cupping and i do 15,000 km easily on it.

 

[tonered]

Here is my PR4 cupping / pressure thread:
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/40-sport-touring/620026-pilot-road-4-front-tire-cupping-pressures.html

At the Duc recommend pressures (33F / 37R), I had what I consider significant cupping and very uneven wear. Since upping the pressures 2psi (35F / 39R), it is all magically gone with no change in traction that I can feel.

Regarding the PR5, I am liking that new tread pattern. It looks like I will be in need of a set by mid or late summer. Hopefully, there will be more ST specific feedback by then.

Have a good one.

 

[Lanesmatb]

Initial impressions..

After break-in, I thought I'd update my initial impressions of the Road 5 (R5). This is obviously subjective, but wanted to share my thoughts:

I was part of a couple of group mountain rides yesterday in western NC. Did around 100 miles, dry conditions, 65F. Ride was fast with locals so I was able to push the bike a bit.

Front: Great feedback and grip on the edge. I've been a long-time Angel GT user because grip, but on its edge there isn't a lot of feedback and you just have to trust the front. The R5 gave me a lot of feedback/feel on the edge of the tire and gave me more confidence on what the front was doing. The front worked so well that I was more concerned about ground clearance than worrying about the front. Profile is pretty round, so it has a neutral steering feel; it will tend to go a little wide accelerating on really tight radius turns. It's nothing alarming, but something that you have to adjust to. The front just felt planted. For a sport touring tire, I'll give it a 5/5.

Rear: Feedback is better than the GT on its edge, but not as pronounced as the front. As I mentioned with the front, I forgot about grip and was concerned about clearance. The rear did nothing but hook up and do its job.

Concerns: Nearly all my wear is on the tire shoulders, so I don't know how much mileage I'll get out of the R5's, especially with the carbon black edges on the rear. Of course with a new tire, grip usually isn't an issue, so it remains to be seen if they continue to perform after 2-3000 miles. Also, it was a cool day on tight roads; will the tire wear prematurely on a 90F day on sweeping corners? This is where I get tire temps up and accelerated wear.

Verdict: Still too early, but if I get similar mileage (3000 mi) as my GTs, AND they don't fall off when I get some miles in them, The R5s will be my go-to tire going forward. I believe the 2CT technology (stiffened sidewalls/edge) provides a tangible difference in cornering feedback that is noticeable.

 

[Yorik]

What's that giant hole near the edge of the tire?

 

[flynbulldog]

you guys who live in that small part of the country have a very unique situation. There are not many places anywhere in the world that makes a rider wear the edges before the middle.
And yeah, what yorik said, whats going on did you hit a nail?

 

[Lanesmatb]

The hole is a wear marker. It looks larger than it actually is since there is some erosion around the edges.

Bulldog, I agree my situation is not representative to many ST riders both in location and how I ride. This is the only bike I own, so I treat it like a sports bike with comfort and 2up ability as a bonus.

A lot of feedback on the Angels shows +5000 mi wear as a norm, but I get ~2800 on the last 4 sets I've used. So if R5s give me +3K, I'm happy; "typical" use will get a lot more mileage than me. As for feel, the R5s are better than the GTs I've been using hands down. Grip is comparable between both so far. Wear remains to be seen.

Here is a pic of the group I was riding in. Does my ST3 look out of place?

 

[Yorik]

Here is a pic of the group I was riding in. Does my ST3 look out of place?

Nope.

 

[DaveK]

I REALLY liked the PR4's for wear (I got 12,000 miles out of a front... that's 50% more than the best AGT mileage I've managed) so will likely try PR5's for my next touring tire when my current set of PR4's are dead.

I also felt they handled a touring load and road variation much better than the AGT's. Both my cousin (13 MultiS, I think he lurks but never posts) and me have had issues of AGT's tearing when loaded and used for long rides... ESPECIALLY on dirt/stone roads (we've each had multiple flats on AGT's), and while we maybe only ride 15% on non-tarmac... we're not afraid of it and I'd prefer to have tires that can handle it.

However... I definitely DON'T like the PR4's for shenanigans, they feel squirmy compared to AGT's (the rear had a tendency to hop out on me mid corner if I was riding hard with gear)... so I currently have AGT's on my shenanigan rims, and PR4's on my touring rims. I may try an even more street oriented tire for the BST's next time around, but I don't want to be mounting fresh rubber every month so I need to get at least 4k out of a rear (which is what I get with AGT's) which means a new rear every 2/3 months - so likely I won't go to much softer.

 

[highmiles]

This is pretty timely. ST4S currently has Dunlop Sportmaxes with a cupped front and a somewhat flat worn rear. Explains some of the handling issues I've been having. Ordered a set of PR5s. Where I live, curves are a long ways away. Need some center wear life to get there, and traction when I arrive.

 

[flynnmon]

I'm on my second set of Dunlop Roadsmart III on an ST 2. Awesome grip and handling. The best mileage of any tire I've had on the bike.
The Pirelli Angels would push the front on downhill corners and didn't last.
Dunlop has a $100 rebate as well.
Win, win...

 

[kaamacat]

Just put a set of AGTs on my ST3... what pressures did you finally use that kept cupping down, and handling still good?