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Michelin Road 6 GT

exgman

exgman

Active member
After seeing the Michelin advertisement for a new sport touring tire appearing in the December 2021 OWNERS' NEWS, I looked around a bit and found some places (outside the US), showing some photos of the Michelin Road 6 GT model. I made a couple of PNGs which show some information as well as tread designs. The first is the front and the second is the rear. See below:

Screen Shot 2021-12-08 at 8.35.40 PM.png

Screen Shot 2021-12-08 at 8.52.15 PM.png

I think I recall that the Road 5 came out in the non-GT version in early 2018.

Anyway, something new on the road, I guess...
 
My PR5gt rear was done at 6K, the PR4gt rear my brother was running lasted 6500 miles. Lets hope the PR6GT gets a little better mileage.

Until I see signs [ from reviews ] that this new tire is getting 8-10K on a rear, I'm not interested in the latest greatest. My Dunlop RS4's are at 4350 miles with just 2/32's tread wear. On schedule to make 10K on the rear with 4/32's left after leaving the 2/32's minimum tread depth.

Simply amazed at these RS4's for longevity, in the rain, and sticking ability on dry pavement.

I do like the tread pattern on these new PR6's, it'll be interesting to learn what others are saying about them after a time on motors. Good heads up.
 
I remember sitting in a tire presentation (Des Moines maybe?) where they were talking all about how the tire looked for approximately half the presentation. "Look how pretty it is..." Honestly, I don't buy tires for the aesthetics, they could have unicorns for all I care, but I do care how they perform. Telling me why you implemented this scoop here and that siping there to improve safety, longevity, etc. gets me to buy your tire. If I get up-close and personal with your tire during a ride, either I've done something really stupid, or your product has failed.

But I wear an Aerostich 1-piece and ride with an RDL seat... so my fashion sense is 0...
 
brownie0486 said:
My PR5gt rear was done at 6K, the PR4gt rear my brother was running lasted 6500 miles. Lets hope the PR6GT gets a little better mileage.

Until I see signs [ from reviews ] that this new tire is getting 8-10K on a rear, I'm not interested in the latest greatest. My Dunlop RS4's are at 4350 miles with just 2/32's tread wear. On schedule to make 10K on the rear with 4/32's left after leaving the 2/32's minimum tread depth.

Simply amazed at these RS4's for longevity, in the rain, and sticking ability on dry pavement.

I do like the tread pattern on these new PR6's, it'll be interesting to learn what others are saying about them after a time on motors. Good heads up.
Click to expand...

I bought a set of the Dunlop Road Smart 4's at the Great Falls rally and have to say I'm blown away by what a great tire they are. From Great Falls to my house is about 500 miles of mountains, so I appreciate good handling - traction, stability, neutral turn in, etc., and these RS4's do not disappoint. No real data on mileage, yet, but several friends of mine who have used the later Michelin sport touring tires have told me the Dunlop RS4's handle as well or better and they are getting several thousand more miles of tread life.
 
drneo66 said:
I remember sitting in a tire presentation (Des Moines maybe?) where they were talking all about how the tire looked for approximately half the presentation. "Look how pretty it is..." Honestly, I don't buy tires for the aesthetics, they could have unicorns for all I care, but I do care how they perform. Telling me why you implemented this scoop here and that siping there to improve safety, longevity, etc. gets me to buy your tire. If I get up-close and personal with your tire during a ride, either I've done something really stupid, or your product has failed.

But I wear an Aerostich 1-piece and ride with an RDL seat... so my fashion sense is 0...
Click to expand...

I pay attention to tread grooves on tires. If you're a touring or sport touring rider I think it's important to have grooves at the center or crossing the center of the tire. This make it easy to monitor tire wear on a trip. Some tires have tire wear indicators too far from the center.
I also look at grooves near the edge of the tire. No sipes or grooves near the edge and you better take it easy in the rain on a curvy road.
The Road 5 does not have enough sipes near the edge. It will be interesting to see if the Road 6 has more.
 
Lee said:
I pay attention to tread grooves on tires. If you're a touring or sport touring rider I think it's important to have grooves at the center or crossing the center of the tire. This make it easy to monitor tire wear on a trip. Some tires have tire wear indicators too far from the center.
I also look at grooves near the edge of the tire. No sipes or grooves near the edge and you better take it easy in the rain on a curvy road.
The Road 5 does not have enough sipes near the edge. It will be interesting to see if the Road 6 has more.
Click to expand...

The RS4's have sipes nearly to the sidewall, and tread in the middle of the tire. Both are something everyone should consider when choosing tires.

RS4's till I hear reports of a better tire for longevity, stickiness and planted on wet roads. Best wearing tires I've ever owned on any motor
 
Here's a couple examples of good designs. Sipes at the center and out to the edges.
Road Smart 3 and Pilot Road 4.

DSCF2609.jpg

It would be nice if all sport touring tires ran the sipes to the edge and had the little holes like Michelin uses dead center.
 
The Road 5 front tire did not last long for us.
I wonder if the more solid tread in the middle of the 6 will fix the short life problem.

attachment.png
 
Lee said:
Here's a couple examples of good designs. Sipes at the center and out to the edges.
Road Smart 3 and Pilot Road 4.

View attachment 86135

It would be nice if all sport touring tires ran the sipes to the edge and had the little holes like Michelin uses dead center.
Click to expand...

Good points, Lee, but honestly, I make it a point to never get onto the outer edges of my tired in the rain. My sphincter doesn't need that much exercise. :laugh
 
Then you couldn't ride in Oregon from October to May or June. My PR4 and Now the PR5 are fine in the rain on my RT. My buddy on his C-14 rides fine in rain. But we all ride our own ride. I had a set of Sport 2's or 3's and they were a bit scary in the wet to me, but that was on a XR1200, which was loaded with power
 
orforester said:
Then you couldn't ride in Oregon from October to May or June. My PR4 and Now the PR5 are fine in the rain on my RT. My buddy on his C-14 rides fine in rain. But we all ride our own ride. I had a set of Sport 2's or 3's and they were a bit scary in the wet to me, but that was on a XR1200, which was loaded with power
Click to expand...

No mistake, I've ridden many miles on in the rain on trips - rain is just a part of travel. But, where I live in Idaho is high desert and we get very little rain compared to western Oregon, and when we do, the roads are pretty greasy . When I do ride in the rain I just don't go all crazy cornering. Maybe if I did more of it. :brow
 
GREGFEELER said:
Good points, Lee, but honestly, I make it a point to never get onto the outer edges of my tired in the rain. My sphincter doesn't need that much exercise. :laugh
Click to expand...

I'm the same but there's a few brave riders out there :)

This October a group of us were in Arkansas and after a rainy day a friend mentioned his Road 5s were sliding too much in the curves.
He plans to switch back to the Pilot Road 4s.
He's a better rider than me and braver :)
 
I just found this post as I started another thread about the longevity of these tires. I've got 10k on mine and they are definitely DONE. Looks like I might've pushed mine a bit too far.
 
I like the Michelin Road tires. Got caught in an ice storm in yosemite once and they handled great. I've stuck with them ever since.
I usually only get 6k-7k out of a rear. Will be nice if the Road 6 gets more. I'll find out soon as I'm putting one on soon.

The comments here about asking if a particular tire is still okay based on miles are puzzling to me. Isn't it a physical measurement of tire tread depth that tells you all you need to know?
I ride in Vegas on hot asphalt with lots of long straight aways at high speeds with the tire pushing against the wind resistance. I also engine brake quite a bit so I ask a lot out of my rear tire. I expect it to wear faster. I measure tread depth, and I know whether I need a new tire or not. I don't even think about the miles other than as an interesting data point that is a symptom of my riding style and riding conditions.
 
droveto said:
I like the Michelin Road tires. Got caught in an ice storm in yosemite once and they handled great. I've stuck with them ever since.
I usually only get 6k-7k out of a rear. Will be nice if the Road 6 gets more. I'll find out soon as I'm putting one on soon.

The comments here about asking if a particular tire is still okay based on miles are puzzling to me. Isn't it a physical measurement of tire tread depth that tells you all you need to know?
I ride in Vegas on hot asphalt with lots of long straight aways at high speeds with the tire pushing against the wind resistance. I also engine brake quite a bit so I ask a lot out of my rear tire. I expect it to wear faster. I measure tread depth, and I know whether I need a new tire or not. I don't even think about the miles other than as an interesting data point that is a symptom of my riding style and riding conditions.
Click to expand...

I live basically in the same environment as yourself here in Az. The Mich PR4 rear lasted 5500 miles, the PR5 last about the same. I'm now on Dunlop RS4's on two motors, both with about 5500 on the rears and they are at half life tread depth to 2/32's from where they started.

I'm sticking with RS4's on both of mine, should get 9K or thereabouts out of both rears. That translates to not having to have a new set after a 3 week multi state tour I take every summer with my brother. I can ride the remainder of the summer, and need new skins just before the next summers trip.

When I can change tires out every 9K instead of every 6K, that translates to a savings of one set of tires in 18K miles of travel.
 
Just a little nit to pick here. It used to be possible or even easy to measure tread depth at or near the center of the tread section. Then new patterns emerged which made it impossible to measure tread depth at or near the center of the tread. For canyon carvers and the twistie's sisters this was of little concern, but for mere mortals commuting to work, riding the straight roads in West Texas, or otherwise being typical riders measuring became a wish, not reality. Thus the cord stripes sometimes observed by surprised riders. Metzeler, can you hear me now? Hence the need to get a feel from other's experiences.
 
Michelin Road 6 GT on my 2022 R1250RT

I had front and rear Road 6 GT tires installed on my bike in June '23 at 6,000 miles. They replaced Road 5 GT which were original equipment on the motorcycle. The bike now has 9,400 miles on it and the Michelins are wearing well, better I think, than the Road 5 GT. Also, I find the cornering feel is improved. I am more confident of their grip. I was not unhappy with the Road 5 GT but the Road 6 GT is an improvement in my experience.
 
I had Road 5 GT’s on my FJR 1300 ( that I just traded in on a R1300 GS)..
Good tire life - if inflated to 40/42 psi..and reasonably resistant to scalloping.
I’ll be putting a set of Road 6’s on the beemer as soon as the oem tires wear out.
 
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