Michelin PR5

[art miller]

Have any of you troopers purchased PR5's yet? If yes, how do you compare them to the 4's if you have had them? Best price I have seen to date is RevZilla $380 for set of 120/70-17 and 190/55-17.

 

[dcarver]

Great question.. I have no answer.. Hoping post gets good input..

 

[lnewlf]

watching this-likely will order these next month...

 

[Uncle Hud]

$380 for a set?!?! Retired firemen must make good money in SD.

 

[someguy]

having a set of road 5s mounted this week...

yes... breathtakingly expensive...

but my years of experience has led me to never skimp on tires...

not that others tires are bad choices, but i have never regretted buying top shelf tires...

and i always seem to regret when i have gone for the bargain...

that's just me...

hope to have some warm weather soon and report up... (don't ride as much as i should lately)

 

[MrM0t0]

Running them now. Despite the Nor'easters we've had up here in New England, I've gotten 2 rides in on my 110 mile TT loop. I didn't push them as they are brand new and it's no warmer than 46 degrees.

Besides that new tire dancing you get from a nice new tire, I can't at this point provide any impressions. They sure look like they'll pump a lot of water due to these funnel shaped sipes. Dry performance testing will have to wait until its a little warmer and less sandy.

FYI - Michelin does not advise running these non-GT tires on bikes as heavy as ours. I chose to go for it as I have a Smuggler and never ride 2-up.

And for some strange reason they've dropped the Pilot name form this model. Hmmmmm, am I not supposed to fly with these mounted?

 

[AZcruising]

Waiting to try a set until later this year when the "GT" version comes to market. In the meantime, recently put a set of Roadsmart 3s on... hoping they are comparable to the PR4 GTs at a lower price.

Since I don't see a lot of rain in AZ, more interested in how they handle and the mileage I can get from them rather than wet-weather performance.

 

[JREW]

I've been running the Road 5's for 2300 miles. So far they are better than the OEM tires or the PR 1's, 2's, and 4's I've used before on both my 05 and 13. I never ran the 3's. I've done a good mix of freeway, and curvy back roads. I'm not a peg scraper, but the rear only has a 1/4 inch stripe, so I would say a spirited rider. The bike seems to corner better with them and straight line is stable. I'm running 42 lbs front and rear (I check the pressure before each ride with FOBO). There has been no funny behavior (unlike the 4's which sometimes wandered on a local bridge). So far, even wear, no cupping on the front yet (unlike the 4's and the OEM tires), but you can see and feel the different types of rubber on the sides of the rear, but the wear is even. The design and type of rubber of the rear duel compound is different between the 4's and 5's. The 4's are 3 pieces like 3 slices of orange. The 5's are all the same compound for the entire carcass except a top layer stripe on the edges.

Now, for the GT v.s. non GT issue. The Pilot Roads never had a GT version until the 4's. Also, the OEM tires on my 05 were not GT. I don't think the OEM BT023F on the 2013 were either, although I could be wrong. I decided to give these a try, given I only ride one up these days. With the first set of 4's two up, the rear was gone before the front (as were the OEM, 1's and 2's). With the second set of 4's one up, the front was gone before the rear. Time will tell how these go.

I've done a little riding in the rain, and although I don't have a lot of rain riding experience, these tires worked fine. Never any surprises.

So far may only complaint, they are not cheap.

 

[art miller]

I've been running the Road 5's for 2300 miles. So far they are better than the OEM tires or the PR 1's, 2's, and 4's I've used before on both my 05 and 13. I never ran the 3's. I've done a good mix of freeway, and curvy back roads. I'm not a peg scraper, but the rear only has a 1/4 inch stripe, so I would say a spirited rider. The bike seems to corner better with them and straight line is stable. I'm running 42 lbs front and rear (I check the pressure before each ride with FOBO). There has been no funny behavior (unlike the 4's which sometimes wandered on a local bridge). So far, even wear, no cupping on the front yet (unlike the 4's and the OEM tires), but you can see and feel the different types of rubber on the sides of the rear, but the wear is even. The design and type of rubber of the rear duel compound is different between the 4's and 5's. The 4's are 3 pieces like 3 slices of orange. The 5's are all the same compound for the entire carcass except a top layer stripe on the edges.
Now, for the GT v.s. non GT issue. The Pilot Roads never had a GT version until the 4's. Also, the OEM tires on my 05 were not GT. I don't think the OEM BT023F on the 2013 were either, although I could be wrong. I decided to give these a try, given I only ride one up these days. With the first set of 4's two up, the rear was gone before the front (as were the OEM, 1's and 2's). With the second set of 4's one up, the front was gone before the rear. Time will tell how these go.

I've done a little riding in the rain, and although I don't have a lot of rain riding experience, these tires worked fine. Never any surprises.

So far may only complaint, they are not cheap.

JREW,

Thanks for the fine review. I too only ride one up and since I weigh 145lbs and do not pack heavy on road trips, I see no need to go with GT's. I watched the video on RevZilla's site and it seemed to confirm much of what you have experienced with the PR5's. I'm currently on PR4's and have 8800 miles on the set. Both front and rear tires have 3/32" of tread remaining. When new I measured 5/32" on front and 7/32" on rear. At this rate I am hoping to get at least 12,000 miles on these tires. My best mileage was 15,000 on a set of PR2's.

 

[MrM0t0]

I've been running the Road 5's for 2300 miles. So far they are better than the OEM tires or the PR 1's, 2's, and 4's I've used before on both my 05 and 13. I never ran the 3's. I've done a good mix of freeway, and curvy back roads. I'm not a peg scraper, but the rear only has a 1/4 inch stripe, so I would say a spirited rider. The bike seems to corner better with them and straight line is stable. I'm running 42 lbs front and rear (I check the pressure before each ride with FOBO). There has been no funny behavior (unlike the 4's which sometimes wandered on a local bridge). So far, even wear, no cupping on the front yet (unlike the 4's and the OEM tires), but you can see and feel the different types of rubber on the sides of the rear, but the wear is even. The design and type of rubber of the rear duel compound is different between the 4's and 5's. The 4's are 3 pieces like 3 slices of orange. The 5's are all the same compound for the entire carcass except a top layer stripe on the edges.
Now, for the GT v.s. non GT issue. The Pilot Roads never had a GT version until the 4's. Also, the OEM tires on my 05 were not GT. I don't think the OEM BT023F on the 2013 were either, although I could be wrong. I decided to give these a try, given I only ride one up these days. With the first set of 4's two up, the rear was gone before the front (as were the OEM, 1's and 2's). With the second set of 4's one up, the front was gone before the rear. Time will tell how these go.

I've done a little riding in the rain, and although I don't have a lot of rain riding experience, these tires worked fine. Never any surprises.

So far may only complaint, they are not cheap.

JREW,

Thanks for the fine review. I too only ride one up and since I weigh 145lbs and do not pack heavy on road trips, I see no need to go with GT's. I watched the video on RevZilla's site and it seemed to confirm much of what you have experienced with the PR5's. I'm currently on PR4's and have 8800 miles on the set. Both front and rear tires have 3/32" of tread remaining. When new I measured 5/32" on front and 7/32" on rear. At this rate I am hoping to get at least 12,000 miles on these tires. My best mileage was 15,000 on a set of PR2's.

It amazes me the difference rider weight makes in tire wear, but I guess it shouldn't. I'm 6'2" and front and rear are toast at 8k.

 

[Northwoods Snowman]

I'm curious to see how these hold up. I've seen write ups on a few new tires hitting the market this year.

It amazes me just how much excessive weight and wind load/throttle affect tire wear vs "normal" riding conditions. I'm used to getting about 10K out of a set of tires but going out to NAFO two years ago was my first time loaded with the wife, a trailer, and all our heavy camping gear (we left the kitchen sink at home, but brought the rest) running high speed for long distances. I killed the PR2 I had on the rear in nothing flat running 70-90 mph on the freeway. We left Montrose to come home and the tire was getting thin, but I thought I could make it home. We ended up getting a new tire put on at a Kawasaki dealer in Nebraska because when I woke up in the morning I about crapped my pants when I saw about 30% of the rear tire had white chords showing. 80 mph loaded and pulling a trailer are not a tire's best operating conditions! If I do a trip like that again new rubber is going on before I leave, even if half the tire is still left. I can always put a half used tire back on and run it out later. Lesson learned!

Now the front that I had put on before I left for that trip (cheaped out on the rear) is shot but the rear Roadsmart is at half life so I'm back to where I was before NAFO. New rubber is definitely going on before going to EOM this fall but I'll have to figure out what to put on. Keeping a watch on this thread...

 

[art miller]

Many of the comments posted are interesting and telling. A couple factors that I believe will enhance tire life are, smooth down shifting to reduce speed rather than breaking, don't do heavy throttle starts from stop signs and lights. Prior to entering curves down shift to reduce speed rather than breaking.

Yes, this sounds like little old lady riding but it will give you added tire life. If you need the thrill of speed ignore these comments!

 

[SmashVol]

Waiting on the sets designed for our heavier bikes but will keep up to see what experiences you all have.

 

[rd400racer]

I put a set on 3 weeks ago right before a one week trip to the Gap. It rained every day we were there and they performed spectaculary. My brother was with me on an FZ1 that had PR4's and he experienced similar results. As much as we tried the tires held their grip in every condition. I couldn't be happier and believe it was money well spent.

 

[art miller]

Thanks folks for the interesting and informative comments. I'm planning a trip from central CA to western Canada in mid August. Hopefully it will give a good indication on how the Road 5's compare to the earlier PR's.

Enjoy the summer and ride safe!