The new Michelin Road 6 tire ... better than the Dunlop Roadsmart 4?

[Grumpy Goat]

Got my copy of the BMW OK magazine today with the insert on the new Michelin Road 6 tire, available after 1-Jan-2022.

   

Looking at the tread pattern it certainly looks like a great performer in the wet and it claims to have the same grip in the dry and also have 10% better longevity, which does not match up to the claim Dunlop makes of over 40% compared with the same standard (Road 5). Also, the use of the 2CT+ technology on the front tire could see better resistance to cupping ...? That was my experience with the PR4s - front tire cupping.

Anyone going to give the Road 6s a try? Looks like $183 (front) and $234 (rear) for the Road 6s vs $158 (front) and $209 (rear) for the Roadsmart 4s (Revzilla prices).

[Duckbubbles]

I am on my fourth (at least) set of Road 5's now. I like them just fine except the front wears out with a couple thousand miles left on the rear and I change them as a pair. I tried the Dunlop RSIII a while back and liked them just fine except for their reaction to tar snakes wet or dry but especially wet. Full disclosure I have never been a fan of Dunlop.
Michelin is sure proud of the R6's judging by the price and I won't be buying them anytime soon. I can only hope that the price of R5's comes down (unlikely). The R5 front is already marked as a 2CT (dual compound) so that is nothing new with the R6. "New and improved" comes from the advertising firm I suspect. Like someone else said- If all the claims of the tire companies were true, we'd be getting at least 50,000 miles out of a set of stick like glue tires.

Frank

[Grumpy Goat]

I am on my fourth (at least) set of Road 5's now. I like them just fine except the front wears out with a couple thousand miles left on the rear and I change them as a pair. I tried the Dunlop RSIII a while back and liked them just fine except for their reaction to tar snakes wet or dry but especially wet. Full disclosure I have never been a fan of Dunlop.

Sounds like you're a good candidate to try the Road 6s at some point, despite the initially high asking price. I suspect that may come down a bit but I don't see them as significantly cheaper than the Road 5s. Maybe the Road 6 with wear out more evenly front to back. BTW - how do you find tendency to cupping with the Road 5s?

I typically wear my rears our before my fronts. Darrell also wears his tires like you - front before rear.

[Duccrazydave]

I am on my fourth (at least) set of Road 5's now. I like them just fine except the front wears out with a couple thousand miles left on the rear and I change them as a pair. I tried the Dunlop RSIII a while back and liked them just fine except for their reaction to tar snakes wet or dry but especially wet. Full disclosure I have never been a fan of Dunlop.
Michelin is sure proud of the R6's judging by the price and I won't be buying them anytime soon. I can only hope that the price of R5's comes down (unlikely). The R5 front is already marked as a 2CT (dual compound) so that is nothing new with the R6. "New and improved" comes from the advertising firm I suspect. Like someone else said- If all the claims of the tire companies were true, we'd be getting at least 50,000 miles out of a set of stick like glue tires.

Frank

I think the Roadsmart IV would change your mind about Dunlop :-)

[Lee]

We had some cupping on the Pilot Road 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The front 5 had the shortest life of any tire that I can remember.
I bet they use a harder compound on the center of the front tire in the 6 series.

I think we had cupping with any of the dual compound tires we have tried.
The Dunlop RS3 has been the best with very little cupping.

[Duckbubbles]

BTW - how do you find tendency to cupping with the Road 5s?

I have not seen cupping on any of the Road 5's, although I did have that happen on Road 4's. The Dunlop RSIII did cup also. I keep my tire pressures up around 38 psi in the front. The front R5's are lasting around 6500 miles when I get very near or into the wear bars. Once I tried running the rear to it's wear bars and I think it was around 8000+ miles. Didn't like splitting tire changes like that so I changed both at that time. Ultimate mileage is not very high on my list, just reasonable mileage. I value grip much more highly.

I am curious as to how the Dunlop RSIV reacts to tar snakes. The RSIII was a fine tire but I definitely did not care for the twitches in feedback when crossing them while leaned over. Get on wet/damp tar snakes and I felt a crash was imminent. Same kind of experience on Metzelers. The Michelins don't seem to notice them. I say all this because the favored pavement "fix" in my area is to slather on the tar.

Frank

[Grumpy Goat]

We had some cupping on the Pilot Road 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The front 5 had the shortest life of any tire that I can remember.
I bet they use a harder compound on the center of the front tire in the 6 series.

I think we had cupping with any of the dual compound tires we have tried.
The Dunlop RS3 has been the best with very little cupping.

This has been my experience also - RS3 little to zero cupping, PR4s lots of cupping. Never tried any other Michelin Pilot Road tire. Also the RS3 has the best wear characteristics for me thus far (and I have not yet tried the even better RS4). Surprised that the Road 5 had the shortest lifespan for you.

[Grumpy Goat]

I have not seen cupping on any of the Road 5's, although I did have that happen on Road 4's. The Dunlop RSIII did cup also. I keep my tire pressures up around 38 psi in the front. The front R5's are lasting around 6500 miles when I get very near or into the wear bars.

Thanks for the feedback. Different ridin styles, road surfaces etc. I suppose will lead to more / less cupping although it seems that on average and based on our anecdotal reports the PR4s cup more than the RS3s. I keep my fronts at 36 psi and let them go down to minimum 34 psi before I top up. Best mileage I got out of a front RS3 was 11k miles. Best rear was about 10k.

It appears that I don't mind mismatched tires as I have that on both bikes. Just so long as they are Michelin PR4 or Dunlop RS3 (or updates thereto). I want maximum wear out of tires ... I'm cheap that way, plus I am concerned about landfills.

Bruce must be laughing his head off at this thread ... "black and round" are his requirements and he is probably the best rider amongst us too ...

[Lee]

Bruce must be laughing his head off at this thread ... "black and round" are his requirements and he is probably the best rider amongst us too ...

Round, Rubber, Rebate

[MrVvrroomm]

You guys keep using the latest/greatest tires.

This makes the "old" ones cheaper.

Imagine how much rider thought is put into motorcycle tires.

My relationship with motorcycle tires is like 6K - 10K miles. Then it's over. Time for something new.

I do love the feel of a brand new set of tires.

[runnerhiker]

BTW - how do you find tendency to cupping with the Road 5s?

I am curious as to how the Dunlop RSIV reacts to tar snakes. The RSIII was a fine tire but I definitely did not care for the twitches in feedback when crossing them while leaned over. Get on wet/damp tar snakes and I felt a crash was imminent. Same kind of experience on Metzelers. The Michelins don't seem to notice them. I say all this because the favored pavement "fix" in my area is to slather on the tar.

Frank

I have had the same experience with tar snakes: Dunlops RSIII twitches and slides, Michelins R4 do not. I have not had Dunlops RS4 yet.

[Duccrazydave]

My experience moving from the RS3 to the RS4 was very positive. No nervous behavior over tar snakes (unless it's hot enough for the tar to liquify, lol), better sidewall compliance, grip and tread wear. My Michelin R5 front was done at less than 5K...fun while it lasted though

[Ray]

Bruce must be laughing his head off at this thread ... "black and round" are his requirements and he is probably the best rider amongst us too ...

You know he is.

[Question: Can he ride anything with the 3 R's because he is talented, or is he talented because he pushes the limits on any tire (and any surface)?]

[MrVvrroomm]

Bruce must be laughing his head off at this thread ... "black and round" are his requirements and he is probably the best rider amongst us too ...

You know he is.

[Question: Can he ride anything with the 3 R's because he is talented, or is he talented because he pushes the limits on any tire (and any surface)?]

I doubt I'm the best rider. I'm probably the least conservative rider amongst the group.

[darrell]

RoadRunner Motorcycle Touring and Travel eLetter today has a nice article on the Michelin Road 6 and Road 6 GT tire.

Michelin Road Tire History
The MICHELIN Road 6 tire follows a long line of Michelin firsts in this tire category:
2002 – Michelin Pilot Road – the first road tire range
2007 – Michelin Pilot Road 2 – the first road tire range featuring Michelin 2CT Technology
2011 – Michelin Pilot Road 3 – the first road tire range featuring sipes
2014 – Michelin Pilot Road 4 – the first road tire range with a dedicated GT version
2018 – Michelin Road 5 – the first road tire range using Michelin Water Evergrip Technology
2022 – Michelin Road 6 tire is launched, brining industry-leading performances to a variety of motorcycles