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- The fifth element in 3D version
- A scent of competition for the tire of Clermont, which succeeds the Pilot Road 4
- Industrial Revolution
- With bits of Power RS in it
- New mixture of gums
- Attractive figures
- Fire proof
- On the way !
- Convenient
- Dimension Michelin Road 5
- Dimension Michelin Road 5 Trail
The fifth element in 3D version
A scent of competition for the tire of Clermont, which succeeds the Pilot Road 4
The Road5 is the brand new Michelin tire and its arrival is important! Because even if there is no question of competition in the sporting sense of the term, the GT sport tire category is the subject of all the attention of manufacturers, because it is both the largest market segment and the juicier bike. It is therefore not surprising that it is the site of many innovations and a quest for performance, which does not necessarily go through the chronometer..
Here it is more a question of longevity, handling, comfort, stability and behavior on wet roads. Radial tires, twin gums, flap tires, etc. nothing is too good to offer the best to a demanding clientele, ready to pay the right price for a quality product. In fact, competition is raging between manufacturers and in this area Bibendum is not left out, having more often than its hour innovated to keep its dominant position. The new Road, successor to the Pilot Road4 (presented in 2013) is in this line with its share of innovations. But beyond research and development and discourse, what about its real effectiveness? Michelin’s latest road and track test.
Industrial Revolution
If there is a new process that is changing the situation today in the industry, it is3d printing. Whether prototyping or producing new shapes with new materials, this technology is increasingly needed alongside machining, modeling, foundry or forging, with possibilities that even its inventors did not initially suspect. Here we push back the limits, eliminating all the mold release problems that make the production of certain shapes impossible..
It is thanks to this innovation that Michelin has been able to improve its sipes, now giving them an open shape towards the inside of the tire, which allows them to ensure an almost constant water drainage over the kilometers, despite the wear of the profile which reduces their volume and therefore their initial ability to evacuate the water present on the bitumen. For this, it was necessary to insert complex shapes printed in three dimensions inside the mold during its manufacture by aluminum casting. A real challenge, but which is not the only axis of progress of this Road 5 which forgets its name "Pilot" for the sake of simplification.
With bits of Power RS in it
Like its road sport counterpart, the Road 5 has a ACT structure (adaptive Casing Technology) in front and ACT + behind, which gives it a good rigidity of the sidewalls by a return of very slightly crossed ply on the edges while being simple fold and therefore flexible under the tread.
This aramid structure advantageously replaces the double ply ply of the Pilot Road 4, which was also a little heavier. So the newcomer wants to combine good cornering handling and better ground surface in a straight line, all of this being synonymous with stability in both corners and straight lines. Note that we find a very similar process on the new Dunlop Sporsmart TT that we have also tried. Like what, when an idea is good, it goes a long way !
From the RS it also partly takes over the look and the sculptures, but with a higher notch rate. We are talking about 6.2% for the sportsman against 12% on the Road 5. However, beyond 35 ° of camber, a value impossible to achieve on wet roads, the profile becomes fully "slick" which offers more surface. on the ground and improves the rigidity of the rubber which is no longer weakened by the notches. The result is good drainage on wet ground and good grip on dry ground, with a rigid tire that deforms less.
New mixture of gums
Since we are talking about rubber, note that the mixtures present on the Road 5 are 100% new. Developed in-house with the motorsport department, they take advantage of in-house know-how, without resorting to subcontracting. Like its predecessor, the PR4, the Road5 is a front / rear dual compound, which guarantees good longevity. Note that at the rear, the central rubber very loaded with silica passes under the softer rubber of the shoulders, which for its part contains more carbon black. The latter, less rigid, is thus reinforced by its seat, without losing any of its grip..
Attractive figures
To better convince us of the merits of these revolutionary developments, Bibendum gave us some quantified results, which unfortunately we were not able to verify by ourselves by comparing the old and the new. Thus, on the wet track of the Fontange test center, the testers would have improved their lap times from 2.5 to 3.6 seconds, over a lap of 60 seconds. !
In the dry, it is also 1 second in 70 that they gained, suggesting a good potential for the Road 5. With the braking on wet ground, the advantage would be of 5% in favor of the new one, but after a little more than 5000 kilometers, it would still brake as short as the old one, while at the same age, the PR4 will have already lost 10.5% of its capacity. In short, "heavy" that we couldn’t wait to try for ourselves.
Fire proof
It was on a wet track that we discovered the Road 5 riding a Triumph Street Triple 765 RS. With it we braked violently and practiced evasive maneuvers while keeping the brakes. The sensations were excellent, with impressive deceleration values on the handlebars. The same test carried out with a Yamaha MT 10 was less spectacular, however, due to the lack of a much less efficient ABS and probably to inferior suspensions than those of the RS, richly endowed in this area. To this was added a brutal engine to go around on the Japanese, which had nothing to put in confidence, next to its British counterpart. Like what tires are not everything!
After that, we did a few laps on the Monte Blanco circuit to approach the limits of the tire in the dry. On the handlebars of a Ducati 939 supersport, we discovered a ride that was really instinctive and fun to ride. Good grip, stability under braking and acceleration, feedback, focus on the angle, everything is perfect.
The same test on a BMW S 1000 XR, against use on the circuit, will be less convincing, for the machine of course. Movement in a straight line above 240 km / h reactions a bit confusing suspensions, flexible in front and firm behind, in short a result less fun than the handlebars of the Ducati, much more comfortable in this kind of exercise . It must be said that unlike MotoGP, these two-wheeled SUVs have such aerodynamic lift! Thus, at high speed, they take the load off the front. Lacking support, the direction becomes blurred and it is only by retreating as far as possible behind the bubble that the phenomenon is pushed back. It was probably to load the front to the maximum that the testers had hardened the rear suspension and softened the front. Once again, it is more the concept of the motorcycle that is to be questioned at very high speed. For this kind of sport, BMW offers the S 1000 RR and it’s much better !
On the way !
The workshops are good, but nothing like a good scenario on the small, winding Andalusian roads, magnificent, but also sometimes tricky to appreciate the Road 5. We had a very varied range of motorcycles for that. an opener of choice in the person of Mr. Dominique Sarron "Himself".
A little trip at a good pace (even very good pace), under a spring sun and temperatures of the same barrel (between 20 and 25 ° in the afternoon !!!). From the twirling MT 07 to the powerful KTM 1290 GT, via the Z 650 or the Z 1000 SX, we have found the same driving pleasure and the same confidence. There is hardly that the Triumph Speed Triple RS which seemed a little clumsy for my taste, decidedly, I much prefer the 765 much more playful with its pounds less..
Either way, power never seems to bother the Road5, which takes in the horses without flinching. A long time alone on the handlebars of the KTM away from the tail and the head of the group allowed me to fully appreciate its full potential on a motorcycle designed for. Bodybuilt engine, electronic and ABS at the top, in a cycle part designed to go fast, whether it is the chassis or the suspensions. The Road 5 proved to be at the level of Austrian GT sport.
Who says better? The "small" MT 07 and Z 650 were not to be outdone on these winding roads. They also matched perfectly with the latest from Bibendum. A little anecdote in passing. On a particularly slippery section, many of us had the impression of a rear puncture. An unpleasant feeling that pushes you to slow down … When you have to! Indeed, the rear tire informed us of the danger, while the front still kept the course perfectly. A performance gap desired by all manufacturers for more safety and here particularly well highlighted.
Strong points
- Technology
- Ease
- Trust
- Grip in the wet
- The longevity claimed
- the meanest look
Weak points
- Not being able to compare it to PR4 or to its direct competitors
- The brevity of the wet workshops
Test conditions: ideal!!!
- Itinerary: small varied roads
- Mileage: 120 km
Convenient
Already available, the ROAD 5 is chasing the Road4 pilot which goes into second line and suddenly lowers the price. PR 2 and 3 are also still available at even lower prices. Price question precisely, count a few% more than the PR4 before the price reduction, or about 265 € excluding assembly and balancing for a 120/180 game on the net. 11 sizes including 4 for trails are or will be available
Dimension Michelin Road 5
Before :
- 120 60 ZR 17 55 (W) TL January 2018
- 120 70 ZR 17 58 (W) TL January 2018
Back :
- 150 70 ZR 17 69 (W) TL January 2018
- 160 60 ZR 17 69 (W) TL January 2018
- 180 55 ZR 17 73 (W) TL January 2018
- 190 50 ZR 17 73 (W) TL January 2018
- 190 55 ZR 17 75 (W) TL January 2018
Dimension Michelin Road 5 Trail
Before :
- 110 80 R 19 59 V TL January 2018
- 120 70 ZR 19 60 W TL June 2018
Back :
- 150 70 R 17 69 V TL January 2018
- 170 60 ZR 17 72 W TL June 2018
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