Video presentation of the 2022 Michelin Road 6 and Road 6 GT;

[p6x]

 

[Twin AH]

Wow talk about reaching 

Plus I don't ride german    

[p6x]

13 hours ago, Twin AH said:

Wow talk about reaching 

Plus I don't ride german    

I called MPH to ask them if I could get the Road 6 instead of the Road 5, so the pitch is working pretty well on credulous guys like me

[LowRyter]

P6X, You should get any tire you want within a day's delivery.   My shop gets tires the next day from the warehouse in Dallas.  He checks the computer for stock and orders them.  Now, if I ordered "Ducati" stamped Diablo Rosso II, that would take a few days (unless it's not in the States).  My guys (two different shops) sell me the the tires pretty much for internet prices, they can order and install the new tires.  I can pick up the wheel or just drop off my bike.  

I see that Michelin dropped the "Pilot" from the "Road"? 

[p6x]

5 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

P6X, You should get any tire you want within a day's delivery.   My shop gets tires the next day from the warehouse in Dallas.  He checks the computer for stock and orders them.  Now, if I ordered "Ducati" stamped Diablo Rosso II, that would take a few days (unless it's not in the States).  My guys (two different shops) sell me the the tires pretty much for internet prices, they can order and install the new tires.  I can pick up the wheel or just drop off my bike.  

I see that Michelin dropped the "Pilot" from the "Road"? 

MPH is not your typical motorcycle workshop. It is pretty much a one guy show. I am certain I could get faster service with the chain stores, but I am faithful to MPH, and they will get all my business as long as they are willing to.

Even it took me three weeks before they said they were ready to install the tires on my Le Mans. I don't put any pressure on them, I just wait.

Indeed, they seem to have now reserved "Pilot" for tires that are conceived for sports bikes either race track ready that can be used on road, or both.

Starting from the best for the Moto Guzzi V11:

Pilot Power: This is the one they advertise as directly conceived from MotoGP experience.

Road 6: like the Road 5 but better.

Power 5: This is the one for the guys riding sport bikes. Michelin says the carcass of the tire is designed according to their racing experience. Have you tried it on your Ducati?

Road 5: The evolution of the Pilot Road 4 which is/was a best seller but wearing out very rapidly.

Power GP: which was the tire you could use on or off the racing track. I believe it is now superseded by the Power 5.

Power Cup 2: Conceived and designed for the racing track, and road legal too.

Then the glories from the past:

Pilot Road 4: which is still favored by many....

Pilot Power 3: for sports bikes

Pilot Power 2CT: What was installed on my Le Mans when I got it.

[p6x]

@LowRyter

I read some of the 1079 reviews of the Road 5 on the Michelin web site;

The two major complaints that seem to come out often are price and durability.

Price; I agree, unless the tire is manufactured domestically.

Autonomy: I think it is subjective because this is going to be based on your type of driving, the bike you are driving.

I think it is difficult to judge tires for us, lambda drivers. We do not have the ability to really test back to back. I am planning to go to the Twisted Sisters to compare with my previous tires, but it is all subjective.

What would work better, is to go there with multiple tires, do a test run, change the set for another, and test again. I am told you can do that at COTA during track days. They have someone there that change your tires ($$$) as you wish.

Anyway, after the Road 5, I will try another brand. I have done that with the rear tires of my 911; I had Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone, and I am currently on Yokohama. So far, I liked the Bridgestone best. Again, the Michelin were the most expensive. Did not like the Pirelli set. I can't really say about the Yokohama, I am not using the car much any longer.

[LowRyter]

7 hours ago, p6x said:

MPH is not your typical motorcycle workshop. It is pretty much a one guy show. I am certain I could get faster service with the chain stores, but I am faithful to MPH, and they will get all my business as long as they are willing to.

Even it took me three weeks before they said they were ready to install the tires on my Le Mans. I don't put any pressure on them, I just wait.

Indeed, they seem to have now reserved "Pilot" for tires that are conceived for sports bikes either race track ready that can be used on road, or both.

Starting from the best for the Moto Guzzi V11:

Pilot Power: This is the one they advertise as directly conceived from MotoGP experience.

Road 6: like the Road 5 but better.

Power 5: This is the one for the guys riding sport bikes. Michelin says the carcass of the tire is designed according to their racing experience. Have you tried it on your Ducati?

Road 5: The evolution of the Pilot Road 4 which is/was a best seller but wearing out very rapidly.

Power GP: which was the tire you could use on or off the racing track. I believe it is now superseded by the Power 5.

Power Cup 2: Conceived and designed for the racing track, and road legal too.

Then the glories from the past:

Pilot Road 4: which is still favored by many....

Pilot Power 3: for sports bikes

Pilot Power 2CT: What was installed on my Le Mans when I got it.

It appears that Mike Haven and Michelin have 100% of your business. 

[p6x]

8 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

It appears that Mike Haven and Michelin have 100% of your business. 

So far, it is 100% correct.... usually, I would shop around more. MPH is very conveniently situated with regards to me.

That being said, when you go there, you need not to be in a hurry. They have a six weeks wait time norm, whatever it is you want to do.

[docc]

3 hours ago, p6x said:

So far, it is 100% correct.... usually, I would shop around more. MPH is very conveniently situated with regards to me.

That being said, when you go there, you need not to be in a hurry. They have a six weeks wait time norm, whatever it is you want to do.

This makes me feel less reticent about waiting so impatiently to get my family fiddle back from a trusted and renowned Nashville luthier. 

These magical touches upon our "instruments" take time and care.      

[p6x]

10 hours ago, docc said:

This makes me feel less reticent about waiting so impatiently to get my family fiddle back from a trusted and renowned Nashville luthier. 

These magical touches upon our "instruments" take time and care.      

I do my own Luthier work on my guitars. But working on a violin requires a lot more skills, such as cabinetry practice.

In all fairness, all the trust you place in a workshop to do the right thing on your motorbike is always difficult to verify. Subjective at most. It is all about reputation. But how does it translate to the one single mistake that is going to bum you off? I would rather do my own work, but I need to be realistic. I cannot justify purchasing workshop equipment that I will use very few times.

When my bike is away at a shop, I have no basis to verify what is done is according to my high standards. Are they changing all the gaskets and O'rings and fasteners as I would want them to do? are they meticulous? attention to detail, quality before anything else? I don't know. I would feel better if I could witness them doing the job, but for "safety" reasons, I cannot.

"We have 30 years of experience"... what does that mean? who has? and even with 30 years of experience, since have evolved. What you were good at before may not have carried forward with the changes in technology, unless you have trained yourself at the same pace.

I had that a lot in my job. You would be getting a guy that would bust his experience such as "20 years of North Sea" oilfield, and failed immediately once he got into an area that was different from what he had seen before.

At this moment, I have no better alternative than to go with "we have experience". I cannot verify it personally. I have experience too, because I have lived enough to have acquired some kind of wisdom, no matter what they say.

I still learn new things everyday, and look forward to enrich myself more...

[footgoose]

2 hours ago, p6x said:

I do my own Luthier work on my guitars. But working on a violin requires a lot more skills, such as cabinetry practice.

In all fairness, all the trust you place in a workshop to do the right thing on your motorbike is always difficult to verify. Subjective at most. It is all about reputation. But how does it translate to the one single mistake that is going to bum you off? I would rather do my own work, but I need to be realistic. I cannot justify purchasing workshop equipment that I will use very few times.

When my bike is away at a shop, I have no basis to verify what is done is according to my high standards. Are they changing all the gaskets and O'rings and fasteners as I would want them to do? are they meticulous? attention to detail, quality before anything else? I don't know. I would feel better if I could witness them doing the job, but for "safety" reasons, I cannot.

"We have 30 years of experience"... what does that mean? who has? and even with 30 years of experience, since have evolved. What you were good at before may not have carried forward with the changes in technology, unless you have trained yourself at the same pace.

I had that a lot in my job. You would be getting a guy that would bust his experience such as "20 years of North Sea" oilfield, and failed immediately once he got into an area that was different from what he had seen before.

At this moment, I have no better alternative than to go with "we have experience". I cannot verify it personally. I have experience too, because I have lived enough to have acquired some kind of wisdom, no matter what they say.

I still learn new things everyday, and look forward to enrich myself more...

Exactly. While traveling I stopped into a reputable BMW/Euro bike shop in Denver to have a set of tires installed and oil change. Luckily I pulled in for lunch about 30 mi down the road. In turning the behemoth K1200rs around in the gravel lot I heard a rattle. The front caliper bolts were coming out! The body panel fasteners had not been snugged! WTf? I was far too angry to go back but I had to call them. Truth told, reputation or not, you're at the mercy of whoever actually does the work, often a contractor who may or may not possess a sense of responsibility. I do everything I can, myself (+forum) and anything I cannot do goes, for now, to Cadre Cycles Cincinnati, just because their good character is so obvious, and the shop sound was tuned to Hank Williams radio.

[p6x]

@footgoose

This is exactly like that add for the Michelin Road 6; we are the best because we are telling you we are...

Even top notch workshop can mess up.

My company copied airline maintenance playbooks; where everything is done according to check lists, and verified independently. Trying to remove the human error factor by writing and optimizing procedures.

Obviously, what goes on for aircraft maintenance is not applied by motorcycle shops.

At least in my case, there is only one guy who works on Guzzi bikes. One and there are no roustabout or roughneck to take care of the nitty gritty. The guy does everything by himself.

[PJPR01]

Davey at MPH is a real national treasure...he does excellent work, so far has proven to be extremely thorough, and even has sent me pictures of the work he's doing at my request when he's deep into the job, so I could see before and after shots of some internal work.  His work has been 100% perfect on everything I've brought him, but as a habit I also go thru my bikes after I get them back from the shop and make sure nuts and bolts are all tight, check torque settings on the wheels particularly if I've had tires replaced.  I've had a few experiences over the years from prior mechanics where they failed to tighten up bolts which were glaringly obvious oversights.  Luckily no accidents caused by such oversights.

Mike used to work on the bikes when his brother Todd was around years earlier. I bought my Norge from him back in late 2009, and Mike was just as picky and meticulous as Davey, so I always felt very comfortable knowing he had his hands on my bike, and his guidance on how Guzzis behave when new and then at future intervals as they break in has always been spot on.  The Griso was also purchased from Mike by a friend, and then I bought it from my friend when he could no longer ride, and so far has been flawless.

My Scura was worked on at Mike's house up in Hempstead when for a period of time he could not use the workshop, and he did the Roper Plate, replacement of the single plate clutch, full lubrication of those bloody hard zerk fitted u-joints and several other "must do" items that Chuck had recommended at one of the Cedar Vale rallies.  He did them all, and the bike has ridden like a dream since I got it back from him several years ago, no failures, no issues.

Knowing that there are good Guzzi surgeons nearby is very comforting, I can do a lot of work on the bikes, but some items are beyond my knowledge, skill or toolset, and sometimes even time, and I'd rather ride another bike while having one of them on the lift with Mike or Davey, knowing they'll probably find a few other items to look at with the patient on the operating table that I wouldn't even know to look for.

On the subject of tires, I'm on my 5th set of PR's, 1 PR3, 4 sets of PR4's...they have been impeccable in all kinds of weather, very very good in wet weather, and very sticky for twisties.  I have them on the Norge and Scura, and a fresh set waiting to be put on the Griso when the original tires wear out.  I am curious about the PR 6's, but will choose to skip the 5's based on feedback from other riders. Getting the GT version is excellent for longer wear here in the flats of Texas...my experience has been about 9-10K miles per set so far, with the rear wearing slightly faster than the front.

[LowRyter]

wait Paul,  You've gone through 5 sets of Pilots.   How many miles have you been getting from a set or a rear tire?

[PJPR01]

34 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

wait Paul,  You've gone through 5 sets of Pilots.   How many miles have you been getting from a set or a rear tire?

Hey John.... I made one small correction above digging into the memory banks here after writing above, it's been 1 set of PR3's, 4 sets of PR4's. I'm counting the tires on my Norge and Scura, and as I mentioned above I get approx 9-10K miles out of each set.  I do change front and rears at the same time, and the rears wear slightly faster than the front, so I'd guess I could probably get another 1K or a bit more out of the front, but why push it.  I like to run tire pressures at 40/40 cold, they heat up to 43/44 on a normal Texas day when out riding for a bit.   I know others here run much lower than that, I suspect that may account for faster wear perhaps.