Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Motorrad tyre test 2024

Motorrad have published their recent tyre test, carried out this time using RS1250 machines


https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Best...es-for-2024.htm

The results may influence your next tyre choice- or not......

Alan

Them's the boys for me then !
Michelin 6's GT.
Thanks Alda, good to see you back 😀

Zitat von Thunderbird 1 im Beitrag #2

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Them's the boys for me then !
Michelin 6's GT.
Thanks Alda, good to see you back 😀

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So I would like to point out that the road six GT isn't on the list of recommended tires for the RS, unless that has been changed recently.
In spite of that I have a set Michelin Road Six GT's on my RS right now and yes they are the GT ..... I have about 1500 miles on them and they show no wear at all. And they are a nice firm and strong tire which I think is much more practical in the long run. I only got 3000 miles out of the metzlers that came with the bike.
I have been trying to use the rear brake more to even up the wear somewhat. On my /5 of course the rear tire wears much faster and I had adapted an almost all front brake riding style. Old habits are hard to brake ... lol.... So on the new bikes the front tire seems highly stressed. I think I would have put a larger tire on the front of these newer bikes if it was up to me.
The Michelin Road 6 GT's handle very well, and are are capable of supporting a heavy braking riding style more so than the stock tires IMO. They also are very good on packed dirt surfaces as well and you see folks putting them on GS's too. I do ride with the panniers all the time and I weigh 220 at least so the GT's have been great for me. truly outstanding compared to the metzler imo.

Agree on Michelins. I put Metzeler Roadtec 01SE's on my '23 RS at the 6K service earlier this year and now have about 1600 miles on them. No complaints except they do make more noise than I'd like to hear. The mileage rating on the Michelins is enough to sway me, especially if they're quite.

Thanks for the link. Michelin next spring.

wet braking 6th place wow .

Only a small difference between those tested. If I was habitually riding in the wet it would be an interesting review.
Feel in the dry, cost and longevity are more important for me.

Just back from +4.300 km in the Alps with new Pilot6 GT fitted last fall. Fully loaded with pillon and luggage, works very well. Slight wear from autobahn of course, but all in all very happy.

....... wet braking 6th place wow ......

Ya that is concerning but if you read more they gave the Michelin the best score in wet handling. Not just a dry tire so they say.
The Metzlers I had, had a long slash in the tread pattern parallel to the wheel rotation. I don't remember the model number but that slash is very noticeable. And it seems the source of problems as a large cup developed there beside that slash, on my tires. They would completely over steer and lean the bike aggressively into corners, just before I had them replaced. They were truly dangerous ......
I'm thinking that there might be a lot more difference in the tires tested than was reported. The Michelins GT's are just like on a rail and don't change under hard braking. They lean very neutral and they are impressive for sure. I totally recommend the GT but I have not tried the regular road six but I do like a strong tire. The gt's have more ply's it seems. They normally put them on the RT and the GTL too.

Re: Metzelers...I noticed they drop in fairly aggressively when cold, almost have to fight the turn-in. Fine when new, but this is apparent after 1600 miles. Once warm, no problem. Got 6,000 miles out of the set of 01's that came with the bike, but they were harder to turn at that point, even when warm. We'll see how the 01 SE fares. I will switch next time, to Michelin.

I've got the 'standard' Road 6 fitted since Nov 2023 (posted the first impression way back when)

4.700 miles since, long tours with pillion and luggage, highways, twisties, and even a rocky goat path
Minimal wear signs since, great grip dry and wet (did 50km in torrential downpour in Slovenian alps).

Just chipping in that if someone's on the fence due to local availability or price I don't see a reason to prefer GT as the predominant "touring" of the two.
My Road 5's on my old CBR pushed nearly 15k hard miles before they were gone, friend I sold it to swapped them this spring for the 6's.

I did read the entire review , and I use to use the PR's in all versions . I've noticed they did very well in pouring rain , but did not break well on smoother wet surfaces.
My 2023 RS came with Pilot Road 5 GT's that I removed in 2,8XX miles due to overly stiff , and sub par performance . Measured at brand new they were 1.5 mm less tread depth than the Stores Pilot Road 5 . ( BMW and other makes do this to save $$ on thousands of sets of tires )

The RS does not need GT spec tires . The RS is a light machine compared to FJR's C14's , ST1300's , RT's , Triumph Trophy's . BMW K1600 GT / GTL's

I think even if you were Two up with enough gear to need a GT spec tire one would be close if not exceeding the RS1250 GVWR
BMW spec max pay load 478 pounds ( 217 kg ) Total permissible weight 1014 lb or 460KG
The tires are same compound / Tread depth GT or non-GT

I weigh 153 pounds suited up , the three cases empty are another 25 pounds . Packed for a cross USA trip I add another 40 pounds = 218 pounds
This leaves 260 pounds of cargo avaible . If my son rides with me its another 160 pounds leaving 100 in reserve . Still no need for a GT spec tire .

K1600GTL weighs in @ 775 lb wet / no rider . This machine needs a GT spec tire .

The tyre test was featured in this months BMW clubs magazine.
They have given permission for me to share it with you. It shows how the tyres were tested and points awarded.
Obviously economics did not come into the study. The cost of the tyres may have some bearing when you come to change.

Sorry for poor graphics,

Alan


Touring Tyre Test – Spring 2024 – John Bentall
Motorrad (issue 06/2024) decided to conduct another performance and endurance test of touring rubber using 6 identical R1250RS machines wearing a very popular tyre size, namely 120/70ZR77 & 180/55ZR17. The trip was run over a 2,000 km stretch in the South of France and Spanish border country. Previous tests have shown that the performance of the major brands is very similar when the tyres are new. So, for 2024, the in-depth handling tests on both wet and dry surfaces were undertaken at the end of the 5-day run at the Goodyear/Dunlop test track at Mireval.
From the beginning the testers thought that the dry road handling of the Michelin, Pirelli and Dunlop tyres was biased toward agility, whereas the Bridgestones and Metzelers were biased towards neutral handling, The Continental was the only tyre that felt stiff and somewhat unwilling to turn. As the tyres wore, the Continentals became softer and their handling became more akin to the Metzelers, which the testers declared was an improvement. By way of contrast, the Bridgestone T32 had shed a large amount of rubber (1.4kg vs .78 kg for the Michelin) and handling deteriorated significantly. At the end of the test the T32s no longer inspired great confidence, even at quite moderate speeds. The Pirelli, Dunlop and Michelin tyres showed no noticeable change in performance after 2,000 km.
A good rain tyre should have a relaxed behaviour, build confidence through healthy grip, provide good feedback and break away slowly at the limit of adhesion. The result is that that the rider can enjoy the wet weather. The time taken to lap the Mireval test track in the rain is a good indicator of the overall performance of the tyre.
The wet-weather lap times of the best and worst tyres were also compared with brand-new pairs to assess the effects of wear. A new set of Michelins were only 1 second quicker than the worn pair, whereas the new T32s were 8 seconds quicker. The good grip and steering precision compared to new tyres were especially affected. The limit of adhesion was still easy to detect, and the tyre was in no way treacherous, but it was a good deal slower than the Michelin.
The wear test is manageable if one has six identical bikes and six equally proficient riders at one’s disposal, who swop bikes every forty miles to even out the riding styles. The idea of only using twisty backroads was to accelerate the wear of the softer shoulder compounds of the front tyre. This procedure highlighted that the front Bridgestone was waving the white flag of surrender at the end of the test with just 3.5% of the tread remaining before reaching the German legal minimum of 1.6mm, whilst the Michelin had 58% remaining. The equivalent figures for their rear tyres were 21% and 45% respectively. The Continentals and Metzelers had worn their front and rear evenly without adverse effects their handling. There was plenty of fun still to be had with the Dunlops, Michelins and Pirellis. The testers commented that the wide drainage channels of the Bridgestone could exacerbate movement in the tread blocks under load, thereby causing excessive wear.
The final scores out of 350 were Michelin Pilot Road 6 GT: 323, Pitrelli Angel 2 GT: 320, Dunlop Roadsmart IV GT: 315, Metzeler Roadtec 02: 304, Continental Road Attack 4 GT: 298 and Bridgestone T32: 264.
Translators Note. I have referred back to the last wear test in 2021 when much lighter and less powerful F900XRs were ridden. The R1250 RS placed heavier demands on the tyres thus the wet surface rating of the Bridgestones dropped from good to satisfactory. The 1250s were 5 seconds a lap faster round the wet track than the XRs apart from the Bridgestone-shod machine.

Looking at Load Index ratings the standard 55W front and 73 Rear have a combined weight rating of 1286 pounds . This is 272 pounds over the bikes rated capacity.

The Road 6 GT is rated at 1325 combined

Relative the stated scores (out of 350 points), the Michelin, Pirelli and Dunlops got low As, (92 to 90%). The Metzler and Conti's got middle Bs (87 to 85%) and the Bridgestone got a middle C (75%)