Best Tire for Longevity

[Toruk]

My 2023 RS came with Michelin Road 5 GTs. I have 6k miles on them with plenty of tread still on them. I'll have to decide, based on wear, if I will go GT or normal on the Road 6s when they need to be replaced. Every rider has to get what works for their style of riding!

[EdM]

2 hours ago, Toruk said:

My 2023 RS came with Michelin Road 5 GTs. I have 6k miles on them with plenty of tread still on them. I'll have to decide, based on wear, if I will go GT or normal on the Road 6s when they need to be replaced. Every rider has to get what works for their style of riding!

My 23 RT came with the same tires and I currently have 10,000 kms on them. They still have some decent amount of wear left in them, but definitely not enough to get me through my planned June trip so I'll be looking to swap them out early. Going to look at all the options presented here before choosing the successors. Meanwhile, I'm going to run as much mileage of these ones prior to the trip.

[Hosstage]

Unless you have the new ones in hand, don't wait until it's too late to change them, just in case yours are not available when you need them to be changed.

[RTinNC]

Just now, Hosstage said:

Unless you have the new ones in hand, don't wait until it's too late to change them, just in case yours are not available when you need them to be changed.

That’s a great point, and something my dealer cautioned me about. He said a lot of tires if you want a specific size and brand and model may take 4 to 6 weeks to get.

[Steveyacht]

20 hours ago, EdM said:

My 23 RT came with the same tires and I currently have 10,000 kms on them. They still have some decent amount of wear left in them, but definitely not enough to get me through my planned June trip so I'll be looking to swap them out early. Going to look at all the options presented here before choosing the successors. Meanwhile, I'm going to run as much mileage of these ones prior to the trip.

I'm contemplating the same action. Otherwise, I may have to get one while on the road, not what I really want to do.

[RTinNC]

3 hours ago, Steveyacht said:

I'm contemplating the same action. Otherwise, I may have to get one while on the road, not what I really want to do.

I’ve come across this situation a few times and actually just yesterday had new tires installed on my RT in anticipation of my June trip to Redmond OR which will be 7-8000 miles round trip.  I contemplated getting tires on the road but hate to kill a day at a dealer and don’t like having an unfamiliar shop working on the bike when I’m on the road.  But in the end I opted to get fresh tires BEFORE my trip and keep things simple.

 

Also, I did the math and decided I was worrying about less than $200.   Figuring my tires last 8000 miles and cost about $450 a set. My tires have 5000 miles on them so changing them out now costs me about $170.  For me it’s worth the cost to not have to worry about tires on my trip.   Just my thinking especially since tires are a key safety component when riding.  YMMV 👍

[Bernie]

You guys are using the wrong formula.

Take the total cost of the tires, including freight, tax and mounting and divide that by the miles you get from it.

That will give you the cost per mile of that tire.

Now compare it to your other past tires and you will find out that the more expensive tires cost almost the same money per mile as the cheaper ones. On average about  $0.04 to 0.05 per mile. This will sound a lot better to you and your spouse. Also keep in mind that we ride these things for FUN and not because they are economical .

Otherwise we be riding 125-250 cc scooters.

[RTinNC]

16 minutes ago, Bernie said:

You guys are using the wrong formula.

Take the total cost of the tires, including freight, tax and mounting and divide that by the miles you get from it.

That will give you the cost per mile of that tire.

Now compare it to your other past tires and you will find out that the more expensive tires cost almost the same money per mile as the cheaper ones. On average about  $0.04 to 0.05 per mile. This will sound a lot better to you and your spouse. Also keep in mind that we ride these things for FUN and not because they are economical .

Otherwise we be riding 125-250 cc scooters.

Bernie, I just use your formula which is not that different from my formula and the result was almost the same as mine about $15 difference. And add into that equation having to go to the dealer do the mounting etc. if you’re trying to reuse a set of tires. For me saving $50 is just not worth it. 

[EdM]

Just ordered up a set of the Dunlop RS4s for the RT and a set of Trailmax Missions for my F850GSA. Comparing the price on the RS4s to the PR6s, the Dunlops came in almost $100 lower. I'll have them in plenty of time for a late May install. The GSA will get the new treads sometime in July prior to my trip North to Tuk on the Dempster, but I figured i may as well add them in the order now to ensure I have them too. Cost wise, free shipping from FortNine and install is free other than the cursing during and beer afterwards (I'd be drinking the beer anyway if I'm being honest).

[RTinNC]

2 hours ago, EdM said:

................ Comparing the price on the RS4s to the PR6s, the Dunlops came in almost $100 lower. I'll have them in plenty of time for a late May install. The GSA will get the new treads sometime in July prior to my trip North to Tuk on the Dempster, but I figured i may as well add them in the order now to ensure I have them too. Cost wise, free shipping from FortNine and install is free other than the cursing during and beer afterwards (I'd be drinking the beer anyway if I'm being honest).

Yup and so far I like the RS4's.  I did swap them out at about 5K only because I want fresh tires for my trip to Redmond in June.   But at 5K they still looked pretty good.  I got 9K out of my last set of Road6's so hoping to close to that on the RS4's. 

[bimmers]

My 1250RT came with Metzeler and now after riding in "curvy" South FL at 6500 miles I've got plenty of tire thread left but my front tire is cupping. I'm using 36/42 PSI and riding at decent speeds. Wonder if the reason is that the tires now are multi compound and while the curves missing mean that sides do not get much wear and maybe the center getting thinner causes it?? The cupping will mean I have to replace tire pretty soon. 

Now I wonder what to pick up next, Dunlop RS4 or Michelin Pilot 4 that I run on old 1200RT. The 1200RT feels like a flanker with heavy steering compared to the new one and do not know how much of that is in the tires??

 

H

[RTinNC]

For ME Metzlers have always cupped on my RTs

[old_farmer]

"Your results may vary", indeed. I'm running Road 5 GT's now. The front is at the wear bars at 5,000 miles. Most of those miles were run up in eastern TN. The last 5 front lasted 9,600 miles, but a lot of those miles were from road trips based out of northwest IL.

 

My local BMW dealer recommends a Pilot Road 4 or a Road 6 GT. He says that 5's have longevity problems in my area. I tend to agree with that. The last tires I had that wore out so quickly were the original Metzelers.

[JCtx]

Just as an FYI, Road6s are now BOTH dual-compound (the only ones), so the front should last longer now, as they were not dual-compound before. And at the same time, they should provide more grip on the sides, according to Michelin. I have zero miles on my Road6s now, so will have to wait for a shakedown to report on grip. And maybe 2 years for longevity. But the way I ride, AND the rough asphalt around here are not a good combination for longevity. The Z8s lasted me 3,500 miles. I don't expect more than 5K on the Road 6s, but anything extra would be welcome. Might try the RoadSmart 4s if I'm not fully satisfied with them until their end. 

[Camhead64]

The '21RT is fitted with Michelin Road 6's, have gotten over 10k on this set. New ones being fitted in a few weeks.

[Tron]

I recently changed tires and am now running Continental Road Attack 4 on the GS. Great tire so far.

 

That said, I usually ride with sport touring tires, and somewhere between 4k and 6k miles is about what I get out of them. They may not be down to the bare thread by then, but they're already "squared off" and that impacts handling.

Remember, you can certainly ride tires with a harder and more durable rubber mix that have a longer service life, but you're sacrificing grip potential.

To me, the risk of a crash due to the tire giving out isn't worth the savings, but YMMV.

[Hati]

Just an comment on Road 6 GT longevity. I am on the second set on my '21 RT. Currently at 14000 km (8750 miles) and still have at least 2k kilometres left on them. The first set I already mentioned lasted 18k kilometres. Most of my riding is two up, but our roads are not as abrasive as some of the US ones.