The most recent owner reviews from this car, in their own words.
Dry Grip - Extremely good, the highlight of these tires. The only drawback is cold grip, below 10 degrees they really fall off and it is impossible to get decent heat in them. But, on a hot day with hard braking, cornering and acceleration, these tires will put up with the abuse no problem.
Wet Grip - Extremely poor, which is to be expected. While it isn't downright dangerous, they don't just suddenly let go without warning, you do need to be cautious of your inputs and corner speed, and pay attention to what your tires are doing to avoid low siding.
Road Feedback - The overall feedback of these tires are amazing in every aspect. Acceleration, cornering and braking, feedback from each is very defined and lets you know exactly what is going on - for as-long as they are warm. The tires from cold feel wooden and offer very little feedback. Once there is some heat in them, no matter the weather, they communicate beautifully exactly what is going on. This is extremely helpful when it rains due to the poor wet weather grip.
Handling - The handling on these again is amazing, Extremely predictable, consistent and allows you to put the bike exactly where you want it. I've never had a moment on these tires where they did something I wasn't expecting. Warm up time as long as the temperature is over 10 degrees Celsius is very fast for this style of tire which I found very impressive. However, flat spots form extremely easy from motorway use, which can make the bike feel extremely sluggish to turn in. Thanks to the soft compound though, a bit of spirited riding can easily scrub off the flat spots ;D
Wear - While I have only given these a 5 (they are soft, supersport tires at the end of the day) an average rating is actually extremely high praise for a tire like this. 4200 miles they are sitting at, and they still have a bit of life left. This is almost entirely spirited, twisty road riding with very little motorway journeys. However, as hinted at previously, flat spots form very easily. I did about 200 miles of motorway riding to Wales and another 200 miles back (which included 400 miles of twisty roads in Wales inbetween) as well as another 200ish mile motorway trip from Devon. By the time I got home from both journeys, they had horrendous flat spots which absolutely ruined the handling, until I wore that flatspots off which took a few 100 miles.
Comfort - Similar to all supersport tires, a stiff carcass but doesn't feel harsh at all when you have your suspension setup right. Far from the plush feeling of a touring tire, but nothing I would ever complain about.
Buy again - These were so close to being a yes but there are a few big reasons why I cannot get another set of these:
1. Wear - yes, they have lasted over 4,000 miles, I have no problem with this. My problem is how quickly a flat spot develops with any prolonged straight line riding, which completely spoils the handling for a few 100 miles every time they come about.
2. Cold grip / feedback - while these tires warm up very quickly for as long as the road has a bit of temperature in it, the grip of the tire from cold is terrible. If the temperature outside is below 10 degrees Celsius, forget having any fun. While I can deal with poor cold weather grip (I'm a fair weather rider after-all) I strongly dislike the feedback from cold. The tires give you very little information until they are on the edge of grip, which isn't the nicest of feelings.
3. Wet grip - while I avoid rain like the plague, I live in the UK. So it is basically impossible to be able to do this.
If I lived in a country like Spain, I probably would happily keep running these tires. However, that isn't the reality for me. I am in the UK where the best roads require travelling, our weather is all over the place and properly hot days are few and far between. So I will likely be getting a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV's next thanks to their much better day to day useability
my go to tire on my last few bikes.. 04 R6 09 FZ1 20 Street Triple 765 . just ordered a set for my 24 Speed Twin 1200. generally ride in all weathers when time allows and all year round. thought about trying a different tire but while still available, cannot fault them
I've had big issues with these tires on my Street Triple. They feel amazing in the corners, right up until the moment that they suddenly don't. I've had multiple random slides and losses of traction for no obvious reason that I no longer have confidence in the tires have have changed back to a pair of Road 5s. Although they don't turn in as instantly, they offer me far more consistent performance and more confidence to push the tires than the M9RRs did.
very slippery tire, nearly highsided today and it wasn't even that wet.. do not buy, road 6 are 1000% better
Incredible grip in the dry. Twitchy in the wet especially from 2000 miles on
96%
Michelin Road 5
180-55-17-W Triumph Street Triple RS
4,500 miles February 21, 2019
fitted to 2018 Street triple RS
These tires are amazing! I have so far completed 3500 miles of daily riding as well as 4 trackdays and they have never let me down. you may think I was taking it easy on the trackdays but I sit generally at the top of the intermediate group and somtimes the slower of the advanced groups... not sure if that is because I ride a 765cc naked bike against 1000cc superbikes but whatever.. I have fun. I have had these tires on the very edge and they didnt even wobble. They warm up extremely fast (half a lap at brands hatch) and are consistent lap after lap.
Heavy rain and standing water... no issues
I have labled this is a mid-life review, although I have now replaced the tires with the power RS from michelin, i have kept the Road 5's because they still have a great deal of life left in them.
Cannot go wrong with this tire!
Had these on my Street Triple 675 during early Spring through until May.
Covered 4K miles in that time, majority fast road riding but also a bunch of motorway/dual carriageway and a touch of touring.
Dry grip is phenomenal, they really give you great feedback and just don't let you down in the corners. I can lean the thing so far over with these and just have total confidence that the tires will make it. My cornering speeds have increased 50% compared to my Pirellis. They feel like a stiff compound when you're riding normally, right up until you get the thing leaned over and you just get so much feedback - it feels as if the bike is better supported.
Never had either tire slip apart from some diesel on the road which I cannot fault the tires for. Literally never had a slip in either wet or dry, quite incredible compared to my Pirelli Diablo 3's.
They warm up fast and stay very warm, I find that as they warm the feedback gets better and better to the point where you feel like the road surface is transmitting to your handlebars/legs. Comfortable and very quiet for such sticky rubber, I've been impressed by how long I can ride on these without fatigue.
Wear - not great, but 4K miles out of a supersport tire is really no bad thing. I think the issue is that the wear is so uneven, despite not spending too much time on the motorway I've found that the harder compound in the middle of the tire has hit wear bars much earlier than anticipated. Again, compared to my last Pirellie Diablos, they are performing much better though.
Avon 3D Ultra is a great tire on road and track, grip is terrific as is feedback. The drop into corners is very linear and predictable. I've had them slide a bit on damp roads and this too was very predictable and not the least bit scary. They're not quite as expensive as similar tires from the big manufacturers. The only downside is the rate of wear, my rear tire is wearing out after 2500 miles, the front is giving about 4500 miles. I would like to try the Supersport or the Extreme but I don't think my bank manager would like it. I only ride recreationally on road and occasionally on track and allow my throttle hand a lot of freedom, a more leisurely approach would yield better mileage but if you're looking for longevity these are not for you.
Bike: 2014 Triumph Street Triple R (standard bhp).
Riding Type: Dry roads with fast sweeping curves and tight twisties. Motorways, duel carriageways, in fact all straight roads avoided. Seldom commute or use city roads.
Superb dry grip, ok wet grip, very nice turn in, wears rapidly, good stability, predictable with good feedback, quite expensive given the wear rate.
A high quality grippy tire for fast dry road or dry track day.
Mileage: 3700 miles
Put these on my STR to replace the Dragon Corsa Pros that came as standard. This was a decision based more on budget than experience.
I have to say that I don't regret this decision at all. The grip is excellent and gives more confidence in cornering than the Dragons in my opinion.
I wouldn't say I ride at the ragged edge but I don't hang about and these tires have performed consistantly and feel grippy and progressive. Most riding is done on A and B roads with a couple of longer runs and a short spell on the track.
I've put them predominantly to dry use but got caught out in some full on wet weather once and they still felt grippy.
My only gripe (and it is a small one) is that they don't wear as well as I'd like but then it's a trade off between wear rates and grip and tbh I'd rather have the grip. My Rear has lasted a little over 3000 miles and I'll be changing it shortly. I'll definitely use these again.