Motorcycling Reviews - Clothing, Parts & Accessories

Michelin Pilot Road

I had these tyres fitted to my Kawasaki ZX-7R after getting through several pairs of Dunlop D207s and D208’s (which seemed pretty good to me despite some poor reviews – but they only lasted for around 3-4 thousand miles). Needing something more robust I plumped for a road tyre in the shape of the Michelin Pilot Roads. First impressions were that they weren’t initially as quick steering as the Dunlops (feeling like the Dunlops did after a few thousand miles of use), but other than that there wasn’t any immediate feeling of any less grip available. Niggling at the back of my mind is always the thought that I’m on a sportsbike, riding pretty hard on road rubber – will they give me the grip I need or will they let me down if I’m really pushing on? I still occasionally think this if I’m really going for it, but have to say that there have been no surprises, no slides, no spins, nothing – just a rock steady, dependable tyre that works as a tyre should. They need a good deal of input to get the best from them – turn in isn’t lightening quick which in combination with my ageing, heavy ZX7 means a hefty shove is sometimes needed on very twisty roads but once leant over they give plenty confidence to take them right to the edge of the tread.

Wear is outstanding – I’ve done 8,000 miles (everything from motorway cruising to commuting to scratching), and there is still about 2mm left before they’re down to the tread marker – I’d be on my 3rd set of Dunlops by now!

For my next tyre I’m looking forwards to trying out the Pilot Road 2 - based on the performance of these and with the added bonus of stickier edges (and also softer rubber in the middle than the Pilot Roads), I think they’ll offer as much performance as I can ever use on the road and last far longer than more sporty rubber. In fact, I reckon that most sportsbike owners could comfortably use a “road” tyre on their newer, lighter and nimbler machines and be happy with the performance. Unless you’re only going to do a couple of thousand miles of absolute flat out riding, I really can’t see the point in choosing the sticky options – especially when you look at the hoards of riders on the latest crop of hypersport bikes with huge reams of unused rubber on the edges of their RR type tyres. Recommended!