Michelin Road 5

If long-lasting sporty tyres are what you’re after, Michelin’s new Road 5s might be just the ticket.

- Pretty Boypics

Four years ago Michelin launchedtheir Pilot Road 4 – a sport-touringtyre that covered you in every sense; from riding in the pissing wet to having a little hoon on a track day. Four years, 1.5 million tyres and €641 million in development later (throughout the entire Road range), Michelin say they’ve stepped up the game once again, offering an all-new product with improvements in wet performance, dry performance and even longevity.

How have they pulled this off, you might be wondering? Well, Michelin have been incredibly busy creating an all-new Two Compound Technology (2CT) system for the rubber for starters, which sees performance enhanced by using different construction in the front and rear tyres to improve longevity in the rear without sacrificing feel in the front. Genius! After years of trial and error (no one’s perfect), the finalised 2CT tech features an all-silica make-up that’s stiff in the middle (for both strength and stability in a straight line), and soft enough on the edges to encourage fast warm-up times, high grips levels, precise handling, and feel.

The rear rubber’s even more trick. Dubbed the Michelin 2CT+, the rear tyre is based on the same principles but with added silica for better resistance to wear so it will actually be slightly stiffer, while the edges are constructed from an all-carbon black compound which works like a slick when you get to about 38º lean angle (more than you could ever achieve in the wet, apparently). While we’re on the subject of wet, the French marque moved the tyre’s traction levels on by introducing deep sipes that open up as the tyre wears down, helping to channel even more of the slippery stuff away from goodness of the tyre’s footprint. It’s all good stuff, and contributes significantly to the overall revolution of the Road 5.