WORDS & PHOTOS: RAY HERON
S
ome people say you’ll never find the
perfect tyre, while others swear by one
brand or model. Which tyres you should
put on your bike really does depend on who
you’re talking to. But I’ve come to realise
finding the perfect tyre for your ride depends
not just on the riding you do, but where you
ride too. It might sound stilly, but not all
tarmac roads in NZ are created equally.
BIG CLAIMS
Michelin says it set out to improve on the
Pilot Road 4 tyres. It wanted to create a tyre
with unequalled wet weather performance,
that also had the ability to last. I know many
would say that was a big ask to begin with.
However... I can confirm the Michelin Road
5s are excellent tyres, ready for almost any
tarmac surface NZ has to throw at them.
They cover all the basics, they’re black (not
actually a prerequisite), round (tyres 101),
hold air (if you avoid nails and screws), and,
most importantly, they’ve kept my trusty
daily commuter Yamaha MT-07 moving
forward. But further to this, they’re brilliant
at dispersing water on the motorway. They
give fantastic feedback all the way through
each corner. And they stick to the road right
from cold, inspiring confidence from go to
woah.
9000 COMMUTER MILES
I have now completed some 9000km on
these tyres. That’s around 8000km of
Wellington motorway commuting in all
weather, and around 1000km of weekend
open road winter touring and spirited
mountain pass riding.
If we break that down and look at one aspect
of my daily route, that’s a minimum of 400
times over the Wainuiomata hill road, a
road commonly used by Wellington riders to
‘scrub in’ new tyres. This road was designed
in the early 1900s, and likely done ‘by eye’.
From Lower Hutt to Wainuiomata the road
climbs 195 meters in 1.9km, resulting in an
average grade of 10.3%, with many of the
sweeping corners off camber.
Why have I talked about the Wainuiomata
hill road in so much detail? Well, my Michelin
Road 5 tyres have lasted well, with plenty
of life left in them in the middle, where
the compound is harder. But the softer
shoulders of the tyres are being absolutely
smashed. And it comes down to not just the
style of riding I do, but where I ride.
If I were just doing the Remutaka’s or the
Hundalee’s every now and then, these tyres
would be absolutely perfect. Talking with
some local motorcyclists who also use the
KIWI RIDER 31