My VFR felt downright tippy after getting used to riding on a squared off rear.
PR4s served me well and probbaly could have lasted another 1500 km .
These feel stciky compared to the PR4s I'm still scrubbing them in but even hard stopping I can
feel the difference which translates to so much more confidence when jumping on the binders.
My VFR is my sportbike. I do not tour or go long distances but I want a tire that will last 3 -4 years.
I' will chime in again at how the bike behaves at more extreme angles.
Ride safe.
Had the Road 5's for some time now and I am impressed with the grip and durability. What I find interesting is the definite visible delineation of the softer edge rubber and the harder center rubber which only appears on the rear. This rear has done 9,200k's
I used to lean enough to touch pegs on the 3rd gen. Not often, but there were a couple of corners on my favorite roads where I'd crest a hill and sometimes they'd just kiss the pavement. And a track day every year or two usually took a little metal off. Ride smooth on a third gen and it won't let go until you've folded the peg completely flat and start grinding hard parts. I replaced the curb feelers every year whether they needed or not and they usually needed it.
I haven't actually ever touched a peg on the 5th gen. I know I can, and I'm genuinely impressed with the stickiness of that Road5 rear for a long-life tire. But with the DMR suspension, the geometry of the bike, and the roads I'm riding these days I have a ton of clearance for how fast I'm going, and I am an old dude who just don't need to go any faster. The roads around here are a lot more crowded than they were 20 years ago, so I never seem to have as much latitude to get a good rhythm going, either. Probably won't touch my chicken strips until I do a track day.
But on topic, the Road 5 is a winner. MUCH better than the 3s I pulled off, and I have a lot of confidence in that rear. I am glad I waited long enough to get them instead of the 4s. And I've got maybe 4000 miles on them with plenty left to go. That's pretty impressive.
Well I've put some miles on these Road5s and I have a pretty big smile on my face.
Great grip when leaned over and super stable at high speeds. Over 230kmh.
Ya ya why are you riding that fast. LOL
Any how you will pay more for the Michelins but to me they are worth it.
U get what you pay for.
Good luck.
Life isn't safe... might as well enjoy your ridiculously overpowered human propulsion device at the kind of speeds it's capable of once in a while. I'd rather have some fun before I inevitably die of cancer or heart disease or get hit by a drunk driver or succumb to some as-of-yet-unknown plague that wipes out a third of humanity or...
Not to wax all philosophical, but the safer we make ourselves as a species, the more things there seem to be to worry about. According to ourworldindata.org in 1800 the health conditions of our ancestors were such that 43% of the world's newborns died before their 5th birthday. If you're old enough to legally ride a motorcycle, you've already beat the odds for much of human history.
That was a kind of a dark tangent for a discussion about tires... sorry. So the Road5s are good then? 😁