![]() I'm about to buy a GSX-R1000 for commuting and the odd bit of lunacy, and although the Road 2s are a sport-touring tyre, I'd fit them without hesitation. There were no slides, no crashes, but everyone rode like lunatics and the Pilot Road 2s stuck to the road. Any meaningful testing went out the window and it was every man for himself. Led by a Michelin employee who had evidently fallen into a tub of red mist as a child, it was 10/10ths peg scraping as we twisted and turned for 60 glorious miles. I plonked my helmet onto a Yamaha FZ1 and off we went. On the open roads around the beautiful Gorges du Verdon, Michelin provided a selection of high-powered, high-weight motorcycles to try their tyres on turn-and-shoot French mountain roads. Now you could feel the tyres generating grip, allowing you to push within safe limits instead of blindly hoping the rubber would hold.Īnd what's more, all this was scientifically proven to be true! The datalogging showed we were four seconds a lap faster on the Road 2s, a massive jump when you consider top speeds were no more than 60mph and all the time saved was in the corners. Braking came later, cornering was faster, and the Bandit felt alive and fun to ride even on this skating rink of doom. Michelin swear pressures and suspension settings were identical, but the transformation was total. The next four laps on the Road 2s were a revelation. Fortunately after four miserable laps the chequered flag was waved. With no feeling from either tyre and the absolute cream of British journalists watching, it was quite the most pathetic display of riding I've ever been responsible for. Having not ridden a bike in six months, I feebled about with my sphincter tighter than a snare-drum and the front tyre trying to wash-out on every corner through an inch of standing water. Our bike was a Bandit 1250 with Michelin's old Pilot Roads and it was utterly lethal out there. ![]()
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