I am ready for a new rear tire on the V-Strom, but decided to wait until Spring. That turned out to be a fortunate decision.
A couple of weeks ago, Glen from Sport Tour called to say their Michelin rep is looking for someone who could write a review for a new motorcycle tire they have developed for the adventure bike market—like the V-Strom. Would I be interested in testing a set of tires? Tell me more, I said. What are the conditions?
Turns out, Michelin is looking for an honest and fair review of this new tire, and so I agreed to write a review and also produce a couple of You Tube videos.
In that first phone conversation, Glen said, “They look different.” Yes. They are quite different looking from the typical adventure tire. But, that seems to be part of Michelin’s research and design. Most adventure bike miles are on paved roads, so it appears there is a sport tire component to the design. The deep tread appears to be for the unpaved roads, and the interesting part of the tread are those little bevels and wedge cuts. Michelin says the tire is designed to release mud and gravel and give the tire more bite in the dirt. Interesting. This could truly be an adventure.
After agreeing to write the reviews, the tires were mounted on the wheels, and I installed them on the bike.
Here’s Part 1 of the video review:
After producing that video, I had the opportunity to take the bike out for a few more miles. I purposefully chose a couple of local roads that have a twisting, up/down hill component with an off camber surface. I wanted to see how these tires were going to grip, and attempt to compare them to tires I am comfortable with—the Metzeler Tourance.
I was quite surprised. These tires have a very good trip on the twisties. I found myself leaning through the curves at a higher than my usual pace. And, the bike just tracked where it was pointed. Secondly, and this one is very hard to quantify, I think these tires are actually quieter on the road than the Tourance.
Granted, this is just a first impression, but it is a very positive one. The real test of these tires is yet to come, and how many miles will I get out of them. The Michelin rep wants them tested “all the way to the end.”
Look for more review of these tires in the upcoming riding season.
See you on the highway.
Brent
Sam Manicom had only been riding motorcycles for three months when he started out to ride around the world on his BMW motorcycle. His lack of riding experience and riding skills might be considered by some to be foolhardy, but it sure provided the fuel for misadventures and a really good read. He wrote and published his first installment of the adventure, Into Africa, and then the subsequent installments, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems. 
D. Brent Miller 