[Video Transcript]
Michelin Pilot Road 4
Obvious choice first – the Michelin Pilot Road 4. For 75% of the riders out there – myself included – this is the sport-touring tire to buy.
It’s multi-functional to the max. I like the hard centre belt for increased mileage – you can normally get around 15,000kms on a Pilot Road rear. And I also like the soft side strips for aggressive cornering. But the main thing that makes me want to buy one of these tires is the XST system, which stands for X-Sipe Technology.
When you ride in the rain, the number one danger is hydroplaning. That’s when the tire fails to channel water away from it’s contact path, so you end up sliding on the liquid rather than sticking to the pavement. Which is bad.
You can defeat this problem by moving all the water into a tire’s grooves, but there’s a problem with that. Because as you carve more grooves into the tire, you’re getting less and less contact area to put to the pavement. So it’s a trade off.
Michelin sidesteps this problem with X-sipe. They use these teeny-tiny channels to move the water, so the tire’s contact area isn’t affected very much. Then they provide these wide, deep reservoirs to hold the water out of the way so you don’t hydroplane. It’s incredibly simple but I think it’s genius.
The Pilot Road 4s come in a few variations. This is the standard version, which will work on pretty much any bike. Then there’s a GT version with a stiffer casing for big heavy sport-tourers or two-up riding. And finally there’s the idiotically-named “Trail” version, which is meant for adventure touring bikes that never actually go on the trails. Personally, I hate that last one. The tire itself is fine but why would you put a pavement-only tire on an adventure bike?
Bridgestone Battlax BT-023
Now, the bargain-basement alternative to the Pilot Road 4s is the Bridgestone Battlax BT-023. In this size, the Michelins would cost you 210 dollars while the Bridgestone: 146 bucks.
And I bet you could tell me why. We have dual-compound technology for a high-mileage center belt and grippier cornering edges. We have a silica-based rubber compound that gives good grip in freezing Winnipeg-ish temperatures. And we have a tire construction that can handle even the chunkiest of pillions. So what’s missing?
Water siping technology! Bridgestone says this is good in the rain, and I say – meh. Will it channel water? Yes. Is it safe to ride in the wet? Absolutely, so long as you don’t do anything stupid.
But if I live in subaquatic Vancouver and I’m going to be doing wet-weather panic stops on a daily basis: I’ll spend the extra 60 bucks for a Pilot Road 4.
Having said that, if you live somewhere drier, if you only ride in fair weather, or even if you’re just willing to take it easy in the rain – the Battlax BT-023 is a smart choice that will save you money.
So, we’ve seen two great sport-touring tires. But the last two we’re going to look at lean more towards the “sport” side of that balance. They’re both faster than what we’ve seen already.
Pirelli Angel GT
First up, the Pirelli Angel GT. Two things I love about this tire have absolutely nothing to do with function and but I’m gonna say them anyway. The name – Angel GT – sounds so damn cool. And the tread pattern – just look at it. Trust the Italians when it comes to fashion. It’s like a razor-sharp butterfly wing or something.
Anyway, this tire can back up its looks. Pirelli calls it an EMS tire – Extended Mileage Sport. So basically, it’s a supersport tire that they beefed up a little for touring. Sure it can take a chunky motorcycle over 10,000 kilometers but where it really shines is speed.
The Angel GT is for the sport rider who goes touring. You’ve thrown a couple sidecases on your Yamaha R1 and bought a hi-viz helmet. Good for you – go buy this tire ‘cause it’s perfect for you. As a testament to its sportiness, Pirelli made the grooves shallower and shallower as you get closer to the edge. They’re basically saying – hey – if you have the balls to ride your sport-tourer out here, we’ll give you a slick strip to do it on. And I love that. I’d probably never make use of it. But I love it.
The Angel GT does have a couple variations you should be aware of. There’s an A-spec, which has a stronger carcass and is meant for heavier rigs. Then there’s the D-spec, which was specifically designed for the Ducati Multistrada GT. So it’s basically useless, unless you happen to have that particular motorcycle.
There’s also the Angel ST, which people think is a variation of the GT but it’s not. It’s just an older version and it’s crap, so don’t buy it.
Metzeler Roadtec Z8
Finally, a very similar tire to the Angel GT is the Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact.
Is it surprising that these tires are similar? No. Pirelli has owned Metzeler for the last 30 years and all of their tires are made in the same factory in Germany. There are even conspiracy theories that the Z8 and the Angels are actually the same tire with different tread patterns.
To be honest, I don’t care if they did re-use the tire construction. Because it’s done well. Metzeler has found a way to modulate the tensions of their steel belts. So we have tight, firm steel in the middle and looser belts on the sides. At this point, I’m sure you know why that’s a good thing.
All the usual goodies are here too: silica compound for wet and cold grip, water-siping grooves and various carcass constructions: M-spec for lighter bikes, O-spec with an additional ply for heavy loads, and a few one-off specs for specific BMW and Yamaha models.
I should say that the Metzelers and the Pirellis do differ in two areas. One – this tire is 213 dollars while the equivalent Pirelli is 225. To me, twelve dollars isn’t worth making a decision over, so I pay attention to the second difference: The Metzeler’s tread pattern is slightly better for going fast in the rain. While the Pirelli’s tread pattern is slightly better for dry conditions. I ride a lot in adverse weather so for me, I’ll take the Metzelers and keep my twelve dollars to boot.
So that’s it for my favorite sport-touring tires! If you want the all-around best tire and safest tire in the rain, go with the Pilot Road 4. If you don’t mind losing a bit of wet-weather control, you can save 60 bucks by going with the Battlax BT-023. And if you mainly care about going fast, choose the Pirelli Angel GT for speed on the dry and the Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact for speed on the wet.
As always you can find product links below this video. Please leave me a comment if you have a question or if I messed something up. And as always, thank you very much for watching.