[Winged_GSA]

FWIW - I recently replaced my Anakee Adventures with the Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2's and couldn't be happier. They stick like glue on the tarmac and are very quiet. Now, as far as their dirt performance I can't really attest to anything other than riding on hard-packed gravel. They were adequate for that but I wouldn't venture off-road for much more than that. I will buy them again though.

 

[bosnjo]

FWIW - I recently replaced my Anakee Adventures with the Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2's and couldn't be happier. They stick like glue on the tarmac and are very quiet. Now, as far as their dirt performance I can't really attest to anything other than riding on hard-packed gravel. They were adequate for that but I wouldn't venture off-road for much more than that. I will buy them again though.

Those will be my next tires.

 

[Slijkmoto]

That is very decent of you, but what if this dangerous tire leads to an accident ?
Your insurance company may refuse to cover if they can prove that you knowingly continued to ride a dangerous bike, out of (admirable) compassion for you tire dealer …
Insurance companies aren’t famous for their empathy, you know…

 

[bosnjo]

That is very decent of you, but what if this dangerous tire leads to an accident ?
Your insurance company may refuse to cover if they can prove that you knowingly continued to drive a dangerous bike, out of (admirable) compassion for you tire dealer …
Insurance companies aren’t famous for their empathy, you know…

Everything you say is a true. However, I will not accept the replacement tires from the shop, for the reasons I mentioned above. I will buy new tires as soon as possible. As only the front tire is the problem here, I was wondering if (just for a few months) changing only front tire to Scorpion Trail 2 and leaving Road 6 at the rear would do any harm in bike's handling. Again, it will be just until next spring.
I have 40 years of riding and bikes owning experience but cannot recall owning any bike with tires different between front and rear.

 

[Slijkmoto]

Neither did I, because I believe that front and rear tires are always developed by manufacturers as a set that is supposed to work together... .
However as long as you stick to the same type of tire ( "road" in your case) I don't think there will be major handling issues.

 

[DirtDog]

I'm running two different brands right now, a Shinko 705 up front & Metzler Tourance rear that replaces the worn out Shinko 705 rear. The Tourance was replaced by the Shinko's for a trip knowing it was too worn to make the trip & now is back on. I don't notice any difference in handling than when the rear & front matched, so I wouldn't worry much about mixing tires, besides what could it be, worse than the matched set of Michelins?

 

[Fattireguy]

I also have a set of Pirelli Trail Attack II‘s on my 12 GS. Very happy with these tires. Handle great, are very quiet and considering that the coastal and coast mountain roads of Northern California are seldom straight, 8 K mileage is good. As a bonus, the bike handles essentially the same with the tires worn as when new. Off-road I stick to hard packed dirt. I’m about ready to buy my next set. Now if only the price increases would slow down or reverse. Oh well!

 

[bosnjo]

There are some other bikes' forums that discuss the same problem, with owners complaining of the Road 6 pulling to the left.
This is just one of them, as an example:
Michelin Road 6 pulls to the left

 

[Quattroa4m]

There are some other bikes' forums that discuss the same problem, with owners complaining of the Road 6 pulling to the left.
This is just one of them, as an example:
Michelin Road 6 pulls to the left

Thanks for putting the link up. This is a relatively recent event as well...on a totally different bike.

 

[Single T]

2 months ago I took off my Michelin Anakee's that came with the bike (new). I liked those tires but just couldn't stand the noise from the front. So, decided to go with model I liked a lot. On my previous bikes I always used Michelin Road (Pilot) 2, 3, 4 and 5. So, as I was always happy with them, I've chosen Michelin Road 6.
The first impession was great. On the way out of the garage that installed them, the front was dead quiet. It felt so good. Few days later, on the highway, I went over 150 km/h (93mph) and the rear started to "dance". It was swerving left-right-left. I lowered the speed and it was OK. I went up again and the swerving started again. I've got even more speed and it was still there. So I went to different highway with newer surface. Still the same... Tried 3rd highway, different surface again, still the same. I was not happy. At that point I thought that tires were new and needed some time, as previous models of that tire were always great on my bikes.
2-3 days later, just out of fun, I let go my handlebars and bike violently swerved left. Tried few times on different speeds, it was still turning left... a lot. Went back to the dealer that installed those tires and he did all the procedure of front fork alignment . It was just a bit better but not solved and still dangerous.
Now, 2 months later and 1500 miles more, nothing has changed. All the problems are still there.
I researched through the hundreds of forums for different bikes and many riders encountered the same problems with Road 6 on their bikes (non BMW). They say it's not bad batch. The tire is wrong.
I am shocked. Those tires were expensive and I could sware in the previous models quality.
What the hell is this??????
So, I'll keep them through the winter and look for new tires in the spring. I will have to research for the best 100% pavement tire for my bike. I want good grip and I don't care about durability as sticky tires don't last long and those are that I want.
On the original tires, I had none of the problems described above.
Hard earned money thrown away.

Conti Trail Attack III. I've run four sets and no issues on my 2014 R1200GS (currently 104,200 miles). The lowest mileage at replacement was over 18,000 miles (Arizona), best over 22,000 (California). Great warm-up and no issues from 25 degrees F to 123 F. Excellent handling over all expansion cracks from 10 degrees to 90 degrees.

 

[60Aviator]

I have the Road 6 GTs on the RT, no issues and really great tires so far.

 

[Stray Trons]

I'll see in Spring if I can get Scorpions Trail 2.

I swapped to the ST2's on my '18 GSA after about 6 month's on the original knobbies. I put knobbies on a second set of rims for playing in the desert of western NV. So far I'm on my third set of the ST2's and have not found a place or condition they don't handle very well. From heavy rains on the road to the always sketchy sugar sand trails, these perform. I have only had one minor issue with a front tire, that I think may have been caused by a pothole causing damage to the structure of the tire.

 

[M'cai]

Any opinions on which "road oriented" tires offer good puncture resistance? I currently run Shinko 705 front and rear but am considering changing over to something a bit quieter. Can't beat the cost of the Shinkos but I've seen a few reports where inmates who switched to "highway" tires, with a different rubber compound than the Shinkos, reported more punctures.

LOL...looking for the "Bo Derek" of tires...longevity, quiet, good puncture resistance...

 

[erniehood]

2 months ago I took off my Michelin Anakee's that came with the bike (new). I liked those tires but just couldn't stand the noise from the front. So, decided to go with model I liked a lot. On my previous bikes I always used Michelin Road (Pilot) 2, 3, 4 and 5. So, as I was always happy with them, I've chosen Michelin Road 6.
The first impession was great. On the way out of the garage that installed them, the front was dead quiet. It felt so good. Few days later, on the highway, I went over 150 km/h (93mph) and the rear started to "dance". It was swerving left-right-left. I lowered the speed and it was OK. I went up again and the swerving started again. I've got even more speed and it was still there. So I went to different highway with newer surface. Still the same... Tried 3rd highway, different surface again, still the same. I was not happy. At that point I thought that tires were new and needed some time, as previous models of that tire were always great on my bikes.
2-3 days later, just out of fun, I let go my handlebars and bike violently swerved left. Tried few times on different speeds, it was still turning left... a lot. Went back to the dealer that installed those tires and he did all the procedure of front fork alignment . It was just a bit better but not solved and still dangerous.
Now, 2 months later and 1500 miles more, nothing has changed. All the problems are still there.
I researched through the hundreds of forums for different bikes and many riders encountered the same problems with Road 6 on their bikes (non BMW). They say it's not bad batch. The tire is wrong.
I am shocked. Those tires were expensive and I could sware in the previous models quality.
What the hell is this??????
So, I'll keep them through the winter and look for new tires in the spring. I will have to research for the best 100% pavement tire for my bike. I want good grip and I don't care about durability as sticky tires don't last long and those are that I want.
On the original tires, I had none of the problems described above.
Hard earned money thrown away.

Try a pair of ContiTrail Atack 3

 

[pbs]

I have 17 gs that had trouble that turned out to be the spoke rear wheel. It appeared right after a tire change. BMW didn’t want to honor warranty, but tweeting about it helped get their attention. They replaced rear wheel, but I applied that to replacement with cast wheels. It’s never run better! I’m all street. I have mich 6 on a 15 Triumph Trophy I just bought. They were brand new. They’re fine, but my preferred tire is Dunlop Roadsmart 3 or 4 (they don’t make a 4 for the front). I love them! Less expensive, longer life, great handling! I run them on my 19 Multi too and they dramatically improved the handling over the stock pirellis. Check the spoke wheels thoroughly, and twitter is your friend.

 

[bosnjo]

I have cast wheels. The last motorcycle I owned with spoked wheels was back in 1987. If spoked wheels were the only option for GS, I wouldn't own GS.
As I wrote previously, I did the test by changing back to previous tire at the front and the problem was solved. So, no more doubts. The problem is in the front tire.

 

[bosnjo]

Just a small update.
As expected, Michelin has never replied to me nor to the shop. As I hear around (just a rumors) they have a ton of complaints about Road 6. I'll hold my tires and ride carefully until Spring. If by then Michelin doesn't issue the recall (and I'm sure they won't), I will say goodbye to Michelin forever (car or bike) as I feel cheated.

 

[Quattroa4m]

Just a small update.
As expected, Michelin has never replied to me nor to the shop. As I hear around (just a rumors) they have a ton of complaints about Road 6. I'll hold my tires and ride carefully until Spring. If by then Michelin doesn't issue the recall (and I'm sure they won't), I will say goodbye to Michelin forever (car or bike) as I feel cheated.

Odds are, Michelin won't respond. Unless you've got a major distributor of theirs going to bat for you (and they've seen issues as well), losing a customer isn't going to bother them.

Most tire manufacturers have had issues over time. Unless they're forced to issue a recall, you're just yesterday's sale...unfortunately.

Look forward to your next set of Continentals, etc.

 

[pperry1966]

I went back with another set of Anakees after getting close to 15K out of them. Noise seems to be a common complaint, but honestly, there is so much noise associated with riding a motorcycle in general that I struggle be able to isolate it soley on the tires.
I guess that's a benefit of being somewhat hard of hearing, wearing a helmet and '80's hair band music rockin thru the Cardo

 

[lenny1672007]

Went back to the shop that installed my Road 6. They still had my old Anakee's. I explained I wanted to test my front tire by installing back my old Anakee. As they were informed by me previously about the problem, they said they'll do it free of charge and then put back Road 6, free of charge too. So they did, balanced it and I went for a test ride. The result is, the bike was perfect again. No pulling left at all. Then I went to one highway to see about the rear swerving, and that one was gone too. So everything was back to perfect. Went back to the shop, they put Road 6 again, balanced it and I went to the same roads for the test. Bike was pulling left again and the rear was swerving on the highway.
So, I have my conclusions now. It's the front tire.

Experiencing pulling to the left as well, but not as severe as yours
Installed the 6's in place of a worn set of Anakees and noticed the bike drifts to the left
when letting go of the bars. The anakees I could ride with no hands until I run out of fuel
I don't feel it's a safety issue but sure is damn annoying since my bike used to go as straight as piss
with no rider inputs.... so yeah more work for me when I go hands free when on cruise during long empty highway runs
Should of learned my lesson from a pair of Road 4's on my old Connie- Had a shimmy at 80+ MPH that potentially could of developed into a slapper. If it's truly a bad batch of tires on both occasions then I guess the tire gods don't want me on Pilot Roads. I guess if I ever ghost ride the bike it won't go to far.
Should of stuck with my first choice Conti Trail 3