New Michelin Pilot Activ tires...reviews?

[stefan]

Anybody that are using the new Michelin Pilot Activ tires for the K1200LT? According to my dealer they are the replacement for the "old" Macadam 50 tires.

I am about to put on new tires next week and would appreciate reviews, if available.

Best regards,

Stefan

[Dick]

Anybody that are using the new Michelin Pilot Activ tires for the K1200LT? According to my dealer they are the replacement for the "old" Macadam 50 tires.

I am about to put on new tires next week and would appreciate reviews, if available.

Best regards,

Stefan
Stefan - I looked at the Michelin website and they don't list the BMW K1200LT under any tire model. At least, under the USA section. I didn't look at worldwide pages, tho. You might check those pages. HTH.

[dshealey]

Anybody that are using the new Michelin Pilot Activ tires for the K1200LT? According to my dealer they are the replacement for the "old" Macadam 50 tires.

I am about to put on new tires next week and would appreciate reviews, if available.

Best regards,

Stefan

Nice to know Michelin has something else to try. Their previous offerings for the LT have not been very good, or at least not well reviewed by the very few LT riders who have ever tried them.

Well Stefan, everyone is waiting for your report! You get to be first. :D

[dshealey]

Anybody that are using the new Michelin Pilot Activ tires for the K1200LT? According to my dealer they are the replacement for the "old" Macadam 50 tires.

I am about to put on new tires next week and would appreciate reviews, if available.

Best regards,

Stefan

I just checked 5 websites, including the Michelin one, and only the front rated for the LT is available: 120/70-17 58V.

No rear!

They are not radials either, Michelin says they are "Cross ply", which I take to mean "bias".

[Dick]

I just checked 5 websites, including the Michelin one, and only the front rated for the LT is available: 120/70-17 58V.

No rear!

They are not radials either, Michelin says they are "Cross ply", which I take to mean "bias".
David - I checked their Sweden pages and they still list the Macadam 50s for the front and rear tires of the LT. They do have a Michelin pair for the Goldwing 1500s, butt I guess those were rated for a lesser weight, and different tire construction than required on LTs.

[stefan]

For some reason "their" website does not have the information the dealer gave me. And, it is not a radial, neither was the Macadam 50.

I did send an e-mail to Michelin tonight, just to have them confirm to me directly that this tire is a capable replacement and able to "hold the Weight".

There should be a rear tire available, but I am only replacing the front for now anyway, so it is fine with me. According to Michelin, the major difference in this new tire vs. the Macadam is the contained grip as the tire wears.

The price for the front tire out the door, mounted and balance, here in Sweden is $150.00.

It'll be on next Wednesday and if the darn snow and ice could hurry up and melt, I'll post a report if nobody beats me to it. I really miss San Diego, Dave!! We had -9°C this morning.

Stefan

[Malki]

My personal experience with Michelin Macadam 50's and 90's is that they are extremely hard wearing but suffer very poor wet weather performance.
They ruined a 6 country tour I was doing of Europe due to their poor grip in less than ideal conditions - scary in fact - I binned them for BT 020's as soon as I got home. Not on my LT but a CBR1000F I had at the time.

[bassj]

I just put one on the front of my Trike as they come well reccomended for that with long wear potential and a bias is the best for a trike. I loved the Avons prior to Triking.

[stefan]

Just a short update on the Michelin front tire I put on earlier this year; so far.....it is the best tire I have mounted on the front.

Previous tires are BT020 and ME880's.

Really smooth, good grip and seems to wear fine.

Stefan

[dshealey]

David - I checked their Sweden pages and they still list the Macadam 50s for the front and rear tires of the LT. They do have a Michelin pair for the Goldwing 1500s, butt I guess those were rated for a lesser weight, and different tire construction than required on LTs.

Yeah Dick, I knew about the Macadams, but the question was specifically about the Pilot Activs. We have never heard anything good about the Macadams.

I think the Pilot Sport front size is also load rated for the LT. That is what we run into all the time on tires from different manufacturers. Fronts that will fit and be correctly load rated, but no matching rears.

[BMWrdr]

Michelins? I contacted michelin about using a tire for my LT, and the response I recieved was that Michelin didn't have a tire that could support the weight of the LT!
However, I have used the pilot on my 07" GT and they worked great!
Good Luck with those Michelins!

[kellenbenz]

Normally I read every tire thread but try not to post since many folks on here get burned out with the subject.......Butttt

After over 192000 miles I am still in search of the perfect combination of tires.

My history is this:

First LT was a 2000 LTC
Current LT is a 2003 LTE

Both of my LT's were delivered with Bridgestone Exedras. The fronts cupped quickly and the rears had a reputation of coming apart. About 5k miles on a front and 8k on the rear.

I switched to ME 880's and used them for many many miles. They are durable and I got 12k from the rears and 15k on the fronts. I absolutely could no longer stand the howling after about 4000 miles and went looking for radials for better traction and handling. Not only that, Metzeler prices skyrocketed.

Since BS was out of the question at the time I elected to try Avon storms. I knew they would not get the mileage that the ME880's did. I tried 6 sets of these and every front cupped to the point of bar shake after about 4000 miles. I did and do absolutely love the rear Avon and get 8000 miles from them. I continue to use them on the rear.

Since then I have tried the following front radials....all weight rated for the LT with these results.

Me880 radial- Lasted as long as the rear Avon but had an odd profile that didnt match and was very noisy.

BT-021- Handled well all the way to 5 k miles but was worn to the cord on the left side.

Michelin Pilot Road 2- So far...this may be the answer, but I only have about 4k miles on it...very sticky...handles great...and quiet.


All I want is a set of tires that will go 8 k miles and wear out near the same time that do not cost an arm and a leg and handle well with little noise.

Hopefully some of this information will help others in their decisions. We do need to remember that tire mileage depends a lot on riding style and your environment.

Ron

[Dick]

....snip....

Michelin Pilot Road 2- So far...this may be the answer, but I only have about 4k miles on it...very sticky...handles great...and quiet.


All I want is a set of tires that will go 8 k miles and wear out near the same time that do not cost an arm and a leg and handle well with little noise.

Hopefully some of this information will help others in their decisions. We do need to remember that tire mileage depends a lot on riding style and your environment.

Ron
Ron, when Stefan started this thread back in '06, he listed the Michelin as Pilot Activ --- would that have been the same as what is now called the Pilot Road 2, or is PR2 a next generation?

I've got two sets of ME880s to use up before I need to re-shoe, and I just may try your suggestion. Course, the way I have(n't) been riding lately, it might be awhile!!! :( You'll have more info by then!!! :D