MICHELIN POWER 5

When carrying out what is almost certainly the biggest and most comprehensive sportsbike test anywhere on this planet, it’s incredibly important that we keep things just about as fair as can be. So just like many top-tier racing championships around the world, we opted for a control tyre, in order to have every single bike on equal rubber. This year, we’ve stepped things up a notch and teamed up with MotoGP tyre supplier Michelin – and it wasn’t just any old rubber that we were going to be abusing. Oh no, it was their newly developed Power 5, which has just hit the market after many years and millions of euros in development. So what makes the Power 5 so special? Well, it’s the fact the tyre is not only made to take on trackday-spec knee-skids, but also to look after you through thousands of miles of road riding. Oh, and let’s not forget its trump card, which is to give some serious performance in the dodgiest of wet conditions as well… think of them as the very sportiest and fastest touring tyres. Michelin have done this by packing the Power 5s with a whole heap of tech, starting with the compound, which integrates both silica and carbon black for a big old lump of grip when you need it the very most. It’s not just out-and-out grip that Michelin have been focusing on though, as the Power 5 has been crafted as an absolute corker when it comes to wet weather riding. The brains behind the boots have stuck their Michelin 2CT compound on the front alongside their Michelin 2CT+ at the rear, which looks after you, and your pride and joy, when the rain starts falling. These compounds have been purposely designed to give the very best performance levels in the wet from a road tyre, meaning even when (and not if) the heavens open, you can still have the confidence to keep it wide open. As we know though, it’s absolutely vital to look smart as well as going fast, which is exactly why Michelin have gifted the Power 5s with a new tread design and sidewall section that integrates Michelin’s ‘Premium Touch Technology’. But what is this, I hear you ask? Well it’s actually a new Michelin patented laser-based technology, etched into the side of the tyre. It works by causing light to be absorbed differently in different places of the rubber, which provide a deep and menacing shade of black, in order to make the tyre stand out from the crowd. Pretty trick if you ask us. Now, we thrashed these hoops for hundreds of miles on each machine; they endured everything from heavy downpours to flat-chat dyno runs, long road blasts to rolling burnouts and even a full day on track – and they didn’t falter. For a road-based tyre that’s going to do the mileage, and give pretty exceptional grip in the wet, you’d be hard pressed to find a better alternative…