Michelin Macadam 100X Tyre review

[DemonWolf]

Purchased a set of Michelin Macadam 100X tyres for the TL1000s
(wanted Pilot powers, but were out of my price range)

After scuffing the tyres (which was a very interesting and not confidence building experience ..) after 80-100km's I was still not very confident in the tyres, especially the front.. Going to work Friday I was very tentative, I was starting to think I may have blundered getting a harder compound tyre for the longer wear.. but the ride home was much better as I started to get use to the tyres and them scuffing in properly.

Had a trip to Wanganui in the weekend, and I've rebuilt and gained more confidence in these tyres and my riding ability, the cornering performance has improved immensely with also more feel\control and I can also be more aggressive :

Of course this has to be all put into perspective, I've never had 2 brand new tyres on a high performance bike before... the front tyre prolly should have been replaced long long ago. And I've been told that the Z6 rear was more than likely over inflated.. which attributed to it be shagged after 3.5-4k (grrr).. and dont trust Service Station tyre gauges!

I'm enjoying these tyres

[froggyfrenchman]

Yeah i just did hastings to pearoa and back (up the coast and back down through taupo) on a borrowed fzr750 running two near new macadams. Wasnt too confidant with them from hastings to gisborne, but through the opatiki gorge i got real carried away and started scraping everything that could touch the ground, stopped 1/2way through the gorge and my mates 1 and a half inches of chicken strip was gone. The rear had big rolls of rubber ripping from the front of the tread patterns and the missis was white as a ghost! Took it much easier for the rest of this weekends 1100 odd km. I was truly impressed with those tyres for the price.

[Zapf]

And I've been told that the Z6 rear was more than likely over inflated.. which attributed to it be shagged after 3.5-4k (grrr)..

did they say why over inflating your tires will make them wear out faster?

[DemonWolf]

The centre of the Z6 were gone with plenty of tread on the sides but no they didn't say why.. but I'm guessing there was no 'good' tyre contact on the road...
-
well I wasn't ripping it up as much as that... a couple pics after 300k's done over the weekend.

[steved]

I'd be interested in the real-world durability of a tyre like this. If you could update this after 6 thousand kays or so, that would be cool.

[merv]

Here's a recent post by me commenting on the 100X tyres on my VFR http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...913#post483913

[DemonWolf]

Will update =)

[Lou Girardin]

They're factory fit on the Bandit, I was wary of them at first, but they haven't let me down yet. They don't feel as secure as the Z6's when pushing on a bit and the rear was well feathered out to the edges after the East Cape ride. Older tech tyres don't seem to cope with hard use quite so well.
I think I'll stick with the Metz's.

[MSTRS:Me]

Wear-wise 100X's are great. Value for money - yep. Performance over all conditions/riding styles - you gets what you pays for eh.
Had one on the front of the 1100 with a Mez4 on the rear. Only whoopsy moment was in the wet on a 25kph-rated corner & then it was both tyres in equal measure (the bike slid sideways maybe a foot). Did a trackday at Taupo & had no issues with slippage. BUT I would say "100X is a touring tyre so don't expect too much of it in the roadholding stakes when it is cold and/or wet"

[DemonWolf]

Cheers MSTRS, will watch it when winter swings on by..

[MSTRS:Me]

Perhaps I should add that I only dropped (unfortunate term, that) the 100X when I replaced the Mez4 on the rear. I went with matched Z6's. This was after maybe 12,000ks. The 100X looked good for at least the same again, with minimal & even wear.

[Fishy]

A mate of mine used to run them on his CBR600 and said they were good all round tyres but weren't the best when really pushing them on the road.

[DemonWolf]

Gotta agree with you Fishlayer,

Lastnight went on the local Pie'N'Pint ride.. We done the Carrington Street loop hooking up to SH45 with a couple detours.. well I was finding under heavy braking that the rear was sliding out on me slightly going around very sharp cornering... also had a moment going over a single lane bridge with wire mess on it... a rather interesting experience of sliding off the designated 'raised' tyre path and into the rut. (the guy 20m behind me was wondering what the fuck I was doing!).

I've got every confidence in the tyre's for the daily commute (though I naturally take it easy on some sections of it.. not overly fond of large black tar with no sign of stone chip.. and of some shady road repairs and reseals) and I'm also confident in pushing on nice open roads without any below 45 KPH corners.

Gotta keep reminding myself that these tyres are 'touring' class, not high performance sport tyres that are ultra sticky.

Also found that out the other day pulling up to my driveway.. locked the rear, and had to take a detour straighthrough or I wouldn't have made the driveway.

Tyres still look in very good nic =)

[rustys]

I sell lots Mich Macadams 100X tyres to mates of mine. These are going on all sorts of bikes, and i've never had one complaint about them, these are more designed for the touring market type bikes, and are good value for money.Slightly cheaper than Bridgestones.They do take a little longer to warm up so dont push them to soon.I have a GSXR-750v with them on and run 42psi rear 36psi front, softing them down a bit for colder and wet weather.On average i'am getting 9 to 10000klm out of them, if i was going push the bike hard i would change over to more softer compound tyre.We put some Mac 100 on a Honda SP1 V twin and got 8000klms out of them.I also run Mac 100s on my Suzuki GSX 1100 and get 10000klms rear and up to 12000klms front. I say to some people to order tyres early before you need them, let them sit awhile i think you get a little more mileage out of them, also the shipments of tyres are fairly small coming into the country that the selection when you want a specific tyre you may not be able to get, as lots are pre ordered from the supplier before they arrive,we all ride differently, and everyones opinion is different. Hopes this helps guys.

Have fun and "GROW OLD DISGRACFULLY"

[DemonWolf]

Cheers Rustys... very good comments.

I suspect that the tyre's weren't up to full operating temperatures.... though I should be careful not to try and push it to hard on the tight corners especially when I'm not 100% confident.

Your other tidbits will come in handy =)