Best Motorcycle Tires of 2023 | Gear Guides

Tires are arguably the most important part on your motorcycle, and Spurgeon is joined by Patrick Garvin of J&P Cycles fame to bring you our top picks for motorcycle tires this year. Whether you’re on a big ole cruiser or a nimble sport bike on the track, we’ve got you covered. Tell us what you think about our top picks and what kind of rubber you’re running on your ride!

0:00 Intro
0:54 Best All-Around Street Tire
2:23 Best Performance Cruiser Tire
3:40 Best High Mileage Cruiser Tire
3:14 Best Sport/Race Tire
5:30 Best Road-Centric ADV Tire
6:39 Best 50/50 ADV Tire
8:00 Best Off-Road ADV Tire
9:24 Best Motocross Tires
10:41 Best Performance Trail Tires

[bikedude]

I have the Road 6 on my Bandit 1250. I had Road 5 before this. It's hard to believe but I instantly found the 6 a better tire. More neutral, instant grip and now that I have about 6K on them, the 6 wears better. It was a smart move by Michelin to separate the large rain grooves from the small ones. This minimizes tire role so you get lest cupping. I am very happy so far. Like I said, I currently have 6K not hem but they are only about 1/2 worn. Based on the mileage Revzilla is stating for the Road 5, I have only seen about 1/2 to less mileage (average about 5-8K). So far the Road 6 has proven to be very grippy in the dry and WET and is holding up better than the Road 5. Very impressed.

[tech]

I put a pair of Road 6's on my 22 Versys 1000 SE LT +. Whole new bike. Incredible.

[wanaoo]

road 6 is the best allrounder, but the price is quite high, ofcourse they turn out to be the cheapest if you consider mileage/price

[hyedefinition]

Vouching for the Road 6's and their light off-roadability lol.
I was in the twisties this weekend, somehow missed the road signage indicating the end of pavement and went 30+ MPH on to a declining dirt road on my Z900RS. The tires didn't slip, slowed down and helped my U-Turn from a decline to incline. Scary stuff, the OEM tires would've lost traction for sure.

[brantfurr]

The Pirelli Scorpion Rally front tire, with the Bridgestone Battle Battlax AX41 in the rear is one of my very favorite off-road ADV tire combos. I think the Pirelli front is one of the best choices on the market right now, and the Bridgestone rear actually has better lateral stability than the Pirelli...

[PureEvolution]

Great video guys i just got a set of road 6s on my MT09Sp and there amazing right from the go

[EllaBananas]

Picked up a set of dunlop mutants this year to try something a little bit different, and so far I've been very impressed with the way they feel

[jfess]

Thank you for the guide. Another category that would be very helpful would be "Best BUDGET Motorcycle Tires", A lot of riders are short on money or just cheapskates but still enjoy riding. When I was young and broke I held off on new tires for my old CB360T a bit too long. The rear blew while in traffic on a California freeway at over 60 mph. There are times where having "pretty good" newer tires on a bike are better than holding out until you can afford "great tires. In my case, the rear started swinging to the side and it was everything I could do to slow down and get to the side of the road without crashing. I was gripping the tank so tightly with my knees that I was surprised I hadn't dented it!
Thanks

[deangruwell]

Cool to hear about the road 6 .. i just put a new set on my Suzuki GSXR 1000R last week

[The.JZA.]

Just got a Road 6 on the rear of my 390 Duke. Will change the front over in a month or two since they didnt have it in stock and my front still has a little life left in it. Feels pretty good so far.

[HarajukuShinji]

I use pirelli angel st since 2019 on kawasaki ninja 650r. Best quality for the price. I'm picking my 4th set tomorrow, I make 10-12k km on them every season.

[itsboomtime]

For a 1250GSA on the road with some gravel roads thrown in.... would the Continental Trail Attack 3 be a better choice than the Road 6?

[zero_grip_gs]

Before buying my current scrambler, i've had a gs500e, a bandit 600 and a cb650f. I haven't tried the new road 6 (nor will I, as i only use 50/50 tires now). I've had roadsmarts, diablo IV, pr3, pr4 and road 5 (which were short lived because of a puncture), then I've tried the roadtecs 01, I went through 3 sets of these, before changing to m9rr. As stated above, i havent tried the R6's, but of all the tires i had, the metzelers were heaps ahead. I ride over 20k kms per year, in hot weather and sometimes through storms. I'm not sponsored, in my experience there is no better sports-touring tire.

[John_Ridley]

Whew, just bought a new rear for my vstrom, it arrived early this week, glad to see it was the top pick. Conti trail attack 3.

[johnklein]

2021 mt09 and only 5000 miles from road 6, got 6000 from angel gt. What pressures are you running to get 18000? I'm 55 years old and ride aggressive but not that aggressive. Can't justify price for the Michelins at all.

[driver]

I found the Bridgestone battlax adventure cross ax41 rear tire to be lacking grip on road, off road it was a fantastic tire. I agree with Bridgestone that it'd a 60/40 not a 50/50

[ghassanalfarra]

Michelin Road 6 on a Suzuki GSX1250FA here .. exactly 10, 000km so far of mixed riding, and the rear has worn off by aprox. 40% .. expecting to get 20, 000km or 12, 000miles out of it before new tyres are due. In PSI I run r42/f36 .. only occasionally with a pillion
needless to say, I'll buy the same again.

[EvLSpectre]

I am a Motoz GPS rear and ADV front. For my ADV tire choice. Massive amounts of life, still good on the dirt, and road, and better than the K60 in wet.

[EUKBIKER]

I use battle axe T31 tyres on my bike. Rarely go off road, i normally get about 10, 000 - 12, 000 miles out the rear, i like them even though i get loads of people telling me theyre shite, once worn in i can bank so hard i get my knee down on my versys 650 and still have confidence that i can line it back up. Only time ive had a issue is turning so sharp that ive actually gone off the edge of the wheel and bike started falling over, but pushed my knee into floor to get it back on the tyre and carried on like it was nothing. Upset at moment though, wheel bearings have gone lol so cant ride it.

[mrvwbug]

Not sure who your Road 5 users are, but I've never gotten more than 7500 out of a rear Road 5. On a Versys 650 with a fair amount of canyon riding, but wear has generally been even without the center going flat, center and sides are usually on the wear bars at the same time. Cupping can be an issue if you ride twisties a lot