Every now and then I read something on another forum that is so important it needs to be communicated to the international forum, the more when safety is involved.
A member started a new topic in the German forum about his bad experience with Michelin Road Classic tyres. Not much later there was this reply:
"Hi everyone, [...] I'm 59 years old and from Schleswig-Holstein. I've been riding a 500cc K1 since 2010-24, with just under 10.000 km on the odometer. This spring I thought new tyres wouldn't hurt at the start of the season (the old ones were Bridgestone BT45).
I then read reviews and decided on the Michelin Road Classic in 3.25 x 19 and 4.00 x 18. The bike bounced so much between 50-85 km/h that riding was no longer fun. I then installed another new Road Classic, and everything was "fine-balanced and fine-tuned" (including a new wheel bearing, rim centering, spoke tension adjustment, etc.).
The bounce is still there, absolutely no improvement. In the meantime, I've tried new fork oil, progressive springs (Wirth), new stanchions from the aftermarket, and special lubricant to reduce the stickslip [? Can't think of the correct word right now, DR] – all to no avail! Then I installed the Bridgestone Battlax BT46 as my third new tire, and it's been quiet ever since. I also asked Michelin about this and learned that the Road Classic isn't suitable for the CB 500 Four.
Michelin recommends the Active Road or something similar, but since I had concerns, I preferred Bridgestone.
Oh yes, in the meantime, I had installed a friend's complete front wheel to rule out other sources of error, which made the bike run completely vibration-free (it was a Heidenau mounted without any balancing measures)!! So be careful if you are thinking about installing the Michelin Road Classic on a 500cc bike; otherwise, the tyre looks perfect on the bike and rides safely and well, except for the aforementioned speed range."
