My 25 Zx-14R is at 4K miles, and the stock rear Battlax is getting pretty shallow on its tread depth.

I really want to switch to the Michelin Road 6, but my front stock Battlax is still fine.

Is it stupid to change the rear to a Road 6 and keep the Battlax front until it's worn out?

If you ask me, best practice is to change both front and rear with the same tire. That's what I've always done. That being said, if you're contemplating replacing the rear with another tire that's also mainly commuter/touring oriented, I'd do that and keep the old front if it still has some life in it. If you're cornering the bike hard, I'd go with a brand new matched set.

Both tires are worn out. Look at the front for what is known as step. Where looking at it sideways you'll see one side looking higher than the rear right next to it. Rear will somewhat run higher and not as flat as it is now.

Got a bike going and rode it for months. Then switched to the 14 and found the front felt spooky to steer. Sure it looked OK, but once you turn it into a corner, man it was sketchy.

Do the right thing and change tires as a set.

My 25 Zx-14R is at 4K miles, and the stock rear Battlax is getting pretty shallow on its tread depth.

I really want to switch to the Michelin Road 6, but my front stock Battlax is still fine.

My front seems to wear quicker than the rear, I do a lot
of cornering.
@hub and @rook are way more experienced than I, but I'm getting
decent action out of my front Pirelli Diablo Rosso and rear Pirelli Angel,
the plan is to match the front with a rear Diablo Rosso, and stay
with them as a matched set.
My rear Angel just doesn't want to go yet, still looks great with
lots of tread left. Maybe I should do some burn outs.


I don't have to ride in rain, I think that might be a bigger issue
with mismatching than running on dry pavement, front tires are designed to
push water away from the matched rear, from what I've read.

When this topic came up in the past, I believe it was not recommended to use a front tire that was less sticky than the rear.

When this topic came up in the past, I believe it was not recommended to use a front tire that was less sticky than the rear.

I listened to you guys and replaced both tires today.

They didn't have the Road 6, but they gave me a deal on the Road 6 GT, and I even got the rear in 190/55 instead of 190/50.

First impresssion: Wow, my Battlax were way worn. This feels like a whole different bike. I'm going to need to get used to these tires.

The change in handling is quite noticeable, hey? Personally, I don't think it allows me to corner any faster but it sure does make the bike turn in with less steering input. I think a 190/55 looks better too.

First impresssion: Wow, my Battlax were way worn. This feels like a whole different bike. I'm going to need to get used to these tires.

hey TX, am glad you like these Michelin tires

have been riding with the 120/70 & 190/55 ZR17 Road 6 combo for some time now

they would last for around 12 to 14,000 km on hot & rough Indonesian roads, longer than Pirelli or Battlax... plus great on wet roads too, saved my skin more than once

Road 6 combo for some time now

I've had great interest in the Road 6 since I first
started shopping for tires for this bike.
If you're riding is primarily canyon style performance,
what can you say about the level of grip in fast sweeps,
compared with Diablo Rosso's , Angels, and or Rosso Corsas
(not Super Corsas though, just Corsas)?
-
Also, out here in AZ I have to deal with occasional
'concealed' gravel , but not much rain riding, do you notice any
improvement when riding over patches of gravel, vs these other
tire models?

Strat, am by no means a tire expert... but always happy to share some field experience
my riding style is definitely "sport/touring" and using Michelin seems to match my requirements well

Indonesia has some pretty challenging mountain passes, those being the highlights of my yearly road trips...
not so much about canyon style performance, but definitely some fast uphill riding and more technical downhills

to be honest, found the Pirellis to be rather comfortable, but the wear & tear was just too fast for my wallet
as for the stock Battlaxes, was not too impressed by their response... felt like not being in total control

Michelin seems to deliver a good compromise with the 2CT dual compound, soft on the sides with a tougher center
excellent durability, good behavior on wet and on rough roads, also with gravel & sand often found in bends here

a quick Michelin buyer's caution note:
watch for a recent WWYY production date embossed on the side, and try to get tires made in Spain

to be honest, found the Pirellis to be rather comfortable, but the wear & tear was just too fast for my wallet
as for the stock Battlaxes, was not too impressed by their response... felt like not being in total control

I don't see Bridgestone in my future, I do see trying a set of
Michelin Road 6's though.

watch for a recent WWYY production date embossed on the side, and try to get tires made in Spain

What are the advantages of a Spain made Michelin vs other countries.
I don't see how I'm going to have the luxury of choosing Spain over
other locations, but I'll look into that possibility further.

oh well... having lived in Asia for 40+ years, one kind of adopts the general perception here that Western-made stuff is better than, say China or Thailand-made

Michelin's manufacturing plants for motorcycle tires are in France (of course!), Spain, Japan, Thailand and China... claiming consistent quality control & manufacturing standards all across

while France is naturally more focussed on MotoGP stuff, Spain seems to be the next best option for high-performance radial motorcycle tires manufacturing... have seen some Thai-made Road 6, but yet to try them

general perception here that Western-made stuff is better than, say China or Thailand-made

Right, that's generally the assumption
here in the US, though I think a lot
has changed over the course of the
last 20 + - years.
In the 60's and 70's everything coming
out of Japan was 'tagged' with the term
Japanese-Junk, and much of it was junk,
but that changed and isn't the case today.
China and Thailand essentially were
not even on the radar, they were still
so far back technologically that we'd be
hard pressed to find hardware, durable goods,
or tech items from there period.
Flash forward to 2026, I've seen some incredible
feats of quality engineering and manufacturing
out of the East, and have been noticing that
for about the past 10 or 15 years, products are
improving across the board.
I would imagine though that as you say, some
of the quality assurance issues are still
being better addressed in some regions.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 4/18/2026 @ 4:44 AM *