At this point, if you asked me if I'd buy the Michelins again if I had to do it over, I'd probably say no. But we'll see what the next few hundred miles bring...

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0-100 Miles: Motorcycle tires must be broken in very carefully, and the first 100 miles is critical (see this note in the Comments section below). There are many scary stories about slippery mold release residue causing loss of traction and a resulting crash when the tires are new. I have a friend who, after getting a new set of tires fitted, dumped the bike while pulling out of the driveway of the repair shop, so I'm pretty wary about this problem.

I usually scrub the tire surface down with a wire brush and/or a piece of Scotchbrite or heavy-grit sandpaper before the first ride. Some owners even wash the tires first with soap and water or they wipe the tires with a grease remover prior to giving them the wire brush treatment.

I don't know if washing or scrubbing actually does, in fact, remove the mold release agent, but I guess it gives me some psychological benefit. In any case, when I ride on a new set of tires, I'm extremely cautious for the first couple of hundred miles.

New tires typically have many sprue nubs that stick out like a week-old beard; they're an artifact of the tire mold. These little nubs are hardened sticks of molten rubber that are left over from the molten rubber that escapes into the sprue to prevent air bubbles and to promote more uniform distribution of the rubber over the tire carcass in the mold.

I don't know whether the nubs can affect traction, but I usually pluck them from the tires. I didn't take the time to remove them from the Michelins before the first ride; as a result, I swear I could feel them squirming under the tires as I rode.

My seat-of-the-pants impressions during the first hundred miles are this: Unlike some other tire swaps I've experienced, I don't notice a dramatic difference -- yet -- with the Pilot Road 2's compared to the original Pirelli Diablo tires on the Multistrada 620.

It's definitely too early to tell, but I think the bike feels slightly more "planted" in a straight line and that the tires are slightly more compliant and not as "hard" feeling as the Pirellis. The Michelins, I think, may offer a slightly plusher ride, but I do feel a touch of "squirm" or a slight "greasiness" even while riding upright.

I have also noticed that on the initial transition to lean, the tires also feel like they're squirming slightly, which may be due to their newness, or to the many sprue nubs, or the mold release, or, most likely, to a combination of all three. I do not remember feeling this "greasy" or "squirmy" feeling on initial turn-in with any other motorcycle tires I've tried, so I'm concerned but hopeful that this feeling will disappear as the tires get scrubbed in.

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