Michelin pilot powers

[BA BUSA]

Been reading so many great reviews about these but have you an opinion of them in the wet ..

I think we got a wee bit lost on this...

Don't get them started AGAIN

 

[JINKSTER]

Based on what i have read I would definately go with the M1s over the PPs anways.

I MAY try some M1s after a few 014 rears...it kind of depends on how many miles I get out of these.

Basically I am pretty sure the 014s are the longest lasting of these three agressive sport tires and I am already down
in the center on my 014s about 25%-30% and only have 700 miles on them.   I dont do any burn outs but I do
alot of hard roll ons....I though Id grow out of this but have not yet! dammit!!

I would not mind having a stickier side but do not want to give up center wear life any more than I already am.

I hear that there are some new dual compound tires coming out in the future, hopefully someone will bring something
else to the table for us Busa owners.

Ideally id like to get 4K per rear tire....and thats to the wear bars, not past them and pamering it for XXX miles.

No way id go to a harder tire in exchange for less side traction...i'll pay the price for softer tires.

BV...what you hafta remember (regarding wear) is just what Vman posted about "Slippage"....the theory being...

On heavy big bore/huge torque bikes like the Busa the primary tire wear doesn't occur due to "Miles Rolled"...it occurs during hard roll-ons (at the initiation of each and every gear) and harsh decels such as high levels of "engine braking" (at the initiation of each and every gear) and/or any heavily applied decel braking at all as...this is where your tires are struggling to maintain traction...moving and/or stopping all that weight with ALL that TORQUE!

And with each harsh accel/decel small amounts of rubber from the harder compound tires are left behind...from "Slippage" and...

This is where the harder compound tires actually wear faster and the softer race compounds begin to shine...both milage AND performance wise.....such as the Powers have..a true race compound originally formulated for Moto GP racing..which experience far less "Slippage" when stressed to the traction limits while under harsh accel/decel.

At least that's the way it was explained to me...along with the fact that nothing will get you in trouble faster than mounting hard tires on high performance sportbikes.

Taken straight from michelins website regarding the "Pilot Powers"....

"The softest rubber mix of any comparable tyre

Phenomenal grip; quickly reaches optimum temperature
Maximum lean angle in the dry: 50.6°
Rubber mix remains soft even at lower temperatures, providing excellent grip throughout your ride.



You don't have to be world champion to get your hands on Michelin MotoGP tyre technology. The Pilot Power uses a rubber mix that was originally developed for MotoGP racing, yielding minimal warm-up time and excellent feedback at the limit. This amazing tyre has achieved a maximum lean angle of more than 50 degrees on dry pavement and a remarkable 41.9 degrees in the wet.

L8R, Bill.

Boy Howdy, I couldn't disagree more with the Jinkster!

I have taken both the 14 and the powers to the track and chewed the arse off both and found there is no difference in grip. Both slip at just about the same angle under load. You can find the sweet spot on the throttle where the tire just begins to slip and that's the maximum limit. I found no difference in that sweet spot? Lean angle is just about identical. You can feel the front begin to push on both tires before they give up.

Michelin says the tire has a rubber mix that was "Originally" developed for MotoGP! Not a tire mix that is currently used in MotoGP. This to me, means the tire is probably as good as the motoGP tires were a dozen or more years ago. I believe this! But you and I are not going to get our hands on the same compound Valentino uses, especially in a street tire.

Michelins are a great tire but then so are the Corsa's and 14's along with many of the others. I took the powers off my Gixxer and went back to 14's after a week or so. I just didn't like the flex I got from the thin sidewalls and they tend to squirm under heavy load. I found the race profile to be a bit severe for my taste on the street.  

I also disagree with the theory that a hard tire wears quicker than a soft tire on a big strong bike. I do a lot of burnouts/wheelies and find the soft tires just melt under the heat.The biggest culpret in street tire wear is low air pressure. The lower the tire pressure the hotter the tire becomes making the rubber soft and sticky. The softer it gets the faster it wears. The harder compound tires such as the BT020 last three times as long as a race tire.

Tires are like airplanes, you don't gain in one area without giving something up in another area. The softer the tire the more grip! The better the grip the faster it wears! Something we all have to live with.

Today you have lots of choices in different tires. All are good tires. BV is correct, you aren't going to find more than a hand full of guys on here that can outride any of the street tires. No one with good sense is going to push a street tire near it's limits off the track. Since an average of ten people die in motorcycle accidents every day in this country, natural selection weeds the (Ride it to the max) guys out eventually. Sometimes, sooner than later?

Buy what you like and ride it hard. If you crash due to the tire loosing traction, I don't think a different tire would have saved you? My advice is never exceed 70% of your skill level on the streets and you'll probably live to be an old man? If you desire to test any tire to the max, take it to the track.

Just my opinoins here! Taken from past experience for whatever it's worth?

Then we'll just hafta disagree as I just came off a new BT014 (which I was pleased with) and went onto the Powers and thay ARE markedly tackier than the relatively new BT014 that just came off.

Tuf....Funny how you never mentioned your past experience with Powers in your earlier response to THIS thread...you just commented about your experience with the BT014's in the wet...since this thread is about "Powers & Wet" I would've thought you may've commented on the Powers as well...oh well..

I guess that's what makes america great...

we can disagree...happy 4th!!! Bill.

 

[bigdr]

Been reading so many great reviews about these but have you an opinion of them in the wet ..

I think we got a wee bit lost on this...

I should have added ... In two sentences or less..

 

[Tufbusa]

You are a cool dude jinks!

I haven't been on the powers in the wet so I can't comment about them. I don't really like riding in the rain but sometimes we all get caught in a shower. I've had lots of experience on the 14's and have been through a number of sets. I have only tried one set of powers and had them on for one track day and about ten days of street riding. They just didn't suit my riding. I think the powers are as good as any of the tires on the market but no better than the other high end tires I've tired. But like all tires they are good in some areas and not so good in others.

Have you spent any track days on the powers?

 

[BusaFever]

You are a cool dude jinks!

I haven't been on the powers in the wet so I can't comment about them. I don't really like riding in the rain but sometimes we all get caught in a shower. I've had lots of experience on the 14's and have been through a number of sets. I have only tried one set of powers and had them on for one track day and about ten days of street riding. They just didn't suit my riding. I think the powers are as good as any of the tires on the market but no better than the other high end tires I've tired. But like all tires they are good in some areas and not so good in others.

Have you spent any track days on the powers?

Come on my fellow gixxerman...

Tell us how you really feel...

About France!

I still can't believe you prefer the BT14s to the powers. to each his own right?

Take care man!

How many miles do you got on that K5? Hit the track yet with it?

Bill

 

[BusaFever]

Don't do it bigdr. Fight the power. Go with the M1's from Metzeler. They are great in the rain.

+1  I too am a huge fan of the Metzelers, but you have to make up your own mind.  I've been curious about the Michelin tires, but it will almost take an act of Congress to make me switch from the M1's.

Amen Bacharles

I feel exactly the same way.

I used to be just like you guys... I was a hard core M1 fan.... Until they were toasted in 1200 miles...

AND THEN I SAW THE LIGHT!!!!

 

[Krieg]

Don't do it bigdr. Fight the power. Go with the M1's from Metzeler. They are great in the rain.

+1  I too am a huge fan of the Metzelers, but you have to make up your own mind.  I've been curious about the Michelin tires, but it will almost take an act of Congress to make me switch from the M1's.

Amen Bacharles

I feel exactly the same way.

I used to be just like you guys... I was a hard core M1 fan....  Until they were toasted in 1200 miles...  

AND THEN I SAW THE LIGHT!!!!

I am nearly at a 1000 now and you can see from the above photos I got a long way to go......I am happy with the M1's

 

[JINKSTER]

You are a cool dude jinks!

I haven't been on the powers in the wet so I can't comment about them. I don't really like riding in the rain but sometimes we all get caught in a shower. I've had lots of experience on the 14's and have been through a number of sets. I have only tried one set of powers and had them on for one track day and about ten days of street riding. They just didn't suit my riding. I think the powers are as good as any of the tires on the market but no better than the other high end tires I've tired. But like all tires they are good in some areas and not so good in others.

Have you spent any track days on the powers?

Tuf: Well I just got'em mounted up yesterday so...no...I haven't done any track days with'em...and really don't intend to...but these guys have...

Check out the comment about what Nicky Haden thought when testing the Powers....

http://www.cycleforums.com/forums/showthread/t-146435.html

http://www.cycleforums.com/forums....=142504

Oh and...it appears that the compound you infer is a dozen or so years old is actually a compound of a 2003 MotoGP Vintage...pretty close since these tires debuted a mere 18 months ago...wouldn'tcha say?...and is a fully synthetic elastomer which is 6% softer than any other compound out there...at least that's what Michelin claims here...

http://www.indysuperbikes.com/Isb1....es.html

But you do have me somewhat baffled Tuf as I know you to be an experienced track day junkie but most of the riders here and other forums who I personally know to be and are some extremely fast, smooth, experienced pilots came off of all the top brands and fell in love once they mounted up the powers...except you...you claim you stripped yours off in 10 days citing them as "Too Squirmy" which I can only believe is just a case of personal preference...as you're the only one I've heard cite this condition with the powers...as everyone else who's tried the powers loves the powers....including Nicky Haden.

I think their awesome and that's after just coming off a brand new BT014...which again I'll state was a fine sport tire...but no where's as grippy as the powers...we disagree there...and that's cool..to each their own and...

L8R, Bill.

 

[BusaFever]

Don't do it bigdr. Fight the power. Go with the M1's from Metzeler. They are great in the rain.

+1  I too am a huge fan of the Metzelers, but you have to make up your own mind.  I've been curious about the Michelin tires, but it will almost take an act of Congress to make me switch from the M1's.

Amen Bacharles

I feel exactly the same way.

I used to be just like you guys... I was a hard core M1 fan....  Until they were toasted in 1200 miles...  

AND THEN I SAW THE LIGHT!!!!

I am nearly at a 1000 now and you can see from the above photos I got a long way to go......I am happy with the M1's

Do you ever hit triple digits?

It'll be toast before 2000 miles even if you do ride like a granny.....

The 2nd half always goes faster!

 

[#cruncherbusa]

I have the powers on right now and am in love with them! but I will give the M1's a try when it's time!

 

[Krieg]

Don't do it bigdr. Fight the power. Go with the M1's from Metzeler. They are great in the rain.

+1  I too am a huge fan of the Metzelers, but you have to make up your own mind.  I've been curious about the Michelin tires, but it will almost take an act of Congress to make me switch from the M1's.

Amen Bacharles

I feel exactly the same way.

I used to be just like you guys... I was a hard core M1 fan....  Until they were toasted in 1200 miles...  

AND THEN I SAW THE LIGHT!!!!

I am nearly at a 1000 now and you can see from the above photos I got a long way to go......I am happy with the M1's

Do you ever hit triple digits?  

It'll be toast before 2000 miles even if you do ride like a granny.....  

The 2nd half always goes faster!

Average speed for the ride was 90 to 100 with my fastest being 140....again I had my wife along and only push things so far when she is on. no way to the 2000, I bet I haven't used 20% yet. And yes, I get into the triple digits nearly every time I get on my Busa. What, you think your the only one around here that rides fast?

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