Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Heya folks,

The seach function didn't return much recent stuff about Mich pilot road tyres, so I'm starting another tyre thread, hopefully, without inflaming passions!

The reality of my riding is that 80% of it is road riding and commuting It's just not worthwhile me having the pilot powers on when for the most part the rear gets squared off making scratching a bit "interesting".

My rear pilot power is nackered so I'm looking at putting on a pilot road 2 - the one with the dual compound construction (harder middle, stickier sides) but keeping a power on the front. By all accounts the pilot road will handle themselves well enough for the type of rider I am when I go scratching... but it never hurts to ask for opinions.



Sooooo, has anyone gone with the road 2's and what do you think of them? Does anyone think the pilot road2 rear with a pilot power front is a combination that wont work??



And while i have your eyeballs, are the pilot power 2CT's harder than current powers in the middle and softer on the sides, or are they the same hardness in the middle with even softer sides?? The Mich website isn't exactly clear on the matter.


Thanks folks


Cheers

Rob

I have a few mates running the road2's at the moment, and are loving them. I'm getting a new set of tires this week and ended up going with a road2 on the rear and a power front, wanted both as road2's but can't get a 120/65 in the road2's. Will let you know how it feels

I think the 2CT's are harder than the power in the middle and close to the same near the edges, but don't quote me on that.

I'm personally a Pirelli fan Rob, especially for big heavy-arse bikes like ours are. My favourite setup is a supercorsa front and a corsa rear, although I'm currently running a strada rear 'cause I just did a long tour.

I had a couple of unexpected slides out of a Road II rear, and like you I tear the powers up pretty quickly. Ron from Balls put me onto the Pirellis, said they handle heavy bikes better, and I've agreed with him.

J.B wrote:I think the 2CT's are harder than the power in the middle and close to the same near the edges, but don't quote me on that.

That's what I was told - they're a dual compound.
Unlike most dual compounds though, in which the compound difference is a line between the two compounds, the 2CT are apparently a bit of a meld and so you won't notice the grip change so much.
They're apparently the best new commuter out there now, and other manufacturers are wondering how they did the meld.
ty

Loz, were those slides on the Minja? or the Hornbag? Were the edges of the tyre warmed up or still cold? No doubt the slides got your attention!

Ron knows about a bit about bikes and tech stuff like that... so no doubt the info is good... I'll keep the recommendation in the back of my mind.



I've put the following questions to Michelin so I hope to get the dual compound question sorted out once and for all!

1: Pilot road2: is the centre compound the same, softer, or harder than the standard pilot road? And will the road 2 work with a pilot power front?

2: Pilot power 2CT: Is the centre compound the same, softer, or harder than the standard pilot power?


The Mich website suggests that the edges of the pilot power 2CT's are 20% softer than the standard pilot powers. If the centre compound is harder, then I might go with the 2CT. That should be a pretty sporty compromise. I need the middle to wear better, but I'd still like to have a confident scratch in the hills, so the 2CT would be ideal if it's middle was a bit harder than the current power.

Mind you, the Mich website is fairly shouting how good the Pilot Road2 is, but it dont say shit about how it compares to it's predecessor.

Stay tuned.


Ty, you said the power 2CT's are apparently the best commuter out there... did you mean to say the pilot road2? The 2CT power is fairly aimed at sporty performance use. Just checking.

Cheers

The unexpected slides (2 from the front, and the rear was everywhere) were on a YZF600 mate, tyres were warm and the pace was approaching "woo hoo" on the road. Granted the road that day (Mt. Glorious) wasn't in the greatest of repair, and another pair of road 2s didn't let go on a less feisty crack I had on Keithy's Blackbird near Bombala one time, but I rode the arse out of the Minja on Pirelli up and down the coast, I mean no prisoners, peg-down, hard as I dared to ride (which isn't all that hard in the scheme of things), and had nothing but joy. They just felt bubblegum-smooth.

It's such a personal thing though, and no doubt my opinions on the tyres before I got on the bikes affected the way I used them and hence the way they performed... But still.

Wow, Michelin UK already got an answer for me!

UK Michelin wrote:Dear Rob,

Many thanks for your e-mail and I do not mind questions from Oz - only to happy to help!!

To answer your questions in turn - it is always preferable to fit tyres in matched pairs but you can fit Pilot Road 2 rear with standard Power front but I would suggest that you replace the front with a Pilot Road 2 as soon as possible.

The tread compound on Power and a Power 2 CT is exactly the same in the centre - the differences are that the shoulders are softer on a 2 CT to give the extra grip.

Two Wheel Department

I deduce then that the centre compound of the pilot road2 is the same as the standard pilot road compound.

I've asked a follow up question about whether their concern about the different tyres is about relative grip or different profiles or indeed both. Hopefully they answer as quickly again!!



Lozzobear, not sure what to make of your experience - could've been the road conditions... dunno. So you reckon the Pirelli Strada's (Strada means "road" in Italian interestingly enough) are the go. I'll have to look into them. Hmmm


Cheers

Good work rob

Would be interested to hear why they don't like unmatched tyres

J.B. you are going to love this.

UK Michelin wrote:Rob,

We aim to please!

Sorry but I have no information with regard to Pilot Road / Pilot Road 2 compounds.

To answer your second point - we are only authorised recommend tyres in matched pairs.

UNOFFICIALLY - when mixing tyres you should always fit the grippier tyre to the front.

...

Bugger that the technical manager can't answer the pilot road question off the top of his head... might let this rest for the time being and see whether Michelin Australia responds.

Cheers

Strada are probably the equivalent of the Pilot Roads. Straight Diablos are a little stickier, Corsas are better still and the supercorsas are excellent. Tread pattern's the same between the whole range so you can mix and match - supercorsa on the front and diablo or corsa on the rear maybe.

It's awesome to see that michelin actually respond so quickly to emails, don't find that often.

Rob I'm just guessing, but my I reckon if they make the power 2CT's so that it's sticker on the edges, they would do the same for the road2's.

Regarding mixing tyres, they obviously don't have any real reason explaining why not to, they just want people to buy their tyres in sets.

Still, good work getting this info

J.B wrote:...
Rob I'm just guessing, but my I reckon if they make the power 2CT's so that it's sticker on the edges, they would do the same for the road2's....

The website PR info is clear that the dual compound tyres are stickier on the edges. I was just wondering whether the centre compound of the road2 was harder or the same as the standard road. I think it's a safe guess that it's the same... which would be consistent with what was said about the pilot power 2CT's.

What all this means is that I'll be going with a road focussed tyre of some kind on the rear (looks at Loz's Pirelli fetish with interest) and a stickier sportier tyre on the front. Pilot road2 rear and pilot power front sounds like a good compromise for what's mostly a non scratching mix of riding - that combination would seem to keep a reserve of grip to go scratching with confidence when I do get the time without burning through rear hoops at the rate I have.

Loz wrote:...Tread pattern's the same between the whole range so you can mix and match - supercorsa on the front and diablo or corsa on the rear maybe...

Hmmmmmm, very interestink!

Mono Rono from Balls said the Pirellis have an extra sideways steel belt or something, which helps them to last on heavier bikes and stops the front from scalloping. I never chased that up, does anybody know more about that?

Hey rob Just do the metzler m3s,i promise you wont be dissapointed,there are a number of guys on this site with a range of bikes and different riding styles and i havent heard a bad thing about them ,and i am on my 4th set.This info is also from a drummer to a guitarist.Just listen to the beat dude

Z900, are the M3's dual compound?

Loz, the pilot sports used to scallop on my 9, but never the pilot powers.