Another Pilot Power Thread.

[welshrob]

I had an epiphany the other day, about sticky tyres. I don`t know why I never figured it out before. I had been running a Pilot Power 2ct on the rear, which was my fourth rear, after 3 standard Pilot Powers. Now this has the same centre compound as a standard pilot power but softer edges. It also costs a lot more and only lasted for 4000 km`s.

I`m very easily influenced and I think I bought the 2ct after listening to lots of other sports bike riders raving about them and telling me I should get them fitted. I got so carried away I think I started telling other riders how good 2ct`s were before I had actually tried one!

Don`t get me wrong, it`s a great tyre but IMHO it`s just unnecessary for the road. I`ve gone back to the standard pilot power and I still go round corners just as fast. I have ground the footpegs away on both sides of the bike, I lean it over as far as it will physically go and I`m blowed if I can tell the difference between the standard PP and the 2ct. This is now the 4th standard PP I`ve put on the rear and just like the others, it never feels like it will let go.

Out of all the lunatics I ride with, the only guy I have trouble staying with is an ex-racer who rides a 7 year old Triumph Sprint RS. He`s dragging the pegs on every corner and he`s using PILOT ROADS! A harder compound touring tyre. He gets 13,000 km`s out of a rear and he also says they never feel like they will let go.

Most of the twisty roads I play on, are very tight and all of the corners are taken in 2nd 3rd and 4th gear, usually under 160kph. If I was doing regular track days and was cornering at much higher speeds it might be a different story.

I`m always interested in other opinions so have any of you had a Pilot Power let go or felt that they weren`t sticky enough?

[NinjaRAT]

This is my second set of PP (first set was on my 9R before I sold her). I have no plans on switching to anything else, anytime soon.

For the record, I prefer Avon Azaro/Storms on my Sprint....just becaue i commute more frequently on her.

[Martin_R]

Never had any comfidence hampering traction probs with PP, PP2CT or Road2.

Previously I had PP2CT front and PPRoad2 rear combos for max front traction + max rear mileage.

On my most recent set I have switched to PPRoad2 front & back. Still good, but now the front will last even longer. I corner like a granny, so the Road2 is more than enough for me.

[TRISPEED]

I use the Pilot Road tires and they are good for me. I don't take corners at a high rate of speed cause I never know where the sand, oil, or gravel is until it's too late. Not many hot corners where I live.

[triple3john]

I've just fitted Pilot Roads to my Speedy.Only done 300 winter miles so far so can't really judge them.They turn in very differently than the Bridgestone 014s I had previously,which only lasted 2500 miles which is why I'm trying sports touring tyres. A friend who rides a Tiger 1050 with Pilot Roads (standard fitment) corners harder than I do and I'm guessing that for UK roads they're as good as I'll need. Have them fitted on my 955 Tiger and lasted over 6000 miles of mainly 2 up touring fully loaded so they are good value. Also have a friend with Avon Storms on his Sprint 1050 and he is happy with them. I'm thinking that for a normal road rider any tyre from a reputable manufacturer will be good enough and only when pushed on the track wil the difference be noted.

[Night Train]

I have used Pilot Powers for this and the last bike. I think that they are decent tires. However, I wouldn't feel comfortable riding real aggressively with them. I don't have chicken strips but I'm not scraping pegs.
If I were riding that aggressively, I would err on the side of the stickiest tires I could get.

[Max_NYC]

They're sticky enough for me.

My avatar picture shows a 1098 mounted with PPs. Man, I have no plan to lean any further than that on the road, and the PPs just fit the knee dragging bill perfectly.

Actually, for better mileage, sometimes I wonder if the Pilot Road2 wouldn't fit the same bill just as well...

Last year on a Southern France tour I rode a Suzuki Bandit 650 mounted with Bridgestone BT021's (similar to PRoad2's ?), and I was dragging knees with confidence in the twisties.

On my next set I'm actually thinking of a combo PRoad2 rear and PP front.

[Night Train]

Not to jack this thread. But, do you think that dragging knees always equates to deeper lean angle or faster times around a corner? I've thought about this but never really gave it much thought. What do you guys think?

[7Speedy3]

Its all relative. The further you hang off, the less lean angle you need for a given speed. Just because your knee is on the ground doesn't necessarily mean you're going faster than someone's whose knee isn't. I guess what I'm trying to say is you can drag your knee without having the fastest corner speed or greatest lean angle. Obviously, there's a break over point.

I've seen a vid on youtube of a fellow dragging his knee while riding at about 20 mph in a circle in a parking lot...

Edit: here's the vid. Can't say much about the gear (slider taped to leg), but I think it shows pretty well that dragging a knee doesn't necessarily mean you've got a steeper lean angle, or the fastest corner speed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KafE4g4ad0Q

Perhaps we should get back to tires...

[Max_NYC]

For those of you who are on Facebook, check out this group called "I hate squids on sportbikes": http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204969120

Perhaps we should get back to tires...