Having been on the Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs for several thousand miles now, and the original Pilot powers for much longer than that, I had a few observations that I though might be useful to people considering upgrading to 2CTs. I emphasize that this is only my opinion.
First off, I have to say that both tires are excellent, with the 2CTs imparting a more nimble feeling to the bike, but at a compromise cost. I think that the Original Pilot powers are better for spirited street riding, than the newer 2CTs. and the 2CTs would be stellar for track riding on good pavement... Here's why...
The tires differ in that the composition of the rubber at the shoulders is 20% softer on the 2CTs than on the pilot powers, but this is not the only difference.
The tires (rear) also have noticeably different cross section profiles, with the 2CTs "taller and with a more angled lean section... See image.
There is an onramp I take everday leaving work, and I hit this onramp very hard each day... With the Pilot Powers the bike always felt very planted and stable at close to kneedragging lean. When I switched to the 2CTs a handling anomaly (for me) crept up. The bike would wallow in this long sweeper, sometimes severly as if the front and rear were alternately losing traction.
This bothered me for weeks and at first suspected some kind of required suspension tweak given how I was riding.
After quite a bit of fiddling, I could not "dial out" the wallow no matter what settings I tried, and this while assuring and making certain that my upper body and arms were completely relaxed and my body position stable and steady so I could rule out body inputs as a primary factor.
After a few more runs I had a chance to compare the PP's and the 2CTs side by side and noted the profile differences (the original PP's are still mounted on my old stock wheels. The 2CTs had steeper flat sections on the shoulders that seemed to be designed for greater lean angle contact patch. and when the 2CTs were leaned over at a hard angle for the street, they were still riding on a rounded section of their profile compared to the PP's which were riding squarely on the their own flat side shoulders which were not designed with the same steepness.
It was also about this time that I noticed that the onramp in question was cursed with transition steps in the pavement that ran longitudinally with the path of the curve... The steps were about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch in height. They were barely noticeable at speed unless you looked down at the pavement (which I never do)
Its now my theory that when executing this curve, as the bike drifts to the outside over these steps it imparts an effect on the lean angle that feels like a wobble since the tire is still running on the rounded section and not the flat shoulder like the original PPs... The remedy, if you can call it that would be to lean over farther on the 2CTs to kneedragging point and reach the same stable zone on the 2cts, which was placed at a steeper angle.
Leaning the bike over that far though is something that would require more speed and would be inappropriate for street or even canyon riding, and so in my opinion the original Pilot powers are the superior tire for spirited street riding as the feeling fo leaned over confidence is far greater and requires riding farther from the ragged edge... Bottom line for me is that to feel as confident and stable at lean I have to go over quite a bit farther on the 2CTs and that often feels dicey on a public road (I've tried it half a dozen times on lonely stretches)
This is just my opionion and may only effect me personally as a rider and is offered only as food for thought...
Apologies for the crudeness of the diagram, I hope it conveys the information clearly.
Stefan
First off, I have to say that both tires are excellent, with the 2CTs imparting a more nimble feeling to the bike, but at a compromise cost. I think that the Original Pilot powers are better for spirited street riding, than the newer 2CTs. and the 2CTs would be stellar for track riding on good pavement... Here's why...
The tires differ in that the composition of the rubber at the shoulders is 20% softer on the 2CTs than on the pilot powers, but this is not the only difference.
The tires (rear) also have noticeably different cross section profiles, with the 2CTs "taller and with a more angled lean section... See image.
There is an onramp I take everday leaving work, and I hit this onramp very hard each day... With the Pilot Powers the bike always felt very planted and stable at close to kneedragging lean. When I switched to the 2CTs a handling anomaly (for me) crept up. The bike would wallow in this long sweeper, sometimes severly as if the front and rear were alternately losing traction.
This bothered me for weeks and at first suspected some kind of required suspension tweak given how I was riding.
After quite a bit of fiddling, I could not "dial out" the wallow no matter what settings I tried, and this while assuring and making certain that my upper body and arms were completely relaxed and my body position stable and steady so I could rule out body inputs as a primary factor.
After a few more runs I had a chance to compare the PP's and the 2CTs side by side and noted the profile differences (the original PP's are still mounted on my old stock wheels. The 2CTs had steeper flat sections on the shoulders that seemed to be designed for greater lean angle contact patch. and when the 2CTs were leaned over at a hard angle for the street, they were still riding on a rounded section of their profile compared to the PP's which were riding squarely on the their own flat side shoulders which were not designed with the same steepness.
It was also about this time that I noticed that the onramp in question was cursed with transition steps in the pavement that ran longitudinally with the path of the curve... The steps were about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch in height. They were barely noticeable at speed unless you looked down at the pavement (which I never do)
Its now my theory that when executing this curve, as the bike drifts to the outside over these steps it imparts an effect on the lean angle that feels like a wobble since the tire is still running on the rounded section and not the flat shoulder like the original PPs... The remedy, if you can call it that would be to lean over farther on the 2CTs to kneedragging point and reach the same stable zone on the 2cts, which was placed at a steeper angle.
Leaning the bike over that far though is something that would require more speed and would be inappropriate for street or even canyon riding, and so in my opinion the original Pilot powers are the superior tire for spirited street riding as the feeling fo leaned over confidence is far greater and requires riding farther from the ragged edge... Bottom line for me is that to feel as confident and stable at lean I have to go over quite a bit farther on the 2CTs and that often feels dicey on a public road (I've tried it half a dozen times on lonely stretches)
This is just my opionion and may only effect me personally as a rider and is offered only as food for thought...
Apologies for the crudeness of the diagram, I hope it conveys the information clearly.
Stefan
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then we have a challenger who shows his street tires on a bike at the track chickenstrips