Alright, earlier this year I evangelised the new Michelin Pilot Power Pure tire for being the lightest and most advanced tire on the market. So with that in mind, I've decided to do a little review of how mine have worked in practice...
Before anyone asks, I can't possibly sell you a set of these things and I have no affiliation whatsoever with Michelin.
Ok, so I have the Pures on two different bikes, my 07.5 Tuono 1000R and my project 06 GSX-R 1000. As a reminder, the advertised advantages of this new design for Michelin's "Pure" sports tire line previously/also known as "2CT" are:
- very light tire design
- center of the tire lasts well with a somewhat harder compound
- 40% of the tire has softer compound at high lean angles (vs. 15% for "old" tire)
- new tire construction makes for more consistent response
My initial observations upon receiving the tire were that the tire just "looks" more advanced than other tires. Not a scientific assessment, mind... I then compared the tires against a set of Bridgestone BT-016s I had - which were used to the point of squaring off, and the weight difference between the two sets is immediate and fairly dramatic. There is no question, the Pures are considerably lighter than BT-016s.
Background: skip if you don't really care about the bikes...
I took a set with me to Deal's Gap, where I rode on the BT-016s I had (worn but not squared badly) for three days before swapping them out for dead and getting Wheeler to put Pures on the bike. Immediately the bike felt much more planted and easier to turn, which is often the case with new tires and overall I was pleased with them except for one issue (tire profile). The Tuono has only one modification to it, the official Akrapovic slip-ons and corresponding fuel map.
The other set I've put on my project 1000. Requires a brief amount of explanation as to what "project" means. I decided to build as light and strong a bike as I reasonably could inside a budgetary constraint, having never put together a customised bike before. In summary, it's a 184 wheel horsepower engine prepped by Scott Miller (stock did 154whp) with an Akrapovic Evo2 Ti exhaust, Blackstone Tek carbon fibre wheels, 520 chain conversion, Braking rear disc, BrakeTech ceramic-metallic-composite front rotors, 1.6 pound Lithium battery, and a few other weight-saving things. The CMC rotors aren't in and I've still got to put the revalved forks together but it's still about 400 pounds wet with 180+ wheel horsepower, 17 pounds of savings of which were from rotating mass (21 when I get the rotors). Cost? Pretty similar to that shiny new BMW, all-in... *sigh*
It's the project bike that I have the most experience with, 5500km of riding on Ontario roads. It wasn't ready to go to Deal's Gap with me, so I haven't ridden it anywhere else but Ontario at this point.
So, on to how they work. Straight to the good, shall we?
First, the 190/55 profile tire is *really* steep and I cannot get it over all the way on its side. I've never had this issue before and even leaving black lines out of tight corners, I still have shiny rubber left at the edge. I wouldn't recommend the 190/55 for the street... even at Deal's Gap, the Tuono didn't scrub all the way to the edge, and because of the tire design, I am not sure that it's wise... Michelin put some raised designs at the edge of the tire which compromise the amount of available width... now, this may be because that amount of lean isn't really obtainable or it may be to warn the rider that they're about to ride off the tire, I don't know. But what I do know is that this is a very steep tire and it feels it. I'll go to a 190/50 next. Why is this good...? Turn-in is sharp and the 190/55 Pure tire should work really well on a race track as an entry-level tire... I think it will also work really well on a SS bike in tight roads - the Tuono I tested on felt a bit too lively with the wide bars.
Second, the wear characteristics of the tires are phenomenal. After 5500 km of dealing with a motor that has been known to spin the tire in fourth and yank the front wheel off the deck in fifth over a dead gnat, the tire hardly looks like it's been used, with no evident squaring. As you can perhaps intimate, neither I nor the bike have been sympathetic to the rear tire in any sense. My last set of BT-014s were cooked at 3800km; the BT-016s on the Tuono and my outgoing GSX-R 750 were beyond legal at 5,200km last year. I think I stand a reasonable chance of getting 8,500+ km out of the rear Pure on a bike that should be competitive in the CDN Superbike series.
Third, grip is very good, both wet and dry. In the wet, they are excellent just like the Pilot Powers before them. Having crashed a bike in the wet on BT-014s at 30mph and nearly doing it again on BT-015s at a similar speed, this is very welcome. The Bridgestones could be downright scary.
If grip is exceptional with the Pures, I haven't noticed it, however... I will say that if you are hanging off the bike with the throttle on hard on the project bike, the tire will spin - which given that it has done this a fair bit, the longevity of the tire is all the more amazing. However, I feel this is a trade-off of all the multi-compound tires, the more durable centre of the tire is not going to be up to the grip quality of a softer sports tire... stands to reason.
Fourth, did I mention that they look "the business?"
Now before moving on to my criticisms, I will mention that from the seat I cannot tell much difference in the tire's weight and how it affects handling. With the Tuono, any difference was masked by the fact that I went from a worn set of Bridgestones to a new set of Michelins. They *had* to feel different and/or better regardless. On the project bike, dropping the moment of inertia of the wheels to about 1/3rd the original is again going to mask the effect of a drop in weight of the tires.
So, criticisms of the tire.
First, the issue with the rear tire being relatively easy to spin when it's propped upright is only an issue on the GSX-R, and this isn't happening only at full throttle. The Tuono won't normally spin the tire - at all - which differs considerably from the original Metzelers that were on it (by the way, they worked very well overall). I'm also not as aggressive with the Tuono... (I want to keep the bike looking good and make a point of riding alone with it to avoid stone chips) But it's worth noting, perhaps.
Second, the tread pattern in the middle of the tire consists of long, almost straight sipes. Over ridges in the pavement, particularly corners, I have felt these sipes "lock in" to the ridge, which can be momentarily disconcerting. This is something you're only likely to feel on crummy pavement, but again worth noting, if only to be forewarned. The tires have not failed to turn the bike but did make me feel like they perhaps would. Saps confidence?
Third, the tires seem quite sensitive to tire pressure. More than usual. I was down 6 PSI in the front on Saturday and the bike wasn't turning well in tight corners... fixed the issue and the tire felt entirely different. Unusual? No, but the difference it made seemed immense.
Fourth, the price is a bit higher than competitors' top end tires excepting Dunlop's Q2 and Pirelli's Rosso Corsa. Neither of which I have tried, and would definitely consider once the smoke has cleared on all the new tire tests.
Fifth and lastly, the tire profile of the 190/55 rear is very steep for the street, unlike many manufacturers. If your bike called for a 190/50 then I think for a change, it's time to pay attention.
And as a bonus, my quick and dirty review of the Michelin Ones I put on my track bike? Outstanding. They're neutral and stick like turd to a wool blanket. I like them better than the Pirelli Supercorsas I had on last year by fair degree... but now Pirelli has the Supercorsa Pro and the way people are talking, I'm definitely going to have to try out a pair...
