New tires, New bike. (Michelin 2CT's)


Hethrir

New Member
So, the last few months of my riding career (yes i rode when it was 27 degrees out) ive noticed that i was not comfortable getting our bike into extreme lean angles. In fact, it kind of bugged me because i had gigantic chicken strips and this made me question my proficiency as a rider compared to others. So, going about my day to day i pulled into the university parking lot and noticed that their was some really odd warping of my front tire. the left side of the tire had this bizarre dip in it, while the rest of the tire was fine. seeing this i decided "hey, its time for new tires!" and off i went. After reading a bit about the tires i decided on the 2CT's after seeing some reviews here and from talking to other people. Man, what a freaking difference! im more confident going around turns, and setting the bike in right it seriously feels like its on a track. turns that occasionally gave me grief are now an excuse to hit the throttle and glide through. so, heres my review so far:

First 100 miles: slippery as hell. do NOT put these tires on and expect to do everything right off the bat. they need some break in time.

Grip: much better after break in period, and miles ahead of the battleax's. rocking the throttle produces a more noticeable bite in the back end and the front has nary a wobble.

wet: not too much of an issue, though like any rider i am usually cautious going over wet pavement.

hold up: they still look great! ive put a good 500-600 miles on them so far (its been super windy up here so i have not gotten to ride more) and they still look brand new.

overall: reccomended. ill amend this article if their are any issues later on.

PS. has anyone else had any issues with the stock tires similar to what im describing, or any other tire/bike in general. ive never seen a wear pattern like it and am still a little worried that its my frame or something.
 

Spunky99

New Member
One of my riding buddies says the Michelins 2CT are more grippy than the Dunlop Q2 Sportmax. He's on a Suzuki 650 GSR and said the Dunlops slide a bit more and wear faster.
I've only got maybe 200 miles on my Q2 so they are just starting to grip.

The 2CT need 400+ miles to break in.
 

JSP

Super Moderator
I just ordered the Piilot Road 2 CT for my R6 and will review them as well when time goes by. I had them on the FZ and loved them from what little time I had them. My stock tires on the R6 are dead at a little over 3k. Hope to get 10k or so out of the 2 CT's.
 

iSpoolin

New Member
I've heard nothing but good things about them. Nice write up on them! I need to do one on the Q2's myself.

EDIT: 1000th post :)
 

Rookasaki

New Member
I will post a tire review video when I get home. I've had the 2CT (rear tire) on for about 4k miles... I'll show you the wear/tear etc... It was an amazing tire! Lean angle and corner speed like no other. I'm thinking about going with the Michelin power pures.. Basically the updated version of the pilot power 2CT.
 

Hethrir

New Member
i think that would be helpful rook, but random question... why did you just get the back? isnt it better to replace both at the same time? and with the same tire, not mismatching?
 

SpawnXX

Premium Member

Hethrir

New Member
no, the bikes never been low (i check my air pressure about once every 2 weeks). im thinking that i just had bad luck and possibly put them through too much, lol.
 

b_who

New Member
there alright so far for me. They are by far the most slippery tires brand new but once there broken in they stick good (to bad it takes about 400 miles of hard riding). There major flaw for me is the heat up time for them by far the longest ive have to deal with, my bt-016s heated up twice as fast. And i also feel like the profile isnt steep enough for my riding but im proablly wrong about that :p.

but once you get passed the break in period and heated up the stick to the ground as good as anybody else.
 

b_who

New Member
Lol, i live in a freaking desert, heating em up isnt an issue
lol that helps but that only heats it up a little bit operating temp for them is like 160+ i think. to really heat them up the carcass need to bend and move so the whole tire is nice and hot not just the surface, but the 2cts are pretty stiff which is one of the reasons they take a bit to heat up.
 

dipple666

New Member
Hi guys,
Here in sunny old England, I had the Dunlop Sport Max tyres as standard. I know they got changed for pirellis for this year, but my mate says that he hates the pirellis as they lack the range that the sport max gives him.
I do mainly motorway miles and got 7,000 out of mine before I started to develop squaring, I'd highly recommend them as they are good quality and work well even at low temps.
 

Superfly

New Member
PS. has anyone else had any issues with the stock tires similar to what im describing, or any other tire/bike in general. ive never seen a wear pattern like it and am still a little worried that its my frame or something.[/QUOTE]


Yes that's what my stock front did. The wear was lumpy and showed high and low spots on the tread. Its because the front suspension has too light damping in stock trim. Its known as cupping and you can read about it. Also I think the stock front tire might have been a dual compound tire and after a little while the hard center started to show.

I went to Pirelli Supercorsas and they are great however they are wearing quickly and will be done soon. I got track scrubs for cheap and thats why I put them on. Might have to try some of these Michelins :thumbup:
 

Rookasaki

New Member
i think that would be helpful rook, but random question... why did you just get the back? isnt it better to replace both at the same time? and with the same tire, not mismatching?
Sorry Het, I have been busy with work this week. I'll get that vid done tonight.. And you have to remember you generaly go through two back tires before your front needs to be replaced..
 

Hethrir

New Member
@ marthy: other people i know have had these tires and never had an issue with them. then i see this and people have issues. dont know what to say. they have excellent reviews through most sites... *shrugs* guess ill just keep an eye out on my tire pressure, which i always do anyways, and see what happens.

Edit: after looking online semi-extensively using multiple search parameters, im not seeing a lot of issues with these tires. Their was a recall associated with them (according to one site) of the tires made in france, whereas the ones made in spain seem to be okay. mine were made in spain, although i will still keep up a constant vigilance on the tire.
 
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JSP

Super Moderator
What actual tires did you get though? Pilot road 2 ct, pilot road 3, pilot power???

Only issue I have seen was with those Pilot Road 3's. Seems it was fairly isolated at that too.

My Pilot Road 2's just came in today but will be a bit before I get them swapped. No front stand, so have to figure something out with that.
 

JSP

Super Moderator
@jspansel: pilot 2ct's.
haha, pilot road 2 2ct or pilot road 3 2ct or pilot power 2ct? Lots of pilot 2ct's :D;). 2ct is just their designation for dual compound tire.
 


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