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Pilot Power 2CT

S

scum

Tricycle
When I bought my used '08 this Spring the dealer said he'd fit a new set of tires on it. After doing a bit of research I told him I'd like the Pilot Road2 tires. "No problem" says He, and when I picked up the bike there was a shiny new pair of Michelin tires on it... I've had the Pilot Road 1 tires on another bike (03 Z1000)and was happy with them and wanted to try the new style.  After a few days and a few hundred miles of riding I'm checking the tires and I notice that they are Pilot Power 2CT tires, not the Pilot Roads- Well crap  :-[ these won't last very long at all. On the other hand, THESE ARE FANTASTIC TIRES! What grip! What agility! I figured "what the hell" I would probably never get another chance to ride this bike with full-on sport tires so lets enjoy it.  Being the cheap bastid that I am the bike is always going to have sport-touring tires because everyone knows these P-Powers are going to be worn through in 2,000 miles right?
Not really. The Pilot Powers now have over 4,000 miles on them and are still rideable. Though the rear is squared off a bit and the front is showing a bit of cupping. It's getting on time to replace them, but I did get a solid 4K miles out of them. At about 42 psi, always.
Of the 4,000 miles, maybe 700 miles are interstate, most riding was done on secondary roads. A lot of it was two-up (not two light people)
How do the Road2 tires compare for useable miles? The Pirellis? The Conti Road attack?
These tires are something else, I really was impressed with the performance and grippiness
So I guess my question is how many miles are you getting out of the sport touring tires and how did you like them? Thanks.
 
I can't tell you what kind of mileage to expect on the C-14 on the Pilot Power C2s, I've run the standard Pilot Powers on the Turbo C-10 and absolutely destroyed them in 1500 miles... but man, that was a fun 1500 miles. LOL

THe C2 version is supposed to be the same on the sidewalls as the standard version with a harder center portion.  WIth the C-14s propensity to eat front tires I would think yours would be pushing the wear bars by 4000 miles no matter what.  I'm surprised to read otherwise.  I'm sure a few other folks are bound to have tried these tires before on the 14 and I'm curious to read what they got from them.  I haven't bought another set of Powers simply because I can't afford to replace them that often... and now that I've moved where there are no curves there's little need for sticky rubber.  :'(
 
PP 2cts are great tires.  i have used them for trackdays on my 600 for a few years now before i moved up to full blown race tires - pilot race & pilot ones.  I have never put any more than 4500-5000 miles on a set of PPs or PP 2cts...

now, back to your question, i have Pilot road-2s that have 7000 miles on them and they still are fine.  the rear is just starting to square off in the middle, and the front looks fine.  i dont plan on replacing them until i reach around the 10K mark; sometime next summer.

so there's the rub...PPs are fine, but they wont give you 5000 miles, PRoads are a tad less grippy, but you can ride them for season after season with no worry.

hope this helps.
 
2CTs are great tires IMO, I run them on my Gixxers. I think a C14 would chew through them pretty quick though, nice and sticky but don't think you'll get very many miles out of them if that's important to you...
 
Have you researched the PR3 (Pilot Road 3)?

It sounds like you got about double what others have done with the PP2's, so I would expect you should get 10K or more out of the PR2's or PR3's.  The grip on the PR tires is most excellent, so it's unlikely you will out ride the tires.

The Pirelli Angel ST's are fantastic tires also, but I had the centers flatten out on them faster then the PR2's (actually the PR2's haven't yet), with a little less mileage from the the Angels.
 
I finally got around to mounting my PP 2CT on the front of the C14 last night ... will keep you posted on wear.
as long as they last longer than the Stones i will be happy.

4600 miles on the Stone front ... its very nice to have gotten rid of the 'fall in' feeling of the goofy shaped Stone.
 
I just installed PP2CT on the bike this afternoon, and also changed to 190/55 instead of 190/50.  The tires only have a few miles and need to break in a bit, so cannot speak to handling or wear.  Only did surface street and freeway....100 degrees and sunny, went for the garage shade post haste.

I can speak to the 55 profile.....wow.  Feels like a different bike, turns in, right now.  Instant change for the better on the test ride, looking forward to some real curves tomorrow besides on/off ramps.  Speedo is now accurate to 0.50 MPH vs Garmin, consistent in all speeds up to 80.  Was about 3.5 MPH with 50 profile. 

Inititial impression is that either the tire or profile change makes it more sensitive to grooved concrete pavement, but that was only 10 miles of freeway, between 35-80 MPH.  See what happens after a couple hundred miles and tires get settled.
 
The 2ct Powers wear faster than the Road2ct. I ran a power2ct and a regular Power on the front to see how they did after a few road2ct's. The Road2 on the front was frustrating, it did well. but wore odd. It cupped, bad just about an inch off center, I am thinking it was about were the soft side compound began. Cupped down to the wear bars when the rest of the tire had a lot of tread left. All 3 road2cts I ran wore the same. I tried the power2ct, cheaper, and I love them on my Gixer and TL1000. Also cupped out in the same manner just off center, sooner than it should. Tried the Power non2ct. It lasted longer than the 2ct, about the same as the Road2, before it cupped out. All tires were ran at 42psi. I am now trying the Road3 in the front. Hoping for the best.
The Powers square off pretty quick on the rear. In about half the miles of the road2ct on the rear, all my rears have been in the 190/55s.
 
Just got back from a 1475 mile 4 day trip with the new PP2ct on the front ... it did awesome even in the rain.

after the 1475 miles it is starting to show a little of the wear like ddtmoto is describing. which is the same thing the Bridgestone did.
 
I have about 300 miles on my 2ct Road3 front, I gotta tell ya, I like it. A rounder profile than I am use too with the Powers and the Road2ct. But, on this bike it likes it. No wear to speak of yet, duh, only the nubs are gone after some aggressive canyon riding today. I have high hopes that this Road3 model is better suited for this big bike and will wear more evenly, without cupping...
 
Thursday I am headed from Las Vegas to Big Bear Lake, Orange County, Yosemite, across the Stanislaus Range east and back through Death Valley.  Probably 1500 or so miles, rain is possibly forecast for some of the trip, should be a good test of nearly all road types and conditions, from 50 degrees to over 100, freeway, twisty roads, city, and roads that have seen better days.  Put about 500 break in miles on similar road combos last weekend, so looking forward to giving the PP2CTs (f/r) to a fun test.  Will post how it works out. 
 
A thousand miles this weekend on the front Pilot Road3, so 1,500 so far and this tire rocks!. Some Rain, high speed,
corner after sweeping corner, cold to nice and toasty. Knobs are gone across the whole tread surface and that is about it.
I am impressed with the profile, roundness works on this bike. I am using the entire edge to of this tire. No chicken strips.
And with the front doing so well I am also to the edges of the rear 190/55 Road2. I had about 8mm strips on the rear with Power fronts With this front I am leaning the bike even further.
It feels that good. Havent dragged my knees on this bike yet, that is for my two sport bikes, but the bike feels so solid
and even more stable now.  WOW...! I am looking forward to getting the rear Road3 on as soon as it arrives...
 
GaryW said:
Thursday I am headed from Las Vegas to Big Bear Lake, Orange County, Yosemite, across the Stanislaus Range east and back through Death Valley.  Probably 1500 or so miles, rain is possibly forecast for some of the trip, should be a good test of nearly all road types and conditions, from 50 degrees to over 100, freeway, twisty roads, city, and roads that have seen better days.  Put about 500 break in miles on similar road combos last weekend, so looking forward to giving the PP2CTs (f/r) to a fun test.  Will post how it works out.
Click to expand...

Update to previous post - 1373 miles, 40 degrees to over 100, -277 feet below to 8000 feet above sea level, mountain roads, single lane twisties to open desert sweeping curves, tires provided great confidence.  Never worried about traction, except for some pine needles on single lane 10 MPH switch backs.  Did a couple hundred miles of freeway as well.  Did not encounter rain.  A fun, fun, tire, coupled with 190/55 turn in (vs 55 stock).  Wear to date looks terrific, about 2500 miles so far on tires, no squaring off.  I could feel the road input front and rear in the curves, nice feedback.  And they are so much quieter in curves than the stock Bridgestones. 

I was somewhat hesitant about the Power tire as an everyday tire, but I am quite pleased.  Might try the Road3 next for a comparison, but will seriously consider a repeat of the Power.  That said, bear in mind that typically my rides in southern NV do not encompass a lot of daily high thrill mountain switch backs, so others could have far quicker wear on the Power. 
 
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