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Pilot Power CT2, WEIRD?!?

Fogg

Fogg

Joined Sep 2011
141 Posts | 0+
Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
Maybe it's me, but i've recently bought my first Mille which is fitted with PP CT2 tyres which most people on here seem to rave about, however, when i try to crank the old girl over a bit, i get a weird sensation from the back end, oh er! what i mean is that it feels like it about to let go any minute, or that there is no feel, or even a sensation of sliding (even though i know it isn't) I've never used these tyres before, and like i said, although i have years of experience on big/fast bikes (R1, GSX-R, ZX7-R etc) i'm fairly new to the Mille. Is this something that i just need to get used to, or is it the steep profile of the tyres? i've been used to more rounded profile of tyres if you know what i mean, which has probably just answered my own question but is this a common thing? I really want to enjoy the Mille but this is kicking the crap out of my confidence in bends where i usually have most fun, please put my mind at rest, any suggestions?
 
check the pressures .... my Japan bikes ran OK on higher pressures but I stick to the bikes recommended pressures and it's fine
 
I'm running 33F 36R so i don't think it's that, or is that still too hard?
 
I also got a Michelin Power Pilot 2CT on the rear.

And i'm getting it of my bike this weekend ! I get no feedback at all, what Fogg says; it feels like it about to let go any minute.
And it happend a few times that it loses grip and slides a bit when i make some corners.

Back to Pirelli for me !
 
Kogeltje said:
I also got a Michelin Power Pilot 2CT on the rear.

And i'm getting it of my bike this weekend ! I get no feedback at all, what Fogg says; it feels like it about to let go any minute.
And it happend a few times that it loses grip and slides a bit when i make some corners.

Back to Pirelli for me !
Click to expand...

I think i might go back to Bridgestones, they're what i'm used to, Part worn 2CT's anyone? (not yet, but soon)
 
Michelin tryes can feel squirmish to some as if low in pressure .... found this when I ran a set , all most like their side wall is not as stong & flexs when pushed hard from left to right at speed , Pumped them up to 45psi rear & 40 front & stopped doing it but was never going to ride a bike with these pressures but proved a point for me any ways ... Run Pirelli Diablo Rosso Rear & SuperCorsa SC2 Medium race compound front 36-38 R - 34-36 F Grip & feed back is second to none with my Setup ...
 
Sensei said:
Michelin tryes can feel squirmish to some as if low in pressure .... found this when I ran a set , all most like their side wall is not as stong & flexs when pushed hard from left to right at speed , Pumped them up to 45psi rear & 40 front & stopped doing it but was never going to ride a bike with these pressures but proved a point for me any ways ... Run Pirelli Diablo Rosso Rear & SuperCorsa SC2 Medium race compound front 36-38 R - 34-36 F Grip & feed back is second to none with my Setup ...
Click to expand...

Food for thought , thanks for that
 
Fogg said:
I'm running 33F 36R so i don't think it's that, or is that still too hard?
Click to expand...

Same pressures as I run mine at. Weird, never had any issues with my 2CT's, I've been through a fair amount of front and rears as well. Most folk as you say, tend to sing their praises quite highly.
 
Love mine work OK for me 33/37 psi. Are you sure they are not squared off ? Have you dropped your forks thro the top yoke to 4 rings showing, and set the bike suspension for yourself. You should have No problem with handling of these babies.
 
I hear a lot of moaning about tires .......Have you had your suspension checked / set up .... modern day sport touring tires have more grip than an 80s motogp Tire ....they didn't ride slow exactly lol

speaking of motogp R.I.P. Marco Sic .... you will be missed :(
 
As above. I had an oil leak on my forks just after I got the bike (04 factory). Griff sorted that and adjusted the suspension to suit me. It was better but not what I expected. The rear was squared off so I got new tyres PP2CT's and the bike was transformed. I would stick with it as usual making sure all the bits are sorted then slowly dial them and yourself into the bike. Worked for me.
 
From a michelin rep:


Pilot power Front - Street / Track day tire 36-38 psi
Pilot Power Rear - Street / Track day tire 35-37 psi

Pilot Power 2CT Front - Street / track day tire Dual Compound 32-34 psi
Pilot Power 2CT Rear - Street / track day tire Dual Compound 32-34 psi

Power race Front (PR1, PR2, PR C) 31 psi
Power race Rear (PR3, PR4, PR5) 22 psi

Power race rear 190/55 (Soft, Med/soft, med) 20 psi

Now for a little tech talk. The 2CT's have softer rubber on the sides as stated but they run a lower pressure then the regular pilot powers because they have a stiffer sidewall and carcass. The regular pilot powers have a very soft carcass and need the air pressure to keep the tire from folding over. The rubber is designed to heat up quickly and the tire doesnt need a low pressure to heat up. Lowering the pressures will only increase wear because it will cause the tire to run too hot, this will also lower the grip.
 
I've had loads of 2cts on my 03 and then 02 mille and loved them. No issues at all and bags of grip. The rear would spin up a little but that was due to me hitting the throttle early on the apex which is normal and there's not a tyre in the world going to prevent this on a powerful bike. I would suspect you're either running a 180/55 section on the back or the tyre is squared off but you sound experienced so im guessing you would have checked both of these so other than that you're talking about geometry or suspension.
Change brand of tyres by all means but your problem is not related to this model of tyre maybe just this particular tyre! Is it a really old tyre that hasn't been used because they do go off? On a new slippy rear tyre i'm off the edges within 20-30miles that's how confident I am in their performance.
I recently changed to Sports smarts just to see what the fuss was about and to be honest I can't tell the difference other than possibly the mileage.
Hope this helps and just for info I run 31-33psi front and 34-36psi rear

Regards Dave
 
As Dave said, could just be an old or duff tire. I had to get a new set of tires while in france as i thought repairing a puncture on a set of bsb diablo supercorsas which i`d managed to get 4000 miles out of werent worth it! Went for diablo corsa 3`s (what my mate was running on the same trip, on the same model of bike), and they were *****, must have been a bad batch, had the front tuck in every bend and eventually had to just accept i had no grip before i crashed, on the way home just weaving from side to on the toll road they were leaving dark lines! messed up, but it happens.
For the record I run part worn SC`s of McEbay and vary my pressures
 
i loved the 2ct's back when they just appeared in the market. the only bad thing about them is that at the end of their life (even though thy still have scceptable tread on them) they just seem to "let go". and on top of that, like the others said have you set-up the suspension for YOU? when i bought my first mille i HATED it. then i set-up my suspension, i just fell in love with it!

p.s. one thing about these milles i saw many people do: they bring the forks 4 lines showing and preety much they leave at that. it's just wrong! :) i get two scales and, with me in full gear and the tank full i rise/lower the forks until i get 50-50 weight distribution front-rear. then i set-up my sag then recheck the weight distribution. in most of the cases you need a little more tinkering. if you are patient enough and do it spot-on you'll have a hell of a bike! of course the springs have to be adequate for your weight, front and rear. for example i weigh 76 kg fully equipped and use stock springs. my fork is showing 6 lines and with the preload adjusters all the way out minus one line i get 25 mm sag on front :) oh, one more thing: you should reset your weight distribution even when changing your tires from 180/55 190/55 190/50 or 120/65 120/70. they all have different heights and do affect weight distribution. hell, every tire model has a different height, 190/55 from dunlop is different from a michelin 190/55 for example. as for rebound and compression damping it's just a little notebook and lots of trial and error on the street! hope that helps! cheers!
 
I had these, well the power pure 2ct, and they were *****. you had to thrash the tits out if your bike to put any heat into them and then one set of traffic lights they where cold again. when you tip in the give on you, even the write ups in MCN and PB etc say they are only 1.5 stars out of 5. I used dunlop qualifiers and you can get the knee down in the rain on them they where great. I bought a set of racetechs as they are suppposed to be the buisness. Medium rear soft front, ok the mileage has taken its toll, in the rain the rear slides about a little coming off rbs but my god in the dry, quick easy warm up and pure stability, tip straight in and you can just keep pushing. brilliant bit of kit.
 
me and my mates found the racetechs were awesome even on a soaking trip to Brono two years ago.
Awesome tyres
Wont have anything else on the V4 now.
ck
 
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