i'm a tire moron.

[momo]

'05 R6.

i was running a Michelin Pilot Power (front) and a Pilot Power 2ct (rear).

i needed a new front so i ordered a pilot road. it was $80 shipped.

got it put on and the whole bike feels completely different.
i thought the pilot power and road were both similar profile tires with just different compounds. turns out that was not the case. the bike doesn't feel nearly as good entering a lean. i think the tire is fine i just think the combo of the two is causing my dislike.

should i:

1. wait to see if it feels any better after a few miles (10 miles on the tire now)?
2. buy a pilot power or pilot power 2ct front and sell off the road?
3. is there a different brand i should go try thats better these days? pirelli diablo or bridgestone bt-003?


also, im thinking about using dyna beads to balance the wheel myself. yes or no?

[ThreeFingerPete]

A lot of people seem to like the power up front and the road out back. That sure doesn't help you at all though.

[JasonRR]

I'll be you get used to it in a few miles. Give it a little more time.

[ram57ta]

I have a Pilot Power on the front and am about to put a Road 2 on the rear of my Blackbird. I've been pretty happy with the power on the front so far (about 2 thousand miles on it). All the reviews I've read on the Road 2 seem pretty good.

[momo]

A lot of people seem to like the power up front and the road out back. That sure doesn't help you at all though.

yea, seems the softer tire should be up front if you are mixing. seems i went the opposite direction. oops.

I'll be you get used to it in a few miles. Give it a little more time.

i put more miles on it, it does feel much better. it's smooth on the highway, it just lacks the same willingness to enter a lean when compared to the power.

I have a Pilot Power on the front and am about to put a Road 2 on the rear of my Blackbird. I've been pretty happy with the power on the front so far (about 2 thousand miles on it). All the reviews I've read on the Road 2 seem pretty good.

road 2 seems to be based off the power a lot more in design. i'm sure that will be a much better set up than what i have.


it looks like i might swapping them out for a trivial amount.

[momo]

well, the front did get much better with some wear down but it was still weird going into a corner. i was fine with it but it wasnt fine with me. the tire caught a nail...

now i am rolling a whole new set of michelin pilot power pures.

[futant]

were the sizes on the tires exactly the same ?

probably a difference in the profile of the curve on it....

[momo]

were the sizes on the tires exactly the same ?

probably a difference in the profile of the curve on it....

front is 120/60
rear is 180/55

yea, very different profile. the road is a basketball. the road 2 and powers are footballs.

[futant]

front is 120/60
rear is 180/55

yea, very different profile. the road is a basketball. the road 2 and powers are footballs.

oh yeah , youre fucked
i tried that once on my old CBR F2, cause someone gave me a free tire (front)
it was like you mention , 120/60 vs 120/50 like it should have.

Handled like asshole. screwed up the geometry so bad I don't know how i rode it long enough to wear it out.

made the bike require SIGNIFICANT more manhandling to get to corner at all. basically turned my sport bike into a tank (like and old F2 isn't one already)

when i went back OMG I couldn't believe I ever got 'used to it'
it would lean right into a corner, initiating a turn was 10x easy. Like going from a cessna to a F15 after that. I even noticed you could then just lean and the bike would naturally follow your line into the bend. Thats how tank like it had become.

sorry man, just take it back the hell off and sell it. Trust me here.
It made my bike astronomically shitty handling, I couldn't believe it. or that I managed to ride it long enough commuting to wear it out.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

well, the front did get much better with some wear down but it was still weird going into a corner. i was fine with it but it wasnt fine with me. the tire caught a nail...

now i am rolling a whole new set of michelin pilot power pures.

Pures are good tires but they are the same thing as the 2ct with a different pattern IMO. I couldnt justify what they wanted for the 2ct or the pure and went with the Dunlop Q2. I am in love with the q2 and dont think I will be going pack to a michlen tire anytime soon.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

front is 120/60
rear is 180/55

yea, very different profile. the road is a basketball. the road 2 and powers are footballs.

You should be running a 120/70 front and a 180/55 rear. I wouldnt run the 60 on the front because I dont feel like there is enough feedback in turns for me. On my F4i I run 120/70 180/55 and the R1 I run 120/70 190/55 ... will never run a lower profile tire, feel like shit in comparison.

[momo]

You should be running a 120/70 front and a 180/55 rear. I wouldnt run the 60 on the front because I dont feel like there is enough feedback in turns for me. On my F4i I run 120/70 180/55 and the R1 I run 120/70 190/55 ... will never run a lower profile tire, feel like shit in comparison.

the r6 uses a 120/60 stock rather than the more widely used 120/70. it's weird but it's what it was designed for so that's what i use.

Pures are good tires but they are the same thing as the 2ct with a different pattern IMO. I couldnt justify what they wanted for the 2ct or the pure and went with the Dunlop Q2. I am in love with the q2 and dont think I will be going pack to a michlen tire anytime soon.

yea, the pures are similar to the 2ct but have a much larger soft zone. fronts have 50% soft sides vs 20%(2ct). the rears have 80%!! soft sides vs 22%(2ct). people claim the wet performance is better simply due to the tread pattern being more scavenging.

price wasn't a concern for the first time of my tire life. tire warranty took care of both tires, complete cost of replacements and labor. so we opted for the best tires i could get.

sorry man, just take it back the hell off and sell it. Trust me here.
It made my bike astronomically shitty handling, I couldn't believe it. or that I managed to ride it long enough commuting to wear it out.

yea, see post 6. i got it fixed. 2 new tires.

oh yeah , youre fucked
i tried that once on my old CBR F2, cause someone gave me a free tire (front)
it was like you mention , 120/60 vs 120/50 like it should have.

actually the 2nd number of a tire is height but its not a measurement, rather a ratio of the width (first number).

[momo]

[Pokulski-Blatz]

the r6 uses a 120/60 stock rather than the more widely used 120/70. it's weird but it's what it was designed for so that's what i use.

I know that. My R1 also came with a 190/55 stock but the 190/55 feel worlds better. You should try a 120/70 next time, you will like how it feels.

Read this thread on r6 forum. There are a hundred threads like it.

http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61012

[Justa4Banger]

I went from Corsa III's to Pilot Pures on my Buell.

The Pure's took a bit to get used to, and were more senstive to tire pressure, but once i got it figured out the bike handled better than before..
Initially i had air pressures to high and the bike was twitchy as hell, Especially during hard braking..

the wear on the tires was minimal also. i logged 1800 miles in 2 weeks and the tires still looked nearly new.... My old Corsa's lasted 3k miles and were showing cord.

Biggest reason to switch for me though was the fact SBTG had a sale and i got both Pure's F/R for under 200.00 shipped.