Pilot Powers?

[mzdagrl]

I know a lot of you swear by these tires. Why? I am looking for new ones (my stock tires are pretty shot), and wondering if I should get these as opposed to any other kind. I do a lot of commuting on my bike, but I do like to run the twisties, though I am not all that fast. I am not ashamed to admit I have 1" chicken strips, and probably will on my next set as well, not to mention a nice big flat spot.... Edumacate me.

[Stoneman]

I'll letchya know in a month or so. They're what I'll be puttin' on soon, gonna order 'em today...

[ChR1s]

Pilot Powers? Never heard of them.

[DucDave]

I have 70k on my ST2 and have tried several different tires. Couple of questions....

How many miles did you get on your stock tires?
What are your stock tires?
How many miles a year do you ride?
Track days?

My road riding tends to be fairly 'Spirited' but considering how many miles a year I ride I am always looking for wear and really don't give much thought to traction. My expereince is that I am never really close to the edge of the envelop on ANY of the current crop of street radials so I try and get 'em to last longer. Having said that, I get about 5500 miles from all of the 'sport tour' offerings from the various manufacturers. I am running Pilot Power takeoffs from my race bike now and I would guess that, all told, I will get ~4500 miles on the Powers.

Short answer, (finally!!!), is that the Powers are great tires but you won't get the mileage you would get from the more Sport Touring offerings!

Good luck...

Dave

[Awesome]

All of the current tires have ability beyond what you will use. You don't need the top of the line tire geared for high performance limits.

[akira700]

So far I have close to 5000 miles and 4 tracks days
on my Pilot Powers cant complain about them.
Still good tread left too.

[capt1014]

Can't say much about any other tire, I've had pilots on my bike since day one but they wear well and I have never had a problem with them, they feel strong in the corners.

[DucDave]

So far I have close to 5000 miles and 4 tracks days
on my Pilot Powers cant complain about them.
Still good tread left too.

Can't say much about any other tire, I've had pilots on my bike since day one but they wear well and I have never had a problem with them, they feel strong in the corners.

In-line 4's, ridden 'normally' are easier on tires than big twins ridden 'normally'. My ST2 (944 bumped to 966) is harder on tires than almost anyone else I know except for a friend who rides a Zuki TL.

The SV650 is probably about the same on tires as the In line 600s but I'm not really sure!

[Crash Dummy Denno]

i had stock dunlop 208's before and I switched to PP's... They feel stickier in the turns... anyways, just because you're "slow" now doesn't mean you won't get faster and wish you had better tires so I'd spend the extra 40 bucks and get what you want...

[Currently]

I got two sets of wheels with one set that has Powers and the other set that has the Pilot Roads that I use for commuting.

Based on the description of your riding style, I would definitely go with the
Pilot Roads. Excellent tire life and the grip is more than acceptable for twisty
riding. Because of the profile of the Roads, I was never able to get rid of the
chicken strips on the Roads, even when I leaned way down the front tire
would run out of grip. The Pilot Powers on the other hand, got rid of those
chicken strips the first time I did the Dragon.

6 more days and I am heading to the Smokeys!

[TheIglu]

Kiera, just get PP's and be done with it! They are wonderful tires.

[KillBill]

Kiera, I'm gonna bite the bullet and get the Powers as well. After all this great feedback it's an easy choice.

[Kham]

All of the current tires have ability beyond what you will use. You don't need the top of the line tire geared for high performance limits.

yea man but it's nice to have extra assurance. but for daily commute i'd forget about pilot whatever. you can't have the best of both world. can you?

[akira700]

remember too that Michelin aint the only player in the game.

Pirelli Diablos
Dunlop Qualifiers
Metzler M3s
Bridgestone 012s
Conti Sport Attack

all good from what I hear.

[HBerry]

I would save some money and go with the Conti's, they stick well and are less expensive.

[KillBill]

Is that the one with the really funky tread design?

[richw]

I would vote Pilot Roads or Dunlop 220 that I think is their sport tourer

I am running qualifiers on the Gixer but had pilot roads on a YZF and never out drove them on the street

[smf]

another $0.02. i've had pilot powers and pilot sports in the past. loved them both. i'll only buy PPs for the street now, but that's b/c they'll also be an occasional trackday tire. unless you need the outright grip of a PP (and it doesn't sound like you do) get the pilot sports or pilot roads. they outta last a lot longer.

[OreoGaborio]

K, it depends on what you want....

do you wanna spend 240 + installation for Pilot Powers & get about 5k miles out of em but not worry about traction issues at your pace?

or do you wanna spend less, get MORE miles out of em... and still probably not worry about traction issues at your pace?

I know you're gonna be doin a couple track days this year, but I don't see you goin all out & trying to progress up to blue group asap, you don't need supersport tires. I think you'll be plenty happy w/ some good sport touring sneakers that'll last you a few thousand miles more.

Price out some of these tires...
Michelin Pilot Sport or Pilot Road
Pirelli Diablo Strada
Conti Sport Attack or Road Attack
Avon Storm ST or Azzaro ST
Metzler ROADTEC Z6, ME Z4 or ME Z2

& google each manufacturer & see what they've got to say about their sport touring tire line-ups. Ya might find somethin that ya like for closer to 200 bucks.

[BostonSVkid]

I have the Conti Road Attacks and they are great. Stick well perform well and do everything I need them to do. Plus I got them for 211 shipped.

[Awesome]

K, it depends on what you want....

do you wanna spend 240 + installation for Pilot Powers & get about 5k miles out of em but not worry about traction issues at your pace?

or do you wanna spend less, get MORE miles out of em... and still probably not worry about traction issues at your pace?

I know you're gonna be doin a couple track days this year, but I don't see you goin all out & trying to progress up to blue group asap, you don't need supersport tires. I think you'll be plenty happy w/ some good sport touring sneakers that'll last you a few thousand miles more.

Price out some of these tires...
Michelin Pilot Sport or Pilot Road
Pirelli Diablo Strada
Conti Sport Attack or Road Attack
Avon Storm ST or Azzaro ST
Metzler ROADTEC Z6, ME Z4 or ME Z2

& google each manufacturer & see what they've got to say about their sport touring tire line-ups. Ya might find somethin that ya like for closer to 200 bucks.

don't forget bridgestone!

[OreoGaborio]

don't forget bridgestone!

too late

[KillBill]

Thanks for the advice Oreo

[mullerjd]

Conti Road Attack is a good one for you. I know a lot of guys that use them and even do an occasional day at the track and they are completely happy with them.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

In-line 4's, ridden 'normally' are easier on tires than big twins ridden 'normally'. My ST2 (944 bumped to 966) is harder on tires than almost anyone else I know except for a friend who rides a Zuki TL.

The SV650 is probably about the same on tires as the In line 600s but I'm not really sure!

that's weird - why is it that a twin is harder on tires, or is it a larger bike ur referring to?