choosing the right tire

I'm trying to get any feedback on the top street tires. I current have DUNLOP 208 which I think are only ok.

Welcome to the forum :yesnod ... you just opened up a MAMOTH can of worms :lol There are thousand of pages discussing this topic and at the end of day it still comes down to personal opinion :yesnod

Welcome to the forum :yesnod ... you just opened up a MAMOTH can of worms :lol There are thousand of pages discussing this topic and at the end of day it still comes down to personal opinion :yesnod :stpd: Welcome to the Forum. Do a SEARCH and all your questions should be answered. Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone all make great tires.:secret:

Search and yee shall find! :fact Just remember picking a tire is like picking a dance partner....it all depends on the type of dancing your doing. :yesnod

Search and yee shall find! :fact Just remember picking a tire is like picking a dance partner....it all depends on the type of dancing your doing. :yesnod That's a great analogy....I'm going with either a set of Diablo Corsas or a set of the new Bridgestone BT021......pretty certain either will fit the type of roads most available and thus the type of riding I mostly do. Hope I can get a good deal on a set of either at Mid-Ohio this coming week. Not real pleased with my front PP.... has started to cup with about 2300 mile on it....I don't believe it's suspension related but never had the issue with the original dunlops nearly that quickly.

That's a great analogy....I'm going with either a set of Diablo Corsas Just put a set of Diablo Corsa's on this weekend and so far they are great. :thumbup

Just put a set of Diablo Corsa's on this weekend and so far they are great. :thumbup i got the diablo corsa 3 with like 100 miles so far and love them whats bette rthe corsa 3 or the regular corsa

That's a great analogy....I'm going with either a set of Diablo Corsas or a set of the new Bridgestone BT021......pretty certain either will fit the type of roads most available and thus the type of riding I mostly do. Hope I can get a good deal on a set of either at Mid-Ohio this coming week. Not real pleased with my front PP.... has started to cup with about 2300 mile on it....I don't believe it's suspension related but never had the issue with the original dunlops nearly that quickly. What pressure are you running? You should be running 38psi.

Corsa 3's are Pirellis newest tire.....I just happen to have an inside line on a set of Corsa's with only 60 miles on them so I went that route otherwise I was going with Corsa 3's :fact

What pressure are you running? You should be running 38psi. Running 36psi up front but I ran it at 32psi for about 400 mi. and that's when I noticed the cupping.....kind of suspected it was my own fault due to running the lower psi......can't deny I really like the tires though....just disappointed due to the amount of tread on it....

michelin just came out with a new one, well they actually have 2 newer designs,, THe pilot power 2ct, and the Road 2... I'm actually considering gettin the Road 2 next,, ive been using the regular pilot powers,, never had a problem with em, i think the road 2 tires have the road center and the regular pilot power sides,, so they will last longer

michelin just came out with a new one, well they actually have 2 newer designs,, THe pilot power 2ct, and the Road 2... I'm actually considering gettin the Road 2 next,, ive been using the regular pilot powers,, never had a problem with em, i think the road 2 tires have the road center and the regular pilot power sides,, so they will last longer I'll give the road2 a look....funny thing around this area....dealers seem to have caught on finally that most aren't going to spend 400+including mounting for the same thing we can get for around 250.00 online + mounting....priced a set of each I mentioned previously at 300.00 mounted.....that's "ground-breaking" based on my experience with local dealerships....still considering going in with my bro on a decent tire changer eventually though....

What pressure are you running? You should be running 38psi. If you have to run 38 PSI in a tire for it not to cup, then it is a POS:fact How do you know the type of riding he does to advise him of PSI:dunno Good luck & ride safe.

If you have to run 38 PSI in a tire for it not to cup, then it is a POS:fact How do you know the type of riding he does to advise him of PSI:dunno Good luck & ride safe. Because Im the west coast Michelin race tire distributor. It doesnt matter what kind of riding hes doing 38psi is the opt. pressure for this tire. The tire was designed to run at this pressure reguardless of how he rides. Street or track 38 is the way to go.

Because Im the west coast Michelin race tire distributor. It doesnt matter what kind of riding hes doing 38psi is the opt. pressure for this tire. The tire was designed to run at this pressure reguardless of how he rides. Street or track 38 is the way to go. Is this the same for 2CT's?

No 32psi front and back for the 2CT. The 2CT has a completely different carcus and doesnt require as much pressure.

With all due respect to Michelin Man and R1 Master.....alot of times one doesn't know who to believe with all the valid and invalid info floating around the net these days.....:dunno Just seems to me that roughly 2000mi @ 36psi (checked at least once weekly) wouldn't be enough to cup the tire....I'm no tire expert though....I just run'em....:riding kmac, quick question......have I read your originally from Indiana?? If so where from....I think I'm recalling Columbus or thereabouts.... Thanks for the input fellas....

Because Im the west coast Michelin race tire distributor. It doesnt matter what kind of riding hes doing 38psi is the opt. pressure for this tire. The tire was designed to run at this pressure reguardless of how he rides. Street or track 38 is the way to go. So your telling me that your advice is to run Michelin's at the same tire pressure whether on the track, curves on the street, highway riding, riding single, double, 10 degrees outside or 100? If this is the case, then I will stick to my first statement. Ride safe.

Just seems to me that roughly 2000mi @ 36psi (checked at least once weekly) wouldn't be enough to cup the tire I agree completely. Any good tire should be able to run sub-32 psi without strange wear characteristics such as cupping. I have run the PPs to their limit and beyond running 31-32 PSI, so I can't even imagine running them at 38PSI. By beyond I mean the bike is actually crashing but saving it using your knee to pick the bike back up. Ride safe.

kmac, quick question......have I read your originally from Indiana?? If so where from....I think I'm recalling Columbus or thereabouts.... Thanks for the input fellas.... Seymour, Indiana. 20 minutes South of Columbus.

Pp 2ct

I agree completely. Any good tire should be able to run sub-32 psi without strange wear characteristics such as cupping. I have run the PPs to their limit and beyond running 31-32 PSI, so I can't even imagine running them at 38PSI. By beyond I mean the bike is actually crashing but saving it using your knee to pick the bike back up. Ride safe. Well heres the thing. The tire was not designed to run at 32 psi. With out going into to much engineering heres the jist. The tire is built with a fairly soft carcus. Meaning you need to run higher pressure to stablize the tire. It doesnt fallow the traditional tire logic where you run less pressure to get more heat in the tire. You acctually dont want these tires to get to hot. The rubber in the tire is designed to grip at a heat range lower then other tires. So if you run less pressure the tire will get to hot and start to get greasy, you will also esperiance excess wear and cupping becuse the tire is to low in pressure. You said if you have to run a tire at that high of pressure its a POS. Why is it a POS if thats how its desinged. Michelins race tires are design after the Moto GP tire any we run 18-22 psi in those does that make those tires a POS also because they are designed to run a low pressure. I think not. Acctually now Dunlop and Pirelli are copying this trend. Michelin is the largest tire company in the world, and the spend millions of dollars in R&D. I dont think you know more about tires then they do. And they say to run 38psi becuse that how they were designed. Why does a tire have to run at 30psi who made that rule. Now you can run the tire at what ever you want but it wont be at optimum performance. Maybe you wouldnt have pushed the tire past its limits if you ran the proper tire pressure. With all due respect to Michelin Man and R1 Master.....alot of times one doesn't know who to believe with all the valid and invalid info floating around the net these days..... Just seems to me that roughly 2000mi @ 36psi (checked at least once weekly) wouldn't be enough to cup the tire....I'm no tire expert though....I just run'em.... To qualify myself a little Im the race tire distributor for southern california. Im also a racer myself. Ive won class championships in the 600 classes at willow springs so I know a thing or two about pushing tires to there limits. As far as wear goes, the problem is that for 1/4 of the miles you've put on the tire you put a cupping pattern in the tire. So now even with the correct pressure you've already messed up the wear patten for the tire. Depending one how bad this is it could wear itself back to normal. Just for referance I have a guy out here on a big heavy BMW that commutes through Angeles Crest every day that is at 4k on the tires right now and the tires still look great.

Thanks for the insightful info, Michelin Man. It's good to hear the facts straight from the horse's mouth versus the user level info that may or may not be accurate. this seems like a good example where the old "rule-of-thumb" is working against you, not for you.

Well heres the thing. The tire was not designed to run at 32 psi. With out going into to much engineering heres the jist. The tire is built with a fairly soft carcus. Meaning you need to run higher pressure to stablize the tire. It doesnt fallow the traditional tire logic where you run less pressure to get more heat in the tire. You acctually dont want these tires to get to hot. The rubber in the tire is designed to grip at a heat range lower then other tires. So if you run less pressure the tire will get to hot and start to get greasy, you will also esperiance excess wear and cupping becuse the tire is to low in pressure. You said if you have to run a tire at that high of pressure its a POS. Why is it a POS if thats how its desinged. Michelins race tires are design after the Moto GP tire any we run 18-22 psi in those does that make those tires a POS also because they are designed to run a low pressure. I think not. Acctually now Dunlop and Pirelli are copying this trend. Michelin is the largest tire company in the world, and the spend millions of dollars in R&D. I dont think you know more about tires then they do. And they say to run 38psi becuse that how they were designed. Why does a tire have to run at 30psi who made that rule. Now you can run the tire at what ever you want but it wont be at optimum performance. Maybe you wouldnt have pushed the tire past its limits if you ran the proper tire pressure. As far as wear goes, the problem is that for 1/4 of the miles you've put on the tire you put a cupping pattern in the tire. So now even with the correct pressure you've already messed up the wear patten for the tire. Depending one how bad this is it could wear itself back to normal. Just for referance I have a guy out here on a big heavy BMW that commutes through Angeles Crest every day that is at 4k on the tires right now and the tires still look great. I'm going to have to agree. I've been running Pilots since 02 and I just put on a new PP rear. Well the stealership that mounted it, told me to run it at 32. after 1500 miles, it is cupped. I'm pretty pissed, but I guess its my fault. I just put it at 38 yesterday and am hoping it will fix itself. :mad:

I current have DUNLOP 208 which I think are only ok. If you think the 208's are okay, then you don't need to ask this question. Any tire will do for you.

208's should be banned by health and safety. metzeler racetecs now you're talking

Well heres the thing. The tire was not designed to run at 32 psi. With out going into to much engineering heres the jist. The tire is built with a fairly soft carcus. Meaning you need to run higher pressure to stablize the tire. It doesnt fallow the traditional tire logic where you run less pressure to get more heat in the tire. You acctually dont want these tires to get to hot. The rubber in the tire is designed to grip at a heat range lower then other tires. So if you run less pressure the tire will get to hot and start to get greasy, you will also esperiance excess wear and cupping becuse the tire is to low in pressure. You said if you have to run a tire at that high of pressure its a POS. Why is it a POS if thats how its desinged. Michelins race tires are design after the Moto GP tire any we run 18-22 psi in those does that make those tires a POS also because they are designed to run a low pressure. I think not. Acctually now Dunlop and Pirelli are copying this trend. Michelin is the largest tire company in the world, and the spend millions of dollars in R&D. I dont think you know more about tires then they do. And they say to run 38psi becuse that how they were designed. Why does a tire have to run at 30psi who made that rule. Now you can run the tire at what ever you want but it wont be at optimum performance. Maybe you wouldnt have pushed the tire past its limits if you ran the proper tire pressure. . Well here is the thing. I don’t come on the Forum to brag about who I am or what I do. I’m not sure what you consider to be a soft carcase, but the PP does not have a softer carcase than Pirelli’s Diablo, Diablo Corsa, or Supercorsa tires. All of the Pirelli tires can be run in the 28-32 PSI range at the track giving optimum grip without the side affects of cupping or premature life span you describe as being the result running a lower PSI on the PP’s. This goes against what you are saying. If what you are saying was true, then that would mean the Michelin’s are inferior by design. That being said, I will stand my POS statement because if the PP will become trash because the tire pressure was not perfectly maintained at 38PSI then that is exactly what it is and from now on I will not refer anyone to purchase this tire. The reason for lowering PSI is to allow the carcase to flex thus allowing a larger contact patch to be on the pavement while vertical or at full lean. The side effect is that it generates more heat, and wears the tire out quicker. I have never heard of someone lowering the PSI for the sole purpose of generating more heat. Incase you have not noticed, Michelin has little to no R&D and little to no factory support in the U.S. This is not to say that Michelin does not make great tires because I believe they do. Not as good as Pirelli and Bridgestone at this point and time, but we can save for another discussion. Getting back to the point, without supporting a Factory team in a top level of racing here, where do you think Michelin’s R&D comes from? Not here in the U.S.!!! So your telling me that you are going to take PSI recommendations from an engineer in another country’s that has no clue what motorcycle the tire is going on, what the pavement conditions are, outside temperature, etc, etc? If so, then you are in the wrong line of work my friend. Conditions change constantly, so the tires must conform to these changes, and we make them conform by changing the PSI. I do not proclaim to now more about tires than the design engineers at Michelin. However, I do know how far many of the tires on the market will go before their limit is reached, and that is the most important thing to me. You can do all the computer design, internal testing, etc you want, but the only thing that matters for each of us is what the tire does on real pavement, on our specific bikes under our specific conditions. Not what some engineer says the tire will do on all bikes, under all conditions. I believe you are a little mis-guided by thinking that Pirelli and Dunlop are copying any trend set my Michelin. Michelin is playing catch-up to everyone these days except Dunflop. Take your head out of the sand and look around man! Ride safe.

Seymour, Indiana. 20 minutes South of Columbus. John Melloncamp country. :rock I grew up just South of there on the Ohio River. :)

John Melloncamp country. :rock I grew up just South of there on the Ohio River. :) That's right, I lived pretty close to the Mellencamps. (Although he was gone to Bloomington, by then). I love Southern Indiana probably better than any place I've been. Plus I LIVED at the Brickyard when race season rolled around. I can't wait until the GP race......already got a block of tickets on order.

That's right, I lived pretty close to the Mellencamps. (Although he was gone to Bloomington, by then). I love Southern Indiana probably better than any place I've been. Plus I LIVED at the Brickyard when race season rolled around. I can't wait until the GP race......already got a block of tickets on order. I hear ya. I was born in Speedway. My parents told me we could hear the Indy cars at our house during the 500. I don't remember it since I was only there two years before moving to New Albany. How many tickets are in a block? I hope to be up there next year. :rock

I hear ya. I was born in Speedway. My parents told me we could hear the Indy cars at our house during the 500. I don't remember it since I was only there two years before moving to New Albany. How many tickets are in a block? I hope to be up there next year. :rock I don't think there's an official size to a "block". I've got 5 tickets ordered and my brother has 6 ordered. When I was a kid I was at qualifying when a little known rookie named Rick Mears got the pole. I got my picture on the front page of the Indianapolis Star sports page with him and was on TV while he was being interviewed. Man, I thought I was more important than the President. Sadly, I was also at the Brickyard when Gordy Smiley got killed in front of us in a horrific Turn 3 qualifying wreck. He hit the wall head on at over 200 mph!!!! :scared I can still remember Tom Carnegie's words as if they were spoken yesterday: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with our deepest regrets we announce the passing of Gordon Smiley..." :( oooops, sorry for getting off topic........

Comparing another brands carcus to michelins in terms of tire pressure is apples to oranges. Bottom line is Michelin PP were designed to run in the 38psi range. one or three psi either way isnt going to kill the tire but were talking 6 psi. Just as you said, lowering tire pressure will cause a larger contact patch and as a result create more heat in the tire. Well if you over heat a tire wont it get greasy and wear execively? The pp is built with alot of cilica in the rubber making the tire grip without execive heat like a race tire. So if you lower the pressure and cause more heat in the tire you are defeating the purpose of having a tire with alot of cilica in it. Go run a Pirelli / Bridgestone / Dunlop street tire at 24psi and see what happens. Getting back to the point, without supporting a Factory team in a top level of racing here, where do you think Michelin’s R&D comes from? Not here in the U.S.!!! British SB, Austrailian SB, or maybe the riders that they have full time that just ride and test tires for a living. These are riders that have competed at the world level and now test for michelin excusive. The US market has not been a marketing focus of Michelin and that is why there are no US Factory teams on the tires. Michelins choice not the factory teams. So your telling me that you are going to take PSI recommendations from an engineer in another country’s that has no clue what motorcycle the tire is going on, what the pavement conditions are, outside temperature, etc, etc? If so, then you are in the wrong line of work my friend. Conditions change constantly, so the tires must conform to these changes, and we make them conform by changing the PSI. Acctually such recomendations are made based on the engineering aspects of the tire which are based on market research from Michelin engineers in South Caralina....next. I do know how far many of the tires on the market will go before their limit is reached, and that is the most important thing to me I think its safe to say that there are much better riders in the world testing the limits of these tires then you. Maybe Im wrong. Let us all know what your qualifications are. See you may not be testing the limits of the tire just your abiliy with them. Something tells me that say Colin Edwards can get a little more out of the pp then you can. So what would be the weak point here you or the tire. You can do all the computer design, internal testing, etc you want, but the only thing that matters for each of us is what the tire does on real pavement, on our specific bikes under our specific conditions. Not what some engineer says the tire will do on all bikes, under all conditions. I will share a little insight here. Michelin puts there tire on say and R-1 or a ZX-6, basically each sport bike you can think of and test the tire. Uses the data to make a product that works well in all cases. If an issue arises they take the tire they have problems with and the bike that the problem is specific to and do thousands of miles of testing to figure out the problem and the solution. So when they give a psi recomendation it isnt just haphazard. Theve done the research and they know what they are talking about so yes I will trust that engineer before you all the way. believe you are a little mis-guided by thinking that Pirelli and Dunlop are copying any trend set my Michelin. Michelin is playing catch-up to everyone these days except Dunflop. Take your head out of the sand and look around man! Last time I checked Michelin has had a low pressure race tire out for 3 years. Just this year both Dunlop and Pirelli have come out with low pressure rear race tires. Whos copying who?

Mounting tires myself I know first hand the Pirelli has stiffer carcase than Michelin. Atleast the Corsa III vs Pilot sport,road or power. Diablo Strada too has a very stiff carcase.

Comparing another brands carcus to michelins in terms of tire pressure is apples to oranges. Bottom line is Michelin PP were designed to run in the 38psi range. one or three psi either way isnt going to kill the tire but were talking 6 psi. Just as you said, lowering tire pressure will cause a larger contact patch and as a result create more heat in the tire. Well if you over heat a tire wont it get greasy and wear execively? The pp is built with alot of cilica in the rubber making the tire grip without execive heat like a race tire. So if you lower the pressure and cause more heat in the tire you are defeating the purpose of having a tire with alot of cilica in it. Go run a Pirelli / Bridgestone / Dunlop street tire at 24psi and see what happens. British SB, Austrailian SB, or maybe the riders that they have full time that just ride and test tires for a living. These are riders that have competed at the world level and now test for michelin excusive. The US market has not been a marketing focus of Michelin and that is why there are no US Factory teams on the tires. Michelins choice not the factory teams. Acctually such recomendations are made based on the engineering aspects of the tire which are based on market research from Michelin engineers in South Caralina....next. I think its safe to say that there are much better riders in the world testing the limits of these tires then you. Maybe Im wrong. Let us all know what your qualifications are. See you may not be testing the limits of the tire just your abiliy with them. Something tells me that say Colin Edwards can get a little more out of the pp then you can. So what would be the weak point here you or the tire. I will share a little insight here. Michelin puts there tire on say and R-1 or a ZX-6, basically each sport bike you can think of and test the tire. Uses the data to make a product that works well in all cases. If an issue arises they take the tire they have problems with and the bike that the problem is specific to and do thousands of miles of testing to figure out the problem and the solution. So when they give a psi recomendation it isnt just haphazard. Theve done the research and they know what they are talking about so yes I will trust that engineer before you all the way. Last time I checked Michelin has had a low pressure race tire out for 3 years. Just this year both Dunlop and Pirelli have come out with low pressure rear race tires. Whos copying who? Great reply, and I understand your view and appreciate your insight even though I disagree with some of your reply. I will leave it at that. Good luck & ride safe.

I believe the front on mine can pretty easily be brought back into shape now that I have a good idea as to whats going on with it regarding pressures....thanks again fellas....:)