Pilot Pures

[Smiff-ta]

Is anyone using these?

Heard some good things.

[MsKABC]

GSXR Trace is now running them on her pint and she loves them... Haven't tried them myself.

[Marmoot]

Good feedback, grippy on the dry roads, and bike is more flickable (feels much lighter).
Need to get the correct pressure, as it is very sensitive to improper pressure. It feels very wallowy and not-confidence-inspiring even with just 2-3 psi off. But it could also be due to my bike having hard-setup suspensions.
Data from daily auckland commuting as well as high speed backroad riding.

So-so on wet roads. Can't complain, but can't praise much.

Hate the price. But I always hate any price.

Feels so much better than Pirelli Diablo Rosso. But I have always hated that tyre set ever since I got them on (i.e., within 48 hours of having them on).

Haven't tried on the track. Waiting for spring/summer to come.

[SVboy]

I watch with interest. Heard some so-so feedback-not as good as PP2cts? Does the lighter carcase offer potential issues with rapid heat up/cool downs? I was keen to try these on my GSXR but will wait till others report back.

[NZsarge]

Good feedback, grippy on the dry roads, and bike is more flickable (feels much lighter).
Need to get the correct pressure, as it is very sensitive to improper pressure. It feels very wallowy and not-confidence-inspiring even with just 2-3 psi off. But it could also be due to my bike having hard-setup suspensions.

Yes I found out recently through a UK bike mag that when they went to the launch of the tyre the Michelin engineers warned them not to lower the tyre pressure for the track portion of the tyre test, this is due to the "lite tyre" technology which was explained by the engineers as removing all un-nessecary rubber from the tyre. This intern means that it used the pressure in the tyre to keep the carcass true to the road there for if the pressure is too low the tyre would deform much more easily than say a Pilot Power would. In the magazine artical they were told to run 36 front and 42 in the rear tyre. When I bought my Pures I was un aware of this need for firmer pressures and was running my usual 33-34F and 36-38R and once I gave it a bit of a serve I found the bike was all over the place and wondered what the hell was going on... Now armed with this info i'm running 36-37F and 42R and they are now riding like I expected them to.

I watch with interest. Heard some so-so feedback-not as good as PP2cts? Does the lighter carcase offer potential issues with rapid heat up/cool downs? I was keen to try these on my GSXR but will wait till others report back.

I at this point don't rate them hugely above Pilot Powers but they are a bit better for sure, what i'm interested it is how they will wear (ie: will they flatten off in the centre much) and what milage will they get, haven't had them on for that long yet so this'll dictate whether I stick with them or not. Coz of the low speed straight line work I do the Powers would flat spot quite easily and prematurely wear out the rear tyre. The proportioning of the rubber compounds in the Pure is very similar the Pilot Road 2's and the resist flat spotting very very well and I was hoping for a similar effect with the Pure's.

[ckai]

I'm running them on the Daytona which I swapped the stockers straight out. I had 2ct's on the old Daytona.

I can't comment on price since it was a straight swap for the Pirelli's so I can't really say if they're value for money.

Totally agree that they're super-sensitive to PSI. The bike was riding like shit when I first got it and thought it was me. Checked the pressure and they were around 3 psi higher than I normally ride (34-36). Sorted it and they rode 10x better.

They feel like wood before they're heated up too. Once they're heated though they're better than the 2cts. Sharper turn-in and better mid-corner grip.

Watch the slippery patches on wet roads though. I thought I'd test there grip on a straight piece of road when pulling out of an intersection. So I gave it a little stick and noticed they came unstuck when changing gears. Didn't happen with the 2cts. In saying that it was totally predictable and the bike never wondered off line. It also didn't seem to be slipping when I was on the gas.

I'm in 2 minds if I would get them again. I know the 2cts have pretty impressive mileage so it'll be interesting to see how long these last. I suppose if I knew the price difference that'll probably sway me as well.

As for the track...i'll be able to comment in October

[ckai]

Yes I found out recently through a UK bike mag that when they went to the launch of the tyre the Michelin engineers warned them not to lower the tyre pressure for the track portion of the tyre test, this is due to the "lite tyre" technology which was explained by the engineers as removing all un-nessecary rubber from the tyre. This intern means that it used the pressure in the tyre to keep the carcass true to the road there for if the pressure is too low the tyre would deform much more easily than say a Pilot Power would. In the magazine artical they were told to run 36 front and 42 in the rear tyre. When I bought my Pures I was un aware of this need for firmer pressures and was running my usual 33-34F and 36-38R and once I gave it a bit of a serve I found the bike was all over the place and wondered what the hell was going on... Now armed with this info i'm running 36-37F and 42R and they are now riding like I expected them to.

This is interesting. 42 is bloody high. It's higher than what I was riding when they were first put on. I might have to try those pressures and see what the difference is like.

[NZsarge]

This is interesting. 42 is bloody high. It's higher than what I was riding when they were first put on. I might have to try those pressures and see what the difference is like.

Yeah i've always been of the opinion that 42 psi was bloody high but the tyre imeadiately smoothed out with the way it was wearing so..

[Marmoot]

Yes I found out recently through a UK bike mag that when they went to the launch of the tyre the Michelin engineers warned them not to lower the tyre pressure for the track portion of the tyre test, this is due to the "lite tyre" technology which was explained by the engineers as removing all un-nessecary rubber from the tyre. This intern means that it used the pressure in the tyre to keep the carcass true to the road there for if the pressure is too low the tyre would deform much more easily than say a Pilot Power would. In the magazine artical they were told to run 36 front and 42 in the rear tyre. When I bought my Pures I was un aware of this need for firmer pressures and was running my usual 33-34F and 36-38R and once I gave it a bit of a serve I found the bike was all over the place and wondered what the hell was going on... Now armed with this info i'm running 36-37F and 42R and they are now riding like I expected them to.

Thanks for confirming this
Perfect for me. I like running 36/42 on track because of how my bike is set up (personal preference plus bad italian stock springs). With the hard suspension, soft tyres would deform too much as it would take all the stress before the suspensions taking it.

[Dazza]

Very interesting coments about tyre pressures. I run 36 front & 38 rear with no problems. Wet road the other day and was pushing it a wee bit & they where fine, had a little warning that we were getting close to slide territory which was nice They certianly seem to be holding up heaps better that the Corsa III's previously fitted and have nearly covered 3000k's and the front looks hardly worn. Mate reckons I'd notice the difference in unsprung weight which I thought he was full of it but I have to admit that he's right. So far they've been great,and appear not too bad in the wet.
Doing Burt ride this year so may fit the new M5's though.

[onearmedbandit]

Feels so much better than Pirelli Diablo Rosso. But I have always hated that tyre set ever since I got them on (i.e., within 48 hours of having them on).

Can you tell me what it was that you didn't like about them? I've got a pair on the thou currently and I'm not really enjoying the ownership. They seem to be quite a nervous tyre, compared to the Dunlop's I was running, the bike fidgeting around momentarily as I set up for a corner. The grip is there, no denying that, but they just feel less stable than others I've had on. And this goes against what I've read about them, where reviewers seem to praise their stability.

[NZsarge]

Very interesting coments about tyre pressures. I run 36 front & 38 rear with no problems. Wet road the other day and was pushing it a wee bit & they where fine, had a little warning that we were getting close to slide territory which was nice They certianly seem to be holding up heaps better that the Corsa III's previously fitted and have nearly covered 3000k's and the front looks hardly worn. Mate reckons I'd notice the difference in unsprung weight which I thought he was full of it but I have to admit that he's right. So far they've been great,and appear not too bad in the wet.
Doing Burt ride this year so may fit the new M5's though.

You are (according to the article I read anyway) running the correct pressure in the front at least where I guess that'll make the biggest difference.
Would be interested in hearing what you think about the Interact M5's if you end up running them.

[Marmoot]

Can you tell me what it was that you didn't like about them? I've got a pair on the thou currently and I'm not really enjoying the ownership. They seem to be quite a nervous tyre, compared to the Dunlop's I was running, the bike fidgeting around momentarily as I set up for a corner. The grip is there, no denying that, but they just feel less stable than others I've had on. And this goes against what I've read about them, where reviewers seem to praise their stability.

Rosso don't inspire confidence at all. They are good when they grip, but the grip can fade off very suddenly without any warning at all. To make it worse, they are inconsistent, where it is impossible for me to know this envelope. Road and track included, dry and wet. This also makes it impossible to find consistent line and/or develop consistent performance. Also tried going -4psi, -2psi, +2psi, and +4 psi from the proper pressure but those don't help at all.
I would give them a score of 7.5/10 for the road, and 5/10 for the track.

Compared to other tyres I've been on, Rosso, Bridgestone's BT010, and Dunlop D207 (around year 2000-2002) are the worsts, while BT56, BT015, and Michelin PP are not bad at all. Best so far was Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro, but I've been trying to get a ready-stock pair (i.e., when changing tyres) of these for the last 1.5 years without any luck.
Still undecided with Power Pure, but so far it looks promising. Need to test it on the track. I understand this is more of a 50:50 road:track tyre, not hardcore track like Supercorsa Pros.

And FYI swapping from Supercorsa Pro to Rosso dropped me from 1:08 to 1:16 at Puke. Best performance on Rosso was 1:12, right before the tyre was worn out. Performance seems to improve a little bit right before the meat is out, but it was too little and takes far too long.

P.S.
For reference purpose, on the track I tend to carry higher cornering speed, lean angle and more aggressive exit. That may have affected the behavior.
Also, it was on a v-twin with 180 rear, not 190.
Need to know how these compare with the reviews you read. I read a few good reviews on them only to find out they were using it mostly on the american straights .

[MaxCannon]

Just got a set on the BMW.
Previously I had a Metlzer M3 on the back and Conti Sport attack on the front.
Was always happy with the rear grip (well up to the tyre was bald anyway).
Found the conti on the front rather nervous, very sharp turn in but never too sure how much grip I had.

Fitted tuesday morning, first ride was commute home in torrential rain.
Verdict. Slippery when new (and wet). No major dramas but definite new tyre feel.
Trip to work and back is 30km all up. So Wednesday - Friday put a few more miles on them in mostly wet conditions.
After the first 60km or thereabouts they seemed pretty well scrubbed in.

Not used to seeing sunshine at the weekend lately so despite the wind I got out on both Saturday and Sunday.
Pressure check on Saturday showed 34F and 38R. Back end had felt a bit soft so I pumped them to up to what I ran before 36F and 42R.

Ride. Found it very firm. Dropped the pressures to 34F and 40R. Felt much better.
What I've read about these pressure sensitive seems to be true.

Turn in, not as sharp as before but I kind of like that. Changes direction well and bike feels very good through the turn.

Grip. Seems to be lots, getting on the gas hard out of second and third gear corners there was no drama. Just hooks up and goes.

Overall. I'm pretty impressed. Bike certainly feels flickable and stable. Will be keen to see how they fare on the track.
Can't comment on wear as they've only got 200km on them so far.

[onearmedbandit]

Just picked myself up a new pair of the pures today. Yet to put them back on the bike so I can't comment on them yet, other than the price. $468 fitted to the bike.