Tires Again

Well, it's about that time. I know some of you wanted to know what sort of life I got out of the Michelins.

Around 3600 I swapped to a Power One CUP VB Front and a Power One C Rear. The rear is just about on its last leg at 6800 miles, as is the front after checking again lol (might as well get a set). Got more life than I thought I would, front is still iffy. In case you were wondering, $190 shipped for a 200/55/R17 rear and a Power one CUP VB for $365 (both). Beats the hell out of those Pirellis.

How about ride review TransNone? Better/worse front end feel? Any noticeable difference with the traction control? Quicker steering with the V-cup? Any info/input would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I've ridden on these tires for about 3 years on various bikes. I'm a bit used to them, and a huge reason why I literally threw away the Corsa's. But I'll Try:

I noticed no discernible difference in ABS or TC.
The tire profile, especially the front, is shaped much like a V. You get more contact patch during cornering and the bike falls in even more. It begs to lay over. Which on a twin can be scary at first.
The tires have comparable life of the OE tires, but the grip is superb. It is incredibly difficult to skate the rear tire at temperature. The front has never squealed, squelched, or shuttered. It has hands down been the best front tire I've ever used. (Damn near as good or better than the Dunlop slicks on my RC). In regards to feel, they provide excellent feedback to the rider. I felt that the Corsa's were dead.

You can go a step further and get a CUP rear, but the money is in the front tire. To sum it up, these are the top of the line DOT race tires. They perform incredibly at the track, and are overkill on the street. But given I can get a COMPLETE set for $365 shipped, I'll continue to spoil myself.

Thanks TransNone. Good to hear the Michelins work well on the Panigale. I had Michelin Powers on my Gixxer and was very happy with feel and quick steering response but was hesitant to use the Power V-cup because Ducati said any tire different than the Pirelli supercorsa would adversely effect the traction control.
At the track do you use tire warmers?

I don't think I did last time. A nice warm-up lap was good enough. Was a pretty hot day. There is only a V up front, and TC only works with the rear. But yes, it's a little more peaked. But how did riders without TC ever manage? I use the warmers on the slicks with the race bike though.

Warner's at track for sure

TransNone13 said:

Well, it's about that time. I know some of you wanted to know what sort of life I got out of the Michelins.

Around 3600 I swapped to a Power One CUP VB Front and a Power One C Rear. The rear is just about on its last leg at 6800 miles, as is the front after checking again lol (might as well get a set). Got more life than I thought I would, front is still iffy. In case you were wondering, $190 shipped for a 200/55/R17 rear and a Power one CUP VB for $365 (both). Beats the hell out of those Pirellis.

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That's a lot for michelins. You should try the Dunlop Q3 great tires however you will have to use a 190 instead of 200, personally I like the 190 better. You can't get the set for roughly $285.