Tyre Choice - Mitchelin Pilot Road 2CT

Am I doing something wrong.... I've always ridden with Bridgestones on the road (014,015 and 016) and to be honest besides really early mornings in winter, ive never had a the tyre slip. I reciently fitted 2CT's to my bike and even at the smallest provication the tyre slips??? The problem is that it's making me wary of the superduke and reluctant to try it out on the track... I've been told that it may be the tyre pressure so I checked the manual and made the pressure the same as recommened.. Is there anything I can do? It is possible that the suspension may be causing issues... but to be honest the experience is effecting my riding and confidence so much that I am considering selling the duke..

What pressure ?

Front or back slipping?

What Suspension setting?

Rear...

Tyre pressure = ?? will have to check..

Suspension:

SHOCK
Comp Low speed - 15 Clicks from hard. (5 harder than basic)
Comp High speed - 1.5 from full hard. (basic setting)
Rebound Adjuster - 15 from full hard. (3 softer than basic)
Spring Preload - 4 Turns Clockwise (your recommendation 2 turns counter clockwise from Sport setting)

FORK
Comp from - 14 from full hard (1 harder than basic)
Rebound - 8 From Full (7 harded than basic)

I run a Pilot 2CT in the rear (front tyre hasn't needed replacing yet, I forget what brand the previous owner put on it). It's only ever acted up when it's soaking wet outside, but it's never done anything scary. I like it a lot and apparently it's one of the more popular tyres for sport bikes in America. I suspect your problem lies elsewhere, I plan on putting another full set of Pilot 2CT's on my bike unless I find a better tyre for similar money.

I use pilot power 2ct's on track and road and find they are awesome. Close to racetech grip (but not quite that good) and decent life.

However as I've said before IF you take them to a trackday and cook them for a day they will be awful in the wet for a few hundred miles until you "clean" them.

I've been tempted to hop onto the Pirelli bandwagon but from what I've heard the tyres just don't last very long.

Seems there's some confusion here (?) - Pilot Power 2CT ain't the same bun as that the OP is asking about ... I run Power 2CTs as my everyday street tyre (and have used them on the track as well) - and they give a helluva lot better feedback and traction IMO than the Supercorsa IIIs that came on the bike. They're also lasting 2x as long.

But its the Road2 we're talking about - right? This too is a great sport- touring tyre IMO, and while I haven't used them on my SD, I have worn out a couple of sets on other bikes (which takes a while ... an impressively long while). I've thrashed these in canyons and mountains, and maybe a tiny push in the front when behaving most irresponsibly, or the occasional rear-step out when my right-wrist spasms flare up . But never did anything grossly unpredictable occur.

Seems Davey Sprocket is no newb, so some of this is just sharing experience for anyone who might be interested in fitting Road2s.

Obviously not the stickiest tyre one can buy. They do have a somewhat heavy carcass when compared to the latest-greatest hypersport street rubber, nor do they offer the same feedback as the Power 2CT or PowerOne Race (DOT) tyres. While not the most responsive tyre, the profile provides for very stable turn-in. But winning races is not their mission. As a do-it-all tyre, there's only one or two other skins on the market that compare.

Davey Sprocket - KTM666 is asking all the right questions, and suspension setup can have some effect here, but:

- Again, is it just the rear that's stepping out? And does it happen at any time, or just early in your ride - ?

- tyre pressures - important to know, what are they?

- Just how new are these tyres, as in - did you just put them on, say less than 20 miles ago (I suspect not, but gotta ask)?

- What are the date codes on the tyres?

A lot of less-experienced sport riders (and track novices) have asked me what replacement tyre to get, and the Road2 is one of a couple of recommendations I throw out. Many have tracked these tyres without issue, with no complaints of slipping. Which brings us to the questions/points above. Maybe yours need a little airing down or more warm up (or both) before winding things up. I'm going to assume that they aren't "old", and that they're scuffed some already.

And beyond the tyres, is the rider occasionally dipping in to more of that juicy torque on corner exits than they should? I know I do!

I have the pilot road 3s and find them awesome on the road. Much much better than the corsa 3s as they heat up quicker and stick well in the wet too.

I personally wouldn't run PR's on the track. They are a sport touring tyre.

I went into FWR and asked Bob about Sport Smarts. Some of the guys here in London will know FWR, and Bob, and some might even have seen him ride, he's pretty damn good.
He said there was absolutely no reason to be worried about the PR2s or 3s on track with any bike unless you're happy going around in the fast group.
I took that as good advice. Firstly, the tyre cost the same and lasts about double the time, so why would he recommend me a tyre that makes him less money unless it's genuin advice.
Secondly, I've seen Bob p!ss all over everybody in the fast group at Lydden Hill on his road GSXR1000 which he just rode to the track (no tyre warmers, not van, ...), so I trust his opinion

Not that it matters anyway!!! thanks for the heads up on the tyres.. Going to contact the dealer tommorrow... Hopefullly I can get my hands on some decent rubber.. and see what the duke is truely capable of

I'd def recommend Dunlop Sportsmarts if your looking for a do it all tyre. I'm very impressed with mine so far. Quick warm up, good wear, can handle a load of track punishment before they start to let go, and they work in the wet too.

If you are still stepping you rear tyre out more than you want with the SD, try shifting to a higher gear. This motor has grunt and builds rev's fast. Fan the clutch to build rev's if needed. Other thoughts other than tyre selection: Chain lube on the tyre? tyre changing lube still in tyre? Cleaning / polish over spray on tyre? Something like disel fuel on your practice track. Old tyre? Some old fart got it out for you cause you wake im up with your scooter? You must be really hard on the gas to have the wheel spin up as much as you are saying. Sounds like this is happening on the street and not at the track? Strange. I have gone thru two rear pie readys dilobos this summer and my rear has not stepped out once, but I ride like I want to keep my licenes...sort of.. I was having trouble with my first KTM 300 EXC. My right wrist was sore after ridding. I was working so hard to keep the front end down when going over rough section of trail. Then it hit me. Use a higher gear, dumn ass and use the gut that KTM gave you in that 300cc 2 smoker. That mellowed the whole power delivery, kept the front end down out of the trees, got traction to the ground and eased the pain in the wrist and went faster.

I had 2CT's on my priller RSV and I rate them very good. I am not a fan of the new power pures.
The only issue I have with tyres like the 2CT's and bridgestone BT16 is that they where an excellent tyre but there is newer and better.

I still can't fault my Pirelli Diablo Rossa Corsa's, love them. Plenty of feel, sticky as, fast warm up and for now the wear has been good

Cool.. now thats an awesome explanation... thanks Mate.. I have seen some guys race with 190s. Do they ride with a specific branded tyre.. I see most of them use Dunlops.. is that a sharper profile design??

Great.. thanks for the heads up!!