Quote:
Originally Posted by black12rr It is expected. The pathetic MRFs are like skate boards. The tires contact patch and the compound holding the tarmac is making you the feel like that .
The rear is 150, so its more planted and that's what makes it heavy. You will get used to it . |
True. After couple of 100 kms, everything feels normal now.
Pilot Street - the almost 1K review:
A little background: When i brought my Unicorn, he came shod from factory with MRF Zappers. Though they were supposedly one among the then available better tyres, I was not satisfied and I changed both my tyres to Michelin M45 within first few months. Till date, I am using Michelins (M45 being the most preferred one) and have been a very happy customer.
Fast forward to the Duke: Lisbeth also came from factory shod with MRFs and I was looking to change her shoes at the first given chance. I wanted something akin to M45, and there was nothing in the market which could tempt me to put down the dough to buy them. Sure, there were Ralcos and few other similar tyres, but the guys who put them on Duke 390 reported that the tyres are heavy and they did rob the bikes top end by couple of tens of kmph, which unfortunately, was not affordable on a Duke 200. Also, there was this trade off of not being able to be a corner carver. The ideal tyre in my mind was Pirelli Scorpion Trail, but it was not easy to come by. I even briefly thought about getting them to India (was closely following this -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...k-com-usa.html), but realized it will not be as easy as I thought.
I have seen Michelin Pilot Radial and have read good words about it from the guys who have changed to it, but the grip pattern was not aggressive enough for me, and I dismissed it thinking that it won’t offer enough grip for me. As time went by, I got more comfortable with MRF on road and on trails, and this coupled with some other financial commitments, made me conveniently forget the tyre upgrade itch - till I started getting punctures and the last nail in the coffin was a 1 inch cut, which took two plugs to stop the air leak.
This is the time I got wind of an amazing deal for Pilot Street and since I didn't had any other choice; I bit the bullet and ordered them. I finally got them changed on Nov 3rd, at Madhu's and as if to welcome the new shoes, the sky opened up as I finished fitting them. The very first ride on them was a wet ride and man, the tyres were a revelation. I felt the handle to be heavier but the grip was amazing. As I put down few hundreds of kilometers, the heaviness has been vanished and the tyres have proven their worth in a verity of circumstances.
The dry grip is amazing, but what really set these tyres apart are the wet grip and the grip in slush. There is this particular slushy stretch which i used to avoid at the first hint of rains since my bike used to slide and dance all over the place but with the current set off tyres, I fly over that patch. I can now change directions in slush without losing grip, and can do much better speeds off the road. In rains and in wet roads, I can break hard with much more confidence and can accelerate well without having the fear of losing the grip.
I did even try panic breaking from triple digit speeds (under controlled environment, not on a public road with traffic) and it did fare much better than MRFs.
Last week, I took her to first ghat ride after change of shoes and the change in riding characteristics were well pronounced. By the time we finished the Anchetty loop, there was no chicken stripe to speak off. The tyres sure did put a HUGE grin on my face.
The only downside is they cost almost twice the price compared to MRFs, but that is a well worth trade off in my opinion.
A very happy Lisbeth after a mud facial. I could NEVER get the bike this dirty when I was on MRFs. So Happy to see her in her true elements.
--Anoop