thepopularjock
Wizard
I picked up my new Michelin back tire on my last trip to San Marcos, Texas. I was coming out of a friends house and I saw the steel belts sticking out of my stock Battlax. I prayed my way 10 miles south and drove to New Braunfels. This is where I got talked into moving away from the stock Battlaxs (which I was very happy with). I was told that the 2CT has a thicker compound along the center of the tire to provide longer life for sport touring while maintaining the ability to be aggressive in corners. The salesman asked me what my precentage of driving was (track vs long trips) and I am about 75% road trips and about 25% track (or aggressive cornering). Basically the salesmen explained that this is the perfect tire for me because it would give me longer life on road trips (which I do a lot of) and still allow me to be aggressive while going through twisties and track days.
I flat out don't like it!!!! I don't know if it's just me but I have had several issues. The first is when I'm cornering. I actually wobble when I turn aggressively into a corner. I assume I'm hitting that "thicker compound" on the center of the tire. Whatever it is - I hate it!!! This is something that has made me adjust my driving style just to keep this tire. If I had the money I would drop this tire and go back to what I had.
The second issue is grip. I understand that all tires perform differently when they are cold but the rubber on this tire seems especially hard when it's cold. I was pulling into traffic today and accelerated from the stop sign. It was an aggressive move that you need a fast bike to perform (I shot out ahead of someone). I have done it a thousand times and didn't think twice about it. However, it was the first time I have done it on the 2CT. My back tire slid front and back and side to side!!! I had to let off the accelerator and put a foot down to balance myself. That was the first time that has happened when I hit the gas like that and it completely caught me off guard. This is not the first time that I have lost traction with this tire.
It has performed fairly well in the rain. In fact - the tread pattern is the first thing that you will notice about this tire. It is very unusual but it seems to work OK.
I have put about 700 miles on this back tire and I have to say that I would not recommend this tire to anyone. I have spoken to some people who love it and that is great. However I'm not one of them. Maybe it's my driving style or something else but whatever it is I'm weighing my options of buying a new tire vs riding this for a few thousand more miles.
I flat out don't like it!!!! I don't know if it's just me but I have had several issues. The first is when I'm cornering. I actually wobble when I turn aggressively into a corner. I assume I'm hitting that "thicker compound" on the center of the tire. Whatever it is - I hate it!!! This is something that has made me adjust my driving style just to keep this tire. If I had the money I would drop this tire and go back to what I had.
The second issue is grip. I understand that all tires perform differently when they are cold but the rubber on this tire seems especially hard when it's cold. I was pulling into traffic today and accelerated from the stop sign. It was an aggressive move that you need a fast bike to perform (I shot out ahead of someone). I have done it a thousand times and didn't think twice about it. However, it was the first time I have done it on the 2CT. My back tire slid front and back and side to side!!! I had to let off the accelerator and put a foot down to balance myself. That was the first time that has happened when I hit the gas like that and it completely caught me off guard. This is not the first time that I have lost traction with this tire.
It has performed fairly well in the rain. In fact - the tread pattern is the first thing that you will notice about this tire. It is very unusual but it seems to work OK.
I have put about 700 miles on this back tire and I have to say that I would not recommend this tire to anyone. I have spoken to some people who love it and that is great. However I'm not one of them. Maybe it's my driving style or something else but whatever it is I'm weighing my options of buying a new tire vs riding this for a few thousand more miles.