Michelin Power Pure Review
Seduced by claims of losing significant amounts of weight to boost performance, I decided to try out Michelin’s Power Pure tires on my Ducati Monster S4RS by testing them on the street and the track. The bottom line. These tires give many of the benefits of trick, but expensive lightweight wheels for just a fraction of the price.
Modern tires are essentially just a personal choice. Even the worst set of tires you could put on your Ducati are still likely to offer more than enough grip on the road for all but the craziest fastest and most skilled of riders. So it is something special indeed to find a tire choice that really is significantly better than alternative offerings. The promise from Michelin with the Power Pure’s is light weight. The company claims a set of tires is 2lb less than the competition namely Bridgestone BT-016′s, Dunlop Qualifier 2′s, Metzeler Sportec M3′s and Pirelli Diablo Rosso’s.
Not impressed with just 2lbs? Well the secret is where the weight is lost. Riders spend thousands on sets of rims to save a few pounds because mass lost in the rims improves suspension performance (due to improvements in unsprung weight), braking, acceleration and steering all due to the reduced rotational inertia. Rotational inertia is dependent on the distance the weight is away from the axle so the very best thing to lighten are the tires. Put another way, a set of Power Pure tires is equivalent to a saving of 6lbs at the rim and 8lbs on the brake discs. Got your attention now? The Michelin’s continue with the dual compound technology first seen in the Power 2CT’s but significantly more of the Pure tire is the softer compound as the diagram above outlines.
My first test of these tires was on the track during a WildDucs trackday at Little Talladega in Alabama. The difference in weight is immediately apparent from the moment you ride off down the hot pit. The steering effort is noticeably reduced so that the bike flicks from side to side more easily. The tires warm very quickly and offer plenty of grip even on the out lap.
There is really only one directional transition at Talladega but the Monster could be flicked hard from left to right to set up for the only right hander on the track. In fact the bike turned so much better that there was an occasional slap from the bars that admittedly was probably influenced by the front being so much lighter minus the street gear. Compared to the older Pilot Power tires, the level of grip is much higher especially at the rear when first reapplying large amounts of power after the apex of a turn. In this regard and others, the Michelin’s were far more confidence inspiring than the last tires I ran, namely a set of Pirelli Diablo Rossos.
Turn in was very progressive and neutral with no tendency to fall in or understeer. Trail braking into the decreasing radius right could be done with confidence lap after lap. Finally grip and feedback under hard braking was excellent with plenty of warning when the limits of grip were being approached. The tires balled up nicely after each session and showed little sign of any premature wearing.
At the more sedate pace of a sporting ride on the street, the Michelins continued to impress. Again, warmup was quick and the lighter weight could be felt at every corner entry or quick transition. I wasn’t able to assess tire wear but at this early stage they seem to be wearing at similar rate to Pilot Powers despite the softer compound and greater grip that is available.
If you’ve always wondered what light weight magnesium or carbon fiber rims would be like on your bike, you can get a strong preview with the Michelin Power Pures. You can save half the weight of lightweight rims for an outlay of about $3,000 less! Here are a set of tires ideally suited to rapid sporting rides in the canyons along with a number of trackdays without being a full on track tire. I can’t recommend them more highly.
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I am glad you finally took the myth out of these tires. I have been going back and forth awhile trying to decide to make the jump. I mean shedding 2 pounds off of unsprung weight has to do wonders to the handling and response of the bike. Thanks for the great review as I will be heading out this weekend looking for a set.
Happy Riding,
Brian
Thanks for the feedback Brian
I have these tires on my Ducati Sport Classic 1000S. Have done 5 trackdays on them (with warmers on low) and some street. Very good feedback and wear. It’s really incredible how great they wear. Can’t speak to weight savings specifically on tires because I went from stock heavy spoked wheels to Carrozzeria mags along with these tires at the same time, so my overall weight savings was approx 20lbs at the time of the change. Needless to same, major improvement.