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Hello everyone. Figured I'd relate my experiences with these tires. I was trading off from the Dunlop Q2's. Only issues I ever had with Q2's was at the track, cold tires on the first lap of the sessions after I'd get comfortable and be pushing it a bit more. All in all, they were great tires, but I didn't like the profile as much, and wanted to try something new. This is where the PP3's come in. I got them just before the rally this year, and managed to put 20-25 miles on them before trailering down to the rally.
Initial impression was fairly poor. Even though I didn't like the profile of the Q2's (seeming too wide, even for a 160 on the 4.5" rear wheel and wrapping around too much), the profile of the PP3's was seemingly the opposite. I now think it was just from seeing the Q2's the way they were, making the new PP3's seem weird, when they are in fact, perfectly normal. In those first 20-25 miles, the PP3's were THE most squirmy tires I've ever had for scrubbing in. They slid fairly often. That said, in those first 20-25 miles, I got almost edge to edge in the back.
Then I made it down to the Rally, trailering down there. Went for a short ride on Saturday, very leisure ride on the Skyway. On Sunday, we did the group ride. The tires were amazing! Absolutely no issues at all on the Dragon, and of course, none on the rest of the way to Telico Plains. On the way back to the cabins, we ended up riding through rain. At first, I was one of two guy's following Ron in the rain, learning a little bit of what tires can actually do in the rain. It was eye opening.
As a result, leaving in the lead from an overlook, I started going faster and faster in a downpour. I was practicing leaning WAY off the bike, exaggeratedly so, to keep the bike more upright in the rain, and being super smooth with the throttle and brakes. Adam was following me, so I kept thinking "Well, he has more experience than me. He's staying right behind me, so I must not be going too fast for conditions."
Yeah, I kept going faster and faster through the turns. He later told me we were entering the tighter turns at significant speed for conditions, riding through mini rivers flowing across the pavement. Never a single issue with the PP3's! I'm fairly certain that the Pilot ROAD 3's would be better rain tires, but the PP3's are certainly no slouch. They did great! As a result, that was one of the most exciting rides I can remember having. It was awesome!
Throughout the rest of the Rally, I kept getting faster and faster, and more comfortable with leaning off the bike. I've gone from edge to edge on the rear tire, and it just grips. Overall, I think my initial impressions were horribly wrong. These tires are excellent! I would still be careful scrubbing them in though.
For reference, these tires went on a worked over post 600 Kat with Racetech suspension front and rear. The rear 160 tire went onto a 5" wide rear wheel that I fitted to my bike. My guess is that tip in would be slightly better on the stock 4.5". The tires held up better than the Q2's the previous year, treadwear wise. These have now become my favorite tires.
They are rated as being an okay trackday tire, but mostly for street use. They are supposed to have longer tread life than the older 2ct's. I can't really comment on that as I haven't worn them out, and I've never had the 2ct's. If you're thinking about getting them, and want a sticky tire that might get a little more tread life than a typical sticky tire, I'd say get it!
Initial impression was fairly poor. Even though I didn't like the profile of the Q2's (seeming too wide, even for a 160 on the 4.5" rear wheel and wrapping around too much), the profile of the PP3's was seemingly the opposite. I now think it was just from seeing the Q2's the way they were, making the new PP3's seem weird, when they are in fact, perfectly normal. In those first 20-25 miles, the PP3's were THE most squirmy tires I've ever had for scrubbing in. They slid fairly often. That said, in those first 20-25 miles, I got almost edge to edge in the back.
Then I made it down to the Rally, trailering down there. Went for a short ride on Saturday, very leisure ride on the Skyway. On Sunday, we did the group ride. The tires were amazing! Absolutely no issues at all on the Dragon, and of course, none on the rest of the way to Telico Plains. On the way back to the cabins, we ended up riding through rain. At first, I was one of two guy's following Ron in the rain, learning a little bit of what tires can actually do in the rain. It was eye opening.
As a result, leaving in the lead from an overlook, I started going faster and faster in a downpour. I was practicing leaning WAY off the bike, exaggeratedly so, to keep the bike more upright in the rain, and being super smooth with the throttle and brakes. Adam was following me, so I kept thinking "Well, he has more experience than me. He's staying right behind me, so I must not be going too fast for conditions."
Yeah, I kept going faster and faster through the turns. He later told me we were entering the tighter turns at significant speed for conditions, riding through mini rivers flowing across the pavement. Never a single issue with the PP3's! I'm fairly certain that the Pilot ROAD 3's would be better rain tires, but the PP3's are certainly no slouch. They did great! As a result, that was one of the most exciting rides I can remember having. It was awesome!Throughout the rest of the Rally, I kept getting faster and faster, and more comfortable with leaning off the bike. I've gone from edge to edge on the rear tire, and it just grips. Overall, I think my initial impressions were horribly wrong. These tires are excellent! I would still be careful scrubbing them in though.
For reference, these tires went on a worked over post 600 Kat with Racetech suspension front and rear. The rear 160 tire went onto a 5" wide rear wheel that I fitted to my bike. My guess is that tip in would be slightly better on the stock 4.5". The tires held up better than the Q2's the previous year, treadwear wise. These have now become my favorite tires.
They are rated as being an okay trackday tire, but mostly for street use. They are supposed to have longer tread life than the older 2ct's. I can't really comment on that as I haven't worn them out, and I've never had the 2ct's. If you're thinking about getting them, and want a sticky tire that might get a little more tread life than a typical sticky tire, I'd say get it!
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