The Michelin Power RS Sportbike Tire Available
Michelin has released its all-new Power RS sport road tire that is said to be 3.5 seconds faster per lap than its Pilot Power 3 predecessor while offering better dry-weather grip and stability than its rivals. These include the Bridgestone S21, Continental Sport Attack 3, Dunlop SportSmart 2, Metzeler M7RR and Pirelli Diablo Rosso III.
Developed over two-year period and featuring two new patents, the Michelin Power RS is a premium sport tire that is primarily intended for road use while handling the occasional track day. It is positioned below Michelin’s track-focused Power Cup Evo and also replaces the SuperSport Evo tire.
The Michelin Power RS features dual-compound technology whereby soft and hard compounds are overlaid – including on the front tire for a quicker turn-in – with a softer compound on the shoulders for more grip when leaned over.
The rear tire, meanwhile, uses harder rubber beneath the soft rubber at the tire’s shoulders to promote stability, especially under hard acceleration during corner exit.
The other patent is a new single-ply carcass construction, which has allowed Michelin to reduce rigidity and increase grip at the crown, or center, of the tire. That single ply is then folded over on itself on each sidewall to stiffen it, resulting in less sidewall flex and better tracking through corners, according to Michelin.
Michelin has also reduced the amount of softer compound on the shoulder of the front and rear tire compared with the Michelin Pilot Power 3, thus increasing tire life. Specifically, where the Pilot Power 3’s tread has a soft/hard compound coverage ratio of 25-50-25 percent (for the tire’s shoulder-crown-shoulder) front and rear, the new Michelin Power RS tire has a ratio of 16-68-16 for the front and a 23-54-23 percent soft/hard compound coverage for the rear tire.
Despite the reduced softness, Michelin says the Power RS was 3.5-seconds quicker than the Pilot Power 3, according to in-house tests conducted on a BMW S1000RR at the Cartegena race circuit in Spain and two Michelin proving grounds in France.
The Michelin Power RS will be available very soon if not already at some specialist Michelin dealers. The tire is intended for motorcycles with an engine capacity from 250cc up to plus 1000cc.
