Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128151
2002 Open Bike Shootout Honda CBRS54RR VS. Kawasaki ZX-SR Suzuki GSX-R1 000 VS. Yamaha YZF-R1 Dynojet Research Inc. Mic:helin Pilot-Rac:e H2 As always, we like to fit all of the bikes in a shootout with the same tires for consistency, and also for safety on the track. This year, we decided to try out the newest offering from Michelin: the Pilot-Race H2. Michelins are notorious for taking a bit longer to warm up than other brands on the market. However, after reading the literature that was sent along, Michelin claims that the new Race H2 warms up more quickly than some of their previous offerings. The racetrack portion of our test took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's outside road course, not the main track. The Classic track consists of II turns - all rights except for two left-hand carousel turns. Our fears of a potential cold-tire cock-up never came to fruition, fortunately, and the tires performed flawlessly. It was always a good idea to give them a lap to warm up, but we were very pleased with the level of grip. From a handling point of view, the tires seemed very stable and exhibited excellent turn-in capabilities. Wear was not an issue, and even the rear tire on the monster-motored Suzuki looked like it was still in good shape at the end of the day. We ran 180/55ZR17 tires on all four bikes despite the fact that all of them come with 190/50ZRI7 tires, stock. Michelin, as well as most of the other tire companies, only makes the DOT track-compound tires in this size. A positive side effect is that the smaller rear hoop improves handling and quickens the transition from side to side. In developing the new Pilot Race H2 sport-performance tire, Michelin engineers set some demanding goals for themselves. After all, this was to be the ultimate, no-compromise sportbike tire from a company that has dominated world championship road racing for nearly two decades. Michelin has won both the World Superbike and 500cc GP titles for the last eight years running, giving the Michelin R&D staff a wealth of tire-performance data under the most extreme conditions. The objective was to transfer as much technology as possible to the Pilot racing tires while still meeting standards for DOT certification. The cross-section of the Pilot Race H2 front mimics a profile developed for the Pilot slicks used by 2001 World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss. The rounded, triangular profile enlaJ;~es the contact patch at full lean, improving rider feedback. Uke the original Pilot Race introduced three years ago, the PUot Race H2 incorporates Michelin patented radial-delta construction in the rear tire, which combines the grip of a race tire with the high-speed stability of the best road tires. Radial-delta incorporates a radial casing with a jointless, zero-degree Kevlar belt and two angled crown plies. The tire's footprint is further augmented by a semi-slick tread pattern with grooves covering a mere four percent of the tire's surface. The Pilot Race H2 is closely related to the Pilot Race M2 and Pilot Race S2 tires developed for supersport and superstock competition. The Race H2 features the same tread as the S2 and M2, but with differences in the structure and compound that promote quick warm-up, consistent performance and enhanced stability. While the Pilot Race H2 is available through normal retailers, the Pilot Race M2 and PUot Race S2 can only be purchased through Michelin race-tire distributors. Michelin North America, Inc. P.O. Box 19001 Tel: (864) 458-5000 Greenville, South Carolina 29602-9001 Fax: (864) 458-6359 40 APRIL 24, 2002' II: U II: I e n e vv s VS. OYIlOIlWtm1 u.~ ~ , · , · · · · , · , · , , , " , , . , . . , . . , . . , . . . . , , . . . . , . , , . . . . . , , , . . . ,, . .----.----.---. ,, ,,, , , , , , '" ". , , . •• mllD~e-tJl.7 , '" , , , , , : 125 , ----~----~----~----~----~----~----~---_._--- 100 ----~-------------------~----~-, , , . , . . , , . . , . . . , , , , , 7S , , , , , , , , ,. ,. , . . . . . , , . . ----~----~----~----~----~ ---~----~----~----~---i : : i£_:~'-;..'~: · . . . . - 125 . '00 - 7S , , , , , ·50 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 25 , , , , , , ·25 ----~----~----~----~----~----~----~---, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , _0 o ~"~'':''~'~"~'';''~'~"~'':''~'~"':"';"~'~"':"';"~"~'':''';'';':"~'':''';'';':"~'':''';'';':"':"':"';";':''~'':''';''~_~~ 10 11 2 3 s 9 12 13 50 ------+---- --- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , -~----~----~----~----.----~---- · · . . . . . . . . . . .