Tires – French tires more competitive than ever! – The Power One 16.5 “: an air of HRC!

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French tires more competitive than ever !

Tires - French tires more competitive than ever! - The Power One 16.5 & quot; : an air of HRC!

It was on the sublime Portimao track in Portugal that Michelin presented its latest motorcycle tire to the international press: the Michelin Power One. Or rather its latest tires because behind the same name actually hide 27 models ! Test.

The Power One 16.5 ": an air of HRC !

For the last test session, Michelin offers us to ride CBR1000RR mounted in Power One 16.5 "slick. If it had rained, the Bibendum would naturally have provided us with the 16.5" rain versions..

The Honda tested by Site is equipped with rearsets, poly fairings, an Akrapovic pot and a final gear adapted to the circuit: "on these two models, we added a tooth or two to the crown", specifies a mechanic.

And suddenly, the Honda gallops: more than 270 km / h at the end of the straight line and a front wheel which leaves the ground while retaining the gas in the descents … A pure delight !

Like the Supersport, the Honda Superbike excels by its ease of handling and the smoothness of its engine. Equipped with Marchesini rims and slick Power One, the CBR even takes on the air of RCV (read our) !

Both lively in the changes of angle and stable in the curves, this Fireblade and its Power One "of MotoGP" undoubtedly make it possible to lower the lap times significantly. Unfortunately, the absence of a transponder did not allow us to verify this impression….

"This is the highest level of performance available on these tires", assures us the Bibendum. The proof: these 16.5" slicks benefit from the very latest Michelin technologies: the 3CT and the AST !

Derived from the 2CT, the 3CT allows the finest competitors to stick even better to the peculiarities of each track. And the smartest will have guessed it: while the 2CT uses two types of rubber on the same tire, the 3CT uses three. !

This inevitably leads to the birth of a new term: ASsymetric Technology or AST! "Combined with the 3CT (Three Compound Technology) system, it allows different rubber compounds to be placed on the right and left edges of the tire, as well as a third rubber for greater resistance in the center of the tread", reveals Michelin.

"This is a great first for a production tire", congratulates the Clermont team. But it is a standard tire reserved exclusively for competition: do not put this slick on your 17" rim – by forcing, it seems that it passes – to take a road trip !

During a driving session of 20 minutes, the difference between the tires did not jump out to us, but the drivers entered in the Italian and Spanish Superbike championship with Michelin, they should take full advantage of it. !

Thus, the most heavily used sidewall has a harder rubber to cover the desired distance, while the other benefits from a softer rubber allowing a faster warm-up. And for the rider to navigate, the tires are flanked by an "AST +" mark on the hard side and "AST -" on the soft side..

"We will place the side "+" on the side where the circuit turns the most and the "-" on the side where the circuit turns the least.", translates simply Eric Leyval. For example, on the Portimao layout which includes five left turns – only two are really marked – and eight right turns, we will have the" – "on the left and the" + "on the right.

For a circuit turning in the opposite direction, it will suffice to turn the tire over: "the structure is not directional, it can be used indifferently in one direction or the other", reveals the R&D manager !

Finally, if it rains on race day, Michelin makes its new Power One 16.5 "Rain available to pilots. In this tire made from the same and unique rubber -" 1CT ", one would be tempted. to write! -, silica replaces "carbon black fillers".

"This "Silica Rain Technolgy" or SRT is exactly what we used on MotoGP rain tires in 2007", add the engineers of the Bibendum who never stop innovating…

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