Gear and Products

Michelin’s latest Power RS sport tire just might be the new benchmark

New Michelin tire utilizes new compound and patented carcass construction for overall performance that is claimed to be head-and-shoulders above the competition

By Kent Kunitsugu

November 29, 2016

Michelin's latest Power RS sport tire is claimed by the company to easily outperform its direct competition in nearly every major performance category.Photo courtesy of Michelin

Even though it's only begun its involvement with MotoGP as the new spec tire manufacturer for the past year, Michelin is already looking to capitalize on that relationship by introducing a new flagship sport tire, designated the Power RS. Superseding the Pilot Power 3 as the French company's top-of-the-line sport rubber, the new Power RS is primarily intended for road use while easily handling the occasional track day outing. Michelin is claiming that the new tire easily outperforms its European competition such as the Pirelli Diablo Rosso III, Dunlop SportSmart 2 (Note for US readers: this is not the same tire as the US-made Sportmax Q3), Bridgestone Battlax S21 Hypersport, Continental ContiSportAttack 3, and the Metzeler Sportec M7 RR.

We managed to scam a set of new Power RS tires to test for ourselves before their official debut next year in the US. We'll be giving a full report very soon, stay tuned.Photo courtesy of Michelin

Boasting new dual-compound technology derived from its latest racing exploits, the Power RS also has a new patented carcass construction that is claimed to allow excellent straight-line stability as well as increased confidence at extreme lean angles. Interestingly, the new compounds and carcass have permitted Michelin to actually decrease the amount of "softer" compound on the shoulder of both front and rear tire compared to the previous Pilot Power 3 tire. For example, while the Pilot Power 3 tire has a 25%/50%/25% ratio of soft/standard compound makeup of the tread for both front and rear tires, the new Power RS has a ratio of 16%/68%/16% soft/standard compound makeup for the front tread, and a 23%/54%/23% compound coverage makeup for the rear tread. And yet Michelin says the Power RS is 3.5 seconds quicker per lap on a BMW S 1000 RR at the Spanish Cartegena and French Ladoux and Fontanges circuits than the Pilot Power 3.

Michelin says that the new Power RS is 3.5 seconds/lap quicker than the previous Pilot Power 3 tire, despite using less soft compound on the sides of the dual-compound tread.Photos courtesy of Michelin

Part of that increased performance is surely due to new tires’ increased “land/sea ratio” (the amount of rubber surface area compared to the amount of void created by the tread grooves). The Power RS has a land/sea ratio of just 6.2%, compared to the 10% ratio of the Pilot Power 3. In fact, the Power RS’s land/sea ratio undercuts Michelin’s own Power Supersport Evo track day tire, which comes in at 7.5%.

The Power RS will be available in 13 different sizes (four front, nine rear) to cover a broad range of sportbikes, for everything from 300cc to large-displacement machines (and yes, there's even a 240 for you fat-tire custom sportbike fans). Prices are to be announced, and the tire will be available starting around the beginning of 2017.

Front:
110/70ZR-17 54W
110/70R-17 54H
120/60ZR-17 55(W)
120/70ZR-17 58(W)

Rear:
140/70R-17 66H
150/60ZR-17 66(W)
160/60ZR-17 69(W)
180/55ZR-17 73(W)
180/60ZR-17 75(W)
190/50ZR-17 73(W)
190/55ZR-17 75(W)
200/55ZR-17 78(W)
240/45ZR-17 82(W)

We couldn’t wait that long, and managed to procure a set of Power RS tires from Michelin. We’ll be giving a full writeup on their performance very soon. Stay tuned!