I put on a set of new PP3's today. After doing about 40 miles of pretty tight twisties at a moderate pace I would say without a doubt these are a much better street tire than the Q3's. Michelin has really upped the technology here.
First off I could tell the rubber compound was designed to give maximum grip under normal street conditions. Minimal warmup was needed, these things gripped extremely well, even brand new. There is no "release compound" used any longer and you can really start riding quickly almost right off the bat. YOU STILL NEED TO WARM THEM UP A BIT AND BREAK THEM IN, THOUGH! But not nearly to the extent as in the days where all tires were very slippery when new and needed a good bit of riding to break them in.
The second thing I noticed was turn-in. These turn in very quickly and hold the line with extreme precision. The profiles on the front/rear are perfectly designed to work together in a way I've not felt on any other tire thus far. One thing Michelin's done is to do away with nearly all of the tendency for the bike to want to stand up whilst trail-braking into a turn. With the wide tires we use today, this was a by-product of the contact patch being much farther from the centerline of the bike when leaned over. Somehow the PP3's have been profiled to darn near eliminate any tendency for the bike to stand up, which we normally would compensate for with some amount of countersteering. Far less of this is needed with the PP3's than with any tire I've used to day (stock BT23's, Pirelli Angel GT's, Dunlop Q3's, and now the PP3's).
The road feel is excellent, and I have the impression the tire is a bit lighter than the Q3 as well, although I haven't checked to see if this is true. The tires are pretty lightweight, though. The rubber is quite resilient and the compliance with small pavement irregularities is very good. The tires work well with the suspension to instill an extremely high level of confidence in the bike.
Whether driving out of a turn, or braking hard, the feel of the rubber communicated a sense that the tire could give a lot more without any issue. Hard braking straight up was excellent, on dry pavement, and also suggested there was plenty of reserve. The bike just asks to be ridden harder.
I can't comment on deep lean angles or higher speeds yet but if I get a chance I'll update this thread.
First off I could tell the rubber compound was designed to give maximum grip under normal street conditions. Minimal warmup was needed, these things gripped extremely well, even brand new. There is no "release compound" used any longer and you can really start riding quickly almost right off the bat. YOU STILL NEED TO WARM THEM UP A BIT AND BREAK THEM IN, THOUGH! But not nearly to the extent as in the days where all tires were very slippery when new and needed a good bit of riding to break them in.
The second thing I noticed was turn-in. These turn in very quickly and hold the line with extreme precision. The profiles on the front/rear are perfectly designed to work together in a way I've not felt on any other tire thus far. One thing Michelin's done is to do away with nearly all of the tendency for the bike to want to stand up whilst trail-braking into a turn. With the wide tires we use today, this was a by-product of the contact patch being much farther from the centerline of the bike when leaned over. Somehow the PP3's have been profiled to darn near eliminate any tendency for the bike to stand up, which we normally would compensate for with some amount of countersteering. Far less of this is needed with the PP3's than with any tire I've used to day (stock BT23's, Pirelli Angel GT's, Dunlop Q3's, and now the PP3's).
The road feel is excellent, and I have the impression the tire is a bit lighter than the Q3 as well, although I haven't checked to see if this is true. The tires are pretty lightweight, though. The rubber is quite resilient and the compliance with small pavement irregularities is very good. The tires work well with the suspension to instill an extremely high level of confidence in the bike.
Whether driving out of a turn, or braking hard, the feel of the rubber communicated a sense that the tire could give a lot more without any issue. Hard braking straight up was excellent, on dry pavement, and also suggested there was plenty of reserve. The bike just asks to be ridden harder.
I can't comment on deep lean angles or higher speeds yet but if I get a chance I'll update this thread.