My '05 F4i came new with Pilot Sports. Note though, that there are different types of Pilot Sport tires. The F4i's had the Pilot Sport E, which has been discontinued by Michelin and was replaced by the Pilot Power, which is now listed on Michelin's site as an OEM replacement tire for the F4i. Magazine and web articles I've read raved about the Pilot Sport E having great cornering adhesion plus longevity for an all around tire. The only Pilot Sport presently available, though, is the Pilot Sport HPX, which is designed more for straight line stability and less for cornering, hence it is listed for such bikes as Suzuki's Haybusa. Just based on this info, I would go for the Pilot Powers.

Real world? Seems that every local around my area replaces his tires with either Michelin Pilot Powers or Metzler M1 Sportecs and sing the praises of them both.

BTW, check ebay for a deal on the Metzlers. Clicky-clicky

 

Awesome post, thanks!

 

check it...so many people complain of pilot sports and 208s sucking and what not...notice what the testers reviewed them at...and there's no way the ones who complained about them road them as hard as the testers...

so in summary...it's in the rider mang...i've never had any issues with any of the tires i've used...once they came up to temp. i do notice the difference in how long it takes to come up to temp...but as far as stickiness...yes some are way more sticky than others, but take the smoothest line and you'll be dragging knee in even 207s, etc.

 

thanks for all the great info everyone! im havbing a set of the powers installed tommorow so after i get some miles on them ill let ya know how they are i cant wait to get a decent set of tires on the bike!

 

a buddy with a vfr800 got them. his research led him to them as they were supposed to be excellent in the rain. his experience was the same.

 

I just bought a set of pilot sports (front and rear) off of ebay for 172 and i can get them installed and balanced for like 20 bucks....This will also be my first time buying tires for my bike and i have only been told great things about the pilots. everyone recommends them so im going to take their word for it, but you should probably look around the internet before doing anything else....just my opinion.