I just bought an 04 S4R and the tires are just about shot.  I found a guy that is selling Michelin Power Race takeoffs for $60 a set which seems like a great deal.  The sides have about 50% tread left but the centers are just about perfect.  Since I ride about 50% street and 50% canyons I thought that these would work well for me I a generally wear out the centers before the edges.  Are there any drawbacks to using takeoffs?  I like riding with sticky tires but don't want to take any chances if there are any issues with these on the streets.  Any advice would be great.

I wouldn't do it unless you're planning using them strictly as commuting tires.  It's really difficult to get track tires up to proper operating temp on the street unless you live in the desert and ride like a retard.  I ran take-offs for a bit, but after some epic slides after the tires should have been really warm and sticky, I went back to street rubber.  Street rubber is sticker, safer and will last longer.  The $ you save on buying take-offs, you risk spending on crash damage.

With those dual and triple compound street tires, you're getting the best of both worlds. 

what he ^^^^^^ said. 

+1 on Spidey's info.

Additionallly, I've heard that they're no where near as tolerant of potholes and such.

There are two different Power Race carcasses.

One is a true race tire and will be almost impossible to get up to temp.

The other is the same carcass as the Power and would probably work...

until the race rubber heat cycles out and you're riding on something like a bandsaw blade laid flat.

I wouldn't do it.

I have.


It works great, until it rains.

I vote for street tires as well.

That said, I run my power race take offs on the street after they're too used for me to feel safe on the track (im talking the front only)  I can ride as hard as I want on the street and the power race front I had lasted thousands of miles and never complained.

Actually, I had one on there to and from DIMBY.

Front never complained ever.  Not sure Id do it with a rear though.

*That* being said, i did a track day earlier this year with power race front and rear and it rained.  It never got much above 55 or 60 and it rained just enough to keep the track wet all day.

I wasn't sure how well these tires would work in the wet and I was sure they'd never get up to temp to even begin to start sticking.

After the day was done i was astounded at how well these tires did in those conditions.  Note I do not run tire warmers.  Every time I came in to my pit, the sides were the only dry areas on the tire, and they actually had a little heat in them!  I did slide around a little (front and rear) and never put a knee down, but Im not sure that wasn't possible looking back on it.

So to sum it up, I'd go for it as long as you're not trying to ride in temps below 55 or so.  Take a few corners easy until they get some heat in them and I think you'll be ok.

THat is, unless you get the race tire dp is talking about (which I don't know anything about and never heard of- mine are power race dot's) if that's the case, don't do it.

Quote from: Monsterlover on September 26, 2008, 05:27:22 AM
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THat is, unless you get the race tire dp is talking about (which I don't know anything about and never heard of- mine are power race dot's) if that's the case, don't do it.

The race carcass can be identified by the letters PR* on the sidewall. (* being a compound/profile designator which differs front and rear)

All of them are DOT approved tires.

uh oh, I think those are the ones I run.

Yeah, they are, pr3 or something like that.

Been working ok for me. . .

but physics works different for me

Quote from: Monsterlover on September 26, 2008, 05:39:36 AM
uh oh, I think those are the ones I run.

Yeah, they are, pr3 or something like that.

Been working ok for me. . .

but physics works different for me

you're special...

A guy I work with sells takeoffs.  $125.00 for a set (installed).  Quite a few riders at work take advantage of the deal, but two of them have since wrecked while cornering.  I don't know if it is the tires or not, but I do no that I haven't wrecked while cornering on my Pilot Roads and I am getting really good mileage on this, my second set.  I am gonna keep coughing up the cash for the road tires and try to keep my asscheek off the assphalt. 

Quote from: psycledelic on September 26, 2008, 10:58:30 PM
A guy I work with sells takeoffs.  $125.00 for a set (installed).  Quite a few riders at work take advantage of the deal, but two of them have since wrecked while cornering.  I don't know if it is the tires or not, but I do no that I haven't wrecked while cornering on my Pilot Roads and I am getting really good mileage on this, my second set.  I am gonna keep coughing up the cash for the road tires and try to keep my asscheek off the assphalt. 

how many miles are you getting on roads? Im looking at pilot road 2cts for my next run. The middle is hard like sport touring and the edge is soft like a power pilot

Quote from: He Man on September 27, 2008, 12:51:22 AM
how many miles are you getting on roads? Im looking at pilot road 2cts for my next run. The middle is hard like sport touring and the edge is soft like a power pilot

Look in the tire thread over in mods, good feedback on the Road2's

Nah dude, don't listen to these guys. 

The best thing to do is just make sure you push them really hard right off the bat, that's the only way you'll build up enough heat in 'em.  When you first take off, just grab a handful of throttle, that outta ensure that you get the rear tire spinning just enough to heat it up properly.  Once you've done that, you'll wanna just go into the first turn knee down and ready to rock and you'll build up some good heat in the front tire too.

Also, be sure you have a medical ID bracelet that lists your allergies to medications.  Just in case.

Quote from: darylbowden on September 27, 2008, 09:10:56 AM
Nah dude, don't listen to these guys. 

The best thing to do is just make sure you push them really hard right off the bat, that's the only way you'll build up enough heat in 'em.  When you first take off, just grab a handful of throttle, that outta ensure that you get the rear tire spinning just enough to heat it up properly.  Once you've done that, you'll wanna just go into the first turn knee down and ready to rock and you'll build up some good heat in the front tire too.

Also, be sure you have a medical ID bracelet that lists your allergies to medications.  Just in case.