As far as the performance itself, an open bath cartridge is constantly blending tiny air bubbles into the oil and a loss of damping force results over the course of a race. More air equals more fade. Also, there is a noticeable change in damping force as the fluid warms. All damping units used in motorcycle roadracing are velocity dependent. That means they have to be moving in order to create any damping force. Each time the wheel stops moving and has to go the opposite direction, it has no damping force. If the wheel doesnt move far enough to build damping force before it is stopped again and asked to move in the opposite direction, it can spend a fair amount of time with very little, if any force at all controlling the wheel. The biggest drawback to an open bath cartridge is the cavitation that results over sharp bumps, ripple bumps, and braking zone stutter bumps. Since the oil is not under any pressure, it is very easy for a sharp bump to move the wheel at a speed that the damping unit cannot react to. When this happens, an internal vacuum in the cartridge forms creating havoc for wheel control, which results in a loss of traction. Gas-charged damping units are assembled, bled free of air, and then pressurized. They become a sealed environment that contamination cannot enter. Since the oil is under pressure, it doesnt foam, and cavitation is completely eliminated. As a result, damping force remains consistent over the course of a race.

The result in performance are tremendous. Since pressurized damping units offer more instantaneous damping force, greater wheel control gives the rider dramatically improved feedback from the tire. Since cavitation over bumps is eliminated, most riders are shocked to find that the bumps are gone not just diminished gone. All of these factors combine to improve rider confidence and control. This beyond question, lowers lap time.

Features
• Bolts Directly into a Stock Inverted Motorcycle Fork Casting
• AMA, WERA, ASRA/CCS Legal
• Sealed and Pressurized to Reduce Contamination from Conventional Fork Systems
• High Quality Springs Included, Matched to your Weight
• Developed in cooperation with Traxxion Dynamics, and has many of the characteristics of the AK-20 Gas Cartridge Kit.

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The Power One Commercial is a really nice tire for the aggressive street rider, or even mid-pack club racer. I run mid-pack myself and am absolutely satisfied with the Commercial version on the race track. The first time I used the Power One’s, I did a trackday on the Friday before the race weekend and got six good sessions. The next day I got four practice sessions on this one set of tires. That’s especially notable as this track is VERY abrasive (Palm Beach International Raceway). The Commercial Power One’s are all 3 ply and multi-compound front AND rears. The Commercial version only comes in a single dual compound version. They are similar to the Power Race Medium, in that they are medium in the center and soft on the edges.

While the Power One Commercial tires are fairly straight-forward and simple, the Power One Competition tires have several different compounds and even shapes of tire.

FRONT TIRES:
All the Competition Power One DOT 17″ fronts are multi-compound and run 30psi cold.  There are three fronts to choose from: A, B, and V. The A and the B are SLIGHTLY more rounded but IS triangulated. The Power One “V”, the most triangulated or pointed of the 3 tires. A and B are slightly less triangulated than the old C front but apparently nearly exact same height. According to Michelin, the A and B would be the most popular tires and are 5 ply tires.

A – 9.48lbs, 605.4mm diameter and is the softer compound, used for when ambient temps are below 68F. compounds would be 4/8/4 with the 4 (softer) would be the entire contact patch at full lean.
B – 9.48lbs, 605.4mm , slightly harder than the A, and used when temps are above 68F. compounds would be 5/8/5 with the 5 slightly firmer than the 4.
V – 9.92lbs, 606mm, however is 4 ply (not 5 like A and B), and is more triangulated almost “pointed” with a 5/8/5 compound.

REAR TIRES:
-All the180/55 are 639.5mm in diameter, 13.73lbs, are 4 ply and multi-compound (35% of edges is softer so 35%/30mid%/35%)
-The 190/55’s are 652.8mm tall. 14.77lbs, 4 ply and multi-compound.
-The “A ” tire edges of the 180 and 190’s would be a “4″ (soft) compound edge
-The “B” edges being “5″ (not as soft as 4),
-The “C” REAR will be an endurance type tire with a “6″ type edge
-ALL the middles of all the tires being a “9″ compound (hardest).

TIRE WARMERS:
As per Michelin, for COMPETITION (not street tires) put warmers at 176F for 30-40 min before use for FRONT AND REARS. DO NOT leave on for more than 90 minutes ever. If guys find something that works better please let us know.

WEAR:
when the rain sipes are gone the tires are designed to WORK BETTER! so don’t rush to change when the rain sipes are gone. The tires are designed to loose the rain sipes to become a “slick”.

These tires are absolutely terrific! If you haven’t tried them, I would suggest you at least give them a shot.

To give due credit, I must say that a significant portion of the technical data came from Greg Melka.

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