Tires for my sv...

[Dieseldan]

ooooo dat niiiice

[CBR929RE]

The down side's are cost of the tires, the need to change them to go back to street riding, basically unridable in damp conditions, and completely worthless in rain. From what I'm told the rubber compounds now-a-days are pretty much the same between slicks and DOT race tires. And even DOr race tires are not approved for street use, and offer less grip due to operating temperatures and warmup. For trackdays, street tires are the best bet if it's a street bike. Tires are the very last thing on a long long list that hold back people riding the track.

I feel like banging my head against the wall with all the tire discussions. I couldn't feel a difference in tires until I was at 19's and even then it was subtle. I'd put hard cash down that the vast majority of trackday riders couldn't tell what tires are under them, nor how they're performing by feel. But if anyone crashes 'it was the tires'.

I think its just you that can't tell the difference. I'm only in the mid-lower 20s and have felt the differences. I was on Pirelli Dragons, then when I bought a new bike I swapped the rear dragon over and ran the Diablo Supercorsa front that was already on the bike. The Diablo front without a doubt felt much better. But when I switched to Superbike slicks I barely felt a difference. I remember when I was on Pilot Power 2CTs and switched to the Dragons I was in love and I really liked the PPs. I was only doing 30s back then. I'll let you know after this weekend if I feel a difference in the 211s I'm switching to. I already know they are gonna feel stiffer because I've ridden other bikes with them and the Pirellis are just such a soft carcass its almost hard not to notice the difference.

I'm not saying it was the tires that got me to drop a bunch of time cause I might have been able to do it with the street tires also but the confidence from the race rubber helped me improve my skills.

[butcher bergs]

if this is a jab at me that i dont know the different feels of my tires ive had...
i can tell you that i do.. adn that i can tell a difference when i switched to slicks for a track day...

I'm not piling on here Jackie but have you considered the variables such as the time you made the switch in tires as well as the difference in the day's temps, track temps, tire pressures, age comparison/ heat cycles of the two sets of tires we're talking about, your skillset...etc?

There is a whole lot more going on than just you swapping tires and unless you went directly from DOT's to slicks in the same day and without any variance in temps or anything else, it is my opinon that the percieved difference in feel is a direct result of one or all of the above variables.


Outside of all that, ditch the slicks. My vote goes to DOT's.

[Sportygurl131]

bergs....i switched from michelin radials to slicks.. inthe same day...

any who... i bought a pair of diablos from bostonmoto... so i can have them mounted ride the track, and not worry about swapping my tires again

[butcher bergs]

bergs....i switched from michelin radials to slicks.. inthe same day...

Weird. Maybe the switch from the street tire to the slick is what you noticed. I say this because I didn't care much for the Michelin Pilot Road I checked out a while back. It always felt slippy and nothing like a more sport-oriented tire.



Just thinking out loud

[BostonSVkid]

Can someone who knows their stuff please explain what a newb would gain by running slicks versus a good DOT tire (jackie not calling you a newb just asking for my own information).

I have always run street tires (corsas and pilot road 2's). After a few trackdays is it really worth it to run slicks?

I know that a lot of the Bomo guys who ride the track all the time still don't use slicks most of the time (scottie, q, ox etc). So if the guys who run Bomo, ride on DOT's and run faster times than people who are say mid level, then why would that mid level person get slicks?

So really what is the advantage? Why would one spend the money on a tire that cant be used all the time?

[Karaya One]

You wouldn't gain a lot as you couldn't extract maximum performance from a superbike slick. The biggest issue with a slick is running the appropriate compound for ambient and track temp. And then getting the slicks up to temp to get your maximum performance out of them.

With a new rider, with so many other things going on, working on getting a superbike tire up to an appropriate performance level can be a lot to ask. Especially when that expert rider is 20-30 seconds faster.

On the flip side - running a very soft Q compound slick will get up to temp very quickly and get very sticky. You will never lack for confidence. But - those tires will not last very long. Even at lower speeds / times eventually they will fade. They were made for max grip / short life.

Should a novice run slicks - why not? But run the appropriate ones. Pirelli has a trackday slick now, Michelin had the wonderful 1200/1800 line a few years ago that was based on DOT's (M2/S2). They were made to give slick grip but give DOT type wear and heat cycles.

With the entire Michelin line getting a revamp in 2012, you will see a new version of this type slick called the Track.

Running a slick can be fun, they will inspire huge amounts of confidence. They look cool. But most of the new technology is in DOT's which is why they are still the preferred tire for 98% of riders.

[TTD]

any who... i bought a pair of diablos from bostonmoto...

hmmm... you sure about that? I could have sworn I just wrote your name on a set of Rossa Corsas ?

EDIT: Mike Kurtz just explained to me what happened... we're all good.

[SVRACER01]

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Personally, I think running slicks without suspension work/upgrades is a waste. Any performance advantages gained by the slicks I think would be lost on soggy suspension.
As far as Jackies situation goes, I don't know. If the original tire wasn't that great then really any track oriented tire would've felt like an improvement.
To add to that, different manufacturers tires vary so much in compounds and carcasses and profiles that jumping from one to the other can feel better or worse depending on your personal preference.
If someone has a track only designated bike with suspension work done, then by all means give slicks a try.
Jackie, run what makes you feel comfortable, but don't rule out trying a "race" dot.

[CBR929RE]

someone did one of these and batted her eye lashes and got the best deal ever on a set of take offs from the Dunlop guy.