Dunlops, how even?

[Kurlon]

Dunlop riders, what do I have to do to my bike to get the tires to talk to me like Pirellis do? R3 front, R7 rear, and I'm basically riding by memory of what I got away with the lap before, I get nada from the tires at either end to give me any idea of if I'm near the limit or not. As a result I'm timid on braking and getting on the throttle out of the corner. My pressures seem to be decent based on wear and Dunlop tech's opinions, but all they could say on the feel front was 'ask your suspension guy' who currently is... me.

[Paul_E_D]

I recently tested Dunlops after years on Pirellis. I didn't make any changes at all to my bike. I found the Dunlops to have more grip in the first 5 laps. The tires are much stiffer, and I found them to fall into corners MUCH easier than the Pirellis. They really didn't move around at all until that first drop after 5-10 laps. Then they were predictable. I felt like there's another performance drop after each heat cycle that I don't notice on the pirellis.

Anyway, what I think you are struggling with is that the pirellis move around well before the limit. THe Dunlops simply don't move until the limit is reached. So they are not going to "talk"to you at all until you push them really, really hard. The pirellis "talk" sooner. This can be good or bad. If you interpert it as "I'm near the limit", you would be wrong and probably back down well before getting the best out of them.

My .02 anyway.

[Kurlon]

That all makes sense and matches up with what I'm experiencing. I guess I just need more seat time and work on pushing without waiting to feel the tires 'load up' like the Pirellis do.

[Paul_E_D]

That all makes sense and matches up with what I'm experiencing. I guess I just need more seat time and work on pushing without waiting to feel the tires 'load up' like the Pirellis do.

I think so.

[MUZ720]

Have raced both, The Dunlop's are stiffer. I always liked the Med front. Seemed to last forever with not much change. But I am slower than Paul. found the front Pirelli offers more grip and feel with lower tire pressure then the Dunlop's. The rear Pirelli being softer so you can feel it squat, not so much with the Dunlop. So, i like the Pirellis more just different feel.

Edit: Not sure if the Dunlop Daytona tires are even harder compound, then you find at other tracks.

[butcher bergs]

They feel whole lot stiffer in general, IMO, which perhaps is translating to perceived reduced feedback...?

While I'm nowhere near the pace of Paul, I could immediately feel the difference with my R6 on Dunlops. Certain features in the pavement came through a lot more pronounced (and I don't mean feedback, I mean "wow, that pavement seam is now very noticeable") and it took a bit to settle into the difference in how everything felt....not bad but not exactly confidence-inspiring, at least at first.

I backed off a couple clicks of compression damping on the forks and went up a couple clicks on compression damping in the shock. My brain said it felt better so that's what I stuck with and just worked on being comfortable with all the newness.

Granted, this is not in a race setting and I'm riding at 80% as I whittle away at the laptimes but just wanted to comment that, yeah, I had a similar feeling with regards to feedback until I got a decent amount of seat time in

[Kurlon]

My pace was slow enough that I didn't actually need the special Daytona tires. They had me jack the rear 4psi over what I ran at COTA and it ended up cleaning up the tire. IIRC the tech said the Daytona carcases were the same, just stupid hard rubber in the middle to cope with the heat and loading from time on the banking while crazy soft on the left, soft on the right for maximum drive out of the corners.

[MUZ720]

You racing a Buell?

[Kurlon]

You racing a Buell?

Kinda? I've run to Moto America events on my XB12XT, contemplating my options going forward.

[MUZ720]

I would think a water-cooled bike would be more competitive and more reliable. When I raced one, when it ran it was killer and was a lot of fun but, I blew up three motors and other problems keep it from finishing most of the time so sold it after not wanting to deal with the issues anymore. the Indian looks like a good ride

[Paul_E_D]

All the MotoAmerica classes have gotten to the point where it's pretty tough to even be in the frame without one of the newer $$ bikes. Even Hooligans now is a money war. Harley and indian have deep pockets and are not batting an eye at building 80-100k race bikes for baggers and I can imagine 40k bikes for hooligans. Twins you need an RS660 or spend a fortune on a yamaha build. Even the junior cup bikes are pretty intense.

[Kurlon]

The required electronics alone for a Jr Cup bike are eye watering, and that's got nothing to do with being competitive, that's just the requirement to be class legal. On the Hooligans side, I'm betting the factory FTRs and Pan Ams are north of $40k easy at this point, FTR in particular, there isn't much OEM bike left on those rigs. On the plus side, Dymag is making wheels for both now, so a 17in front conversion for a Pan Am doesn't involve tracking down a LiveWire front wheel and getting custom rotors and spacers made up.