To Go Slick Or Not To Go Slick ?

I got some Dunlop KR scrubs thrown in with my track bike but it came with SCs fitted. Was quite happy on the SCs so stayed on them till I tore up the rear so at Donny in October I put a scrub KR108 on the rear at lunchtime. Loved it!

Just bought a pair of V02's from FWR for £280 delivered.

Call FWR and ask for Bob.

 

Hi Andy,

If you have a track only bike, for me it’s a no brainier. Slicks all the way.

Obviously they are track specific but crucially, have higher grip levels. 2 mins at Almeria is quick enough to maintain heat. But also sporty road tyres are perfectly adequate and safe on a 2 minute lap... Rutter would bang out low 1’40’s on road tyres. The show off....

I run KR108’s and due to higher grip levels they’ve saved my bacon a few times when I’ve made mistakes.

So there’s the cost difference to consider. KR108’s are fekkin expensive! My V4S came with OE (can’t bloody remember what they were) and I had a steady track day at Donington with them (running in the bike). I was probably around the 1’50 mark and they felt absolutely fine.

 

Just got back from almeria, used continental slicks, lasted 4 days at around 1.53 pace

 

I just got back from Almería and ran a pair of R11s at Bob from FWR’s advice. They were great (and helped get me below 2 mins).

 

Interesting topic.

I had a long chat with the Dunlop guy at the Bike show last year about if it's worth moving up to slicks. I'm currently just about breaking into the fast group (just under 1.50 at Donington) and he basically said not to go slicks yet. The below are his reasons so don't flame me!

- There's a good 15 seconds left in road tyres before needing slicks at my pace
- Tyre management is harder with temperatures and pressures than road tyres
- Go colder quicker if off pace or red flagged and back into the pits
- Road tyres mask suspension and set up issues way better
- Cost, there's about £60 difference a set (D212 road tyres and KR slicks), but I bet the D212's will do twice the track mileage minimum?
- Still road legal (for me a huge point as I only have one bike, but less so for track bikes)
- Changing UK weather means you could still go out after a little shower over here, not with slicks (not important for euro days)

I'm in Almeria next week with a mate, we've both only ever ridden on road tyres (him on Supercorsas me on Metzelers) and we're about the same pace (me S1000RR 2011, him RSV4RF 2017). I'm going on some Dunlop GP Racer D212's, him on some Dunlop slicks so it will be very interesting to see the differences. He also has a set of the D212's to put on when he kills his slicks so will have a proper back to back opinion from him.

Personally for me it's all about being able to come off track and straight on the road so I'll compromise on that last little bit of grip (that I will more than likely never even get anywhere near!) for a bit more versatility, but it's all horses for courses.

 

I am running Michelin Power Cup Evo. Basically a road homologated track tyre. I haven’t seen anyone else on here mention these but they seem to tick all the boxes and allow the occasional blast on the road, including earlier this week with temperatures varying between 0 and 15°. On the track I haven’t noticed any shortage of grip.
The next step up is the Power Cup Ultimate, available in a number of different compounds which I may move up to when the Evos are at the limit. I’m unsure if they are road homologated though.
https://moto.michelin.co.uk/motorbike/tyres/power-cup-evo
https://michelinmotorsport.com/content/download/12715/210084/file/MICHELIN+POWER+CUP+ULTIMATE+UK.pdf
I actually just read the blurb; they are!

 

Ive run slicks for years, and was interested to note that they felt a lot more stable probably because the performance tyres at that time had more tread which possibly 'walked' when under stress.
I have no doubt that nowadays the good 'race' road legal tyres would be perfectly suitable for me at my pace (mid 1:50s at almeria) but u have got used to the way slicks feel if you like.
Also if your a cheapskate then you could turn the tyres and get a bit more life out of them.....

 

I've had the same thought for a while now and been getting badgered to try out slicks on my 899 track only bike. I was a bit reluctant as I didn't think I was quick enough but it was time to buy some tyres and decided I'd give the slicks ago. I went for some Bridgestone V02s and my first time out on them at Cartagena I knocked 4 seconds of my PB and I'm now around the bottom of the fast group depending on the day.
Not sure if it's the placebo effect of the slicks but 4 seconds is a huge amount and I won't go back to treaded tyres unless it's cooler temps in the UK. For the record I was running Supercorsas prior to changing to slicks.

 

Bob @ FWR said V02's are fine over 10℃ of you are using tyre warmers.

 

I’d stick with cut slicks tbh, as the Dunlop man said a short shower and you can still go out before it’s all home dry

 

Running road tyres is so much simpler than slicks. As the Dunlop tech said above, temperature, pressure, wear pattern, suspension set up and track conditions all come into play with slicks. The time overlap where roads are as good as slicks applies to all but race riders. Then there is the tyre life and cost penalty of slicks. Finally I would add it is difficult to see the difference unless you are a consistent fast group rider who wants to go faster.

 

How much are SCs a pair? My V02's where £280, I couldn't find SC's less than that.

Apparently if you use warmers so only 1 heat cycle a day they last pretty well.

 

Best I could find are 240 a pair. Need to get some shortly!!

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/motorbike-tyres/pirelli/diablo-supercorsa-sp-v2/200-55-zr17-78w-725779

 

That’s the SP not the SC though

 

VO2's last me 3-4 days at lower end of fast group pace and I'm fussy with my tyres and never run them to fully worn.

 

You swap because they are losing grip? Or going the oily/rainbow colours? Or down to the wear indicator? Or just because you feel you should swap them?