Racing slicks for stock SV wheels

[Mojave Mike]

Does Dunlop or any other manufacturer make racing slicks for the stock SV650 wheels (120/60ZR17..160/60ZR17) ?...all the web sites seem to list only DOT tires.
Mike

[twf]

yes,dunlop has 155 and 165 for rear.155 fits better.

[Kurt'sSV]

What Z said. All the manufacturers make slicks that fit the SV (though they were actually designed to be run on 250GP bikes). It's hard to find a place to buy them on the net. Since race slicks are not to be used on the street - and therefore are not in high demand - there are only a few distributors for each brand nation wide.

For Dunlops slicks West of the Mississippi, go there: www.sporttire.com

[GrlStar]

Does any tire manufacturer pay out for 550 Superbike at WSMC? And what's going on with Pirelli not showing up at the track during the December races? I hear that Rich took over Pirelli ... is that true?

What to run ... what to run!?! :confused:

~B

[Kurt'sSV]

Originally posted by GrlStar
Does any tire manufacturer pay out for 550 Superbike at WSMC? And what's going on with Pirelli not showing up at the track during the December races? I hear that Rich took over Pirelli ... is that true?

What to run ... what to run!?! :confused:

~B

Ah, good questions. Dunlop shit on us this year and didn't pay in 550SBK. Pissed me off 'cause I didn't realize it until half way through the year. I was getting my tires (take-offs) so cheap, though, that I stuck with D anyway. They also keep a good stock of 165's on hand for the weekend.

Michelin pays in the class. The one thing that bugs me about Racers Edge (the distributor) is that he doesn't come to the track prepared to help people on small bikes. Stevan and I were both ready to buy Pilot Race DOT's from him since it was wet, but he didn't have any of the 160 rears with him. Guess he thinks we're not important.

Bridgestone pays in the class and John-Mark and his partner look really easy to work with. I've ridden on a set of BS slicks and liked how they stuck (real well) and wore (real well). The thing I don't like about BS is that they make a 125mm front instead of a 120mm. It made for slow turning, but it did give me confidence in not losing the front due to it's giant contact patch.

Pirelli pays in the class, but their rear slick is short and screws up the trail. Plus the ones I road on a year and a half ago were crap. They may have improved a lot since then - at least I've heard the fronts have. The other Jerk-offsky brother ran the Pirelli distribution this year. I heard he was a crappy business man as well.

Now this was for the 2005 season. Don't know how the pay-out will go in 2006.

[Tom]

Originally posted by Kurt'sSV
The one thing that bugs me about Racers Edge (the distributor) is that he doesn't come to the track prepared to help people on small bikes.

Life is tough when you think you are the center of the world. :p :p I call a few days before he leaves for the track to 1, avoid those problems and 2, not pay sales tax since he's in Nevada. That and I feel special when he shows up with tires prepared just for me. :)

[twf]

that yellow color makes you think straight :)
blue is kind of out of blue.

[huevos]

Originally posted by twf
that yellow color makes you think straight :)
blue is kind of out of blue.

Brown is the best, Who's down with the brown?
Mezzicanz in da house!


Don't sk me why I jsut said that, i a ldl drnk.

[GrlStar]

The same thing happened to me with Pirelli in ’04. They paid out for ’03, so I set my bike up with SuperCorsa DOTs and kept e-mailing the contingency coordinator wondering why my account was empty. I didn’t find out that they had dumped 550 SB until six months into the season. But I did like the tires.

I like Dale from Racer’s Edge, and have tried them, but the only 160 Michelin had was a H2, which was way too hard for racing. Did they finally come out with an M2 or another option in a 160 rear?

Hmmm … Bridgestone sounds like a good option. I’ve never tried them, but they pay! And JM and Britt are good people!

Dunlop didn’t pay last year. But they may be an option. They don’t seem to have compounds like Pirelli … can you buy the same D208ZRs from anywhere? In ’04 they only had 207s in the 160 size.

Advice is always appreciated.

And Zoran, I don’t know what your moody yellow and blue color definitions are all about, but if you mix them, you make everyone green with envy. Muhahaha. :batlash:

[Kurt'sSV]

So wait. Do you want to race on DOT's or slicks? Why race on DOT's in classes with superbike rules?

[GrlStar]

I’ve always raced on DOTs … I tried slicks, but didn’t find them to be much better, just more expensive–I actually didn’t notice a difference. I’ve also been able to sell my DOTs to street riders. I guess I’m just expecting to race on DOTs again because of those reasons. I was also racing on Pirellis and the DOTs come in the same compounds as the slicks. Apparently they heat up faster too.

[twf]

new michelin power race in 160 is great tire,as good as slick,just wont last as long.lately I have been using power race on rear and slick on front.

[GrlStar]

Thanks for the note Zoran, I’m glad Michelin is an option again.

I just sent Dale from Racer’s Edge (Michelin) and John-Mark from LittleBig Racing (Bridgestone) e-mails about their tire suggestions and contingency. I’ll let you know what the scoop is when I hear back.

Kurt, do you plan on racing Dunlops again, even if they don’t pay?

[Kurt'sSV]

Originally posted by GrlStar

Kurt, do you plan on racing Dunlops again, even if they don’t pay?

Meh, I don't really care about pay-out or sponsorships really. It ads work to my hobby that I don't want to deal with. But yesterday after I wrote about the BS front being all big and stuff, I thought maybe I should try another set from them because I was confident in the front tire sticking. Maybe having that over-sized front will give me the confidence I need to run it in faster and push the front entering turns like you need to do to get good lap times.

Plus if I do ever see tire money from someone, it might make me want to care about contingency payout . Also, John-Mark looks like a good guy to work with. Oh, and there is that little detail about my tire "hook-up" guy not working with the Dunlop distributor anymore, too.

[GrlStar]

J-M responded about the Bridgestone options for SVs. He said they used to have only a 125 option for the front, but that they now have a 120/600 slick and that they are very, very good. He also says they have a 165 rear slick and that the pair works well on the SV. Their 160 rear DOT is coming … don’t know when. Their payouts this year are big … $200, $150 and $100 in almost every class. And then he told me, “We’d love to have you as a customer.”

About payouts … if I run Bridgestones and win during a Suzuki contingency month, I make $700, which pays for my weekend. There’s really good money if you play your cards right. I learned that after 2004. Essentially if I place every 550 SB race, I make a minimum of $1,200 from Bridgestone and $625 from Suzuki.

Now tell me you don’t care about payout sponsorship.

Is your Dunlop "hook-up" guy the tall skinny one who zips around on that red scooter all the time?

[Kurt'sSV]

Nice.

And yes, that goofy guy on the scooter would be Jeff. I think he trys to be everbody's "hook-up" guy.

[GrlStar]

Yeah … not a big fan. He once indirectly called me “stupid” for buying new tires when he was trying to get me to race on his take-offs. :mad: Bad rep for Dunlop.

[Kurt'sSV]

Bah, you're too touchy. He does have a point - when you're slow, why buy brand new (expensive) tires? If I ran 28's, I would have wanted new ones. I run 31's, so the take-offs worked fine and so did their price. :)

Anyway, thanks for that e-mail address. I'm going to talk with John, too.

[Animal]

Hey there,

My computer won't stay on long enough to write everything I need to say, but here goes. ( In short, fast breaths)

I'm in San Diego.
I work very closely with Dale.
I'd be glad to start stocking more 160's to help you guys out.
I have other racers (WERA) on SV's riding Michelins.

We've got Pilots, Power Race, and Slicks.

I'll be at Willow Springs every month this year.
I'd like to help you out, so lets' talk...

Steve
Grip-n-Balance.com
619-726-6937 Cell

[Burst]

There he is! Steve you need some help with that computer? Why is it shutting off?

[Animal]

Yeah, Dori thinks it's the power source, but all I know is that it will only last about every 20 min., freezes, and I have to reboot. so I can't write the war and peace novel I want to about the tire situation. It'll just have to come in short spurts...

[GrlStar]

The problem with even a good set of take-offs are the heat cycles. Anyway, where are you getting 160 take-offs that are remotely fresh?

Maybe you can buy my take-offs and use them the following month. :hehe:

Dale said that Michelin will have contingency in all the lightweight and twins classes, but I don’t know if that includes 550 Superbike. He said most racers like the 160 soft or med/soft Power Race tires.

[twf]

Originally posted by GrlStar
J-M responded about the Bridgestone options for SVs. He said they used to have only a 125 option for the front, but that they now have a 120/600 slick and that they are very, very good. He also says they have a 165 rear slick and that the pair works well on the SV. Their 160 rear DOT is coming … don’t know when. Their payouts this year are big … $200, $150 and $100 in almost every class. And then he told me, “We’d love to have you as a customer.”



you would think guy was trying to sell you tires :)

[Animal]

I am a Michelin dealer and I sell new tires as well as take-offs.

BTW Jeff, the guys that sells the take offs, is now selling Michelins and not the other guys.