[svader]

I'm going to do my first track day in April and was wondering about tires. I have RoadSmarts on the bike now but the rear is reaching the end of it's life. My options at this point are to replace the rear with a new RoadSmart, buy a set of slicks (I can get them for about the same price as a new rear), or go ahead and buy a set of Qualifiers or Powers (This is of course is the more costly route).
The SV is now just a play bike for me. I'm not commuting on it anymore so the next set of tires I want grip and don't care about mileage. I can change the tires fo free so that's not an issuse. If I get the slicks I'll just put the RoadSmarts back on after the track day.
Let me know your opinion. Running the RoadSmarts on the track is the easiest solution for me right now. I'm just not sure how well they'll handle the abuse of a trackday. Mainly hard straight line braking.

 

[Gerard7aa]

good question

 

[mrk66]

I've done a track day (sort of) on my roadsmarts. The course was mostly 3rd gear. No high speed sweepers. I'm still running in the beginner group but by the end of the day my chicken strips were really small. I felt that the grip was good.

If you are a more experienced rider and really are pushing it, I think you might find the grip less than you desire.

Here is what the course looks like :

 

[99Sv650N]

Go with piliot powers.

 

[Nexus242]

NO go with Diablo Rosso!

 

[eddiemon]

:happy1:

 

[Oh My Sack!]

Not a "trackday" per se but I spent a day running the Horse Thief Mile track at Willow Springs Raceway here in CA for a Precision Cornering Course and I was most impressed at the stiction of my RoadSmarts. We weren't draggin' knees but staying upright and practicing proper lines as they apply to real world mountain road touring. I took the chicken strips down to nothing and they were holding very well.

The track is only a one mile circuit but it's up and down with severe elevation changes and mostly all hairpin and decrerasing radius turns. They race all kinds of stuff on it from Motards to Cars.

 

[pne]

depends on how good of a rider you are. if you are an average rider, you'll have no problem doing the trackday on the road farts.

 

[trunkmonkey]

Little off topic, but how many miles did u get outa the roadsmarts Svader?

 

[Gerard7aa]

Ive got 9K on my rear roadsmart tire... its right on the TWI's. I'll replace it soon, very soon.

 

[RD350]

For a new track rider, street rubber is not a problem. A new track rider (or any rider) on worn out rubber is probably a bad idea.

Why not just get a set of sport compound DOTs?

That way, you can ride street and track without swapping tires.

I recommend Pilot Power 2CTs but any of the higher end sporty rubber will do.

If you are new to the track, slicks are a waste.

 

[svader]

Not sure how many miles on the roadsmarts with the SV. I took the gauges off awhile ago and just got a vaypor. On my VFR I got about 11k on the rear. Mostly commuting.

RD I'm leaning towards the Qualifiers since that's the next set I'm putting on. I talked to some racers at work and all of them told me not to run the slicks. Lots of good reasons. Thanks for the responses I'll let you know what I decide.

 

[Iakayak81]

i ran my roadsmarts at iowa speedway (they have a road course), i wouldnt hesitate to run them again. That being said i'm pretty slow . I should get 8k out of this set, not to bad for having the rear suspension set stiff for 5k of it.

 

[tcl]

Not sure how many miles on the roadsmarts with the SV. I took the gauges off awhile ago and just got a vaypor. On my VFR I got about 11k on the rear. Mostly commuting.

svader,
What pressure were you running on the roadsmart to achieve 11k?

 

[svader]

On the VFR I run 36 42. That's the typical mileage most customers are getting out of them at work.

 

[tcl]

On the VFR I run 36 42. That's the typical mileage most customers are getting out of them at work.

Excellent. thanks. That's about what I was running on my last set (pilot roads) and got 11 or 12,000 out of them.