Tank Slap - Motorcycle Forum

I'm starting to think ahead now to next year and the european track day. Two days on track with the litre bike is going to be hard on the tyres. I really like the M7's but can't really afford to blow a set just on the track.

As the race season closes I'm guessing that there will be quite a few sets of scrubs appearing on eBay, so if I can get a good deal on a front and pair or rears it's got to be worth a punt.

I've never though about track tyres though, so are there any recommendations ?? Also (apart from the obvious age and tread depth) what are the things to look out for and questions that I really should ask when buying track scrubs ??

Dunlop GP211's if you can find some.

And the only question to ask really is how many laps have they done. You might notice they are worn slightly more on the r/h side than the left if they have been ridden hard.

Cold tear, blueing, age, tread depth., etc.....

Kwacky did 3 track days and 5000 miles on his zx6r on a set of m7's and you prilla makes similar power so I wouldn't worry about it tbh. Just run the currently fitted tyres as any cost saving (if any) will be eaten up in the cost of changing tyres and fitting costs.

If I was going abroad for a track day I would go with what I felt confident with rather than trying to save £10-20.

As few heat cycles as possible. Ideally from a race team that have used a set for just one session or off a serious track dayer that uses tyre warmers and sells them off after just one day. Doesn't really matter which make, they're all bloody amazing!

ebay is not the cheapest way to buy scrubs, get yourself on some track day/race facebook/forums as they are cheap as chips.

My super corsas have done two track days and about 2000 miles and are wearing well,a new set would easily last a euro track day.They are also grippy as feck

Perkles wrote:My super corsas have done two track days and about 2000 miles and are wearing well,a new set would easily last a euro track day.They are also grippy as feck

I agree, but found mine terrible in the wet...

C00kiemonster wrote:

Perkles wrote:My super corsas have done two track days and about 2000 miles and are wearing well,a new set would easily last a euro track day.They are also grippy as feck

I agree, but found mine terrible in the wet...

That's ok I'm a fair weather biker only

First off I'd stay with a manufacturer you're familiar with, if you've got M7's I'd look at either Racetecs or the BSB Supercorsa's, but only if you've got tyre warmers, it's not worth putting good quality race scrubs on if you don't have warmers imho, you'll heat cycle the tyres every session and they'll "go off" after the first day, warmers get the tyre hot obviously, but they keep it at that temp all day. It's also a good tip to put the warmers back on but unpowered at the end of the day. Get changed, put your kit away, go and look at the snappers pics, etc, and because the tyre has cooled slowly it helps keep the tyre in better condition.

Secondly, as Blade and Monty said, age and condition are paramount, every race tyre has a manufacture date on it, the week and year of production on the sidewall, get as new and as good as you can. Good tyres "feel" different to the touch than tired, heat cycled tyres.

Third, think honestly about how quick you are on track, road orientated tyres get more heat into them at lower speeds than race tyres, a novice will get more grip from a track/road tyre than a race tyre, simply because he doesn't ride hard enough to get the heat into race tyre.

Hth DG.

Good write up Deegee and agree if not running tyres warmers your better on decent fast road / track tyres than full on race tyres.

Cheers deegee, lots of very useful info there, I'm definitely a novice so very much doubt I could justify race tyres. I was looking at tyres like the michelin power cup.

I could be tempted with super corsers if I manage to find a set of scrubs or cheap deal somewhere.

Another thought that crossed my mind was to see if I could get a deal on a cheap track bike at the end of the season, keep it for the euro track day and then sell it on next season. I've seeded the idea of this with Mrs Nutz and she didn't scream at me.

Do they supply tyre warmers at the BBS Track events? If they do I might stick something decent on the kwak.

A track bike sounds good in theory but could be a can of unreliable worms and ruin the trip for you. Plus you love your RSV surely you would be more confident and enjoy it more on the prilla.

Blade wrote:A track bike sounds good in theory but could be a can of unreliable worms and ruin the trip for you. Plus you love your RSV surely you would be more confident and enjoy it more on the prilla.

I know what your saying mate, but would you want to risk binning the SP2 on the track ?? Donnington got me thinking, it only cost me a few replacement panels from a silly mistake but others weren't so lucky.

If I managed to find a decent bike to turn in to a track bike I would deffo give it an outing before taking it to spain. But there is always an element of risk, as there is with the RSV. It is italian after all, and any issues will leave me out cold as parts will be impossible to find a CBR or gixxer on the otherhand...

I know everyone is different so I can only speak for myself, but shortly after getting the bug for TD's I damaged my nearly new road bike in a fast low side, it cost me nearly £500 to repair. After that I took the view I would never take anything on track again that I couldn't afford to walk away from.

Cherished road bikes do get damaged sadly, (I've seen a brand new 'Blade written off), so imho a dedicated track bike is a must if you enjoy the track and are past the lapping people in Novices stage. However you are likely to spend far more on "presents" for a track bike than you ever will on a road bike, so Mrs Nutz's tolerance may find its limits stretched at some point, I know I've had the "How much!!" from Mrs Gee more than once.

I've resigned myself to binning the bike at some point. I'll take some spare levers and rearsets.

Kwacky wrote:I've resigned myself to binning the bike at some point. I'll take some spare levers and rearsets.

Ironically probably a very sensible out look

D6Nutz wrote:

Blade wrote:A track bike sounds good in theory but could be a can of unreliable worms and ruin the trip for you. Plus you love your RSV surely you would be more confident and enjoy it more on the prilla.

I know what your saying mate, but would you want to risk binning the SP2 on the track ?? Donnington got me thinking, it only cost me a few replacement panels from a silly mistake but others weren't so lucky.

If I managed to find a decent bike to turn in to a track bike I would deffo give it an outing before taking it to spain. But there is always an element of risk, as there is with the RSV. It is italian after all, and any issues will leave me out cold as parts will be impossible to find a CBR or gixxer on the otherhand...

TBH I would love to take the SP on track, after all the mods I have done I would love to see how it performs. The only problem is it won't pass a noise test. Your right I would be gutted if I binned it as its starting to become an appreciating classic and a lot of the bling on their is no longer in production so prices are mental. If I could get it on track I would as that's the best place for it too shine and what it was designed for. In my opinion as long as you don't let the red mist descend and find your own bit of space in the traffic its actually a lower risk of going peter tong than riding on our over crowded, badly maintained, idiot strewn roads.

The other ting to consider is track bikes might be cheaper and bend straight easier but WE don't and time off work and loss of earnings can hurt. When I high sided the Blade the loss of earnings whilst on the sick were greater than the repair bills.

Something worth remembering IMO is repair bills are cheap compared to personal injury

What about renting a bike? Rental bikes are the fastest bikes in the world!

Monty wrote:What about renting a bike? Rental bikes are the fastest bikes in the world!

Can be economic tbh, I did exactly that for my lads birthday not long back, £240 for the bike, that included them arriving at the track and setting up in a garage, fuel and tyres, they put the warmers on and fuelled it, they also adjusted the controls to suit him. Gets a bit steep if you crash though, although that topped out at £600 maximum even if you wrote it off.