Sports tyres of the past

**racefactory** · 18th July 2010, 23:20

It seems we have many new 'cutting edge' tyres coming out every year. They always say how tyre technology is unbelievable today and light years ahead of stuff just a decade ago. Some even say that the racing tyres back then were only comparable to the average road tyre today! However, after watching videos like these I really do have to take that with a grain of salt!!!

There is always much discussion on tyres in the biking community and I believe them to be the single most important part of a motorcycle. So what about sports tyres of the 90's? I would like to know a bit of history on the rubber of our brave sport riding warriors back in the day.

What would hoons like myself be riding on back then? How do they really compare to the stuff we have today? I can not seem to find any old advertisements or anything on the internet...

What was the cream of the crop back in the days when the CBR250RR, ZXR400, RC30 and all the other sport classics were the newest, most outrageous machines coming out of japan? What were the pilot power 2ct's, the bt090's and sportmax qualifier's of the old days?

Ta!

**steelestring** · 19th July 2010, 08:17

Originally Posted by trademe900

It seems we have many new 'cutting edge' tyres coming out every year. They always say how tyre technology is unbelievable today and light years ahead of stuff just a decade ago. Some even say that the racing tyres back then were only comparable to the average road tyre today! However, after watching videos like these I really do have to take that with a grain of salt!!!

There is always much discussion on tyres in the biking community and I believe them to be the single most important part of a motorcycle. So what about sports tyres of the 90's? I would like to know a bit of history on the rubber of our brave sport riding warriors back in the day.

What would hoons like myself be riding on back then? How do they really compare to the stuff we have today? I can not seem to find any old advertisements or anything on the internet...

What was the cream of the crop back in the days when the CBR250RR, ZXR400, RC30 and all the other sport classics were the newest, most outrageous machines coming out of japan? What were the pilot power 2ct's, the bt090's and sportmax qualifier's of the old days?

Ta!

Dunlop GPR 70, 80, 100s?

**Quasievil** · 19th July 2010, 08:21

Originally Posted by steelestring

Dunlop GPR 70, 80, 100s?

GPR70 when I started racing, dunlop ditch finders they where called.

**roogazza** · 19th July 2010, 08:22

Originally Posted by trademe900

It seems we have many new 'cutting edge' tyres coming out every year. They always say how tyre technology is unbelievable today and light years ahead of stuff just a decade ago. Some even say that the racing tyres back then were only comparable to the average road tyre today! However, after watching videos like these I really do have to take that with a grain of salt!!!

There is always much discussion on tyres in the biking community and I believe them to be the single most important part of a motorcycle. So what about sports tyres of the 90's? I would like to know a bit of history on the rubber of our brave sport riding warriors back in the day.

What would hoons like myself be riding on back then? How do they really compare to the stuff we have today? I can not seem to find any old advertisements or anything on the internet...

What was the cream of the crop back in the days when the CBR250RR, ZXR400, RC30 and all the other sport classics were the newest, most outrageous machines coming out of japan? What were the pilot power 2ct's, the bt090's and sportmax qualifier's of the old days?

Ta!

Late 60's gave us TT100 Dunlop. Another leap was probably Pirelli Phantoms in about 1980 or there abouts. G.

**steelestring** · 19th July 2010, 08:34

Originally Posted by Quasievil

GPR70 when I started racing, dunlop ditch finders they where called.

gpr 70 on the front and maybe a 80 or even harder 100 on the rear? hehehe

**jellywrestler** · 19th July 2010, 08:47

Originally Posted by roogazza

Late 60's gave us TT100 Dunlop. Another leap was probably Pirelli Phantoms in about 1980 or there abouts. G.

the TT100 was named so after it became the first production tyre to lap the IOMTT at 100mph 1969 from memory

**MSTRS:Me** · 19th July 2010, 09:12

In the late 70s, I ran a TT100 on the front and some offering from Continental on the rear of a CB500/4. Never dropped it, and when sold the pegs were half their original length. People didn't get so worked up about this/that/other tyres back in those days...

**Jantar** · 19th July 2010, 09:39

I was another fan of TT100s. They gave plenty of grip and tipped in nicely. Fortunately around the time that Dunlop stopped making them Pirelli came up with the Phantom. This was a superb tyre even if it wasn't a long life tyre.

I don't believe any modern tyres have the handling characteristics that can match those TT100s and Phantoms. Instead we have compounds that change more predictably according to temperature, that last a lot longer and that can cope with a greater variety of road surfaces.

Modern bikes also produce a lot more horsepower, and the compounds in those early tyres wouldn't stand the power and torque of a modern bike.

**MSTRS:Me** · 19th July 2010, 09:51

True, and the more flexible frames/swingarms also absorbed some of the stress that was placed on tyres.

**racefactory** · 19th July 2010, 10:18

Ohhh so GPR70,80,100 aren't new tyres at all? They've been around since early 90's have they?

**Grumph** · 19th July 2010, 10:23

Trev Kirby recommended a pair of sticky Michelins - ME?? - in the mid 80's for a Norton twin in the early days of the Register. I'd raced on Triangulars not that many years earlier but those road tyres were head & shoulders better. So much grip you could feel the featherbed frame wind up on the sweeper at Ruapuna.

**sugilite:Me** · 19th July 2010, 10:56

Michelin High Sports were wow tyres in the mid to late 80's and I loved the dunlop 391 fronts for gsxr's and often ran high sport rears and 391 fronts

**roogazza** · 19th July 2010, 11:49

Originally Posted by Grumph

Trev Kirby recommended a pair of sticky Michelins - ME?? - in the mid 80's for a Norton twin in the early days of the Register. I'd raced on Triangulars not that many years earlier but those road tyres were head & shoulders better. So much grip you could feel the featherbed frame wind up on the sweeper at Ruapuna.

We used Michelin PZ2s at some stage in the 70's.

Yep Trevor Kirby, remember him, think his nick name was 'agent orange' ?
ChCh guy ? Gaz.