Sports touring tyres on the track???

[Yanosh]

I've got a set of the Metzeler Sports touring tyres on my R1, and I'm planning to do a track day in a few weeks... Bad idea??

They're the Roadtec Z6's

I'm thinking if I get enough heat into them - a few warm up laps, then I should be ok??

[Zapf]

they are fine.... in fact they need less warming up than the more race type tires.

The only down side is when you run them too hard/hot they might get a bit slippery....

And try not to keep up with people with the more sporty tires.

Mind you Erik here keeps up with the 600's / 1000's in corners when they have sports / race rubber and he is running sports demons on his 400.

[Yanosh]

Cool - so if I drop them a few extra psi I should be fine? Awesome news as these things wear so much slower than a sports tyre on the R1!

Any guidance on pressure I should be running??

[Zapf]

Cool - so if I drop them a few extra psi I should be fine? Awesome news as these things wear so much slower than a sports tyre on the R1!

Any guidance on pressure I should be running??

dono... I am not track addic.... but I hear that droping a few psi's will result in the tire running warmer (which I don't think is what you want in this case) and it will loose heat faster.

Where as with higher/normal psi it will run cooler (but u are running it hard on the track remember) and keep the heat for longer.

Can anyone confirm?

[Gremlin]

tyres get hotter with track use, and heat = expansion, so I think its the other way around, ie, drop the pressures a little, to allow for extra expansion.

Depending how you ride, I think your biggest issue will be overheating the tyres.

As for pressures... for road, on my zx10, I'd ride 36 40, for the track, I dropped to 33 36 *I think* and found it fine.

[slimjim]

yea drop a few psi , however take in track temp an pace of bikes, as the tires have a different compound than the bikes on slick's or full sport tire's ,and best thing of ALL ASK while you are there,question's aren't dumb not asking is

[kiwifruit]

You'll be ok, if you take it easy....

as you'll be doing the same corners over and over you'll end up going faster than you feel you're going

[Yanosh]

hmm - thanks for replies.. so what's the verdict? Am I going to have to ride like a nancy or risk dropping the bike if the pace picks up??

I'm running about 33 / 36 on the road at the moment, but my suspension is set up rock hard at the moment, so I think I need to do a little adjusting before I get quicker!

[WRT]

If it was me, I'd start by dropping 2-3 psi front and rear from what you normally run on the road. Cruise for the first lap, then gently start increasing your speed over the next 2 laps or so to let the tyres fully get up to temp.

You will know if your pressures are still too high as your grip will decrease towards the end of your session. Drop another psi or so (when the tyres have had chance to cool down) and try again next session.

[jrandom]

My GSX1400 goes just fine on the track with Pilot Road 2s. It's possible to take a little weight off the rear tyre with a kneeslider or the sidestand digging into the track and thereby provoke a mild slide under power, but on the whole, the tyres are more than capable of handling anything that the bike's throwing at them.

I've had a far more butt-clenching rear power slide on the track riding an R1 wearing 2CT Pilot Powers than I've ever had on Betty with her PR2s.

I mean, do bear in mind that you'll have to tiptoe a little bit on your R1, because your tyres aren't capable of handling the full amount of power and lean angle offered by such a rorty superbike.

But, then again, neither are 'sporty' road tyres. Only actual sport-production race tyres or slicks will let you ride your bike to its potential on the track.

One way or the other, you're almost certainly not going to bin because of your sport touring tyres. Just start out riding at your usual pace and work bit by bit on braking later, leaning further and getting on the throttle earlier. Eventually you'll start to feel the limits of your tyre traction, and all will be well as you back off slightly from that point.

Certainly you'll find that riding with those tyres on the track will give you a whole new confidence in their performance on the road.

[discotex]

Just start out riding at your usual pace and work bit by bit on braking later, leaning further and getting on the throttle earlier. Eventually you'll start to feel the limits of your tyre traction, and all will be well as you back off slightly from that point.

As a recent track day newb myself I found that that extra width of the track threw me off. I was going a lot hotter into corners in the first session than I should have been because it "felt slow" and I hadn't sussed the lines.

Take the first session easy, don't try too hard and you'll be sweet.

And tyre pressures.. I run 36/42 (cold) normally. Tried 32/35 (cold) and that was pretty good. Ended up at 35/41 (hot) when checked at the end of each session which I think is pretty good.

[homer]

I've got a set of the Metzeler Sports touring tyres on my R1, and I'm planning to do a track day in a few weeks... Bad idea??

They're the Roadtec Z6's

I'm thinking if I get enough heat into them - a few warm up laps, then I should be ok??

I just had my first time on the trac .
i have a z6 road tec on the rear ,i was quite impressed being able to melt the edge of the tyre

there a wicked tyre and i wouldnt be buying another brand .
i have a new z6 sitting waiting to put on the front .but i just want to wear the pic of crap front first .

Oh yeah Run the metzlers at 40 psi ,they will last longer

[Wheeliemonsta]

Gidday Yanosh,
Your "Z-6's" will be fine for your track day - I've run them myself on my ZX 12-R around Taupo on numerous ocassions & they've been absolutely fine...

In as far as pressures went I ran 31 psi front (cold) & 33 rear (cold) which worked fine, however the "12" is significantly heavier than your R1

Road wise I feel you should be running significantly higher pressures than what you are, I'm running 40 psi front (cold) & 42 psi rear (cold) when one up & 42 psi front (cold) & 44 psi rear (cold) two up... (On the advice from the "Metzeler Man" at Forbes & Davies)

I'm averaging 9 ~ 10k k's from a rear & nearly double that from a front...

I don't claim to be the fastest rider in the world but you could certainly say I don't f$%k about...

I.M.H.O the Z6's are a bloody fantastic tyre & you'd be hard pressed to get me to change - unless of course it was to another Metzeler product

Cheers

[Yanosh]

To clear up 2 arguements in 1... I took the bike to the track with a Metzler sports one the front & sports touring on the back.

Bike handled great! Tyres warmed up fine, could get my knee down after 1 lap and didn't notice any instability between front and back... Awesome day and had nothing to worry about!

[McJim]

To clear up 2 arguements in 1... I took the bike to the track with a Metzler sports one the front & sports touring on the back.

Bike handled great! Tyres warmed up fine, could get my knee down after 1 lap and didn't notice any instability between front and back... Awesome day and had nothing to worry about!

Was that you on the R1 at Teretonga yesterday? Lined up beside an R6 and a CBR600 at the beginning of the first session? I was the twat on the Ducati 600. Went for 3 laps. Front wheel felt vague. Went home.

Glad you had fun.