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tyres

Choose the right tyre, for the right job

Tyres  are  everything  on  a  bike,  not  just  a  track  bike.  They  give  you  feedback  on  all  aspects  of  your  inputs  and  the  surface  you're  on.


Sporty  tyres  are  great  to  start  out  with,  you’ll  get  more  tyre  life  than  an  all  out  track  only  tyre,  and  with  modern  tyres  now  having  multiple  compounds  in  them  you’ll  get  4-5  track  days  out  of  them  before  they  are  past  their best.


There  will  come  a  time  though  when  you‘ll  have  a  make  a  decision  on  what  to  fit  if  your  pace  is  getting on the  fast  side,  or  you  get  to  the  limit  of  the  tyre  you’re  using.


In  the  fast  group  you’ll  find  the  majority of  riders  have  slicks,  or  track  focused  tyres  that  just  manage  to  be  road  legal.


I’ve  recently  got  a  second  set  of  wheels  which  are currently  being  refurbished.  My  plan  is  to  put  a  set  of  wets  on  them because  I’m  due  to  experience a  wet  day.  I’ll  put  track  focused  tyres  on  the  wheels  currently  on  the  bike.  I  don’t  think  I’m  ready  for  slicks  as  I  don’t  have  the  knowledge  to  use  them  yet.  The  feedback  I’ve  picked  up  from  the  paddock is  stick  with  track  focused tyres  and  experience  the  extra  grip  they  give.  Chances  are  I  won’t  have  the  pace  to  keep  the  heat  in  a pair of slicks  yet  so  I’ll  actually  get  more  grip  out  the  track  tyre.


That’s  what  I  like  about  the  paddock,  everyone  is  there  to  offer  help  and  guidance.  


listen to what the tyres are telling you

The Bridgestone S21’s are my  tyre of choice for the road, no question. I like the feedback they give and I find them really predictable.  But, in the last session at Oulton Park recently I knew I was close to maximum grip. After all, these aren’t track only tyres...

On the exit of Cascades  during  the  last  session  of  the  day  I  got  a  good  exit  out  the  turn  an d  I  felt  the  rear  slowly  stepping  out,  gripping,  and  then  sliding.  I’m  no  hero,   so  I  called  it  a  day !

tyre warmers

Tyre warmers are a great bit of kit, but do you need them? No. Road tyres are designed to warm up very quickly and give good feedback after a few laps.


But...would I advise them, yes. Why?


Every track session is about 20 minutes long and you’ll get 7 sessions in a day. If you give 2 laps for your tyres to warm up every session, you’ve not lost 14 laps, but you’re more aware of cold tyres. I’d rather roll out the pits knowing that the tyres have been at 80 degrees and have some heat in them already. 


I’ve been out with cold tyres and then warm tyres back to back, I’ll always use warmers.


Mine aren’t expensive, in fact I purchased mine second hand from TT racer Steve Mercer, but it was clear they’d never been used.


Warmers have a light on them so when there ready, an orange LED turns to a green one.


They run off a 13A plug so at most circuits you can run an extension cable in the garages and plug them in. At Cadwell Park though, garages aren’t available, so a generator is required.

Tyre Pressures

Honda recommend 36  PSI in the front and 42 PSI in the rear.  Bridgestone  also  recommend  this  pressure  for  the  road.


On  track  the  tyre  gets  hotter  than  road  use  due  to  the  forces  it  experiences  with  heavy  braking  and  acceleration.


For  whichever  tyres  you  go  with,  start  with  the  manufacturers  recommendation  for  the  track.  At  most  track  days  you’ll  find  someone  supplying  tyres.  If  you’re  unsure,  have  a  word  with  them. Advice is (usually!) free.


If  it's around  15  degrees  I’ll start  with  27  PSI  in  the  rear  and  31  PSI  in  the  front.  I’ll  then  constantly  check  the  pressures  throughout  the  day  after  each  session.  That  way  I’ll  have  a  cold  base  setting,  and  then  a  hot  one.  By  midday the  track  may  have  warmed  up  and  therefore  you  might  gain  grip  by  dropping  another  1  or  2  PSI  if  you  find  a  hot  tyre  has  too  much  pressure.


In  the  wet  on  sports  tyres  I’ll  go  close  to  the  manufacturers  recommendations  as  less  heat  is  generated  and  you  want  the  pressure  in  the  tyres  to  keep  the  grooves  in  the  tyre  open  so  they  disperse  water  and  allow  the  rubber  to  grip  the  track.

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