First track day with slicks

I went down to Knockhill yesterday for my 5th trackday.
As most of you know I've been down twice with the front losing grip and had lost all confidence. On previous track days I was tensing up and almost waiting for the front to go on every corner which resulted in not enjoying it and tiring myself out very quickly.
I had to change, so when slicks were suggested I thought I'd try them.
The supercorsas are a fantastic tyre and capable of more than I can offer but when you don't enjoy it then what's the point in persevering?
The Slicks were fitted and I changed both wheels myself ( a job I've never done) thanks for the pointers Simon!
Onto the day. It was a busy track with an open pit and dry but damp in the morning.
I thought I'd wait till it dried properly and I'm glad I did, within 45 minutes there was 3 riders down and several black flags out.
This didn't exactly fill me with confidence, new slicks, a change of wheels which weren't checked by anyone other than myself and several guys down made me want to just sit and watch...
I got my act together then went out, mindful that I had to take it easy and scrub in the slicks but keep heat in them at the same time. Within the first half lap I felt like I was riding a different bike, not tensing after the first few turns and the delivery of the bike in both throttle and braking as I had changed it to slick mode.
The bike was lively and I could control it better as it went into corners with me more relaxed. I wasn't gripping the bars like the Hulk and was keeping a loose grip as I tipped in.
What a day and what a difference, I wish I'd tried it sooner. I took it easy as I wanted to enjoy myself but I'm now reset and ready to go again!
The day ended up with 11 Riders down and 2 in an ambulance, at several times it was like the wacky races but I still had a great time.




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Glad you had a great time and kept it upright.

Which slicks?

alex said:

Glad you had a great time and kept it upright.

Which slicks?

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I had to ask as all I knew was Dunlops lol
KR108

106F/108R is a hell of a set. Premium price but I guess you found out why!

I'm trying out the D212 Racer Slicks at Almeria (step down from the KR's) next month, hoping for good things, though I'll be on the CompK's for the first day or so.

alex said:

106F/108R is a hell of a set. Premium price but I guess you found out why!

I'm trying out the D212 Racer Slicks at Almeria (step down from the KR's) next month, hoping for good things, though I'll be on the CompK's for the first day or so.

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Ah ok, yes they were a bit pricey but I'll not use anything else now.
Not as much as another off!
Hope they are as good for you as I felt on mine.

Trackday

Good to read you kept it shiny side up!

We all get hung up about having the 'best' tyre. There's a lot to be taken into consideration, air temperature, track temperature, tyre compound, pace and riding ability. A pro will lap faster on basic road tyres then we would on 'the most expensive ones (which may well be totally wrong for the days conditions) Manufacturers produce a chart for temperature ranges and whether road, track or both.
I personally love the Bridgestone v02's, one of the cheaper, they grip as well as anything I've tried, are suspension friendly and last at least twice as long. But, like all tyres they have to be within certain temperature ranges. I hated the KR's purely because they only lasted 1 trackday (if that)

Glad you got yr confidence back though !!

bananaman said:

We all get hung up about having the 'best' tyre. There's a lot to be taken into consideration, air temperature, track temperature, tyre compound, pace and riding ability. A pro will lap faster on basic road tyres then we would on 'the most expensive ones (which may well be totally wrong for the days conditions) Manufacturers produce a chart for temperature ranges and whether road, track or both.
I personally love the Bridgestone v02's, one of the cheaper, they grip as well as anything I've tried, are suspension friendly and last at least twice as long. But, like all tyres they have to be within certain temperature ranges. I hated the KR's purely because they only lasted 1 trackday (if that)

Glad you got yr confidence back though !!

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bloody hell!! i made the 212s last 5 days. im so bloody slow

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pof said:

bloody hell!! i made the 212s last 5 days. im so bloody slow 

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Cost effective mate, got your monies worth.

loupe, ive been using the 212s for about 4 yrs now and love them and tbf i would stick with them but i ordered another set from phil crowe and got sent a set of krs instead. i got a set of super soft 212s on for spain next mnth but im guessing they wont last the 3 days. did you find the steeper profile of the krs much different to the pirellis

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I don't know what you were doing with your KR's,Keith?!
I get 4 days out of KR's-BUT,I do tend to scrub them in fairly(!) sensibly.

On the contrary,I don't seem to be able to make front VO2s last long!
It will be interesting as I have a new set of VO2s fitted for Almeria-I wonder if I'll regret it?.

Hi Pof,
I didn't feel any difference with the profile but I'm not that good!
I didn't know what tyres I had on until I asked, they were ordered for me as that's what my mate uses.
The bike felt like night and day though in Slick mode (from the usual Race and User mode).
The tyres may well shred on one trackday for the good guys but I won't have to worry about that for a while.
It cost me about ?800 for each off so Im happy to spend a bit more on my tyres for fun factor and enjoyment.
This track day was a make or break for me, if I had gone down yesterday I wouldn't have done any more. I'm not saying that I'll never go down again but that's where I was at.

Great day for you Paul... sounds as tho your mojo's back mate..

good clear pics mate


Stu

Great to hear you were back out and enjoying it! I'm booking the full day on 1st of October which will be my last one. Maybe see you there.

Loupe said:

Hi Pof,
I didn't feel any difference with the profile but I'm not that good!
I didn't know what tyres I had on until I asked, they were ordered for me as that's what my mate uses.
The bike felt like night and day though in Slick mode (from the usual Race and User mode).
The tyres may well shred on one trackday for the good guys but I won't have to worry about that for a while.
It cost me about ?800 for each off so Im happy to spend a bit more on my tyres for fun factor and enjoyment.
This track day was a make or break for me, if I had gone down yesterday I wouldn't have done any more. I'm not saying that I'll never go down again but that's where I was at.

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great to hear mate. i had 2 crashes in 2 trips last year and yes it does certainly knock the confidence. luckily for me it wasnt tyre related and i knew WHAT i had done wrong to cause it. like you though i was close to knocking all on the head or buying a 250 cc .


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baz said:

I don't know what you were doing with your KR's,Keith?!
I get 4 days out of KR's-BUT,I do tend to scrub them in fairly(!) sensibly.

On the contrary,I don't seem to be able to make front VO2s last long!
It will be interesting as I have a new set of VO2s fitted for Almeria-I wonder if I'll regret it?.

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I get 4 days out of KR's You need to get out of novice Baz :courage::courage::courage::courage:

It was 3yrs ago at Almeria funnily enough (gen1), treated myself to these 'specials' but just didn't work for me, never tried them since. Been using sc's and rr's but still get the 'thou' heavy wear, changed to v02's end of last year and had none of that.
New v02's fitted as well, be interesting to see both wear rates with yr superior track antics :indecisiveness:

Yeah,I've got VO2s and KRs for Almeria.I do have my doubts about the front VO2,as the front works hard at Almeria.
See you there,Keith.