Tire life SP/TD/SC

Good news and review of the tire life. Been MIA for a while, I will be posting an embarrassing tale once I get all the details together, but long story short I have not ridden the entire month of June and missed all those glorious track days. Should be up and running for NYST this coming weekend.

Kev242 said:

Good news and review of the tire life. Been MIA for a while, I will be posting an embarrassing tale once I get all the details together, but long story short I have not ridden the entire month of June and missed all those glorious track days. Should be up and running for NYST this coming weekend.

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I heard about the pinch bolts. OUCH! I will be at NYST Aug 11th and 12th!
I also just added another day to my schedule at Palmer August 26th.

I'll know the tally on my folly when I pick the bike up tomorrow.

I'll be there for the Ducati Rev event as well, and hopefully hit Club Motorsports before the end of the year as well. The pics that Karl showed me were unbelievable.

Got 9 sessions in this weekend, super hot air temp and the track was 114F by noon!

First time with TD's at the track (4-5 sessions on some SP's) and I was very pleased, definitely a step up in edge grip than the SP and I think I can get another 5-6 sessions out of my rear.

The high track temps played into Pirelli's strength so the jury is out on September traction.

34/26 with tire warmers set to 174F.

Post 9 Session Pics, Top 1/3 Intermediate Pace





Glad to be back in the saddle. Had that week in June blocked off with 4 track days and over torqued my cinch bolt while watching a YouTube video. Must've clicked right at first ratchet and I never noticed it until I hear "PING!", looked down and saw this..



Curses that are unrepeatable were released, then I decided to laugh instead of cry, until I saw a new swingarm was $3,500 plus labor with about 60 things screwed to it! Started to cry again.

Long story short, two weeks later I'm up and running. HVMC sourced a premium used R swingarm, I had them mess around with some rear set and DID chain adjustments while under major surgery, and traded my kid's two mini bikes for a KLX140. The total cost out of pocket for those entire transactions was below the swingarm MSRP. They made me one happy customer.




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Glad the bike is up and running again.
I have found the TD to be an amazing tire.
I will try to squeeze a 4th day from the rear.
I am running 34/30 hot temps (off the track)
More corner speed is actually saving my tires life.

376 for SC? Online or local dealer?

Kev242 said:

over torqued my cinch bolt while watching a YouTube video. Must've clicked right at first ratchet and I never noticed it until I hear "PING!", looked down and saw this..

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What did the mechanics say about the failure of the metal. Slightly too much torque and it cracks like that? Was the part defective?

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise if it was poorly cast, better to break on the bench than at 130 mph.

I think I torqued that puppy by 4-5 times the recommended, and since it was unequal to just the outside and not alternating between them like I should've been doing. I would say >100% operator error.

Bryguy1299 said:

376 for SC? Online or local dealer?

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Look up MTAG Pirelli he is a Pirelli dealer.
His name is Mike.
376 delivered

TD tire update 7-15-19 - spent at Thompson Raceway in Thompson CT.

I ran the rear tire for its 4th day - I started this tire just above the wear bars on the right side and just touching them on the left. I was at a track I did not know well and was not hammering them really hard. I ran tire warmers on warm not hot. Tire pressures are set at 34 hot front 30 hot rear.

I did notice I got some tire spin out of a few corners when running them hard, it was manageable and very predictable, I spent most of the day pulling the bike out of corners in a gear higher (which is fine the bike pulls like a freight train) than i usually would. I spent most of my day concentrating on corner entry and being smooth on and off the throttle. Sometimes you need to dial it back a bit before you start cranking and going fast. The last two sessions of the day I started running the bike in hard and exiting hard. The bike was very stable. Front end stability is amazing still. On the brakes hard up and down and trail braking the tires give loads of grip and feel.

Assessment after 4th day - the rear tire is gone, past the wear bars on both sides. The front tire is still looking great. I will be mounting a new rear and then ride 3 days at Calabogie. I will bring a front but doubt ill need it.

Overall I think these tires out- perform the SP in all out grip and they last longer than the SP. If someone is looking for an amazing tire for really good price I would not look past these tires.

I still have three more front tires to burn after the one I have on the bike goes. I am guessing I will go through 6-7 more rear tires before I burn out the fronts I have. I have three rears left in my garage. I look forward to evaluating these new tires further. So far I am highly impressed with what Pirelli has come up with. This TD tire beats the Q4 in every way from what I remember. I may throw a set of Q4s on to do a direct back to back on the same bike. The Q4 was ran on a 959 last season. Once I need to go to a new front and back at the same time.

I myself like to run SC1 front and SC1 rear. Tires are SO much less money than fixing me or my bike. I run what my track tire guys says most of the time its 35-36 front and 24-25 rear. I get incredible wear out of my fronts. I have done 3 races and 2 full track days on a front. The rear. I can either get a 2 full races in or 2 full track days in. Keep in mind this wear is after I spent a good amount of time getting my suspension dialed in. Once I got that my tire wear was amazing!!!

Blade Runner said:

I myself like to run SC1 front and SC1 rear. Tires are SO much less money than fixing me or my bike. I run what my track tire guys says most of the time its 35-36 front and 24-25 rear. I get incredible wear out of my fronts. I have done 3 races and 2 full track days on a front. The rear. I can either get a 2 full races in or 2 full track days in. Keep in mind this wear is after I spent a good amount of time getting my suspension dialed in. Once I got that my tire wear was amazing!!!

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This is my rookie year racing - My first official race is August - I have done fun club day events, but not points racing for titles. I believe I will switch to a SC compound soon after I run out of these tires.

1299rFE said:

This is my rookie year racing - My first official race is August - I have done fun club day events, but not points racing for titles. I believe I will switch to a SC compound soon after I run out of these tires.

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Excited to hear your thoughts once you are on SC compounds

Gave up Pirelli Superbike SC last summer,tested compounds SC1-3 on rear and couldnt get them to work. Lasted nothing but supergrip first sessions as always with these tyres. Now i only run Dunlop KR108,first choice MS4, if i i cant get it,MS2. They last forever and offers the same grip levels until they are completely worn out.

Zelnik said:

Gave up Pirelli Superbike SC last summer,tested compounds SC1-3 on rear and couldnt get them to work. Lasted nothing but supergrip first sessions as always with these tyres. Now i only run Dunlop KR108,first choice MS4, if i i cant get it,MS2. They last forever and offers the same grip levels until they are completely worn out.

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Yes that's a proven fact , I gave a set of Dunlops a try but went back to Pirelli .

I have been running full slicks for quite a while Sc1-2 on the front and Sc1-2 on the rear depending on track and temperature.

I got caught out badly in my last race 2months ago while qualifying at Phillip Island . Really cold start to the day, qualyfying was 1st up and the ambient T was about 11 degrees. I know its marginal at low T's to be running slicks, but the trick is to take them out hot and ride as hard as possible to maintain T . I got caught behind a group in the first two laps and got clear track and put in a reasonable time , but T1 at PI is the only corner for 2/3rds of the track that you get onto the right side of the front tire. It is also at its coldest at the end of the straight clocking 280+ kph . Dont want to dribble on to much , but I lost the front at 200 while rolling on the throttle through the apex. It was a good outcome for me but not the bike gear or helmut . First thing I did when I found my bike was to check the T of the front tire V rear tire , stone cold! I know there are lots of tricks and settings to help load the front more to keep it working (maybe those wing things?).

Question i'm pursuing is maybe on those cold days when times are slower , is to run a tire like the SP. I'm sure I could run similar off the pace times , but have a wider safety margin built when it is difficult to generate adequate tire temps.

Calderara di Reno said:

Yes that's a proven fact , I gave a set of Dunlops a try but went back to Pirelli .

I have been running full slicks for quite a while Sc1-2 on the front and Sc1-2 on the rear depending on track and temperature.

I got caught out badly in my last race 2months ago while qualifying at Phillip Island . Really cold start to the day, qualyfying was 1st up and the ambient T was about 11 degrees. I know its marginal at low T's to be running slicks, but the trick is to take them out hot and ride as hard as possible to maintain T . I got caught behind a group in the first two laps and got clear track and put in a reasonable time , but T1 at PI is the only corner for 2/3rds of the track that you get onto the right side of the front tire. It is also at its coldest at the end of the straight clocking 280+ kph . Dont want to dribble on to much , but I lost the front at 200 while rolling on the throttle through the apex. It was a good outcome for me but not the bike gear or helmut . First thing I did when I found my bike was to check the T of the front tire V rear tire , stone cold! I know there are lots of tricks and settings to help load the front more to keep it working (maybe those wing things?).

Question i'm pursuing is maybe on those cold days when times are slower , is to run a tire like the SP. I'm sure I could run similar off the pace times , but have a wider safety margin built when it is difficult to generate adequate tire temps.

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I have also heard this about the slicks. I do not have any track time on a slick, and by the sound of it nowhere near the talent you have. I would suggest trying the TD over the SP. I found it offered a lot of grip and even more than the SP.

KarlKani said:

Excited to hear your thoughts once you are on SC compounds

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I can't wait to try them as well. I will not make the switch until i am pushing the TD tire past its limit. I am starting to find the limits of the rear, but have changed my riding style (which has made me ride faster) and have found a way to wear i tire more evenly. (great advice from a veteran expert)

I believe the overall limit of the TD is pretty freakin high. Unless you are running close to expert times you wont out ride the tire.
This does not mean you wont be safer on a SC though.

I am also interested in having these tires under me to understand traction better, chassis movement vs tire movement vs tire slide. The tires did over-slip on its 4th day. That day the traction control took control. I am going to lower the settings at Calabogie to get more and more feel from them. Once i start getting a good feel for how the bike feels moving more and more under me I will go to a SC DOT in the future.
I will have 3 days on the new TD rear and be on a 5th, 6th, 7th day front at Calabogie ( I will be bringing a front with me in-case it wears out). I will then be at NYST on a fresh set of front and rears. I believe youll be there August 11th and 12th?

Yeah man I will see you there!

Should be going from TD’s to SC DOT’s this week for my next 8/3 date so a mild back-to-back comparison. I’ll be there for 8/11-12 as well.

I have a pair of slicks waiting in my garage and just trying to figure a good time to use them before year end. Looking forward to trying all three tires within 60 days of each other.

Hit a new high of 154mph at NYST, holy cow does that extra 1mph feel like 30mph when going into the braking zone!

Had an issue with my front tire warmer 1/2 way through yesterday so ran without warmers on the TD. One wiggle from the front early on in the session but fine other than that with no visible tearing. I would definitely recommend 1-2 warm up laps before they are close to what warmers can do.

Kev242 said:

Should be going from TD's to SC DOT's this week for my next 8/3 date so a mild back-to-back comparison. I will be there for 8/11-12 as well.

I have a pair of slicks waiting in my garage and just trying to figure a good time to use them before year end. Looking forward to trying all three tires within 60 days of each other.

Hit a new high of 154mph at NYST, holy cow does that extra 1mph feel like 30mph when going into the braking zone!

Had an issue with my front tire warmer 1/2 way through yesterday so ran without warmers on the TD. One wiggle from the front early on in the session but fine other than that with no visible tearing. I would definitely recommend 1-2 warm up laps before they are close to what warmers can do.

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That is interesting - what warmers - I had a pair go on me as well

I feel tire warmers significantly increase tire wear and life. I ran one day without warmers and saw the degradation of the rubber myself. When i went from not warmers to warmers last year i saw a huge increase on tire life.

How are you liking the TD?
I am anxious to get on a full race rubber and a full race slick as well. I am going step by step to find out grip limits - where you can run a tire and how hard before they step out - when they do step out how does it feel and get used to that tire sliding out. This will happen at much lower speeds than if you first experience it on a slick. My philosophy is if i am used to it before i get to a slick my ability to not panic and how to handle it will be good. My philosophy may be wrong - IDK will find out.
Once i "graduate" past the TD and to a race compound i will try a slick within a couple of pair of SC's DOTs.
See you boys soon !