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LandRokkit

· Squidward Q. Tentacles, the Flaming Rainbow Spunk
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Discussion starter · #1 ·
im watching a motogp recording right now and i saw a tire is a battlax on one of the hondas. is this tire the same as the street ones just without the tread cut into it?
 
Nope, especially not slicks. Well, in the sense that they are round and black, yeah - but the carcass construction, the rubber compounds, the profile, etc. are made for one thing: Going fast around a track. Street tires are full of compromises - they need to work under a variety of temperatures and weather conditions, to last for a decent mileage, stuff like that. The latter also have a WAY lower optimal working temperature...

And MotoGP slicks are from another planet entirely.

There ARE some street/track tires a.k.a. DOT race tires a.k.a. hybrid tires that are track tires that are street legal - they are somewhere in between but not as focused as pure race tires...
 
BTW, all bikes in MotoGP run on Bridgestones - not because they necessarily are the best but because they are the specification tire for that class. Just like all WSB bikes are on Pirellis.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
yeah they were having a lot of trouble with them warming up. a bunch of people are crashing
 
yeah they were having a lot of trouble with them warming up. a bunch of people are crashing
Yep, race tires are MUCH more sensitive to temperature than street tires. To be able to withstand the high temperatures that come at high cornering speeds, the compound needs to be different - which means that they don't work well when cold (cold being below 120F or so) - at all. They need tire warmers too.

Also, there are different compounds (hardnesses) for different track conditions (mainly ambient temperature).
 
Regarding profiles - you know how people are discussion 190/50 vs. 190/55 rear tires? (the second number being the tire height in percentage of the width, the first number) - on my race bike I use Michelin Slicks, about the closest thing to GP tires that you can buy as a private person. The rear tire is a 190/69 :lmao
 
Regarding profiles - you know how people are discussion 190/50 vs. 190/55 rear tires? [n](the second number being the tire height in percentage of the width, the first number)[/b]
A bit offtopic topic there. Are you sure that width x profile / 100 always equals tire height?

I know it should be true by definition but for example let's take Q2 vs Qualifier. The Q2 is taller and not that wide as qualifier.
 
Not only are the MotoGP tires special, they are custom made for each track. Bridgestone makes 2 or 3 compounds for each race and bring two choices, plus wets for the riders.

AMA races. some use slicks and some use DOT tires. But all are tires that any racer (Slicks) or rider (DOT) can buy.
 
A good example was when Ben Bostrom took his LCR Honda GP bike and was running 4 second off of the leaders. He pulled in because it kept running off track and did not want to crash a Moto GP bike. At second off pace, the tires were not getting the heat they needed to get really sticky
 
All AMA riders are on Dunlops. Dunlop is the spec tire provider for the AMA.

The Superbikes are on Slicks and the SS/DSB's are on DOT's.

In many case, the DOT's are the SAME compound as the Slicks, they simply have groove's cut in them to make them DOT legal. That does NOT mean they are good on the street.

I always find it comical when squids talk about themselves or somebody else being on race tires on the street and how that is some kind of advantage. :facepalm

On the street, you will not get race tires up to optimum working temperature, so you are better off with street/hybrid tires.
 
You mean you have to heat up those naked tires when you race someone? I always thought they did those burnouts to show off. - Direct quote from my ex.
 
Regarding profiles - you know how people are discussion 190/50 vs. 190/55 rear tires? (the second number being the tire height in percentage of the width, the first number) - on my race bike I use Michelin Slicks, about the closest thing to GP tires that you can buy as a private person. The rear tire is a 190/69 :lmao
I have a bunch of AMA Superbike take off's from this year. They are 195/65 and fooking huge! Some of the fronts are 125/80 and some are 120/70. I run the rears on my GSXR and use the fronts on my YZ85 roadracer. The 120's on the front and the 125's on the back.
 
IMO the 195/65 Ntec Slick is probably the best rear tire on the planet.

It is too bad I can't use it though; I can't get my geometry right for it. I probably could with some fork extensions, but my 675 won't spin a DOT that is in relatively good condition so I haven't worried about it.
 
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