Just found out as of midnight December 31, annual motorcycle state safety inspections officially become a thing of the past here in Texas, which means we could in theory run race slicks on the road.

Always wanted to try this but the mandatory state safety inspections always put a stop to it, had to have DOT treaded tires to pass inspection.

What are the pros and cons of doing this? I don't want to have to hassle with using tire warmers, just climb on and go.

My road tires of choice in the past have been either RS-11 Bridgestones or Pirelli Super Corsa SP V3/V4s, both super sticky DOT legal tires with fast warmup times.

How much will I gain with racing slicks and what about warm up times without using the warmers? I've heard plenty of stories about first turn crashes at the track without first getting the tires warm.

The twisties start about 3 miles from my house, so I should have enough time to get some heat in the tires before loading them up in a corner.

Thoughts and comments?

John

A lot of people say I'm crazy for using slicks on the road but I've had no problems at all with tire failure or traction problems. As mentioned in your other thread, look for slicks rated for cold tracks a/o no tire warmers. That seemed to work for me here up north on 80-90° F days at high noon. I would warm any tires up before riding hard slicks or DOT. Lower tire pressure makes them warm up faster and you have your larger contact patch which I'm a believer in even if it defies physics. I kind of doubt if our roads get as hot as yours in Texas but take that for what it's worth.

I had a set of Diablo Superbike Pro slicks on my old 14 and I loved them. Seemed the same as the Diablo Super Corsas I had used prior. They feel soft and grippy even when cold. Also a set of Metzler Racetec CompK slicks which I think were pretty good although I'm not sure they handled so well at very low psi. I'm pretty sure 25 psi was adequate and that's what I used in my Pirellis even though they can go lower.

I don't think you're going to be able to go any faster with slicks than DOT tires. I don't notice any additional traction with slicks. Maybe if you're going 90% on a manicured track but I don't think you'll notice a performance difference with slicks on the road.

I was stopped with slicks on my bike by a cop and he never said a word about it. Also crashed my 14 with slicks and the cop didn't question that. Of course, there was a freshly killed deer laying a few yards off the roadside which matched my story.

Thoughts

The tires are warmed up when the pressure goes up 3 psi after ~20 min of normal riding for you on this bike. More than 3psi gain, pressure was too low to start and friction on road high, less than 3 psi and the pressures were too high at start of warmup. FYI on my big black whale I start cold with F 38 and R 37 psi to get the 3 psi gain. Running Perrelli Angle GT tires

If u do track days get some chickenhawks tire warmers, I got mine used off of Craigslist for $50.

Hope all is well with everyone

* Last updated by: cruderudy on 9/27/2024 @ 1:25 PM *

Thanks folks, after careful consideration I've decided to stick with my Pirelli Super Corsa SP V3/V4s, there is little to gain from slicks on the road and several potential problems.

John

Good choice. Your new bike will look a little less cool though.

Night and day difference for me. But then again, they were swapped from K81's to slicks.

Upside - Have to use warmers for these days. Big difference when slicks were used 40 some years ago.
Downside - Have to run low pressures [measured off the warmers] like 29 hot for the rears, fronts at 33 psi.

There are no cold pressure for slicks. So even if you ran warmers, they'd chill once out at the charge point.

I'd say back in the day of pre-warmers they'd sort of pass for street. Today, big iffy.

Street sport tires would be the better option. Slicks on a 100F road would work for that 80% worth

Thanks Hubster, that is the general consensus, this might work if the ambient temps are quite high and I can keep heat in the tires between corners but otherwise Pirelli Super Corsa SP V3/V4 or equivalent DOT legal tires are recommended.

John