Tire Wear On Street And Track.

[Jasonzilla]

I did a trackday yesterday and had to take my streetbike because my trackbike has no rear brakes. What my trackbike does have on it, however, is a set of tires I've used only on the track. My streetbike is about due for another set of tires, so it has that worn down patch from all that commuting. They're both '05 ZX6R's.

 

I had such a hard time with the streetbike that I used to love on the track so much (I was commuting on it and riding track 3 years before I got a "trackbike"). It didn't just want to cooperate like the first one and took so much more work to get over. I was control riding, so I had all day to think about it, but a set of new tires crossed my mind. How they can make a bike so much more compliant in the turn. Nice point at the top, and haven't had the middle ridden flat. My track tires won't last long enough to have this happen, and with the soft sides, will wear as fast or faster on the sides than the middle anyways. It was a sort of backwards comparison to the days I get a new set of tires and think "wow, this thing just falls over."

 

I was a lot slower on the streetbike just because I didn't want to fight it so hard. I lost about 7 seconds a lap on a 2.75 mile track just because of those tires.

 

It's more than just traction that will affect your riding when you change tires is what I've learned. Never took the wear part into consideration.