Race Tire Question

[norco4hun]

Finally bought an SV650n about a month ago and am loving it. Plan on doing some track days with my boss next year in Loudon NH. He's got a few ducatis and comparing his rear wheel to mine it seemed like the ducatis was a little wider and had more of a broader "arc?" to it than the generic tire on my SV. When it comes to really leaning the bike does a wider tire help?

Also if anyone has suggestions for an aggressive tire set for a beginner i'd appreciate it.

thanks,
Ry

[RandyO]

wider tires need wider rims,

the 160/60 that is stock on the SV is about the widest tire recommended for the SVs skinny 4½" rim, there are some tire manufacturers that make a 170/60 for a 4½, but some of the 160/60s that peeps are putting on SVs recomend nothing less than a 5" rim

all putting a wider tire on the SV does without changing rims is pinch the tire, changing the profile and messing with the handling

[nevenelestate]

stick with 160/60...they work great on the SV, unless you put lots of money into a rear wheel conversion

[OreoGaborio]

What they said. I ride my SV up at Loudon with Tony's Track Days & the Loudon Road Racing Series. Stick with the 160. It gives the best compromise between handling & grip.

Basically the wider a tire is, the more grip it gives, but the "heavier" it feels as it slows down the steering response slightly.
Generally more powerful bikes will have wider tires so they can use more power when exiting the corners. SV's don't need as much grip because they're not as powerful, thus they'll have a skinnier tire on there to take advantage of the handling characteristics of the narrower tire.

Who are you looking at for track day organizations? Tony is running some winter specials right now if you're planning on doing a lot of TD's this year.

[norco4hun]

thanks oreo. im honestly not sure yet. I had a suzuki intruder before this with huge ape hangers so my experience isnt quite there yet as far as racing an SV but thats why id like to do the track days and pick up some experience and learn from people. i compete in freeride mountain bike competitions (backflips, 360s all that good stuff) so im not worried that im gonna get there and not enjoy it. i just want to make sure ive got the right equipment to keep up! shoot me a pm if you have a recommendation, im all ears. thanks.

[OreoGaborio]

Very cool! I have a few friends that do freestyle mountain bike stuff & a couple of them race with me up at Loudon as well. Where are you from? Maybe you know a couple of them.


Anyway... Track days aren't so much about having equipment to keep up, they're about learning how to make the most out of the equipment you have. A completely stock SV is plenty capable and can teach you a lot about riding. Yes, there are ways to make it better, but at this stage of the game, your money's better spent on honing your skills rather than the bike.

[norco4hun]

i live in Manchester, NH. My boss's name is Scott Schermerhorn if ya know him. He used to live in MA and just bought our firm, he's the one with the Ducatis thats getting me into this, he's up at alot of those track days.

where do your friends freeride mtb? have they heard about highland yet?

[OreoGaborio]

Not sure I know Scott but if he does a lot of Tony's events I'm sure I've probably seen him up there. Been working for Tony since 06.

Check out www.nestreetriders.com - Lotta New Englanders on there, including my MTB buddies Seth & Alex. I'm sure they know Highland.

[norco4hun]

that wouldnt happen to be seth lolli would it?

[friendlyfoe]

just as a side note, if you read twist of the wrist he actually suggests learning on a tire with a low enough level of traction that you can learn how to make it slide on corner exit.

I've been playing with cars for years and always had good feel for the edge of traction, figured it would come easily to me on a bike but not even close. For the longest time at the track i was spinning up the back tire on exit and didnt even know it. Now i'm starting to get a little bit more experience i can kinda tell when i'm getting a bit of wheel spin but its really hard to get used to.

If you want to be a top tier rider you really have to learn to feel for where that edge of traction is, so dont worry if your tires aren't quite up to par for track days.