• Ciao Guest - You’ve landed at the ultimate Guzzi site. NEW FORUM REGISTRATIONS REQUIRE EMAIL ACTIVATION - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER - Use the CONTACT above if you need help. New to the forum? For all new members, we require ONE post in the Introductions section at the bottom, in order to post in most of the other sections. ALWAYS TRY A SEARCH BEFORE STARTING A NEW TOPIC - Most questions you may have, have likely been already answered. DON'T BE A DRIVE-BY POSTER: As a common courtesy, check back in and reply within 24 hours, or your post will be deleted. Note there's decades of heavily experienced Guzzi professionals on this site, all whom happily give endless amounts of their VALUABLE time for free; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!
  • There is ZERO tolerance on personal attacks and ANY HYPERLINKS to PRODUCT(S) or other competing website(s), including personal pages, social media or other Forums. This ALSO INCLUDES ECU DIAGnostic software, questions and mapping. We work very hard to offer commercially supported products and to keep info relevant here. First offense is a note, second is a warning, third time will get you banned from the site. We don't have the time to chase repeat (and ignorant) offenders. This is NOT a social media platform; It's an ad-free, privately funded website, in small help with user donations. Be sure to see the GTM STORE link above; ALL product purchases help support the site, or you can upgrade your Forum profile or DONATE via the link above.
  • Be sure to see the GTM STORE link also above for our 700+ product inventory, including OEM parts and many of our 100% Made-in-SoCal-USA GTM products and engine kits. In SoCal? Click the SERVICE tab above for the best in service, tires, tuning and installation of our products or custom work, and don't miss our GT MotoCycles® (not) art on the BUILDS tab above. WE'RE HERE ONLINE ONLY - NO PHONE CALLS MADE OR RECEIVED - DO NOT EMAIL AND ASK QUESTIONS OR ASK TO CALL YOU.
  • Like the new V100, GuzziTech is full throttle into the future! We're now running on an all-new server and we've updated our Forum software. The visual differences are obvious, but hopefully you'll notice the super-fast speed. If you notice any glitches or have any issues, please post on the Site Support section at the bottom. If you haven't yet, please upgrade your account which is covered in the Site Support section or via the DONATE tab above, which gives you full site access including the DOWNLOADS section. We really appreciate every $ and your support to keep this site ad-free. Create an account, sign in, upgrade your account, and enjoy. See you on the road in 2024.

Griso track day - Tires or new wheel set?

B

bigdog1001

Just got it firing!
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
17
Location
New Canaan
Track day novice but I have signed up for a day at the new Thompson track in CT in August. Snow might be gone by then!

Since I won't be pushing it too hard I was wondering what is the best approach....order the track day tires and have them put on at the track the night before? Show up on very new tires? Get a dedicated set of wheels with track tires?

A second set of rims sounds great but crazy expensive.

Other advice? I will follow the Tony's Track Day protocol to the letter on bike prep but all advice is welcome. I have a suit and all the kit so I am good on that front.
 
Well, first... I'm fascinated. It looks like ~10 miles from the Vanilla Bean, which I got to a few times on two wheels while living in Boston. Who knew the history, wow. Even cooler for you guys in that region. New tracks don't come about often.

So on to your question. I've spent most of my life on racetracks, as a racer, then instructor. If you are just looking to have some fun, you don't need two sets of wheels, as modern rubber is really impressive. My recommendation is to mount up a set of Dunlop Q3's, and put 50-100 break-in miles on them before your arrival to your track day, and enjoy. Don't get sucked into track-only tires and warmers; Those are for the Pros. I used to do track days as an instructor on Dunlop Roadsmarts (bottom left below on my Jackal). Have a blast and be sure to post pics!
 
I agree with Todd. I have ridden on the track with street tires many times. I have even won races on the track with the OEM street tires my FZR400 came with.
Good quality street tires should be fine. More aggressive track use tires will not work as well on the street. You may want to run slightly lower pressures to get the rubber hot, but that depends on a few things.
Except I am not a Dunlop guy so I would not run the Dunlops. But that is just me. You should run whatever brand you are comfortable with. And they should be as new as possible but they do not have to be brand new.
 
Track specific tyres on a road bike is pretty pointless, especially if you are a novice. I'd learn to get the most out of what you've got as stock first. If it was me I'd invest my time & money on removing and/or protecting expensive bits of the bike that will get damaged if you bin it.

And you say "A second set of rims sounds great but crazy expensive".....well if you really get into doing track days that will just be the thin end of the wedge = you'll end up with a whole bike dedicated to the track!
 
enjoy ure track day . when I had my griso I used Dunlop roadsmart and maxxis diamonds but any morden tyre with good tread will be good
 
How about Pirelli Diablos? I'm doing my first track day in a couple of months.
 
As johnno said any good fresh tire will work well. Key is to lower your pressure enough to get the tire hot on the track, but not so low you have handling issues. I'm hoping Todd will say something about a recommended pressure for track use. I usually drop pressure 4-5 PSI on my bias ply tires (MK V LeMans) from what I run for street use, then air them back up after the track session. Pressure reduction may be different for radials.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top