Pirelli Superbike Pro Slicks .. whos tried em? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Pirelli Superbike Pro Slicks .. whos tried em?

infernobuster

infernobuster

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Looking for peoples thoughts on the tire ..

Did you use em with warmers continously ? And change in traction at all?
I see people saying about the turn in being harder due to the shape of the tire.

Average amount of days used on them? ( yes that number will vary i know)

Just looking at something different than Dunlop slicks this year.
 
Lots of folks here have tried them. I suppose you know that they are really a street compound - not comparable to GPAs at all. The advantage is that they can be used without warmers and withstand many heat cycles and still be pretty good. I put them on for my second track day ever, and used them for about 10 days total, but they started to go off on day 9 and by day 10 they were crap even at an intermediate group pace (and not the fast end of that group either). They wear like stones and always seem to have piles of rubber left on them by the depth indicators, but eventually get hard and pretty slippery on the "drive line" making them spooky as hell despite the apparent lack of wear. This is not just my experience, others have reported similar.

General consensus seems to be that they are a decent track day tire and turn out to be pretty economical when you figure how long they last, but you need to know when enough is enough and retire them. People have used them successfully for endurance racing.

Another thing to watch out for - they are slippery as snot for the first few laps when new. More than just normal scrubbing in. Apparently they use a mold release compound, which is not that common anymore from what I understand. Not everyone reports this but it was my experience and you can find reports to that effect in some magazines / websites that reviewed them.

As for profile and handling - you will need to ask someone more experienced. I didn't notice a big difference in turn-in from the SBK Pros to my Q2s, but then again there were more than 7 months of winter in between so it is hardly a back-to-back comparison
 
Just took them of my bike on Saturday and put on the new Dunlop slicks. Raced Sat on the Pirelli's and Sunday on the Dunlops, I much prefer the dunlops.

I used them without warmers a couple of times, they did well cold

But that is just my opinion, I am sure others will disagree
 
ZX600 said:
Just took them of my bike on Saturday and put on the new Dunlop slicks. Raced Sat on the Pirelli's and Sunday on the Dunlops, I much prefer the dunlops.

I used them without warmers a couple of times, they did well cold

But that is just my opinion, I am sure others will disagree
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Which Dunlop slicks?
 
I have raced for 320+ laps on a set, and I like them just fine. If I did tracdays only, it would be the tire of choice. Laps per dollar nothing can touch it's longevity......and they are 90% as grippy as a "real race tire".

Gary used his set 6 days at Bogie...then gave them to Outtacontrol for free. We put them on an R6 for an endurance race. They worked great-no slips or surprises. Then we put them onto my R6 for the next round and flipped both front and rear tire, and enduranced raced the same set again. They worked good for half race distance, then the rear began sliding, but not scary. Predictable slides under power were controllable, but definitely hampered laptimes as you had to wait to pull the trigger till you had the bike more upright on corner exits. Now this is after 6 days under Gary Harrison (faster rider than we are), and at the end of their 2nd endurance race......probably 1000 laps on them)...
I still have that set around here somewhere, and by the wear bars they have 50% tread left, but for anyone faster than a top of the yellow group rider, they wouldn't offer enough grip. For a slow yellow or even green group rider, they would be great for a few trackdays at the very least.
I would expect a new set to last most of a season for a slow to med trackday rider.

We have also gotten as many as 2 endurance races out of a set of Dunlop NTEC slicks as well, (but we try to put a new set on each race). They stuck like glue right to the end of the 2nd race, but afterwards, when looking at them, they were truly destroyed. More all out grip than the Pirelli SBK Pro, but less lifespan.
 
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doozerdave said:
Which Dunlop slicks?
Click to expand...

KR451 N-tec Slick

DUNLOP Superbike N-Tec SLICKS USA MADE
KR451 DUAL COMPOUND
• Triple tread- • Zero growth- • Low pressure
TOP OF THE LINE REAR SLICK. JOINT LESS TREAD.
ASYMMETRICAL COMPOUNDS
ONE SIDE IS DIFFERENT COMPOUND FROM THE OTHER
TIRE IS MANUFACTURED TO RUN IN BOTH DIRECTIONS​
​
​



NEW Dual Compound

200/55×17 KR451 Rear USA N-Tec Slick

Fitment specs Rear: 200/55×17 KR449
Recommended Rim range (5.50-6.25), Best Rim (6.00)
Width (194mm/7.64″), Diameter (657mm/25.87″)
Available Compounds: 2662/7455 Soft/Med, 7455/8477 Med/Med+
Suggested Pressures: Hot on the warmers 23psi, or cold 21psi
 
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ZX600 said:
KR451 N-tec Slick

DUNLOP Superbike N-Tec SLICKS USA MADE
KR451 DUAL COMPOUND
• Triple tread- • Zero growth- • Low pressure
TOP OF THE LINE REAR SLICK. JOINT LESS TREAD.
ASYMMETRICAL COMPOUNDS
ONE SIDE IS DIFFERENT COMPOUND FROM THE OTHER
TIRE IS MANUFACTURED TO RUN IN BOTH DIRECTIONS​
​
​



NEW Dual Compound

200/55×17 KR451 Rear USA N-Tec Slick

Fitment specs Rear: 200/55×17 KR449
Recommended Rim range (5.50-6.25), Best Rim (6.00)
Width (194mm/7.64″), Diameter (657mm/25.87″)
Available Compounds: 2662/7455 Soft/Med, 7455/8477 Med/Med+
Suggested Pressures: Hot on the warmers 23psi, or cold 21psi
Click to expand...

How much does the rear/set go for?
 
Mr.Azim said:
How much does the rear/set go for?
Click to expand...
The set goes for 380 plus tax and tire fee. Not sure about the rear only, I want to say around 250 +. Call Dave at Competition Cycle
 
I've used these since they came out on an 08 1kRR, mid pace red group. They have about 90% of the grip of a full race tire, very similar feel to other pirelli race tires. I was a little lazy with the heat cycling running warmers, had 5 good days out of the last set and the 6th day they went extremely greasy on the driveline out of turns, SMP turn 5 become very interesting. They were almost done anyways, but they dropped over very quick on that last day. They take longer to heat then street tires, so unless your in an endurance race, I'd suggest warmers for trackdays. Once hot they work very well, no issues of slipping when the compound was new.
 
smergy said:
I've used these since they came out on an 08 1kRR, mid pace red group. They have about 90% of the grip of a full race tire, very similar feel to other pirelli race tires. I was a little lazy with the heat cycling running warmers, had 5 good days out of the last set and the 6th day they went extremely greasy on the driveline out of turns, SMP turn 5 become very interesting. They were almost done anyways, but they dropped over very quick on that last day. They take longer to heat then street tires, so unless your in an endurance race, I'd suggest warmers for trackdays. Once hot they work very well, no issues of slipping when the compound was new.
Click to expand...

So essentially got 5 days out of them? Thats the info i was looking for. We probably run a similar pace ..and i m getting 6 days out of Dunlop slicks.
 
infernobuster said:
So essentially got 5 days out of them? Thats the info i was looking for. We probably run a similar pace ..and i m getting 6 days out of Dunlop slicks.
Click to expand...

You got 6 days out of the US Dunlop slicks? Last season I got maybe 4 but probably closer to 3(had a few days where I only rode a couple sessions due to weather or whatever so not sure exactly but somewhere between 3 and 4.) If I could get 6 I would be much happier with them. :-D I do like them was just disappointed in the longevity.

I had a set of these Pirelli's you speak of on my bike, ready to go this season. But alas, I sold it before trying them out. New bike has some decent UK Dunlops. Love me some UK Dunlops, don't love the price so much though. :-D
 
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Ould said:
You got 6 days out of the US Dunlop slicks? Last season I got maybe 4 but probably closer to 3(had a few days where I only rode a couple sessions due to weather or whatever so not sure exactly but somewhere between 3 and 4.) If I could get 6 I would be much happier with them. :-D I do like them was just disappointed in the longevity.

I had a set of these Pirelli's you speak of on my bike, ready to go this season. But alas, I sold it before trying them out. New bike has some decent UK Dunlops. Love me some UK Dunlops, don't love the price so much though. :-D
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Three days max out of US Dunlops.
 
On my 1000 I get 70-80 laps (racing not track day pace) from a US Dunlop rear with flipping it and change my front at 110-120 but keep it for track days. They don't last as long as the Pirelli superpuck pro but they're not meant to, apples to oranges.
 
That's why I asked earlier. Dunlop does have a track day slick, don't they?
 
Well im on my 6th day with my Dunlop slicks and yes they are finished now.

Dont know the model if they are US or UK, but came right off the shelf at Pro6 installed by sandy himself.
 
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