DOT Race Tire Take Offs
 

Anybody else running race take offs? I just put on a practically new front race take off and it feels so much better the anything I've ever run up front. I was told that it had a couple of practice laps on it and bought it for $100 cash installed...

It's a Dunlop Sportmax GP-A and looks like it has a lot of life in it...

Nope, waste of money and not really that good for much other than twisties and warm days.
Take-offs typically take longer to warm up and don't do well in the cold or the rain.
Couple that with the fact that don't last all that long, it's just not worth it. I can run a set of BT-016s for 4k+ miles and they cost me 250 for the set.

yup, exactly as nick says, takes much longer to warm up (tire warmers?) and normally they dont last too long.

another point i might add is that they have a heat cycle life span. once that's reached, the tire just gets hard.

however, with the sportmax gp-a's, theyre dual compound so life should be a little bit better. not sure how much heat they need or if theyre a true race compound with DOT cert because dunlop has them listed under supersport tires not race tires.

for example, bridgestone has their bt003 and bt003rs, the rs is the "racing/street" tire = no need for tire warmers to save life cycles and warm them up. thus the compound is a little different but the construction is the same. freaking huge change in feel compared to the bt016 which is a street tire. the regular bt003 is a true dot race tire which = race compound, just it has the grooves cut into it, thats it.

not sure where the dunlop gpa fits in all this, but theyre supposed to be some fantastic tires in general.

dude you spooned a 190/55 rear on?! haha

It's a 120/70/17 and I can assure you it seems to run cold better the any cold street tire I've ever tried. I don't think heat cycles will come into play since I wont be racing on it and only time will tell how long it last. I don't usually ride in the rain, but I figure it's wet traction grip will be as good as many street tires...good feedback tho:)

its a good way to try a new tire, especially for a track day or hard warm weather riding. but like said above, some of these things are downright dangerous for pure street riding. You go out for just a quick ride and forget for minute you have them on they are very slippery. some you can not get enough heat into them for many miles of aggressive riding. When you do the cost thing like Nick points out its not a big money saver. Safer on tires with a big street intent

bin there done that !! tell ya its not worth it .. the overall ride/feel is not comforting at all ! I put on a pair of Pilot 2CT's and they are amazing all around tire .. I may go with the Road 2's next yr. living in Canada rubber prices are almost double than U.S but I found a guy in Quebec called "Petes Superbike" his pricing is fantastic and he ships with FedEx within 2days ... so to all you Canadian VTR owners check it out
Petes-superbike.com ... you will thank me later ;-)

+1 on the 2ct's

However... If you are going to go to a track day... And you have the chance to spoon on a race tire... Yummy...;)

If you get them up to proper temps on a track and things get really fun...;)

I like the way it handles even if it doesn't warm up completely it still seems to be better that a warm street tire up front especially turning...I'll let you know how many miles I get on it, but so far so good!

Also on race tires a heat cycle is not just whenever you ride them to temp and down, but also the daily cycle of heat then cool night will be a heat cycle. A true race tire may have less then 5 full heat cycles, where as a street tire is designed for hundreds if not thousands of cycles. So a racier tire may feel great to you now but will harden up very quickly, and if used on the street will not be worn out before it is hard, that is why it can be dangerous to run them on the street.

I used to use take offs, but had such widely varying experiences with traction, balance and tread life that I quit doing it. Admittedly this was about 10 years ago, so more recent tires might be different. Some tires were really good and others were really bad.

Thanks Cornandp, I'll keep an eye on it and when it gets so hard the cat can't scratch it I'll take it off;)

what a bunch of crap. if you've never run a DOT race tire then your missing out on a completely different level of traction.

yes, you need to take it easy until they're warm... yes, they're not great in the rain.... but the grip is insane !!!


lower the tire pressure & you'll get them warm. heat cycles ? if you read about the current compounds ( from the last couple of years ) it's becoming less of an issue.

tim

I ran them. I started with take offs, then started buying them new, so I wouldn't have to swap tires for track days.

I never had a problem. I don't think you will normally get enough heat in them on the street to cook them like you do on a track day. Mine didn't get hard unitl after running on the track. They wear out fast, but work really well in warm weather.

They don't work any better than street tires in the sand.

I run them on all my bikes but on the street I'm a calm rider. And yes I have a 190/55 on the rear of the Super Chicken now. I don't worry about the heat cycles but I do keep the air temp in mind.

+1 the bike is totally different and turns in w/o any work at all now...man I shouldda did this before now:eek:

:laughing2:LOL! You need to concentrate on the pavement and forget about the sand!

You know the racetrack is the black squiggly thing in the middle of the field... Just so ya know...;)

Yeah, yeah...

and the black sand, in the shady corner, just inside the tire track, in the late afternoon, will put you in to embankment...

anything else I need to remember?

Don't mess up the bike to much?!

But on a serious note, how goes the rebuild/repair?

Preparations are coming along well. I'm taking my time to get the suspension and geometry right, so I can work on riding instead of fiddling. I want to be within a couple clicks of something I can just ride for a while and get to know the bike.

I have a paint room at a friends cabinet shop to use, so I can get the painting done this winter.

I'm planning on getting 6-8 track days in next year. I even have a spare set of tires on the shelf, speaking of tires. I bought another set of lightly used Dunlop takeoffs.

Nice! Can't wait to see you back up and running...

The only problem with take offs is they make me want to take off:)