Road 6 GT on the track?

[Bassomatic]

Hoping someone might have first hand experience with Road 6 GTs on the track or have information from Michelin regarding recommended cold/hot pressures. When I called Michelin, all they could offer was their link that I already had, but it only mentions their track-focused tires. TIA.

[JCtx]

Which bike are you talking about? But any R is significantly less powerful than a sport bike, so considerations are different. I just installed Road 6s on my R, so haven't even ridden it yet. But I scraped pegs (and head covers) all the time with the stock Z8s, and I really liked how the bike handled at 36/40 cold. So if I was to track the bike, I'd shoot for those tire pressures HOT, meaning I'd probably start at 32/36 and go from there. Also take a digital thermometer, to make sure your tires don't get hotter than about 194F (90C). And even with shorter peg feelers, the cornering limit on my R is 50-deg, which is relatively modest compared to an all-out sport bike of about 60, when prepped for racing. So you should be fine with sport-touring tires... BUT if you ride aggressively, you'd probably nearly destroy them in a weekend. The great news about most sport-touring tires now is they have dual compounds, meaning the sides are actually sport rubber, with the middles being longer-lasting harder rubber. So if you like to trail brake super aggressively, your lap times would suffer a little, since your tires will lack (braking) grip with the bike straight. Our Rs don't have enough power to overwhelm sport-touring tires on acceleration, so your only down side would be braking IMO. I'd actually be afraid to use racing tires on an R, since the bike is not powerful or sporty enough to heat them up to optimal operating temperature, so I think using sport-touring tires is the right call. Please keep us posted on how you did, and have fun. When I go to the track, I always rent an S1000RR, because I wouldn't have any fun on my R. Ha ha. But it's an awesome bike to ride on the canyons, even when it's on the heavy side. It's supremely comfortable, and I can ride all day for several days in a row with no fatigue. No sport bike is going to do that. Ha ha. Looking forward to your report. By the way, only the Road 6s are both dual compound; all others is just the rear. Take care.

[Bassomatic]

3 hours ago, JCtx said:

Which bike are you talking about? …

I have a new to me 07 RT. Just sold my 2016 S1KR which got a lot of track time so it’s going to be a trip doing laps on the big girl. I ran both Pirelli SCs and Dunlop Q4s at 28/31 hot on he S1KR . I kind of worry that running a less sticky front at 40 is asking for a slide. I’m going to run in the slow group for at least first session which will likely be all follow the leader anyway, so I was thinking of starting at around 30/34 cold and shoot for 33/36 hot. I won’t be running at a pace that’s going to melt anything. Plus it’s April in New England. The ground is barely thawed, lol. I’ll report back. Thanks for your input. 

[JCtx]

I meant 40 for the rear; no way I'd go over 36 at the front. But forgot you have harder GT tires (I don't), so definitely lower pressure at the rear than I stated. I'd guess you'll probably end up liking 36/36 hot, since the RT is a significantly heavier bike than your ex SR. And I'd shorten the peg feelers (I installed acorn nuts with M6x1.0 grub screws on both my ex-RT and current R), or you'd be scraping all over the place. Also put the suspension on the firmest settings, including max preload. It won't corner anywhere near the SR, but might be fun. With higher lean angles, you absolutely need a lower rear tire pressure, more in line like what you used for your R, but an RT is a different animal, and my guess is it'd be squirming all over the place that low. Very curious about your findings. Please keep us posted. And enjoy.

[diretybiker00]