dunlop changes front no one told

again i dont follow the chassis shit as much as i apparently should. I had a few guys this weekend having issues with front end handling when we hadn't changed a thing, same track, same bikes, same setup...but "new/different" compound tires..

Long story short they had run slicks all year on their superbikes...Well apparently Dunlop switched up the profiles on the new slicks and didnt think to inform everyone of it. some of my guys had both sizes in their trailers for the weekend without knowing of the change.

The traditional 125/80-17' is now a 120/70-17" and @3mm shorter! BUT only on some compounds....confused yet? well just dont go trying to figure out the compounds this year either.

Seriously Dunlop get your shit together man! you cant make a MAJOR change and not issue statements, update your vendors/trackside support/top racers, etc. One guy got both sizes in his allocation "Thanks for winning those championships, here are some tires but opps some are different sizes"

seriously bring Jim Allen and STS back!!

Gotta hand the compound thing to Pirelli to... SC1, 2, 3...wow genius to have it simple..not 6680 which is now 6875....but harder than 6713...then again the 6704 worked well but its gone as is the 7704...but the 7712 is now here...come on guys...

luckily our vendor when we asked who also does the chassis knew what changes needed to be made in fork height, but i asked around with others these past few days not 1 racer knew, even top west coast guys/shops!


So if you run Dunlop slicks, check the sizing. They vary. If you run one and go to the other you'll have to adjust your bike accordingly. it just be nice to know this shit.. i mean i dont build a guys engine, tune to VP U4.4 and then not tell him what gas i tuned it too...

:down:

 

+1!!!!! I had same issue with dunny's this year

 

Imagine that...an Italian brand being logical.

 

A professional always measures something new......or maybe I am just paranoid and have OCD. I always check my shit and question it twice. I knew about this a month ago.

 

Thats shitty...

 

just another reason, after testing the new R10 Bridgestones this past weekend and on just the 3rd lap turned my best lap ever, im jumping ship.

 

what do the R10's cost? A friend of mine gave them a try purely because the N-Tecs were getting so expensive. He took his first Expert win later that day, and at least one more win later that weekend.

 

roughly $120/set CHEAPER than Dunlops.

 

And they are GREAT tires!

 

again i just build the engines/tune the bikes..then on race weekends lend hand making sure bikes running well. How many club racers you know measure their bikes EVERY weekend or tire change?? Come on..most club guys, even #1 plate holders dont have time to nor even know how to measure geometry...they get bikes setup in the beginning of season, fine tune throughout and thats it..not looking for huge changes that someone/company might make.

even my SLOW ass on the trackday friday noticed my R6 was turning in slow..i had only changed from the 120 DOT ntech to the 120 slick front...i looked at the end of day and noticed it was a 125/80 not 120/70 like the last slick i used was. Apparently the 120 is all the new compounds, the 125/80 is last years but still available compound.

again just more of a FYI to check it. I talked to several top Dunlop west coast racers, not 1 knew of the changes in size on it from 2010-2011 and from compound to compound

 

but do they last as long? dunlops seem to last forever for me, more than michelin's that i'm basing this on. never riden the bridgestones it's a question.

 

Out of curiosity what did your diameters measure for the 125/80 and the 120/70? and did you measure it with a pie tape?

 

Beat me to it!

 

Shhhhhhh...Lassen Sie nicht die Katze aus dem Sack.

 

I know what you do...it wasn't directed at you. I'm just sayin, I check the rotation AND compound on my tires before I put them on my bike every time. I am an Expert racer and I'm sure my competitors expect me to grid up on equipment that has been double checked. I also check anything new, but I am a pilot. We check everything every time. It's a habit.

 

Pie tape sounds good.

I would measure with a pi tape.

 

I always liked how Dunlop's compounds were unique...

IE when Pirelli makes a running update to their "soft" compound, as a racer I would never know if I had the updated SC1 or the old SC1, since they are the same.

Dunlop was always updating their compounds each year, and at least you knew which one you had. Now whether or not you knew what the compound actually meant - that's a different story. I still have no idea what the new compounds actually mean, and how they differ from last year's compounds. THAT is something that is sorely missing from Dunlop's tech support.