F'in Nail. Now I Have 3 Choices. Input Needed

[cozye]

Ok, So I have 2000 miles on these stock qualifiers on my 07. I had probably about another 1000 left in them, which would be great timing because I'm going to do a track day at Road Atlanta in a month. Then I get a damn nail today. Suck..

So here's the problem. I've got a 180 Pilot Power off another bike in the garage thats just sitting there nad has probably 1500 miles left in it. I could throw that on to get me by for a month and then throw a set of PP's or Corsa 3's on just before my track day. But I've always heard bad things about mixing tires on a bike.

Or I could go pony up 130 for a new rear qualifier use only 1200 miles of it before my track day and still swap out the set because my front will be weak by then and not track day ready. But from what I understand this will still be mixing tires somewhat as the OEM Qualifiers are not the same as regular qualifers.

Or I could just go ahead and put a full new set on. I'm not opposed to this but They would be half used by the time my track day got here and by the end of the track day I might would be ready for another set by then anyway.

It should be noted that I don't really do a lot of commuting or city riding. I do mostly twisties and ride out to the edge of the tire. I'm not a knee dragger, but I don't have chicken strips either. I think economically and the best in the long run would be to just mount the PP that I have that still has a good profile on it and use it up. The profile on a PP and a front Dunlop is pretty different though so I'm not sure how this will affect the handling of the bike.

Any input from you brave tire mixing types would be appreciated. I need to do something by tomorrow. I also mount my own tires, so mounting cost is 0.

[PhantomNext]

There was another thread about this and I think the general consensus is don't do it. The profiles are different and pushing hard on the track with mixed tires is just a bad idea and bad things happen. I know how you feel. I put a brand new set of powers on my 600RR, did one track day (about 100 miles) and got a peice of wood (yup wood) a sliver to be exact go deep enough to cause a leak, right in my driveway no less. Just got to pony and pay, get the right stuff. This is an expensive hobby and stupid stuff like that doesn't help.

Like I mentioned before a few hundred on tires sure is a lot cheaper then a trip to the hospital and a totalled bike.

[jeremy556]

Can you have the tire patched? The plugs that are done from the inside are solid - I have run them on track days.

BTW, you are not a knee dragger only because you don't stick your knee out; you ride faster than plenty of guys that have their knee down in every corner. :thumbsup:

[Neboor]

I've mixed tire's plenty and so far so good. From what I gather you plan on using the used PP till you track day then put a fresh set on right? To me that sounds fine, just pay attention to how your bike is reacting in the twisties before that and maybe bring it down a notch if you still worry.

[Guest]

I have to believe that mixing good tires is generally harmless. I seriously doubt that in street riding you are going to notice any issues, and if you do, slow down, you'll be at the track soon enough! Both bikes I have owned have had mixed tires at some point, and I never noticed any weirdness. I do not push the bike to anywhere near its limit on the street, so maybe that is why. I would wear out the old tires on the street, then put a new set on for the track. Diablo Corsa III's have served me very well. I've put 2 track days on a set and about 1200 miles of street riding in between, and they still look like they've got 70% life in them. Changing both tires right before the track day also gives you a good chance to balance them immediately prior, meaning potentially greater stability.

Have fun!

[cozye]

Can you have the tire patched? The plugs that are done from the inside are solid - I have run them on track days.

BTW, you are not a knee dragger only because you don't stick your knee out; you ride faster than plenty of guys that have their knee down in every corner. :thumbsup:

I must just not be very flexible, I've tried to stick it out from time to time and could have sworn I was there. I just have short legs and not very limber I guess. I'd like to think its just because I have a lot of lean angle left that I haven't gotten the nerve up to use. And FWIW, you and Bailey could run off and leave my a$$ at will. :thumbsup: As far as the patch goes, not really wanting to go there. I know plenty do, but by the time I demount and remount the tire I'd rather not.

I've mixed tire's plenty and so far so good. From what I gather you plan on using the used PP till you track day then put a fresh set on right? To me that sounds fine, just pay attention to how your bike is reacting in the twisties before that and maybe bring it down a notch if you still worry.

Thats the plan. Put a new set on the week before my track day on 6/25. Get about 30 miles on them before I go to get them scrubbed in. I like to have fresh rubber for these kinds of things. Thats kind of why I just don't say screw it now and buy a new set, because wouldn't feel comfortable going to the track on the last half of a set of tires.

Thing is, I wouldn't be happy if I put this nice looking PP on there and it handle like crap or feel weird. I'd end up taking them off and going with one of the other two options. I'm leaning towards just putting the PP on. My thinking is that he front profile is usually different on most tires that are matched anyway, so the rear might have more to do with how it feels than the front anyway. I'm quite sure they would both stick well enough for my abilities.

[cozye]

I have to believe that mixing good tires is generally harmless. I seriously doubt that in street riding you are going to notice any issues, and if you do, slow down, you'll be at the track soon enough! Both bikes I have owned have had mixed tires at some point, and I never noticed any weirdness. I do not push the bike to anywhere near its limit on the street, so maybe that is why. I would wear out the old tires on the street, then put a new set on for the track. Diablo Corsa III's have served me very well. I've put 2 track days on a set and about 1200 miles of street riding in between, and they still look like they've got 70% life in them. Changing both tires right before the track day also gives you a good chance to balance them immediately prior, meaning potentially greater stability.

Have fun!

Thats good to hear. My gut is telling me it will be fine. Just never done it before.

[jeremy556]

Put your used power on and call it good.

If you want to get your knee down, do this, with watching you ride you are easily there:

On the inside, stnad on your toes, and pivot so your toes are sticking out close to 90 degrees toward the inside. Slide over in the seat so that your outside knee is in the divot in the tank, with one ass cheek off the seat on the inside. Move your upper body to what feels like WAY off the bike to the inside so that you are trying to look through your inside mirror.

With your foot pointed in the right direction, it will put your knee out there and it will touch down about the same time your peg feelers touch down on the VFR.

[Darth Bling]

Thats good to hear. My gut is telling me it will be fine. Just never done it before.

Yup, you should be fine. :thumbsup:

I'm currently running a mix-n-match set right now for my first time and I haven't crashed into a fiery ball of death yet. I've currently got a Diablo on the rear with a 1000 miles on it. But on the front I'm still running my old Diablo Strada with about 10k miles on it. :unsure:

Yeah, I've had the front-end slide on me once, but I'm think that was due to a combination of cold roads and a badly squared-off front tire. :goofy: I've got a brand new Diablo front tire, but it's sitting on my RC51 rim awaiting frankenviffering. So for now, I've been taken it easy in the twisties until I get the front-end swapped out. :P

[cozye]

Well thanks for the input guys.

Jeremy: Thanks for the tips. I think I probably do have more room to hang off the bike some and maybe that will get me there. Like you said, you feel like you are way off the bike, at least I do now already. I'm probably not off of it near as far as I think I am. I don't really need to get a knee down for the sake of getting one down, but I wouldn't mind figuring out where that point is safely somehow. When I watch pro's I notice that they don't even stick their knee out that much, they just have the bike leaned over so far that it has to touch. Since last year I've been trying to work on form and hanging off the bike more and more and it takes a long time I reckon.

I figure when I get to the point of where I do get close to getting a knee down then I'm probably approaching the "safe" limit of the bike. Until then I'm figuring that my nerves are the limiting factor I reckon.. I am signing up for Code's Superbike in August at Mid Ohio, so I hope to learn a lot there. I also haven't gotten to the point where I can judge corner entry speed very well. I do a lot better following better riders than I do leading myself. I tend to loose the smoothness and get choppy with the brakes when I'm not following because I'm unsure.