[Motowerx]

Did they make any changes at the Chicane after the incident a couple weeks ago with 2 Fast?

yes, they added more cones, tall bright orange ones spaced out. They are tall enough you can clearly see them once you are on the straight.

The local dealer ran out of Pirelli Superbike Slicks is SC1 or SC2, so I had to switch to Dunlop slicks. All I could get was an R5 front and an R8 compound rear. Ugh. These tires are so hard and provide so little feedback compared to the Pirellis I am used to riding on. They don't flex at all. I hate them. They are so hard and the wear is fine after 2 days on a rear without much wear, which is saying something, but if I try to put down even a mediocre lap time the rear starts spinning mid corner and before corner exits. It kind of does this grip-slide-grip-slide thing that is really not fun. Front and rear both slide far sooner than a Pirelli would. I probably need to go to an R3 front and R5 rear, and things would be a lot better. I still hate Dunlop slicks.

Kumpy (Kumpy Race Services, Dunlop dealer) ran out of R8's during the 2-fast days I was there last week and ran an R7. I love the Dunlops, I appreciate the firmer sidewall and for me it provides better feedback than the squishy vague flexible Pirellis. With the Dunlops, the key is you got to get them hot and have the set at the right temp. The seem to last for ever and have great grip. At 275lbs geared up, I can get heat in them and they work great for me.

For this track day I installed new Vesrah XX brake pads. I always use Motul RBF600, with Brembo RCS19/M4 calipers/Spiegler lines and retained ABS. Braking is perfect now. These pads are awesome. I went too hot into the chicane and drug the rear tire for way longer than I ever have, as my ABS was freaking out, but it turned out fine.

Vesrah Pads for the win!! Sage (Pirelli tire dealer who sells them) was out last week and I need to change mine out. Have run them in all my track/race bikes, great feel, last a long time, easy on the rotors and they have relatively minimal brake dust.

Gearing of 16/44 for the Ridge with the chicane is overkill, with a 200/65 rear. I could imagine going down to a 15t front even. I can shift into 6th at 160mph on the front straight, which means that I am not using all of the gearing that I could. I could also imagine shortening my chain by a link to I can shorten the wheelbase, but I don't need to do it. Just an idea for the future.

On my 2023 I am now running a 15/46 which works great for me.

 

[Motowerx]

I can feel the grip go away when the heat goes out of the Dunlops when I have to ride slower for control riding or instructing in a slowerr group -- much more than I had with the Pirellis. No question that they are much stiffer than the Pirellis but a wide margin. I don't doubt that the R8s would last a long time, but I need more grip and feedback I think. I got my Dunlops from Kumpy. He in fact has ridden my bike at the Ridge, recently. He loved it.

Vesrah pads - no debate. I bought mine from Kurveygirl.com because of price

15/46 sounds beastly. I have run 16/45 and 16/44 and can imagine going to a 15t front. Hmm...

Ya keeping heat in there for instructor purposes presents a challenge for me as well. Slow is ok as not going fast enough to worry about it in the corners with low lean angle involved but when I et medium speed riders, its fast with more lean angle involved that the tires are not ready for as there is not enough heat. Fast riders, no worries.

Last week I rode a Yamaha MT10 that the Yamaha Champ School had out there for Demo's. It was a blast and would make a great instructor bike with street tires on it for the slow-medium students. A second bike is ideal for instructing slow students as the S1KR is so uncomfortable for me at slow speeds.

15/46 was a change but I dont use 1st gear anymore and this helps keep stay in the right power band on the 2023 around the Ridge. At Pacific Raceway, its a bit short so a 44 or 45 rear might be the happy medium between the 2 as I dont want to switch back and forth.