Pirello to Bridgestone (review)

[Jo Rhett]

I am more wondering what if any changes you recommend when running on  
a harder carcas tire?

On Aug 19, 2008, at 10:14 PM, zoran wrote:

> you asking me if there is other tires than michelin :)
> I know few guys that tried bridgestones and will not use them again.
>
>
> Zoran Vujasinovic
> Twin Works Factory
> 775-786-4881
> www.twfracing.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jo Rhett" <jorhett at fastlizardracing.com 
> >
> To: "Suzuki SV650 Mailing List" <sv650 at micapeak.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:07 PM
> Subject: Re: Pirello to Bridgestone (review)
>
>
>> I have some ride height adjustment in the shock as well.  When I  
>> tried  that on the Pirellis I just lost traction, though.   We'll  
>> see.
>> Any considerations, Zoran?  You're more used to the harder tires...
>> On Aug 19, 2008, at 9:37 PM, Randy Grein wrote:
>>> Check the swingarm angle - you might be able to increase rear  
>>> height  instead.
>>> Randy Grein, WMRRA #41
>>>
>>> On Aug 19, 2008, at 9:31 AM, Jo Rhett wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm not certain I can.  With the GSXR front it's pretty low, and  
>>>> a  couple millimeters will probably have me dragging the belly  
>>>> pan.   I'll give it a try though.
>>>>
>>>> On Aug 19, 2008, at 12:07 AM, Randy Grein wrote:
>>>>> Thanks for the review Jo. You might try dropping the front a   
>>>>> couple of millimeters to get the front to track properly again  
>>>>> -  just an idea, I've not heard the Dunlops were prone to  
>>>>> understeer  but I've not considered them for about 4 years -  
>>>>> since a friend  wore out a front in 1 race.
>>>>> Randy Grein, WMRRA #41
>>>>>
>>>>> On Aug 18, 2008, at 11:32 PM, Jo Rhett wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> So Friday at Infineon was just me having fun, as I wasn't  
>>>>>> going  to race that weekend.  All morning I was having trouble  
>>>>>> lighting  up the rear, nice fun slides out of every fast corner  
>>>>>> - 2, 3, 3a,  4, bottom of the Carousel, you name it.  Not  
>>>>>> surprising given  that I had 3 race days, 4 practice days and 3  
>>>>>> track days on the  set of tires.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At lunch I replaced the soft/soft Pirellis with soft/medium   
>>>>>> Bridgestones just to have some fun.  I've got 5 trackdays  
>>>>>> before  the final WERA race, so why not fart around and see how  
>>>>>> I like  the tires?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I actually dropped out of the A Race group figuring that   
>>>>>> switching tire brands would slow me up for the rest of the  
>>>>>> day.   I went out behind a moderately fast guy to pace myself  
>>>>>> and not  get stupid, but felt so good I passed him entering the  
>>>>>> Carousel  and never saw him again.  My 4th lap on the new tires  
>>>>>> was 2/10ths  of a second faster than I did on the Pirellis all  
>>>>>> morning (as  well as all succeeding laps).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> First impressions:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * the profile is different, and my first thought was that the   
>>>>>> tires actually "rolled better".   Especially on corner exit,  
>>>>>> the  bike seemed to be moving faster right away.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * On corner entry the tires held awesome and solid.  I really  
>>>>>> had  to work to get the front to push, and I never successfully  
>>>>>> spun  up the rear.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * Just like the Pirellis, once I had turned in the bike was   
>>>>>> stable and solid, completely reassuring.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> However, it wasn't all good. My perfect suspension from the   
>>>>>> morning was gone.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * The bike seesawed mid-corner (fixed by adding rebound to the   
>>>>>> front and taking some out of the rear)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * The front under shuddered under hard braking, fixed by  
>>>>>> adding  rebound to the front but it came back as soon as I went  
>>>>>> faster  again.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * The tires exhibit the Dunlop "drift".   Unless you push the   
>>>>>> front, a Pirelli will exit the corner *exactly* where you  
>>>>>> think  it should.  The Bridgestones exhibit the Dunlop Drift  
>>>>>> where you  find yourself just a foot wider than you expected  
>>>>>> exiting the  corner, but you didn't push the front.  The whole  
>>>>>> bike just ...  drifts a bit.  I hated this on the Dunlops  
>>>>>> (which is why I went  to Pirelli in the first place) but this  
>>>>>> appears to be evident in  the Bridgestones too.  *shrug* For  
>>>>>> now I'm just riding it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Next stop: Miller Motorsports Park, Utah.  I'm returning after  
>>>>>> a  fairly successful weekend on Pirellis there, we'll see how  
>>>>>> the  Batlax holds up.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
>>>>>> #553 WERA / AFM
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>> Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
>>>> #553 WERA / AFM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> -- 
>> Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
>> #553 WERA / AFM
>>

-- 
Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
#553 WERA / AFM