WTB - 1st gen (SV) lightweight wheels for Superbike

[SV88]

What are reaonably priced, light wheels (may be mutual exclusive) wheels for my first gen?  How much will I have to pay and do I have to modify anything.  My plan is to wrench back and forth between SS and SB on my old SV.

Steve

[EX_#76]

What are reaonably priced, light wheels (may be mutual exclusive) wheels for my first gen?  How much will I have to pay and do I have to modify anything.  My plan is to wrench back and forth between SS and SB on my old SV.

Steve

Be prepared to change your suspension settings when you change wheels.  Ed had to make preload and damping adjustments due to the unsprung weight change.

[catman]

I switched to slicks recently and due to their extra weight(slicks) i put on a set of Marvics from yoyodyne- $2K for the set - since the weight kinda equals out, not sure how speedwerks will adjust things, but the first time they hit it spot on - cant wait to feel the difference

[HAWK]

Don't  you have 3 sets to wheels for your SV? Put rains on one, and Michelin Power Races on another. The Power races are legal in SS and quite competitive in SB. If you really want then put slicks on the last set of wheels but as Guy stated above be prepared to adjust suspension height and damping for the slicks and even more if you go with the light wheels. Just run the Power Races in both classes so that you are not constantly chasing your tail with setup. On top of that  Power Races are harder to ride than Pilot Powers (less feedback, less warning before they let go) and slicks are harder to ride than Power races for the same reasons. If you are REALLY good then you will see a SMALL improvement in lap times with the better (and more expensive) tires but  I would be inclined to advise you to go with the Power Races and save the extra scratch for a weekend with Super Dave.

BTW Let me know when you've got your materials together for your trailer and I'll be happy to weld it up for you.

Welcome back to the COLD windy city.

[HAWK]

I switched to slicks recently and due to their extra weight(slicks) i put on a set of Marvics from yoyodyne- $2K for the set - since the weight kinda equals out, not sure how speedwerks will adjust things, but the first time they hit it spot on - cant wait to feel the difference

Did you measure the inflated height of the DOTs before the switch? Even if you are using the same tire manufacturer you will find the profile and height will be different so you want to adjust the suspension height to compensate for the difference in tire height. This will of course bring on changes in various geometry related charcteristics such as anti squat.

On the other hand the placebo effect is fantastic, when I made the switch I was 5 seconds faster at Gingerman within 3 sessions, just because I  "knew" they would save my butt. Like I said above they aren't really that much better than the current crop of DOTs but the confidence thing can really make a huge difference. Good luck this year and have fun out there.

Paul

[catman]

Hey Paul Thanks-I brought it all to Speedwerks in Dover Delaware- They measured rideheight before starting  anything because i liked the feel(maybe front & rear bias)MY  Valley Racing 700 (Thanks3 )also got the front 1K forks 25mil Ohlins inserts off of Sean Conrad's Gsxr 05- got a set of attack trips,waiting for sv spindle to match , and decided to let someone who specializes in lightweight racing do it ,i'm just a dogtrainer who loves to ride .........

[catman]

And Paul what change if any did you make in entrance to turns ,riding position to compensate for the less warning time .anything that would help me get thru my first surprise may be a big thanks sometime!

[HAWK]

That's where the placebo part of the post comes in. I didn't make any changes,  just wasn't using DOT's to anywhere near their potential and started riding harder. Now that I have  spent some time on thne slicks though I can tell you that you will get sideways quicker than on the DOT's. The DOT's will slide and talk to you with more in reserve than the slicks. When the slicks start to let go you don't have much left to play with. This is true in any form of racing though. The better a tire works the less warning you are going to get before it checks out. If you stop and think about it you hear cars on the street squealing around corners and they can go even faster without losing control, when have you ever heard a race car on race rubber squeal before spinning off the track. Race rubber is kind of known for this all or nothing trait. The way I progress is to work on one corner at a time and focus on pushing what I did last lap just a little tiny bit further. If you sneak up on the limit in little baby steps then at some point you will start feel a slide and now you know where it is. There is always the Vale school of finding the limit but going out and bike after bike for the first half of a season tends to be out the the club racers budget. Just remember that most of us will back off a notch or two after a crash so sneaking up in small steps is actually probably a faster way than  taking bigger and riskier steps. Pick a corner, and spend the rest of the lap riding well under your ability and concentrating your extra 15 cents (Keith Code) on what you are going to do when you get back to your corner and make sure you do exactly what you planned on. Then think about how it worked and what you are going to next.

Good luck to you

[SV88]

Hum didn't realize slicks weighed more than DOTs.  I'll keep things simple and just have a set of rains (Dunlops) and Power Races for the dry.  Probably won't benefit from full slicks until I'm really pushing a lot harder.  Cost of light wheels is quite high so best to put that to riding time and newer tires.  Did get another set of carbs and a more open airbox/filter for SB.  I think that will be the only change at least initially.  Don't want to upset geometry/suspension settings..

[catman]

well-that was good info Paul at 51 that is how i approach every day of my racing always thought sticking to a learning curve was important- i will keep this in mind but now i must admit i need to focus on carefully finding their limits smoothly cautiously-thanks alot - i had been asked why i wasnt running slicks,didnt have an answer-if they do add a bit of confidence and allow a lil more traction my hopes are in quicker times- got warmers digital therm tempbox ,now i just need to try em! and Steve- thanks i agree with your input,also- time will tell, i may switch again back to Dots if my partime racer knowlege doesnt fit  correct use of slicks-  thanks john