I just got a new bike and it has a brand new set of Dunlop 209s I plan on putting some street miles on this bike. I've heard that race tires will not heat up enough on the street and will be slippery. BTW, I'm a slow @ss SV rider FWIW. Thoughts? :shock:
They don't heat up enough to hold a race pace on the street but who is out to do that anyway. For general riding and a decent pace through the twisties I doubt they will be that bad. I ran Pilot Power race tires on the street and they were fine as long as you are not busting ass through the corners.
I used to use my pirelli & Michelin takeoffs from my GSXR on my BMW all the time, never had an issue, but then I try not to ride like a twat on the street, either.
I still have my BMW, so it's entirely possible that I will ride a bit. Still waiting to go back to work, though... if that doesn't happen in the next 2-3 weeks though, I may have to sell the Beemer, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
If street 209s its not an issue. If 209GPs they will work just fine. BTW RRW did a 'best street tire' article a little while ago and Dunlop submitted a set of 208GPs and they won the test hands down. Chris Ulrich even commented that he felt this was an unfair advantage for Dunlop because its really a sticky race tire. I have used very few tires other than the Dunlop GP series for the street since I began track days/racing. The biggest thing to remember is that you'll have less grip from this tire in the cold than when warm. Not less than another brand tire but less than this tire offers in warmer conditions. Some will crash because they try to ride when its 50 °F like they would on a 90 °F day; which would be too hard for those conditions. BTW the 208GP when cold (40 °F morning) will pick up the 3/4" gravel off my drive way when I leave for work in the morning. The street compound tire doesn't do that.