Avon race tyres

LaverdaIan

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Bit of advice/thoughts fellas please..
Montjuic 500 rider..
I run Avon tyres.. AM22 rear 110/80/18, AM26 front 90/90/18. Comp. compound medium. No tyre warmers. Apparently not required due to construction of tyres as they are not allowed in UK etc..?
Current set going along OK, fitted 2019. Not too many runs over the time, 3 race meetings and 4 test days but I am curious as to how many heat cycles you have found is OK until new set required...or how do you decide they are due..?
I set pressures each time based on my notes from previous, and measure at end of session.. on the weekend at Morgan Park with track 11-19 during the day made 4-5 psi, but just wonder what you guys find as you go.
Appreciate any feedback and thanks

Ian
 
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Bit of advice/thoughts fellas please..
Montjuic 500 rider..
I run Avon tyres.. AM22 rear 110/80/18, AM26 front 90/90/18. Comp. compound medium. No tyre warmers. Apparently not required due to construction of tyres as they are not allowed in UK etc..?
Current set going along OK, fitted 2019. Not too many runs over the time, 3 race meetings and 4 test days but I am curious as to how many heat cycles you have found is OK until new set required...or how do you decide they are due..?
I set pressures each time based on my notes from previous, and measure at end of session.. on the weekend at Morgan Park with track 11-19 during the day made 4-5 psi, but just wonder what you guys find as you go.
Appreciate any feedback and thanks

Ian
Hi Ian.
When I used to race my 578 Binnion framed Monty a few years ago , I used Super Corsa SC2 rear SC1 front yes 17inch. I changed the rear every third meeting , front 4th meeting, always used tyre warmers. Every little helps when racing against faster bikes like 748 Ducati's. When fitting a new rear there was a notable difference in grip that I could feel even with just under 70 bhp at the back wheel.
How competitive do you what to be?
Your current tyres will still be OK but if I had say a couple of meetings coming up now I'd change them.
A slight side note on tyres I fitted 18 inch Avon race compound ST Storm tread pattern back in 2018 to my TT1 replica , was impressed. Did two 4 hour endurance races and a number of short circuit race weekends over 2 years and they seemed to be fine! Currently Andy Jessop may be borrowing the bike to obtain signatures against his licence, I have told him fine but not until NEW tyres have been fitted!
How do you decide? Well do you end up dropping the bike because of, or will you hold back on track because your thoughts are playing on your mind. If I had those thoughts then I change .

Hope that helps,
Andy
 
we install new slicks on the Mule for qualifying, then we have 4 x 25 klms races on the same slicks so 5 heat cycles
Next meeting we run those same slicks in practice which is all of Friday but the spare bike is supposed to do most of that work on Friday with the Mule only planned to run the last practice session so that is heat cycle 6
Then we install new slicks on the Mule for qualifying and cycle starts again

Means we go through a set of slicks every meeting, I'd rather spend the money on rubber then crash damage
 
“Depends on how heard you a pushing the rear and power of the bike and more importantly if you overheat the rear, the tyre grip degrades form the first cycle, i do much the same as Red so hats 9 to 10 cycles, they start to go off after the 3rd or 4h cycle. Little bikes last heaps longer, so there a little harder to Guatemalan, rule of thumb, when she starts sliding or spinning up time to take notice
 
What rear pressure are you running Ian??
Thanks all for your thoughts.. went out at 28 rear with 11 deg track in the mornings M.. then up to 30 when track went to 19 later in the day.. made 4-5 psi during the runs..
No real grip issues, but interested in other's experience.
 
We ran the same Avon tyres on the RGS Mongrel at the Symmons Plains Historics in Tassie. Started off at around 28psi on advice of others using that tyre on the day, but kept upping the pressure after each practice. We ended up around 34 (hot tyres, dry track).

Rick, the race jockey, reckoned the bike handled better with the higher pressure and grip was still good. It's a heavier bike than your Montjuic though Ian, so I dunno whether that's meaningful for you.

We only did the one race weekend on those tyres. Thursday through to Sunday, and kept the tyre warmers on between sessions each day (not overnight). So only 4 heat cycles. Tyres were getting pretty worn by the end of the 4 days, but Rick reckoned the grip was hanging in there. His lap times didn't drop off anyway.
 
When they were the only thing raced on here some people had the same tyres for three or four seasons and they performed brilliantly. I was afraid with two year old tyres when a meeting turned out wet but they also were excellent there, I got a second iirc. One of the top Guzzi guys won a dry race on four year old tyres. When they are torn to shreds and the tread is almost gone, they need replacing, and that happens faster the faster you ride. You don't need to worry about them, but it is all in the brain and if you can relax better with new tyres, get them. There is no comparison with modern construction tyres (or slicks) as used in modern classes. I always ran around 30psi cold, never checked pressure hot, with inner tubes. They are great tyres, but the Conti CR is on another level if you are pushing near the limit.
 
I use the Avon AM22 / 23 Cantilever (rear) on my Monty race bike and have had no issues, my club may do (pre covid) 6 events a year with four races and practice each weekend plus various test days and track days. Same tyres last all season, I do watch the pressures. I found that as a race bike and running lower pressures than you would on a road bike, the profile of the rear tyre can change significantly and cause issues, time to swap. You will get to know the bike and feel it has. In BHR we are not allowed tyre warmers and I have never used them. I got told by somebody a long time ago (thanks Phil) get off the brakes and go in faster and deeper, that will bring more reward than a little extra power or looking for minor tyre improvements - tis true and I am still working on it. I am always concious of a lack of grip on cold tryes especially on out laps and cold days, I had a good slide at Mallory on an out lap - once was enough
 
On a more constructive note, I will be running Conti Road Attack 2 CR’s on my 500 this w/e at Jurby. 130 rear at 32 psi cold & 100 front 30 psi cold and see how it goes. The tyres are at least a couple of years old but had little use so far on road or track.
 
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