Well if you arent racing this year none of this affects you anyway Chris. And if you can afford new tyres at every round, good luck to you, many cant.

??

I thought this was a discussion forum, for like minded people to discuss options and ideas about DD, past, present, and future.

Pot and kettle maybe?

If I chose to afford new tyres that is my decision. I was sharing from my experience after 3 years in DD. The point I unsuccesfully made was that new tyres are better than older tyres, I'm sure touring tyres would last longer too, but I would'nt like to race on them. Tyre longevity with Pirelli is not an issue, many people run scrubs and A cast offs all season. I chose to be competitive, I chose to change tyres.

Thanks for your constuctive and supportive comments though, very welcoming.

My point precisely Chris....you are in the minority of DD riders that can obviously afford new tyres each round and thats fine, but for the silent majority that cant, in the spirit of keeping costs down, a credible alternative should be available....thats my only point.....as for this being a forum to discuss ideas, well thats what I thought it was too, another reason why I fail to understand the vitriol aimed at this particular thought on tyres.

A few years back when racing my Ex V&M CBR600 in both New Era's and North Glos's F600 class I made the mistake of trying the Bridgestone BT58s as my mate Chris Sherring rated them and I could get them cheaper than both the Dunlop D207GP and the Pirelli Dragon Corsa.
It took me a couple of Wednesday afternoons at Mallory to dial the bike in to try and suit them, but I just wasn't as comfortable or as fast as I had been on the Pirellis, so I reset the suspension etc back to where it had been bought another set of Dragon Corsas and had the bike back as I wanted it.
I had previously tried the D207GPs on my previous CBR600 and though they were a good tyre I went just as well on the Pirellis that were 2/3 the price of the Dunlops

Prices back then (1999) were £150 for Pr Dragon Corsa and £225 for Dunlop D207GPs

Not wishing to get deeply involved in the semantics of tyre choice but perhaps useful for some new to DD to understand why we have a good, long standing relationship with Pirelli and Shell.

Since the club was formed both organisations have helped us considerably, not just with regard to DD, which is of course a key DSC deliverable amongst many others for the members but in general. These relationships didn't just happen, they are the result of ongoing work from the MT for the benefit of the membership.

Pirelli make some bang on tyres that overall have received great approval in DD, they have provided us with a letter of suitability, essential for us to be able to use them for racing.

I fail to understand why some seem to feel so negative to the simple ruling that the DD bikes run with a small number of stickers to show our appreciation of this?

There is no reason why we can't sensibly evaluate alternatives if this is done in a calm and rational manner but I'm not sure that has entirely been happening here. If somebody feels that a better tyre for the job exists it would appear that a tangible case for that should be put together backed up by evidence to support the claims made in favour of the alternative. Wild speculation over this is only going to cause disruption and cause concerns contrary to the best interests of the series.

Please don't read this and try to suggest I'm against open debate, on the contrary, constructive well reasoned dialogue is essential for progress to take place.

On another note: As DD is a DSC run event I can't quite understand why somebody appears to be offering prizes to riders but only if they are members of Ducatisti? Isn't that rather outside the spirit of the series? What is gained by making that distinction?

I have no issue whatsoever with Ducatisti, they have to my knowledge never done anything to undermine what we do so there is no reason to believe that the prize stipulation was driven by them.

As Chris Wood has mentioned; DD has been a real success although not without its problems along the way, having been involved in sorting those out in the past I can only hope that 2009 is a harmonious season for you all and that you get some great, safe racing.

Paul James

I agree with Chris W in some ways. This is a massive grey area though IMHO. Yes, if you throw tyres at racing it may help you - if you are fast enough etc. What i am saying here is that new tyres each round would most probably help a front runner in both Class A and Class B. It won't always help everybody though. It's about striking a balance between throwing money at tyres or trying to improve your ability. But there is always the exception - Kyle Bennet put year old tyres on poll position at Cadwell a couple of years ago - explain that. There is such a large range of ability in DD as well as all the diverse reasons why people race in it, I think this needs to be kept in mind.
I guess what i am trying to say is that if you are mid or back of pack I don't think it's time to buy new tyres every round. It's not going to shave 10 seconds off your lap time...lol
Personally I think the Pirellis are great tyres. They seem to offer loads of grip and wear for most riders. If Rossos are not an option yet for 2009 then I think that DD should be working at getting the Diablos as cheap as possible from Holbeach. That's the bottom line as far as i'm concerned. If £160 the best price we can negotiate then so be it. It won't stop me from buying however many sets as I want for the season. Even if it means i only afford one set. Racing isn't cheap...I just have to face it :-(

Option 2. New DD rule. Two sets of tyres per season per rider maximum ;-)

we're still waiting to see what Dallas can do on a new set of Diablos, so far he has only used other peoples cast-offs.
If as Chris says New ones will be worth the best part of a second a lap I'll be looking forward to seeing the result

Nog - It is about choice, I never stripped and repainted my frame or fairings etc.... I chose to spend my budget on race entries/tracktime and tyres. I had two offs that I put down to pushing too hard on worn out tyres, Oulton and Assen for you history buffs. So my reccomendation is that if you want to race and be competitive, change your tyres as regularly as you can afford.

Franco - you support my point. Kyle new Cadwell very well - so used that to knowledge to put the bike on poll, new tyres, he would have gone even better.

When front runners are selling lightly used pairs for 40. or giving them away, now that is a bargain for the mid pack racers.

Kev - Trust me on the tyres, my experience definitely, and some other pretty fast guy called Geoff.

Mate did that bang on your head at Snetterton give you some kind of lasting amnesia, wasn't it you that had a massive off at Coram? or maybe I've got amnesia :lol: :lol:

And I seem to remember peeling large strips of his 'nearly new' tyres off EL Rico Del Rosso's bodywork after he was punted during that incident!!!

LOL !!!!