Do I have to run slicks on track?

Absolutely not.

In fact, even though slicks are the tyres used at the highest levels of racing, from MotoGP to British Superbikes, to the Isle of Man Senior TT, they are not the best tyres for the majority of riders to be on.

In fact, unless you’re running a dedicated race bike or you’re at the front of the pack in the Fast Group, you really don’t need to run slicks.

The upside of slicks

Slicks provide the most amount of grip of any motorcycle tyre. This is partly due to the fact they have no tread, so there’s more rubber in contact with the tarmac but also because slicks run the stickiest compound that the tyre manufacturers can come up with.

The downside of slicks

Slicks require tyre warmers, which means you also need paddock stands. As you can imagine, this isn’t going to be practical if you run a road bike, so they’re only really an option if you have a dedicated track bike and you can transport it (and the standards, warmers, tools etc) to the track.

Slick tyres usually have a stiffer carcass than a treaded tyre, so they can affect your suspension setup. While they offer more mechanical grip than a treaded tyre, a slick tyre can feel vague if you’re not used to the stiffness.

Unless conditions are good, slick tyres can be harder to keep up to temperature than a treaded tyre. If there are spots of rain, if there is a red-flag and you’re called back to the pits or if the track temperature is cold, any of those factors can make it harder to keep a slick up to temperature when compared to a treaded tyre.

Lap time comparison between Sports Touring tyres and Slicks

MotorcycleNews ran a comparison test of Dunlop’s range of tyres in 2020. They had a control bike, a tyre from each segment of Dunlop’s range and two test riders. They timed the laps on the Dunlop test track to get an accurate benchmark.

The lap time difference between a Sports Touring tyre and a Slick tyre are not as large as you might expect. OK, so they didn’t run the top of the range Dunlop Motorsports slicks, the KR106 and KR108 and the Dunlop D212 Slicks are an older tyre but the principal is there.

It’s interesting to note that the newer D213 GP Pro, which is a treaded tyre, was able to set the fastest laptime.

Sport Touring Tyres

Dunlop Roadsmart III

Dunlop test rider’s lap time: 1:23.0
Neeves’s lap time: 1:30.0

Sports

Dunlop Sportsmart 2 Max

Dunlop test rider’s lap time: 1:21.4
Neeves’s lap time: 1:26.9

Fast Road / Trackday

Sportsmart TT

Dunlop test rider’s lap time: 1:19.0
Neeves’s lap time: 1:23.6

Trackday

Dunlop GP Racer Slick D212

Dunlop test rider’s lap time: 1:19.0
Neeves’s lap time: 1:22.9

Racing

D213GP Pro

Dunlop test rider’s lap time: 1:18.0
Neeves’s lap time: 1:21.6

As you can see from the lap times, there’s a 5-second difference between the Dunlop test rider’s times and an 8-second difference between the lap times of the MCN test rider Michael Neeves. So if you’re running a sporty road tyre, like a Sportsmart TT, you’re not going to be lacking in grip compared to a slick. You’ll also be able to ride to the track, you won’t have to run tyre warmers and if track conditions aren’t perfect, you’ll still be able to maintain heat in the tyres.

Slicks do provide more grip than a treaded motorcycle tyre and we highly recommend you try a set of slicks at least once in your life, however as you can see, they’re not a requirement if you want to lap quickly on a trackday!