Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542394
- t /^r I t t f D I * r.f { \ ^. o 3 ) 't d1 '.t #, -_ 'i'fi y"i..t F I- the track, they were more thar up to every- thing I could give them on the street, and probably more. Anytime you find yourself in the middle of a I lo-mph sweeper with enouSh confl- dence ro lean the bike ro knee-dregging angles on the street, you know you have a good tire. I found myself doing this on sev- eral orcasions. Now you might be thinking this is some- dinS I do a reSular basis. cominS from a professional-racing background, but you couldn't be further from the truth. After rid- ing on the track for as long as I have, my street pace has extremely mellowed com- pared to my terrorizing high-school days. There are jusr too many unaon(rollable vari- ables for me to throw my leg over the latest street rockets and go run around cloverleafs to try and wear out knee pucks anymore. (Don't laugh, we've all done stupid things before.) That's what the racetrack is for, and for all of you that haven't been on the track yet, it's about time that you do. This is why I was so surprised to lind myself doing iust that as we proceeded to break Spanish speed laws on our "testing'' adventure - yeah, that's it, testing. I had to fully test the street prowess of the tire. (Ha, ha, even I can't hll for that one...) I wouldn't recommend this under any circumstances on the street, but the Contisport tires were, no doubt, up to $e task. Not onlydid they have rhe grip needed to do less-than-smart things on the street, they also heated up ext.emely quick, allowing you to ride with full conli- dence right out of the garage. To give the tires this grip and ability to heat qLrick9, Continental went bdck to the draw- ing board when they desi8ned the Sport Attack. They also hired Pirelli's former head engineer Thomas Zoeller Said to be "the father of Pirelli's latest-generation tire," zoeller was a big part ol the d€velopment for Parelli's Superco6a line of tires, which are know for their ability to rea.h optimum tem- perature quickly. Developed in Korbach, Germanx the Contisport Attack features a zero-degree steel-beh construction. with the same shape front and rean rhe on| difference being size. The shaped is a linear curve, designed to I I II I make the tire as st ble ahd predictable as possible when changing directions and at high-lean angles. The steel-belt construction is spooled onto a base of rayon fabric, whach serves as an extra stabilizer within the carGss con- struction. This allows the tire to better soak up small inconsistencies in the road (i.e. bumps) and allows the tire to heat up and maintain its temperatrae better than that of a KeMar belt, which is used by Pirelli - the only downside being the added weight of the steel belt. Though, Continefltal claims the added weight Eives lhe 6re more stabilaty under acceleration, nraking the front end of more powerful bikes less "flighty" when hard on the stick. Construction remains the same both front and rear to further increase stability, while the front ges a sliglnly softer com- pound in a effort to get it up to temperature as quick as the rear- Because a motorcyale tire generates heat through its carcass flexing - done mostly during acceleration and decel- eration - the rear is alwa)6 prone to heat up quicker, thus will also wear out quicker. So to get the front up to temp as quickly as the rear, Continental has llt ir with a slighdy soft- er cofipound. Continental's engineers call their top- se.ret compound "Black Chili." This rub- ber compound is a completely new devel- opment for them, and is by far the softest they have ever developed. And after put- ting the donuts through their paces it's ea5y to see they share a lot of the same characteristics of Pirelli's sticky buns. According to Zoeller, the Attack "was designed to with rideability in mind. lt is intended to be a very good, very pre- dictable tire, to be easy to ride and stable in all conditions." They heat up quickly and have good grip. but they also have the typical Pirelli "soft" feel to thern- lt's somethinS that takes a bit of time to get used to, as they feel a tad on the squisly side under hard braking and acceler- ation. Though once you figure this out and get in tune with what the tires are doing, tlley actually gi\E very good feedback and are very predictable when they slide. Sliding the tires wEsnt something I was doing on the street (i am crazy, but not that crazy), though on the racetrack was a differ- ent story We started our track day with the tires set at their recommended pressure of 46psi front and rear; which worked very well on the stre€t. But this was a litde on the high side for the racetrack, to say the least. The rear dre spun almost instantt, even eart in the session before they started to overheat. I suggested dropping *re pressure to 32psi front and 30p,si rear to try and 8et more out- right grip in the tires - after which they per- formed much better. That's not to say they were llavrless. Tlrc abrasive Caiafat E^ack surface wouH quickly overh€at the tires, with the rear getting much worse than the front. I actually had lide to no complaints ebout the front at speed, but the re:r was a different story Even on small 600cc machines the rear would be cooked in a handful of laps and was slidin8 all over the place. And on a liter-class machine it w"s like, well... let's iust say I may have done less slid- ing the last time I speft a day at the American Supercamp din-track schoolthan I did on big- bore bikes that day in Spain. Luckity, when the tire would slide, it war very predictable and it wouldn't do anything dangerous. It was actually kind of fun once you got used ro it. I spent nearly an enlire session flat tracking a Honda CBR|000RR around like I was Jake Zemke- Too bad when Zemke does it, he's goang somewhere, where as lwas iust putting on a smoke show and not going much of anywhere. VVth the exception of the front straight and lirst turn, the Calafat track was tight and twisty, and was a little sketchy in places. Some of the pavement was breaking apart in a ferv comers. and the track was lined by walls much ofthe way around. Nothing new for someone who has grown up on Arnerirrrn racetrack, but the Europeans found it less than desirable. Continemal choose the less-rhan-perfect Calafat track because they said it best resern- bles the rious conditions encountered when street riding, which is also why they did the m4ority of the tire dsr'elopment there. They were right, as mLrch of the track did resemble run-down streets. Actually, the track ended up beinS rougher than the streets we had spent the past two days on. Even so, it's hard to complain when you're riding on a raceb?ck in a beautiful foreign country. Overall, Continental has put together one heck of a package. The Sport Attack heats up quickly, and hai more than enough grip to fly up your local mounain roads or put in some hot laps on the racetrack. With retail prices under $300, in a full range of sizes to fit most modem sponbikes, for those of us motorcy- cle junkies that actually ride our sportbikes more than just to the coffee shop ahd back, ContinenEl has hit the nail on the head. Bang for the buck. the Contisport Attack would be a hard tire to beat for the money conscious weekend carrygn carver ud occa- sional track-day rider. clt -r-- - I CYCLE NEWS . MAY 24,2006 37 ,;'r I'I- + I I ! I a I I I L I L. \ N \..) \ t' a )