Slippery new tyres.

[tri boy]

I'm hoping that most in the 250 forum already know about the inherent danger of "greasy new tyres", but i would like to raise this issue again, as Kanny wasn't aware of the need to "scrub" new rubber in.

The term refers to riding the bike quite carefully, while riding on new tyres.
Initial lean angles should be moderate and increased slowly over the first 100 odd kms, until you are confident that the top skin of the rubber is roughened up by the road.

You may also wish to use a course emery paper to roughen the tread area prior to your first ride on said rubber. Brake clean sprayed onto a rag is also an option, but the emery paper is a better option.

Don't assume that the tyre is right to push hard straight out of the shop. Many very good riders have decked their bikes assuming this is OK. If in doubt, ask the tyre shop for advise.
Hope this helps.:sunny:

[Ixion]

Gravel. Gravel road is what you need. A brisk 5km on gravel will clean the tyre up perfectly in complete safety.

[dogsnbikes]

Gravel. Gravel road is what you need. A brisk 5km on gravel will clean the tyre up perfectly in complete safety.

Agreed that gravel is the best option if you have it

[tri boy]

Gravel. Gravel road is what you need. A brisk 5km on gravel will clean the tyre up perfectly in complete safety.

Absolutely the best option.:msn-wink: However, finding it in suburban centres is quite challenging these days.
Those who rode NZ in the 50s,60s,and 70s will have fond memories of main roads still unsealed.
I have often thought of making a roller system which has an abrasive surface, which would scour the rubber quickly, and have heard that some tyre shops do indeed have such a device.
Any members who work in bike tyre outlets care to comment?

[GaZBur]

It's not just because they are smoothe when new that causes problems. When they make a new tyre they must come out of some sort of mould as there is a film on top that is deady in the dry but even more so in the wet. Even if you can't scrub in your tyres its helpful to at least wash them with detergent. I see guys at the track using long belts of sandpaper to scrub the whole tyre. If there are any tyre experts reading this thread I would like to hear what they do.

[Jimmy B]

No gravel, well we've got heaps of rain...."Scrubbing in" is really a bit of a half truth. It is not the mechaniscal action on the tyre that is important, more the getting rid of lubriucants that remain from the MFG process. Agreed, "scrubbing" will do it and so will easy riding in the wet, pretty quickly too. The water of the road does a pretty good job of ridding your tyres of lubricants, you can have massive chicken strips and the tyre is "scrubbed in"

[vifferman]

The tyre brand makes a difference too - some tyre manufacturers such as Avon no longer use a silicon-based "mould release agent" in the manufacturing process, so the tyres aren't inherently slippery when new.
That's not the only reason to take it easy when the tyres are new. The last few sets I've had, the handling was so radically different that I was oversteering at first, and nearly fell off at the first corner I came to.

However (but!) if you do want to scrub your tyres in and don't have a gravel road handy, what you can do is find a nice empty carpark, and do slow figure-8s, using lots of body english to lean the bike down into the corner. Make them as big as possible, and slowly increase your speed and/or tighten the turns.

[FlangMasterJ]

Poor fella.

FxbHyEIkgdU

[Supermoto Junkie]

[QUOTE=FlangMasterJ;1334633]Poor fella.

That just about made sick, poor bugger.......imagine doin' that on your brand new bike

[Monsterbishi]

Many very good riders have decked their bikes assuming this is OK.

^^^ A good rider would never assume as such ^^^ :bleh:

Having a old steelo pad handy in your jacket is a quick way to scrub a tyre when leaving a tyre shop.

[zeocen]

Gravel. Gravel road is what you need. A brisk 5km on gravel will clean the tyre up perfectly in complete safety.

Are you talking about loose metal? If so, how come this is the best option? I'm asking honestly as I've been riding my fathers bike while mine has been in the shop for a few months and is in need of a tyre, I said I would take care of it since he has let me ride it for so long. I'm fine with scrubbing in new tyres but going up 850cc from when I last scrubbed in some new tyres might be a bit daunting so I'd rather get it over fast.

I'm guessing the gravel will suffice for the initial part of the tyre, but still be wary of the chicken strips?

Cheers !

[tri boy]

Since gravel is made up of varying grades of rock/stone/dust, its extremely efficient at both roughing up the skin of the tyre, and the dust absorbs any residual molding lubricants. However, one must consider that possible stone chip damage will be done to any fairings/rims/coolers etc on late model road bikes.

The use of emery paper, and brake clean might be the best option for road bikes, as well as the mentioned figure eight riding method.
A little bit of scrub time will make you feel more confident in the new tyres.:yes:

[HTFU]

Here is another set of new tyres.

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2745364

Although rider error did have a big part to play.

[discotex]

That just about made sick, poor bugger.......imagine doin' that on your brand new bike

That's the exact vid that I was thinking of when I picked up my brand spanking new CBR with brand spanking new tyres in the wet last week.

As for all the sandpaper and stuff. Yes that'll get some of it off the surface but apparently the mould release bleeds out of the tyres. You need a couple of heat cycles to get it to all come to the surface. Ride, stop, ride, stop.

Personally I wouldn't put any shit on my tyres to get it off. Who knows what you'll do to the rubber in the process. Some stuff might even make them more slippery.

Best bet is to just take it easy to begin with. I find big snaking curves down the road are a good way to get a nice clear strip in the middle then I slowly increase the cornering lean angles over the next 50km.

The main thing is to just get 5-10% of the chicken strips each time so you're mostly on nice grippy scrubbed rubber.

[tri boy]

[QUOTE=discotex;1335219]

Personally I wouldn't put any shit on my tyres to get it off.

Nobody has suggested that you Shit on your tyres. The suggestions that have been offered up have come from several VERY experienced motorcylists, solely for the purpose of increasing the safety of new riders.

These practices have been used for many, many years, and have probably helped to prevent accidents. If you wish to make off the cuff statements related to safety issues, please do it elsewhere.

Take this request personally or not, I don't care, but do not undermine proven safe practices. (you wouldn't be a new motorcyclist, ie less than five years riding yourself would you?)

[chester]

I am a new rider and have put a new front tyre on, the guy in the shop told me to spray it with brake clean and/or use sand paper to ruff it up and also take it easy for approx 100 ks,Ive done this and it seems fine....

[Delphinus]

I notice when new tyres are on and I have been riding on them a bit there is a clear line where the silicon is still there on the edges vs in the middle where it has been scrubbed off. Are you saying even if most of this visible silicon has been worn off (doable in 20kms of road) there is still invisible slippery stuff there?

[imdying]

Best bet is to just take it easy to begin with. I find big snaking curves down the road are a good way to get a nice clear strip in the middle then I slowly increase the cornering lean angles over the next 50km.That's what I do... leave the shop, head up Dyers Pass road, and back again. Job done. Just don't ride like a twat and you're fine... sure it is more slippery than a worn in tyre, but it's not like it's the devil just waiting to pounce and throw you off or anything.

[delusionz]

mmm... I wouldn't mind something better than these stock dunlops for my GPX250, it's still a little slippery even after 1900 kms

[Monsterbishi]

In your instance I doubt very much it's the tyre that's the problem, motorcycle tyres usually get progressively softer/grippier as they wear down, after that many k's you shouldn't be having any grief whatsoever, unless you've got the wrong size tyre on the rim.

[jrandom]

dunlops... slippery

Well. duh.

Just throw them away and get some proper tyres.

:yes:

[Monsterbishi]

Nothing wrong with Dunlop rubber, keeps my 120hp stuck to the ground just fine in most situations, he certainly shouldn't be having stickage issues with the 30hp that his gpx would be making...

[jrandom]

Nothing wrong with Dunlop rubber, keeps my 120hp stuck to the ground just fine in most situations...

Which Dunlop tyres are you using?

Edit: And, 120hp from a '93 (sorry, '94) YZF750R? Does it have special cams and valves made from magic pixie dust?

[scumdog]

I just give 'em a wipe-down with a rag damp with paint thinners - get all the 'shit' off the tyre and evaporates quickly.

Works for me.

[Monsterbishi]

Dunlop Sportmax D218, they're nice and cheap at the mo, last one that I put on the other week cost me $300, including bike pickup and fitting (Yay for cycletreads chch - 15 years of my custom so far)

They last a good 5000k's if you baby them, got 3000k's out of my last one! :woohoo:

Edit: Just quoting the ever optimistic factory brochure for power, I've seen them claim from 108-125hp, and it gets my 115kg frame past 270kph, so it's got to have some sorta of durka-durka going on under the fueltank.

[jrandom]

Dunlop Sportmax D218...

I had those on the Snail a while back. I was not a fan. Very squiggly-feeling.


nice and cheap at the mo, last one that I put on the other week cost me $300... They last a good 5000k's if you baby them, got 3000k's out of my last one!

:confused:

You, sir, really need to try a set of Metzeler Sportec M3s before you comment any further.

[jrandom]

Edit: Just quoting the ever optimistic factory brochure for power, I've seen them claim from 108-125hp

105 on a particularly good day.

Pop your bike on a dyno sometime.

:niceone:


it gets my 115kg frame past 270kph...

'Indicated'.

;)

[Waxxa]

As Discotex says the important thing with new tyres is to get the heat cycle into the tyres. Even a half hour ride will do this with further caution for another 100kms or so to wear the walls of the tyre. What ever you do, buy the best rubber you can afford and a tyre for the type of riding you do i.e commuter, weekend warrior, type of bike, size of rims, your weight, do you carry a pillion etc. Be specific with your dealer!
I'm trying the Continental Sport Attacks (from dirty Dunlops), put them on last week and when I left the shop I was amazed at the difference of the handling in the bike. It was like a steering damper went on and cranked up hard, incredible!

[babyblade250rr]

i've got brand new michelin pilot powers on my brand new yzfr6 which i believe is somewhere around 115bhp and yes the definately needed scrubbing in

[CM2005]

how do the pilot powers go in the wet? I"ve got a set on my RGV race bike, n they not exactly what i'd call wet suitable

[Monsterbishi]

You, sir, really need to try a set of Metzeler Sportec M3s before you comment any further.

Since I've only got 27k's on the Current ones, It's going to be 6 months before I look into this avenue :-)

What are the wear rates like?

[jrandom]

What are the wear rates like?

Depends entirely on how you ride them, but rear M3s have been known to happily last 8,000km.

M3s are an excellent sportbike tyre, IMHO. They feel a shitload better to ride on than Pilot Powers or D218s, that's for sure.

I've heard good things about Conti SportAttacks, too, but haven't tried them myself.

[babyblade250rr]

how do the pilot powers go in the wet? I"ve got a set on my RGV race bike, n they not exactly what i'd call wet suitable

So far i think they are quite good, infact they are better than the previous Dunlop qualifiers i had on there which are apparently "An all round great tyre", i think the fact they hold so much heat makes the michelins ideal for wet weather. I don't really push to hard in the wet but from my short experience with them i'm very happy!!

[Monsterbishi]

Depends entirely on how you ride them, but rear M3s have been known to happily last 8,000km.

I haven't had a tyre last that long since my days on a 250!

(Almost bought a old CB250RS for the memories the other day :doh:)

[scumdog]

Depends entirely on how you ride them, but rear M3s have been known to happily last 8,000km.

M3s are an excellent sportbike tyre, IMHO. They feel a shitload better to ride on than Pilot Powers or D218s, that's for sure.

I've heard good things about Conti SportAttacks, too, but haven't tried them myself.

Using Conti Milestones - 10,000km and the one on the rear of the T-Sport is shagged!!

AND the mrs Sporty needs a new one too - ah, the joy of running two bikes.

BTW As most riding is touring does anybody have any better tyre? ($$ vs km vs road-holding)

[delusionz]

I think I've heard what I want to hear if I'm not reading between the lines, My bike's cornering and handling will improve by ditching the stock Dunlops?

There have been some cornering situations where my rear wheel has slipped out and given me quite a scare... it doesn't happen on good road, only when the surface changes as it does on Auckland roads.

[Monsterbishi]

I think I've heard what I want to hear if I'm not reading between the lines, My bike's cornering and handling will improve by ditching the stock Dunlops?

There have been some cornering situations where my rear wheel has slipped out and given me quite a scare... it doesn't happen on good road, only when the surface changes as it does on Auckland roads.

It all depends on what the tyre is within the range, ie, as already mentioned, I have D218's which are the OEM tyre for many of the new litre+ bikes, they don't last long due to being made largely from rubber that's as soft as chewing gum, and provide good stickage as a result.

Alternately, you could have one of their budget tyres, which are hard enough to be made from recycled BIC pens...

[vifferman]

(Almost bought a old CB250RS for the memories the other day :doh:)
:doh: indeed.

I used to have a CB250RS with an XR500 donk, which was one of the bikes I've most enjoyed owning (even though it was a badly-behaved, mongrel bastard of a thing). But... I saw a CB250RS earlier this week, and was amazed at how crappy it looked. No way I could go back there.:oi-grr:

[Sketchy_Racer]

Centre stand and a belt sander. takes 30sec to do each tyre.

Or just ride it...

[AllanB]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha tyre threads I love. It almost inspires me to start a 'what oil' thread!

THE ORIGINAL POST OFFERS GOOD ADVISE

Yep 'scrub' them in - careful riding until they are heated up then lean in progressively. Never have I had an issue using this method in 27 years of riding. Mind you I only scrub in a tyre in the dry.

Tyre brands - if you are getting a good brand tyre then, bike, riding style, cost etc all factor in - if they feel alright for your style/bike then they are just fine.

With respect to tyres - I often see trail bikes with semi or knobblies in town throwing their bike around a corner at a speed I would not even contemplate on my road bike with good rubber - how the f do they stay on!