Tire Pressure Advice

[cowboyz]

while a talented track rider also can make a talented road rider the 2 are streets apart. On the track you have a whole lot of different issues to deal with than on the road. You have a set of 8-12 corners and the grip on offer is much more than on the road. This is why you get guys who do a few trackdays and get used to the handling of their bike and go out on the road and bin it and breed the all famous "it wasnt my fault" accident. Grip/longevity are on extreme ends of the spectrum and it takes a while to find a balance.
While I have alot of respect for the guys who race (well some of them) I wouldn't consider setting my road bike up as a race bike. Two completely different types of riding. Much the same as if I went to Mansfield I would have a different setup to Taupo.

[pritch]

Katherine Mansfield?

No disrespect, but that isn't helpful.

There has been some dangerous rubbish propounded in this thread.
A search of the many previous threads on this topic would give a more accurate picture.

If someone posts a breath of sanity among a lot of dangerous drivel it is probably preferable that the only reaction isn't a piss take?

(And I haven't had all my dinner vinho tinto yet...)

[merv]

There has been some dangerous rubbish propounded in this thread.

Given you've posted very little on this thread pray tell what you didn't like?

I thought the general theme of recommendations was go for the owners manual type specs as a starting point then try a few psi either way.

[pritch]

Given you've posted very little on this thread pray tell what you didn't like?

The reason I didn't post anything was that it's all been said before in previous threads.

Tyres are designed to perform within certain criteria. Probably most relevant here is temperature range.

Some beginning racers may actually be better off with sports tyres than racing rubber as they can't ride hard enough to get the racing tyres into the temperature range they were designed to operate at. (That'd be me :-)

If you lived somewhere way out in the sticks where the hillbillies live it is just possible that you could get racing rubber up to operating temperature on the road regularly. If you live in a major urban centre though there is no way that can happen and the tyres will not be operating as designed. You'd be far better off with tyres designed for road riding.

Similarly racing rubber isn't designed for use in the rain. If you ride in the rain regularly you'd be better off with Sport Touring rubber which is specifically designed for wet weather use.

The more honest you are with yourself about how you ride, the better service you'll get from your tyres. There's probably more than one rider hereabout who lives a Casey Stoner fantasy and buys the stickiest sports rubber he can get. Because either their location or their ability hardly ever permit them to get the tyres up to operating temperature, they would be better off both as to performance and tyre life if they purchased less sporting tyres.

The tyre companies don't help with some of the florid language used. "Corsa" doesn't actually mean race, and "Qualifiers" are not qualifying tyres.

Using race rubber on the road is at best not very bright, at worst it's downright dangerous. To recommend the practice to a new rider is irresponsible.[ /RANT]

[idleidolidyll]

Learning to read the tyes is a valuable skill.

The manufacturers recommendations are always conservative and serve to indemnify them against legal actions as much as inform the rider on correct pressure levels. If the manufacturers recs were to be taken completely as gospel, they would tell you to change your tyre pressures with say every 5 degree change in road temperature or depending on the road conditions (rain, surface etc).

The fact is that the 'correct' tyre pressure is wildly variable depending on the riding style, road surface, weather conditions, weights etc etc.

If you are a commuter who never really goes hard, setting to the recommended pressure from your book will be fine.

However, if you DO like to charge hard in the corners, it is MUCH more important to understnad the variables and what you can do to make your bike more stable and/or your tyres more grippy. There is a balance somewhere between high speed stability and grippiness in corners and the balance depends on how much emphasis you place on each end of the scale.
I am not much into speed per se. I'm always far more interested in a road full of 25-120km corners with no straights at all than doing 200kph plus on NZ roads. I therefore set up my suspension and set my tyre pressures to suit that kind of road and my kind of riding and I reset the tyre pressures (or at least check them) before EVERY ride depending on the weather conditions etc.

For me, typically my tyres don't start working well unless they are run at pressures in the low 30's or high 20's. The one pressure for every circumstance approach makes me bellow with laughter.

[NordieBoy]

Cool. Got my first ever "infraction" notice for my earlier 2 word reply.

For normal road use with a 120 width front and a 160 width rear and a 400cc class bike I'd be looking at low 30's (30F 32R) for traction and higher 30's (32-34F 34-36R) for tire longevity.

I think the thing is to start at a sane point and play with airing up and down to get a feel for what it does to your bike and your riding style.

[Pancakes]

The reason I didn't post anything was that it's all been said before in previous threads.

Tyres are designed to perform within certain criteria. Probably most relevant here is temperature range.

Some beginning racers may actually be better off with sports tyres than racing rubber as they can't ride hard enough to get the racing tyres into the temperature range they were designed to operate at. (That'd be me :-)

If you lived somewhere way out in the sticks where the hillbillies live it is just possible that you could get racing rubber up to operating temperature on the road regularly. If you live in a major urban centre though there is no way that can happen and the tyres will not be operating as designed. You'd be far better off with tyres designed for road riding.

Similarly racing rubber isn't designed for use in the rain. If you ride in the rain regularly you'd be better off with Sport Touring rubber which is specifically designed for wet weather use.

The more honest you are with yourself about how you ride, the better service you'll get from your tyres. There's probably more than one rider hereabout who lives a Casey Stoner fantasy and buys the stickiest sports rubber he can get. Because either their location or their ability hardly ever permit them to get the tyres up to operating temperature, they would be better off both as to performance and tyre life if they purchased less sporting tyres.

The tyre companies don't help with some of the florid language used. "Corsa" doesn't actually mean race, and "Qualifiers" are not qualifying tyres.

Using race rubber on the road is at best not very bright, at worst it's downright dangerous. To recommend the practice to a new rider is irresponsible.[ /RANT]

There are other threads about race tyres on the road, this is actually about factory or standard GN tyre pressures so I doubt that he would have searched "race rubber on road". Even though your reply is valid it doesn't answer the question. I feel like its been answered responsibly now, some good starting pressures have been put out there and also the ldea that you can play with them to a degree to suit your preference and style.

The "use the search function" or "there are other threads on this" is valid too... except that some people like to have a conversation not feel like they are going through some filing cabnets after closing time. I know I'd rather chat and be in a thread with people in it than be on my own scrolling through 10 pages of year old info.

Pritch I'm not having a dig, I just think there is more than one view of KB and lots of people see it as a social thing, which I agree with. If it was solely for reserch in the most efficent way most questions could be answered thru Google without KB at all, the "social" types seem to be getting a good hammering from the re-post and use the search function crowds at the moment, tyre pressures you could search for but so much random stuff I've never thought existed has caught my eye cos a thread was started and lots was re-posted but I wouldn't have thought to search it. There are also people like me who aren't that computer savvy who just don't have a clue!

so... um yeah....

cos gas stations tyre gauges are so outta whack I'd advise slightly overfilling them on your way home one night, getting your own gauge (store it so it won't get dropped etc) and then in the morning your tyres will be cold and you can de-flate them to the correct cold pressure. they will vary between 5-15% on the road from my experience bepending on how you ride, whether your ride gets them up to temp or not etc. Good luck with getting the bike set up for your own style, don't forget to set all the other bits, levers, shifter and rear brake etc for your own reach too, it'l make a world of difference!

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=52469

[NordieBoy]

There are other threads about race tyres on the road, this is actually about factory or standard GN tyre pressures so I doubt that he would have searched "race rubber on road".

I thought it was a recently acquired FZR400 not a GN?

[Pancakes]

Yell whattaya know...... wrong thread. Soooo um yeah, my bad.

[Ragingrob]

Well I did ask about pressure for GNs too...soooo....yeah.

[Pancakes]

I bloody knew I wasn't going crazy, thought about opening the pages I'd already read to check but chose to say sorry and eat my jam crumpets instead. Hope the advice is working out for ya Rob-o.

[hang0ver]

I thought it was a recently acquired FZR400 not a GN?

Haha, me too...

Actually this is a thread on the use of track tyres on-road...

_-H-_

[Ragingrob]

I bloody knew I wasn't going crazy, thought about opening the pages I'd already read to check but chose to say sorry and eat my jam crumpets instead. Hope the advice is working out for ya Rob-o.

Yeah hardout I pumped the rear from like 135KPa up to 210 and it feels way better!

[cowboyz]

whats that in english?

[NordieBoy]

He went from 20 to 30 psi and it's much better.