Square wheels?

[DarkLord]

Far out this is a nuisance... I'm running BT45 Battlaxes on my Hyo and I put the tyre pressures up to what Cycletreads recommended (in fact a bit above) and kept a constant eye on my tyre pressures, yet after a few thousand k's my rear tyre is quite squared off. I've had to put my tyre pressures through the roof (rear is up to 48 now) to stop them going any squarer!

Anyone else have problems with this happening and is there anything you can do besides filling your tyres up to a much higher level, as I don't want to put too much air in them but I don't want my tyres to go any squarer!

Any thoughts/input appreciated for this most annoying problem!

Cheers

DL

[Disco Dan]

Have you thought about going around corners?

Usually helps.

[DarkLord]

No, I hate corners. I only ever ride in straight lines. Period.

[Ragingrob]

Should have the manufacturers recommended tyre pressure in the manual or floating around on the net, unless the tyre specifically recommends something different, although battleaxes don't from memory.

It's just something that we gotta live with if you're commuting. My tyres square themselves off too, just gives ya another excuse for a weekend blast to correct it!

[DarkLord]

I see....so more twisty knee down corners are the answer?

I'm moving to Taupo soon so that shouldn't be too much of a problem!

[phoenixgtr]

Yeah corners help, but if you're spending alot of time on straight roads then maybe a harder compound tyre would be the go. It wouldn't wear out as quickly. Also, some tyre brands are more prone to squaring off than others. Try a different tyre.

By the way, I wouldn't put that much pressure in your tyres. What's happening is you're reducing the contact patch on the road which means less grip. It's also gotta make for a rough ride too!!

[DarkLord]

I do notice that it is crazy bumpy. The tyre pressures are nearly as high as my flatmate has in his '03 Bandit 1200, and I'm only on a Hyo 250. I have wondered about its ability to take corners with pressures that high. Cycletreads recommended 36, should I maybe drop them down to 40 or something (from 48)?

[phoenixgtr]

Unless you're a really big bugger 36 is probably good. I doubt the pressure is going to make that big a difference to your squaring off problem. It just means that theres more tyre on the road with less pressure. I ride a much bigger bike than you and I only run 38psi, but my tyre doesn't square off.

Like I said, it's more likely to be the tyre make/compound thats the problem.

[firefighter]

your problem is the battleaxes- I had some on when I brought mine and found them to be shithouse- and yes squared off, I use road attack by conti now and they're pretty damn good I find........

[DarkLord]

I heard they're actually supposed to be the best tyres you can get for the Hyo? Would some Michelins suit me better or something?

[Ragingrob]

On my old cbr I found the bt45s quite good, they do have a harder compound down the middle and therefore should be alright for commuting. I'd think your pressures should be definitely more towards the mid 30s.

[DarkLord]

I may lower them down to 38 or something, and try and do some more twisty roads...haven't really had much of a chance recently as all I've been doing is commuting. I'll see how they go but if it keeps getting worse I may have to look at getting another set.

[firefighter]

I heard they're actually supposed to be the best tyres you can get for the Hyo? Would some Michelins suit me better or something?

Where'd you hear that?! lol..... well from first hand experience (it's good to use that I find) i'd have to say the battleaxes were aweful, and when I put on the conti's it felt 10x better, (better grip etcetc) But each to their own of-course.....

Have you checked out Korider? Most of the tyre threads discuss other brands/models of tyre working best on their hyo's- could be worth a look.....

[DarkLord]

Where'd you hear that?! lol..... well from first hand experience (it's good to use that I find) i'd have to say the battleaxes were aweful, and when I put on the conti's it felt 10x better, (better grip etcetc) But each to their own of-course.....

Have you checked out Korider? Most of the tyre threads discuss other brands/models of tyre working best on their hyo's- could be worth a look.....

Heard it through one of the guys at Cycletreads actually. FF when you mentioned about the Conti tyres I didn't actually know you meant for a Hyo, so I may fit something different next time. I will have a look at Korider and see what peoples thoughts are...thanks for your help dude!

[R6_kid:Me]

BT45's are good tyres, i used them on my ZXR250 and they were sweet. They are a sports tyre though, so if you commute a lot then you'd want something harder. There is the battleaxe, and also the cyrox, and the cyrox is the more 250 tourer/commuter option - not as sticky though.

Otherwise check out Dunlop GPR alpha 10/15, again the 10 is the softer option - generally used by streetstock 250 riders. The 15 is a bit better suited to road riding, but again you'll need to be doing some open road cornering to keep them from squaring off.

Take the pressures down either way, 36 sounds right, maybe 38-40 if you're only commuting around town. 48 is way too high.