Tire Pressure ??
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Squid
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 50
From: EastTN
Tire Pressure ??
Ok I am really new to this sportbike riding. I have michelin pro pilot tires. previous owner ran them at 22lbs front and rear. any suggestions. typically one up lots of curves, i live here at the dragon. thanks in advance.
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Superstock
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 499
From: Kansas City
22 seems pretty low as far as good tire grip/wear for normal riding...hard sport/twisty riding definitely can benefit from lowering the pressure, but maybe not that much.
Last edited by sassage; Sep 22, 2008 at 02:04 PM.
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SuperBike
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,015
P.S. Don't go above 38 lbs , you will be riding on rocks
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SuperSport
SuperSport
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 880
From: Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada
Lowering tire pressure will give you more grip by warming the tire, During track days I drop it from 28 to 32 depending of the temperature, this grip comes at a fair price, gas consumption goes up and stability goes down. Follow the tire manufacturer specs.
Shredding Asphalt
Superstock
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 299
From: Oceanside
see i always ran more in the front than rear comming off dirtbikes but noticed that alot of racers use higer rear than front. so i run 32/34 for twisties and 36/38 for the street. I have pilot power 2cts
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 6,109
From: Skurup, Sweden
If you think about it you realize you generaly do a lot more steering with the rear...
On tarmac the front needs to have more traction to steer... But this is very tire specific... The PP2CT's like lower front... Some other tire's don't like that at all...
Last edited by Tweety; Sep 23, 2008 at 01:05 PM.
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 50
From: EastTN
thanks for the input. i put them up to 30f 32r. gonna ride thursday on the dragon and other roads around here. i'm sure it'll be better. i am really likeing this bike. my other ride is a hd nightrain. it's a pig compared to the vtr but fun in it's own way.
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MotoGP
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,547
From: Way Out West
My two cents, and it seems I'm a minority of one here, but the hell with it.
Spend a few days riding all kinds of pavement with the tires inflated to the spec max of Honda and the tire manufacturers. That would be 41-42 psi rear and 36 psi front.
You might find that your suspension is way more compliant, that you get better mpg, and if you did it long enough, that your tires last a lot longer.
It might make sense to lower the front 5 or 6 psi and the rear 10 or 12 psi for a ***** out track day on a smooth track, but for every day riding it doesn't make sense to me.
Spend a few days riding all kinds of pavement with the tires inflated to the spec max of Honda and the tire manufacturers. That would be 41-42 psi rear and 36 psi front.
You might find that your suspension is way more compliant, that you get better mpg, and if you did it long enough, that your tires last a lot longer.
It might make sense to lower the front 5 or 6 psi and the rear 10 or 12 psi for a ***** out track day on a smooth track, but for every day riding it doesn't make sense to me.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
I've run 36 front, 38 rear ever since I started using Qualifiers. I'm on my 3rd rear now, and I got 7k to 8k miles on the first 2. And that's with a lot of commuter miles with some twisties thrown in on the weekends.
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