Pic of my tire and question
- Thread starter FloydV
- Start date
Now thats a pretty tire!
This is a semi junk BT-021 at 40lbs of pressure on the street..
A little later in it's life..
You've got a ways to go yet.
A little later in it's life..
You've got a ways to go yet.
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Rear was alright, front was not. But I think I got one of the early run "bad batch" fronts. Slow turning, heavy, half flat feel, wore out way faster than the rear. Newer batches are reported to be a lot better.
chasing the rabbit is always a great tool.... BTDT... works wonders...First you need to replace that tire, it's SHOT...second you are no where near the edge
After you get a new tire, and for solo riding, drop your air pressure to 36 psi front and rear. Then go ride your favorite twisty road, start out slow and work up to a faster pace. Don't be afraid to lean into the turns, give your tires a couple of miles in the turns to heat up...they WILL NOT heat up on a straight road
Practice, practice, practice...try to find some local riders (faster and more skilled than yourself) to ride with. You'll never get better at it unless you push yourself
Just take it easy until you build up your confidence
IG.
Registered
You are asking the wrong question. I am surprised no one pointed it out. But I will give you the right answer: TOTW-2. It will open a new world to you - no kidding.
I would advise you to not just ride trying to lean further and further. It has to be done the right way. First of all, your own sense prevented you from doing it, and I am sure you did try to a certain degree. It's you 6th sense tells you that something is wrong - trust it - something is wrong.
We don't know how you ride and what you do. If for example, you close the throttle before the turn and coast through turns, or even worse routinely apply brakes through turns - nothing good will happen. It's a recipe to lose the front. If you do it out of being scared, it's even worse.
Just get the damn book. The best $15 you will spend!
I would advise you to not just ride trying to lean further and further. It has to be done the right way. First of all, your own sense prevented you from doing it, and I am sure you did try to a certain degree. It's you 6th sense tells you that something is wrong - trust it - something is wrong.
We don't know how you ride and what you do. If for example, you close the throttle before the turn and coast through turns, or even worse routinely apply brakes through turns - nothing good will happen. It's a recipe to lose the front. If you do it out of being scared, it's even worse.
Just get the damn book. The best $15 you will spend!
You may want to think on that one a bit? IMO you have much better choices in tires.
I see you are in Idaho. How far from Spokane?
Check out Mike Sullivan's Race School "SullivanRaceSchool.com". Mike will be at the track in Spokane next spring with one on one instruction. I'm not sure just when his 2009 schedule will be up on his website but keep an eye open and sign up. It will be the best $300 you ever spend. You'll learn more in one day of instruction than you will learn all summer learning on your own.
I am one of Mikes instructors and I'd be happy to spend a day with you. If you are already a decent rider, I'd almost bet you I could have you dragging your knee by the end of the day.
...they WILL NOT heat up on a straight road
Great advice, brother. Just one point of contention.
Rapid acceleration and deceleration will flex the entire tire carcass, and warm up the tire efficiently. Weaving to warm up motorcycle tires has little benefit.
I've been preaching this for years, and had plenty of heated debates about it. Finally, I have something in print to back me up. There's a nice article in october's issue of Sport Rider, in the RIDING SKILLS section. Its entitled How to properly warm up your tires. The source of the info? A Pirelli factory representative.
Great advice, brother. Just one point of contention.
Rapid acceleration and deceleration will flex the entire tire carcass, and warm up the tire efficiently. Weaving to warm up motorcycle tires has little benefit.
I've been preaching this for years, and had plenty of heated debates about it. Finally, I have something in print to back me up. There's a nice article in october's issue of Sport Rider, in the RIDING SKILLS section. Its entitled How to properly warm up your tires. The source of the info? A Pirelli factory representative.
Yes hard acceleration and hard braking will put SOME heat into the tires, but it won't do much for the edges of the tire. Weaving (what a joke) it's only good for cleaning off debris if you went off the paved surface. I like to do a mile or two in the twisties before I gradually pick up the pace, then it's on like Donkey Kong
mike1180
Banned
What would you recommend for him?
You hav a long way to go. I wear the Michelin man clean off the edge of my tires. It is not about how far over you can lean the bike. It is proper body postioning combined w/ corner entry speed.
Pushing a tire to the edge, is a result, not a goal. Take it to the track to explore your limits.
I run PP 2CTs & I like Michelin.
Pushing a tire to the edge, is a result, not a goal. Take it to the track to explore your limits.
I run PP 2CTs & I like Michelin.
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He hates Michelin
Damit Rich, you didn't have to let the cat out of the bag!
Rich is right, I have absolutely no confidence in Michelins infamous PP's or it's updated version with a sliver of sticky stuff along the bitter edge of the same old PP. Good sales gimick but poor design.
I would guess at least 70% of the street rider crash victims we pick up off the track are on PP's. I had one student recently who showed up riding a zx6 shod with fresh PP's. Very nice young man around 20 years or so. Was the kids first track experience but had really good skills for just coming in off the streets. He ended up crashing twice in the same corner. First crash I did not see. He told me he lost the front. His second crash I was working with him and was two bike lengths behind. I could see nothing he did wrong. He had good lean angle, was off the bike with good form and all of a sudden his front tire gave up and down he went in the blink of an eye. PP just gave up grip with no warning.
Another little adventure was my friend Greg whom I posted up a photo of recently. The photo showed Greg with great form romping his busa like a professional. Well, last year when I met Greg he was on PP's. He crashed twice on those things before he was willing to give up his beloved PP's. He chose Qualifiers to replace his PP's and went the entire season this year without a single crash and developed mad skills.
I see this all the time. Guys usually have to crash twice before they figure out they need better more forgiving tires. It's usually the intermediate riders who end up on the deck with their PP's. The slow folks don't need a better tire and the really fast guys who have lots of track time have the skills to manage the PP's and know where and when to push them. You'll find very few fast riders on PP's.
IMO if you choose to ride PP's or 2ct's, as you become faster and more agressive you best be smooth if you expect to remain upright. These tires are extremely unforgiving. They just don't deal with mistakes very well.
Keep in mind, you are not crash proof just by using a good performing tire. But your chances of staying upright are greatly improved by your choice in tires.
Just my humble opinions!
IMO I would look closely at Dunlops Qualifier (My favorite street/track tire) Pirelli's Corsa III's (Great tire with good feel, dual compound tire with a full one third of each edge shod with the gooey rubber unlike michelin's 2ct which has a very small sliver) Bridgestone's BTO16 (Triple compound rear & dual compound front) just to name a few. Lots of good tires available to choose from. Choose wisely, ride with confidence and have fun!
Tufbusa, its scary to read what you posted about Michelin PPs!
I bounced around from tire to tire and once on them, the bike seemed to handle with a more steady attitude. On the track they have never given me any feed back other than great stick and great grip.
I am not a really fast rider, so maybe that is why I am good on them.
You seem to know your business here and I guess I have something to consider if I ever get faster....
I bounced around from tire to tire and once on them, the bike seemed to handle with a more steady attitude. On the track they have never given me any feed back other than great stick and great grip.
I am not a really fast rider, so maybe that is why I am good on them.
You seem to know your business here and I guess I have something to consider if I ever get faster....
One of the safest ways to find out how far she'll lean is to do figure 8's in an empty parking lot. It's also a great way to break in new tires, because you get use to their profile. You can stop and see where on the tire you're riding. Once you find out how far you can lean at low speed in controlled conditions, it makes it much easier on the street.
If you want higher speeds, find a clover leaf
If you want higher speeds, find a clover leaf
Be careful out there on state roads. The hazards are plenty and could cost you dearly. A lot of those tire shots are from track days and I suggest you get more comfortable and then do a track day to push it.
danath 34
Registered
ok im a little lost here... maybe I have never seen actual wear bars before, but to me, his tire looks fine, but everyone is saying that it is shot... Can someone help me out here? Because i let my tires go WAY farther than that... maybe a photo-edit marking the wear bars would help?
You are asking the wrong question. I am surprised no one pointed it out. But I will give you the right answer: TOTW-2. It will open a new world to you - no kidding.
I would advise you to not just ride trying to lean further and further. It has to be done the right way. First of all, your own sense prevented you from doing it, and I am sure you did try to a certain degree. It's you 6th sense tells you that something is wrong - trust it - something is wrong.
We don't know how you ride and what you do. If for example, you close the throttle before the turn and coast through turns, or even worse routinely apply brakes through turns - nothing good will happen. It's a recipe to lose the front. If you do it out of being scared, it's even worse.
Just get the damn book. The best $15 you will spend!
I appreciate the book reference. I will get it and read it. I don't coast or use brakes. I maintain an even throttle. But, beyond that I have only intuition.
