boriqua_n_co
Registered
After sending this message to some of the moderators I recieved some input on posting this message for the rest of the members. So here it goes.
Hey there... It's me again. Something scared me this weekend. I always do my pre riding inspection: oil, tire presure, brake fluid, lights etc. I noticed the tires needed some pressure so I filled them up to 42psi. The temperature was 59 degrees. I went riding w/ some friends and the bike was fine but I noticed that it was sliding a little in the front when I was in the canyons here in Colorado. We stopped for a rest and started riding again back home. On the second turn I noticed my front slid like a half of the lane of pavement at like 50mph. I locked the rear and tried to ride it sideways when I noticed I was not stopping the lean angle but increasing it; I went ahead and put my foot down and up the bike went as the bike went up it shook like a snake and tank slapped. I #### my leathers. I rode the bike w/ alot of calm to the next stop. My buddy who was 10 feet behind me told me good save. We talked w/ a guy who rides in the track here in Colorado and he told me I had too much tire pressure on my tires to lower them a little like to 36psi in the rear and 32 in the front. Also he said the temperature dropped and the tires were cold. My question: What could have caused this to happen? Was it the tire pressure or the cold tires? Maybe both? What tire pressure do you run on when it's cold outside??? Thanks for your response guys and Merry Christmas.
Other information:
Before taking the turn I did the usual downshift, engine brake, look, lean, turn, maintenance throttle, and then accelerate. I'm riding the stock tires. I'm 185lbs. Temperature in that area dropped to 43-45 degrees. RPMS were at like 5k.
Here are some of the response from the guys:
Revlis:
Umm, there is some truth to running slightly lower pressures to improve grip. Mostly what your doing by lowering pressure is increasing the heating. Now on a Busa this could be a very bad thing cause you could easily get too much heat in your tires which will increase wear. So, It may not be too bad of an idea to drop to like 38 front, 40 rear. Try that first. DO NOT GO TO LOW, cause all your going to do is muddy up the handling an increase wear. On the track is one thing, on the streets is another.
Also, if your still running the stock Bridgstones, Loose em. I recommend the Metzler Sportec M-1's. Very predictable, better grip, and warm plenty fast.
OH and on REALLY DAMN cold days? Your tires will have a hard time maintaining their ideal operating temperature regardless of pressure when your just rolling in a straight line. So just keep in mind, your going to have slightly less grip on REALLY cold days.
My .02
Sageronin:
I'm sure you're gonna get different answers and probably more questions from all of us, but to answer your direct question I always ride with 40 psi in both my front and rear. I do agree with folks that ride with slightly more pressure in the rear tire though.
On another note ... I suspect that the traction problems you were having was due to both the tires and the road being cold. It will take a little longer for tires to warm up in the mountains and of course the more pressure in them, the longer it takes. I ride in the WV mountains which are about a 90 minute ride away, but when I stop for lunch, I always swerve the bike agressively to warm the tires up quickly before leaning into the twisties again.
Anyway that was a good save and I'm glad that you kept the rubber side down ... good questions too, because we all should learn from those close calls!
The Oracle:
First... You should really post this one. Any answers would be useful for most everyone. Also, maybe someone else out there has had a similar experience.
On to your question... Yes, when you hit the rear during a slide on the front, you WILL low-side very quickly. Your front was probably slipping because it was not warmed properly yet. Your pressure (42 psi) is fine, but I normally go with 40. Also, on the track, you run considerably lower, but you sacrifice in ride comfort and tire wear!
The other thing is how old your tire is. Once they get older and have been through many heat-cycles, they don't grip like they used to. This is called getting greasy. It is possible to get greasy before you burn through all of your tread. It depends upon your riding style, your weight, and other factors like road surfaces and number of heat cycles.
When the front is washing like that, it is normally because you changed the traction for some reason. Perhaps you thought it might be slipping and then rolled off the throttle a hair. This is a big no-no... Rolling off the throttle will shift the weight forward and give a slipping tire even more need for traction!
One thing that you could have done, would be to roll a little (I repeat, "a little") throttle on. This would transfer your weight a bit to the rear which already had good traction. This would have been a better choice than the rear brake. Forget that friggin' rear brake dude!
Stay safe bro!
Thanks to all and Hope it's nice reading...
<!--EDIT|boriqua_n_co
Reason for Edit: "More info"|1103669043 -->
Hey there... It's me again. Something scared me this weekend. I always do my pre riding inspection: oil, tire presure, brake fluid, lights etc. I noticed the tires needed some pressure so I filled them up to 42psi. The temperature was 59 degrees. I went riding w/ some friends and the bike was fine but I noticed that it was sliding a little in the front when I was in the canyons here in Colorado. We stopped for a rest and started riding again back home. On the second turn I noticed my front slid like a half of the lane of pavement at like 50mph. I locked the rear and tried to ride it sideways when I noticed I was not stopping the lean angle but increasing it; I went ahead and put my foot down and up the bike went as the bike went up it shook like a snake and tank slapped. I #### my leathers. I rode the bike w/ alot of calm to the next stop. My buddy who was 10 feet behind me told me good save. We talked w/ a guy who rides in the track here in Colorado and he told me I had too much tire pressure on my tires to lower them a little like to 36psi in the rear and 32 in the front. Also he said the temperature dropped and the tires were cold. My question: What could have caused this to happen? Was it the tire pressure or the cold tires? Maybe both? What tire pressure do you run on when it's cold outside??? Thanks for your response guys and Merry Christmas.
Other information:
Before taking the turn I did the usual downshift, engine brake, look, lean, turn, maintenance throttle, and then accelerate. I'm riding the stock tires. I'm 185lbs. Temperature in that area dropped to 43-45 degrees. RPMS were at like 5k.
Here are some of the response from the guys:
Revlis:
Umm, there is some truth to running slightly lower pressures to improve grip. Mostly what your doing by lowering pressure is increasing the heating. Now on a Busa this could be a very bad thing cause you could easily get too much heat in your tires which will increase wear. So, It may not be too bad of an idea to drop to like 38 front, 40 rear. Try that first. DO NOT GO TO LOW, cause all your going to do is muddy up the handling an increase wear. On the track is one thing, on the streets is another.
Also, if your still running the stock Bridgstones, Loose em. I recommend the Metzler Sportec M-1's. Very predictable, better grip, and warm plenty fast.
OH and on REALLY DAMN cold days? Your tires will have a hard time maintaining their ideal operating temperature regardless of pressure when your just rolling in a straight line. So just keep in mind, your going to have slightly less grip on REALLY cold days.
My .02
Sageronin:
I'm sure you're gonna get different answers and probably more questions from all of us, but to answer your direct question I always ride with 40 psi in both my front and rear. I do agree with folks that ride with slightly more pressure in the rear tire though.
On another note ... I suspect that the traction problems you were having was due to both the tires and the road being cold. It will take a little longer for tires to warm up in the mountains and of course the more pressure in them, the longer it takes. I ride in the WV mountains which are about a 90 minute ride away, but when I stop for lunch, I always swerve the bike agressively to warm the tires up quickly before leaning into the twisties again.
Anyway that was a good save and I'm glad that you kept the rubber side down ... good questions too, because we all should learn from those close calls!
The Oracle:
First... You should really post this one. Any answers would be useful for most everyone. Also, maybe someone else out there has had a similar experience.
On to your question... Yes, when you hit the rear during a slide on the front, you WILL low-side very quickly. Your front was probably slipping because it was not warmed properly yet. Your pressure (42 psi) is fine, but I normally go with 40. Also, on the track, you run considerably lower, but you sacrifice in ride comfort and tire wear!
The other thing is how old your tire is. Once they get older and have been through many heat-cycles, they don't grip like they used to. This is called getting greasy. It is possible to get greasy before you burn through all of your tread. It depends upon your riding style, your weight, and other factors like road surfaces and number of heat cycles.
When the front is washing like that, it is normally because you changed the traction for some reason. Perhaps you thought it might be slipping and then rolled off the throttle a hair. This is a big no-no... Rolling off the throttle will shift the weight forward and give a slipping tire even more need for traction!
One thing that you could have done, would be to roll a little (I repeat, "a little") throttle on. This would transfer your weight a bit to the rear which already had good traction. This would have been a better choice than the rear brake. Forget that friggin' rear brake dude!
Stay safe bro!
Thanks to all and Hope it's nice reading...
<!--EDIT|boriqua_n_co
Reason for Edit: "More info"|1103669043 -->
