So I have had my used VFR for a few months. I have methodically checked everything over and have had a chance to play with my PCV mapping and suspension setup. I am happy with where the bike is now.
That being said, I see a lot of posts where people have a strong option on tire pressure and it’s effects on handing. As another knob, I would like to play around and gain insight on how you have come to the numbers you are posting. I have been running 36F/42R on some Battlax BT-023’s commuting every day so I have started to know the feel. Today I dropped to 34F/40R. I want to say it felt a little gripper but it was not drastic. Also it was about 10 degrees colder on the way into work today(45F) so it hard to make any conclusions.
Why do you not use the recommended 36F/42R in the manual? Is there a general rule for tire pressures? Does lowering it a little give you better grip?
Yes in case the jokes are coming, I am an engineer and need to fiddle with knobs constantly. I need a support group.
Yes, lower pressures provide better grip, to a point. 36/42 should be optimal for a compromise between grip and extending the life of the tires. You can drop a few psi to find the sweet spot for max grip, but just be aware that the tires will wear quicker.
Going too low on the pressure will result in the tires getting squirmy, or worse, hot and then greasy feeling. Going lower than the sweet spot will result in drastically rapid wear. Going way too low will cause the tires to get too hot and potentially fail.
Tire pressure is just a means to an end, isn't it? Tire temperature is what race teams are concerned about - getting the rubber to it's ideal temp for that compound on that track on that day. That hardly applies to street use I should think.
I sometimes check my tire pressure and get it to resemble 36/42 as close as I can.
This makes the bike handle better than any other pressures I've "tried" (Mostly lower to much lower as the tires gradually lose air over time of neglect).
Yes, lower pressures provide better grip, to a point. 36/42 should be optimal for a compromise between grip and extending the life of the tires. You can drop a few psi to find the sweet spot for max grip, but just be aware that the tires will wear quicker.
Going too low on the pressure will result in the tires getting squirmy, or worse, hot and then greasy feeling. Going lower than the sweet spot will result in drastically rapid wear. Going way too low will cause the tires to get too hot and potentially fail.
I thoroughly agree with the above comment.
If I can extend a little bit more is this:
For me, I like to follow 20% growth rule for track use. Street use: 10% growth should suffice, because you still need to account for road hazards. The lower the pressure, the easier tire gets damaged from road hazards. Beside I would not wanna ride on public street in a way that I need full track-capability of my tires.
Here is what I mean by 10% growth rule: (hot pressure - cold pressure) / (cold pressure) = 0.10 or 10%
Thanks everyone for the reply. I have yet to measure my hot tire pressure so I will look into this and play around a little with different pressures over the next few weeks. I am not pushing the bike to the extremes but my commute consists of 22 mile mountains and 44 mile freeway commute. I am looking for tire longevity as well so it looks more like 36/42 is for me but I will experiment.
Lower that recommended pressure may reduce your gas mileage. If you are not smoking the twisties, I see no reason for not follow recommendations. I try to always keep mine at 36f/42r, Like Rice.