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Tyre pressures ?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 8:57 pm
by flatlander
Couldn't be arsed to search but I understood that most run the 36 /42 been doing it myself but isn't the recommended 33 / 36?
Is this just preferences or was it based On something else ?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:02 pm
by Firestarter
Griff has spoken at length about this - 33/36 is the Aprilia recommended, with quite a bit of work going into this. 36/42 seems to be a safe-bet given out by the tyre manufacturers, but not necessarily best for the individual bike.

Me, I went with wot Griff said :smt002

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:03 pm
by Firestarter
Actually, thought it was 34/36, but I'm not picky for a pound :smt003

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:15 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
one of the few things i STRONGLY disagree with griff over

the listed tyre pressures in the falco owners hand book are what you said

BUT

since those tyres are no longer available, we have to go by what is available now

and afaik, all the current tyres made to fit the falco have recommended pressures of 36/42

as i understand it, this is an agreed pressure between the tyre manufacturers

so - thats the base figure

some riders - the very skilled ones imho, run softer

i ran a set of conti road attacks on the aprilia pressures - i commented to a tyre fitter friend that they were great ONCE they were warm - he asked what i ran them at... once i switched to conti's recommended pressures the tyres were transformed

BUT

a caveat, as my experience has grown, i have slightly reduced - 35/40 - it suits me

SO - i would suggest that folk start at 36/42 the adjust to suit them

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:04 pm
by Gio
32/38 on the hornet, the recommended rear pressure is to high (42) and the rear is skittish as the bike is very light at the rear abnd a 190/55 is huge for it

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:07 pm
by D-Rider
33/36psi is what the Aprilia manual suggests and 36/42psi (2.5/2.9bar) is what most of the tyre manufacturers recommend and have designed their tyres to perform best at.

I've discussed this with Griff who is a great fan of the 33/36 nonsense. So much so that I tried this for several months trying to get used to it .... and the whole of the time the bike felt bloody awful. Went back to 2.5/2.9 bar and alll was well in the world again.

Towards the end of last week the bike felt a bit funny so I checked the pressures and found the the pressures were 2.45/2.9 bar. Pumped the front back up that 0.05bar and it was fine again .... yes even that difference can be felt as a bit of vagueness - more than that and I haven't a clue what the bike is saying to me.

Now I'm not saying everyone is the same and I think pressures as with other set up are a personal thing and that what one finds right might not suit another. What I would suggest is that people find out what suits them. I think it fair to suggest that the zone between the Aprilia recommendation and the tyre manufacturer recommendation is fairly safe territory. I wouldn't go far outside this zone.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:58 am
by randomsquid
Tried both, 36/42 works best for me. Currently running about 35/41 because I broke the footpump and haven't fetched a new one yet.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 7:52 am
by Falcopops
I originally went with the Aprilia pressures until I met up with Keith on the way to the very soggy meeting in Durham. Keith quite firmly suggested I go up to 36/42 (I always ran that on my old Suzook) and the change was immediately noticeable and good.

Never looked back, cheers Keith.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:37 pm
by mangocrazy
I have to say I run my tyres at 36/42, but I can't help feeling that those pressures are corporate arse covering. Back in the day we used to have different pressures for solo and two-up riding. Now it appears the tyre manufacturers have standardised on pressures that would have been specified for high speed/high load in former times. This avoids any comebacks when people forget to change pressures for different usage. And I suspect we've just got used to them.

Certainly I was always advised to use 32/36 in a trackday situation, and always have done.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:48 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
I think the old days was because we could adjust tyre pressures easier than trying to adjust suspension.....

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:58 pm
by mangocrazy
If you want optimum handling you should be adjusting both tyre pressures and suspension. Just because we have multi-adjustable suspemsion these days does not preclude the need to adjust tyre pressures.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:05 pm
by HisNibbs
I run 36 , 42 as recommended. When the pressures drop a bit I can tell because the bike moves around, the tyres start "cutting up" and if not caught in time, wearing out fast. I like to ride reasonably quickly, do a lot of miles and am tight. I have seen no benefit it dropping the pressures and I suspect that when most look at a tyre that has melted they think the rider must be a bit of a hero. Personaly I think they need to pump their tyres up a bit and they'd probably go a bit quicker for it.

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:11 pm
by Cathcart
Dragging up this old thread as I don't really feel it's a big enough question to require a whole new thread... Now, I see that there's a debate between Aprilia and tyre manufacturers, I'm not asking about that. What I am asking is, what pressures should I run my tyres at? They are basically a road legal track tyre, Dunlop d212 gp pro. On track the guy I get them from runs seriously low pressures, I was recommended to run 4psi below normal road tyre pressures as to keep flex and produce more heat... This makes sense to me but, do these tyres need higher than normal temps to get grippy, can't I get these temps without reduced pressure? Will lowering tyre pressures slightly actually achieve the extra heat?

So... Thoughts please?

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:48 pm
by joecrx
argh!! not another tyre preasure thread , hahahha,
dont ask me i dont know i get even more confused ! :smt003

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:50 pm
by Cathcart
I know... I was worried about asking as there's always so many opinions. In regards to normal tyres I go 36/42. I'm just unsure for these ones... I don't know enough about them. Maybe I should just email Dunlop...