What did you do to your bike today?

Transmission breaker
Don
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20 Oct 2002
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In a house
Did a quick chain tension on the hornet, added new controls to the baby blade, just missing the new throttle.
The generic controls I bought only had a pull throttle, so have ignored that, and bought a generic push/pull instead.
 
Soldato
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21 Mar 2013
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Lincolnshire
Picked it up on the new PR5's, and forgive me, it felt ******* ****. Checked tyre sizes, all fine; next port of call, tyre pressures, rear(Should be 36), were 48.

wait, 48?

Forty-eight?

48?!

Needless to say i've reduced them. Having a quick snack and then heading out for a test run. Needless to say, if it fixes it I'll phone the guy who fitted them and let him know. Could easily be pretty dangerous.
 
Associate
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4 Oct 2010
Posts
193
Picked it up on the new PR5's, and forgive me, it felt ******* ****. Checked tyre sizes, all fine; next port of call, tyre pressures, rear(Should be 36), were 48.

wait, 48?

Forty-eight?

48?!

Needless to say i've reduced them. Having a quick snack and then heading out for a test run. Needless to say, if it fixes it I'll phone the guy who fitted them and let him know. Could easily be pretty dangerous.

48 is far too high, usually Michelins are inflated to 42R 36F. I run 40 / 36 on the road on the SDR which is similar in weight to your Yammy.
 
Soldato
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Lincolnshire
48 is far too high, usually Michelins are inflated to 42R 36F. I run 40 / 36 on the road on the SDR which is similar in weight to your Yammy.

I dropped them to the manufacturer 33F 36R and I've just been out, difference is massive as you'd expect. Felt far better though still not as flickable as it used to be, though it did seem to improve when the tyres were warm, ie slightly higher pressure. I'll give it a few days and see how I feel; I've got a decent commute to a different office tomorrow and Friday through twisties.

What I will say, the braking potential is ******* phenomenal. I had at least 2 stoppies testing what they could manage. I'll gradually give the pressures an increase towards yours if it still feels off :)

Can anyone suggest a decent tyre pressure gauge they use? I guess they're a much of a muchness but nevertheless want to get a decent one :)
 
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Man of Honour
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I dropped them to the manufacturer 33F 36R and I've just been out, difference is massive as you'd expect. Felt far better though still not as flickable as it used to be, though it did seem to improve when the tyres were warm, ie slightly higher pressure. I'll give it a few days and see how I feel; I've got a decent commute to a different office tomorrow and Friday through twisties.

What I will say, the braking potential is ******* phenomenal. I had at least 2 stoppies testing what they could manage. I'll gradually give the pressures an increase towards yours if it still feels off :)

Can anyone suggest a decent tyre pressure gauge they use? I guess they're a much of a muchness but nevertheless want to get a decent one :)

I run 34/38 on my MT-10, and 33/36 on lighter bikes such as the Street Triple. Getting the pressures right makes an enormous difference, but annoyingly it varies depending on the bike, tyre, roads, riding style and weight so it takes a while to figure out what works for you.

I bump the rear up to 42 when carrying luggage or a pillion.

I really like the draper pen-like gauges as I just leave it under the seat and I can use it if I ever adjust my tyres away from home. I also have to reduce the pressure whenever the garage changes the tyres as they never listen when I tell them what pressures I use.
 
Soldato
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33 Front 36 Rear, felt better today though not perfect. Impressed with how they felt this morning in the rain; got a good amount of temperature in on the way back home :)

Advice, it feels as if the bike isn't turning in quick enough; higher pressure or lower pressure?
 
Soldato
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31 Oct 2006
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Wiltshire / Winchester
I would say you'd need to up your pressures then if you feel its affecting your turn in.

I remember diagnosing a problem for a friend once, said the handling felt weird but the tyre pressures felt ok (They didn't have a pressure gauge) and to be fair the front tyre felt ok just pressing it, one of those cheap hard carcass tyres, first roundaobut I got to felt like I was cornerning on Jelly, got it home and it had 12psi in I think :/
 
Soldato
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Lincolnshire
I would say you'd need to up your pressures then if you feel its affecting your turn in.

I remember diagnosing a problem for a friend once, said the handling felt weird but the tyre pressures felt ok (They didn't have a pressure gauge) and to be fair the front tyre felt ok just pressing it, one of those cheap hard carcass tyres, first roundaobut I got to felt like I was cornerning on Jelly, got it home and it had 12psi in I think :/

That matches with what Kreeeee said earlier up. I'll add a few PSI and see how it feels :)
 
Tea Drinker
Don
Joined
13 Apr 2010
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18,416
Location
Sunny Sussex
What an absolute pos but with mot and a fresh service owes me less than a grand

Dash looks like it's just scrolling through all the warning lights, abs has been bypassed, alternator works intermittently, screen rattles, every rubber is perished, seat need a 're foam, you have to hold the indicators on (New today?) and the Speedo and rev counter suddenly just stop working.

Apart from that all fine :p

ztYumpT.jpg
 
Man of Honour
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33 Front 36 Rear, felt better today though not perfect. Impressed with how they felt this morning in the rain; got a good amount of temperature in on the way back home :)

Advice, it feels as if the bike isn't turning in quick enough; higher pressure or lower pressure?
You want a steeper (and maybe a reduced radius if you have the choice) tyre profile and maybe raise the forks/drop the triple tree to change the geometry.

Tyre pressures won't really adjust that to the levels you might be seeking, but see how 34/38 feels for you.
 
Soldato
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You want a steeper (and maybe a reduced radius if you have the choice) tyre profile and maybe raise the forks/drop the triple tree to change the geometry.

Tyre pressures won't really adjust that to the levels you might be seeking, but see how 34/38 feels for you.
I'm hoping tyre pressures will fix it. I'm comparing it directly to how it felt literally last week on the older tyres :)
 
Associate
Joined
4 Oct 2010
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193
Some tyres do just generally turn in differently due to different carcass shapes, the pr5s are touring tires so won't be razor sharp

That's what I was getting at, depending what Dunlops he had, they may have had a slightly racier profile. Never used Dunlops myself though.

Yeah tyre sizes are the same; first thing I checked. Old tyres were Dunlop’s. New are Pilot Road 5’s

If it is a case of the above, as tom says the R5 is a sports touring tyre so short of adjusting geometry / suspension it's going to feel different. You can try adjusting the pressures to get a feeling you are comfortable with but you won't make massive differences. Tyres are a very personal thing on a bike, you'll learn what you like and find a tyre that suits you / your motorcycle Michelin R5's may not be for you / your riding style. Or you may learn to love them.
 
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