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Choosing and using a base layer to stay co…

Choosing and using a base layer to stay comfortable

A great number of people I speak to seem to be baffled by the use of a base layer, either they have not experienced one or are under some misconceptio. Read more

Bridgestone Battlax S20 Tyre - First Ride

Bridgestone Battlax S20 Tyre - First Ride

Bridgestone have got a new trick up their sleeve, the new Hypersport street tyre that replaces the outgoing BT-016 range which was received with a mix. Read more

Keep motorcycle insurance costs low

Keep motorcycle insurance costs low

Life on two wheels has quite a few advantages over driving a car - among them lower fuel consumption and cheaper cover from providers like MCE bike in. Read more

Apathy will bring the end of motorcycling …

Apathy will bring the end of motorcycling as we know it

The recent uproar about upcoming E.U. regulations to ban users from modifying a motorcycle from standard has certainly brought a few ideas to the surf. Read more

Pipe-Werx Exhausts bring us the very best …

Pipe-Werx Exhausts bring us the very best of British

It's the middle of summer, August in fact, and the weather is supposed to be glorious which has led me to contact Pipe-Werx of Lathom to have a look a. Read more

Motorcycling as an older lady rider

Motorcycling as an older lady rider

At the grand old age of 40 I decided that I had had enough of my other half sitting me on bikes in the local bike shops to see which one was right for. Read more

How crash protection is made at GBRacing

How crash protection is made at GBRacing

Cold, wet and fresh out of bed, I wheel my trusty bike out onto the road and thumb the starter, at 6am this is far from my normal riding time but toda. Read more

Metzeler Interact Tyres back to back - roa…

Metzeler Interact Tyres back to back - road and track

Cold, wet and foggy, I am sat in the departure lounge at Manchester Airport at 4am awaiting a flight to Alicante in Spain and the start of my part in . Read more

How I did the Iron Butt for the Royal Brit…

How I did the Iron Butt for the Royal British legion - wanna come?

Do you ever get the feeling that some things seem a good idea at the time?, this was one of those moments. A neighbour and Royal British Legion member. Read more

01RaceFX have race bikes all wrapped up

01RaceFX have race bikes all wrapped up

Having seen a few photo's of what the guys over at 01RaceFX get up to my interest was well and truly piqued, the application of race bike livery on ro. Read more

Thursday, 29 October 2009 08:45

Tyre Condition and its Effect

Written by 
Michelin Tyres Michelin Tyres Michelin

We all take them for granted, those black rubber hoops that provide all important contact between bike and road but in order for them to do their job they need to be working properly. There are a number of different conditions that you could find your tyres in that will make a difference - so lets go throguh them!

First and foremost lets get tyre pressure out of the way, each tyre and bike has an optimal setting in either BAR or PSI, a smidge under that and may will find that the bike feels as if it is moving underneath you, a gnats hair over and you get the opposite effect where the tyre simply does not seem to be moving enough. Feeling aside there are a couple of important things happening that you should know about, when your tyre is at its optimal pressure the contact patch between the tyre and road is at its optimal so you have the right amount of rubber between you and the right feeling when you need to change direction, by reducing this pressure by a couple of psi you are allowing the structure of the tyre to compress slightly which is resulting in a more spread out contact patch but is not staying in the shape you want for direction changes - this can result in a sluggish and unresponsive feel to the bike.

 

The same but opposite effect is in play when the tyre is over pumped, the sidewalls and carcass is not given the opportunity to flex and move when required and as a result your contact patch is greatly reduced when you need it most - and seriously - when do any of you need less grip on the road? When checking your pressures it is important to use an accurate gauge, a lot of people recommend a footpump over a filling station for this reason as those air pumps are used a lot and calibrated very little.

Secondly you have seen that the middle section of your tyre is squaring off, this is not so much an issue but a sign of the kind of mileage you do on the bike with loads of straight boring roads and very little opportunity to get the bike cranked on its ear. Squaring off does affect the bikes handling with a little resistance on first banking over then dropping in quite well when it reaches the rounded edge, this gets worse the more squared the tyre but the important thing here is to be aware of the difference in feeling and ride with that in mind.

Finally, if you are a fast road rider or trackday enthusiast you will no doubt have noticed bobbling and a blue hue to the very edges where you have had the bike on its side and worn away any reference to a chicken strip. What you are seeing is not the grippy part of the tyre wearing out but simply an indication of the temperature going through it - with bobbling it is enough there to start forcing the small shards of rubber (well actually no rubber is found in modern tyres) that are heated up into tiny balls.

Most of all though you should keep an eye over your tyres before riding your motorcycle, these are the only contact you have with the tarmac and knowing the condition they are in for each ride may just help keep you safe.

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arc-on Evolution Leather Suit and Gloves

arc-on Evolution Leather Suit and Gloves

Over at arc-on the previous seasons suits have seen a redesign and launch in the form of the Evolution suit, available in one or two piece formats, and the new Evolution glove to match. Previous years experience in racing have given them a decent spec sheet to sing from, even if you name is not one that you have seen before, considering that a load.

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