Try letting 2 or 3 lbs of air out of your front tire. Leave your back tire at the minimal setting recommended. See if you notice the difference.

 

i suppose that i should have mentioned that it was my rear tire that was slipping and sliding...does your advice still stand FastMatt?

 

......BT010 good tread.

Are those the tires you are currently running? The forum member named Eyespy speaks very highly of these tires, and if HE says they're good, then I believe him!!
Personally, I like to keep my back tire at about 39-41 psi The standard setting of 36 makes my bike feel kinda sluggish in turns. I'm still learning about suspension settings + tire pressure, so this sluggishness could very well be me. Anyway, I'm interested to read some of the responses by the more experienced members....

 

Yeah, good question, I was wondering this myself. What is a good pressure to run? I have 33 rear and 34 front in my stock 208's. Does it change for different tires?

 

What road? When I think tight, I think Latigo. There are so many variables to consider that a simple answer to your question is not possible. Tire pressures, rider weight and suspension set up, riding technique, road surface quality and condition, and ambient temps come to mind.

 

Just fitted 010's to mine was told to run them at 36 and 40 psi but if the rear slid to drop it to 38 psi.

300 miles later and I haven't had any problems

 

way to high fellas. for spirited riding, get down to 32/32. if the track (road) is cold, try 30/30. You'll love the results. Just make sure you reinflate if you plan to commute.

BTW, i weigh about 215 for what its worth and i'm running metzler sportec m-1's

 

i suppose that i should have mentioned that it was my rear tire that was slipping and sliding...does your advice still stand FastMatt?

Please forgive me if this sounds like a dis, but are you familiar with the feeling of running over sealer strips on a bike?

The only reason I ask is that usually if you are pushing a bike hard enough to be sliding it around with a decent tire on good pavement you would usually be familiar enough with that aggessive style to know why it is sliding. i.e. too much/too little heat in tire, too much throttle too early etc...

Warm sealer strips can really feel like riding on ice when hitting them with a bike. You could even mistake it for the feeling you get when a tire suddenly goes flat on ya. Could this possibly be what you experienced?

 

theron19d

Quick bit of advice m8, ditch the 208's. Many, many people here in the UK have found them to 'let go' at very reasonable speeds.
There doesn't seem to be any method as to why ie more throttle, more angle. It just seems to happen when the tyres have had enough.

Have a quick look at the discussion boards on www.motorcyclenews.com for the 2002 R1.

Having said that the pressures you are running seem a bit low compared to what we are told to run them at - 36/40

 

This is all too funny. I was just reading the Haynes Service Manual on tire pressure last night (not that my thoughts or answer will help)

The manual states 36/36 for riders up to 180Lbs
36/34 for riders over 180Lbs.

Following this thought, I agree with Eyespy, weight and suspension set up, riding technique, etc all would play a part for each rider.

But it seems to me, from the manual and your stated weigth, that you have too much pressure? Im just guessing here!

Voodoo

 

For street riding, I usually set 010s at 34f/32r, and on the track, 32f/30r. 36/40 is good for two up, or if you weigh like 300 lbs or more. Except in the rain, then the higher tire pressure is better at reducing hydroplaning by virtue of the smaller contact patch.

 

My avatar is of latigo canyon...and it is rather "tight."

I went down to Palomar on Saturday for the first time. The "tight side" has some nice turns and i was having trouble with slippage on the right handers? It was slipping and spinning a little more than i would prefer.

There are sealant snakes out there and i thought about that but it felt like it was spinning out more than it should all the same.

It was probably 60 degrees but my tires were hot...rolling the rubber off the edge of the tires anyway.

I think i might be hanging off the bike too much and upsetting the balance of the bike. Thoughts???

Nice road though for anyone who hasn't been you should check it out...to far for me to visit regularly...

 

Eyespys post has the reply your looking for guys!!

But I might add that generally speaking the pressures recommended via the owners manual or service manual (36-41psi)are too high for 'assertive or aggressive riding' as the tire gets hot and increases psi by 15-20%, so then your riding on a tire = 41F & 50Rpsi and that my friends is a disaster waiting to happen as the contact patch becomes smaller as the tire expands. If your going to run lower COLD pressures like 32/32 they will definately give you the feeling of being squirmy or jello like until some heat is built up at which time the sluggish feeling disappears. The lower/colder pressures will allow a larger contact patch which is what your in search of thats why at trackdays the majority of riders get down to 30F 29R cold so when the 20% rise in psi comes in your in the perfect operating range for traction & grip.

BD

 

My suspension set up probobly sucks. That out of the way with me being light I run 32/32. Then for agressive depending on road and temp it could be 32/30, 31/30, 30/30. Keep adjusting till it feels good. Though I have never gone under 30.

 

i suppose that i should have mentioned that it was my rear tire that was slipping and sliding...does your advice still stand FastMatt?

Your question is not easily answered. I was assuming that you are familiar with your suspension and had your bike adjusted properly. If that is true then you should begin by letting some air out of your front tire. I believe Yamaha recommends 36 PSI. I would start at 33 or 34 PSI up front. Remember that the steering will feel heavier at first. The back has to be adjusted accordingly. I believe Yamaha recommends 38 PSI minimum so Start there. You should notice more grip than if you were running 40 or 41 PSI in the rear. You also have to remember that the R1 has a lot of power so you may just be giving it more throttle than the tire can handle. If you run 38 PSI in the rear and are still experiencing a this sliding try dropping it down to 36 PSI, you should no go any lower than that on the street.

 

I've raced for years with the CRA at Brainerd International Raceway and the AMA Dunlop tent recommends 32 front/30 rear at race speeds. I've used that as a rule and never had a problem at speeds up to and over 150 sustained.

 

woohoo! another MN rider. how long have you been licensed pitbike?

keep in mind that canyon strafing and city curves are nothing close to what the tire experiences on the race track. 36F 34R should be as low as you go unless you're on the race trace. highway riding, 40 or 41 psi on both tires should be good.

 

Your question is not easily answered. I was assuming that you are familiar with your suspension and had your bike adjusted properly. If that is true then you should begin by letting some air out of your front tire. I believe Yamaha recommends 36 PSI. I would start at 33 or 34 PSI up front. Remember that the steering will feel heavier at first. The back has to be adjusted accordingly. I believe Yamaha recommends 38 PSI minimum so Start there. You should notice more grip if you are running 40 or 41 PSI in the rear. You also have to remember that the R1 has a lot of power so you may just be giving it more throttle than the tire can handle. If you run 38 PSI in the rear and are still experiencing a this sliding try dropping it down to 36 PSI, you should no go any lower than that on the street.

FastMatt

You've kinda contradicted yourself in this post so I wanted to check with you. In one sentence you say: 'You should notice more grip if you are running 40 or 41psi in the rear' and further down you say: If you run 38psi in the rear and are still experiencing this sliding try dropping it down to 36psi, you should not go any lower than that on the street.

Please explain.

BD

 

Eyespy:thumbup

 

I'm a bit confused with the pressures I see recommended by a few peeps. 36,38,40,41 are NOT pressures even for assertive/aggressive street riding as they are indeed TOO high!:fact Whats gonna happen when these tires come up to temp and increase some 15-20%??? Some riders are gonna get hurt as a result of rock hard tires not able to find traction/grip.:no

BD

 

Ok...my 2 cents worth , i read somewhere about tire pressures , they say if your riding mostly straight roads to have a litttle higher air pressure , it also takes longer to warm up the tyres and get them to optimum running temp , the article also said that for twisties to run a little less pressure as this will allow more tyre to make contact with the road and will heat up the tyre to optimum running temp alot quicker and remain there alot longer , running too low a pressure you run the risk of overheating your tyres and damageing them in the proccess . All that said i run 38 up front and 36 on the rear and i still definatley need to set suspension settings for my body weight of 207lbs , currently they are set at factory settings .

 

FastMatt

You've kinda contradicted yourself in this post so I wanted to check with you. In one sentence you say: 'You should notice more grip if you are running 40 or 41psi in the rear' and further down you say: If you run 38psi in the rear and are still experiencing this sliding try dropping it down to 36psi, you should not go any lower than that on the street.

Please explain.

BD

I meant to say: You should notice more grip with 38 PSI than 40 or 41 PSI. It sure helps to proofread your posts. Thanks for catching my error.

 

I'm a bit confused with the pressures I see recommended by a few peeps. 36,38,40,41 are NOT pressures even for assertive/aggressive street riding as they are indeed TOO high!:fact Whats gonna happen when these tires come up to temp and increase some 15-20%??? Some riders are gonna get hurt as a result of rock hard tires not able to find traction/grip.:no

BD

I live in South Florida where the temperatures are usually in the 90's. The roads are even hotter. They do cool down when we get our afternoon monsoons. I currently run 34 PSI/front and 36PSI /rear. This suits my riding style best. Most of the roads here in Florida are as straight as an arrow. Running tire pressures in this range offer the best trade off for everyday riding and the occasional bonsai runs for me. You can get away with running lower temperatures on the track where you use the whole tire. You just need to experiment and stick with what works best for you.

 

Good enough!

BD

 

Riding straight for any length of time or distance does not necessarily warm up tires. Mt Palomar is cool, next time try to take the first 2 or 3 corners at moderate pace before trying harder lean angles, the flexing of the tire warms it up and the 010 sticks super when warm.

This tire saw assertive corners at 36psi, during the long haul parts of the ride the pressure was at 40 for better wear and to keep excess heat from building up.