Bridgestone tyres for Baldini?

[Guest Nogbad]

I replaced MEZ4s on my Suzuki SV with Diablos. The bike did handle better, but the biggest difference was transmission of road surface vibration through to the bars. On the Diablos I felt everything, great for sporty riding, but more tiring over distance.

 

I doubt if most people get anywhere near their tyre limits, even on trackdays, and sports touring tyres like the 020 should be better for bikes that get all round use. I think the 020 works fine on the V11, and when the soft D208s on my Buell wear out I will put 020s on that as well.

 

Tyre threads are as bad as oil threads.......

[Guzzirider]

I used my BT020s on the track once at Croft circuit. To start with it was cloudy, cold and drizzly and they felt good.

 

As soon as it became warm and dry they overheated and began falling apart in little chunks.

 

I did 13000 miles on various sets of 020s and thought they were fine, but now I have tried Diablo Corsas I won't go back. The good thing is that as well as giving better grip in the dry, they are actually better than the 020s in wet wintery conditions.

 

Helen is on her way to the tyre shop with her wheels to get some Corsas fitted for her bike too.

 

BTW, what is the best oil to use???

[Baldini]

Use the tyre that suits what you want of the bike. We all have different demands. We all have different ideas of what is fast & slow & where the limits are. If you don't find the limits of a tyre & you like them, then they're OK for you! If you find they don't offer enough grip, handling or consistency then try one of the many stickier sports tyres available. In sports riding I found the 020's cupped bad at front, steered slowly & offered inconsistent grip - esp rear would let go suddenly & unexpectedly at limit. I felt front would lock too easy on brakes too. I used Diablos which are better for me in all aspects (especially predictability towards their limit) except they wear slightly quicker. The Power 2CT's have far more grip & quicker handling (still stable at speed) but wear much faster. Haven't tried other tyres.

 

If what you got works for you then that's fine - only....if you don't try anything different maybe you don't know what you're missing!

 

KB

[Skeeve]

I have the Azaros fitted ... The stiction* was incredible. I know it's "sure grip" on the tarmac but this was unbelievable.

It didn't feel too sure footed around the next two bends. I checked the tyre pressure - 15lbs    It seems to be holding it's pressure now. But I'm a bit nervy. I can find any obvious puncture.  I might ultra seal it to make it last the Highland fling and possibly the Erin.

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2 things:

 

1] All pneumatic tires lose pressure over time. No leaks; gas just migrates thru the rubber! This is best demonstrated w/ a kid's helium balloon; since the partial pressure of helium outside the balloon is zero, there's a HUGE pressure gradient forcing the gas thru the rubber (osmosis, as you learned about in chemistry class & hoped that it meant that when you fell asleep w/ your face in the textbook, it would still allow some of the knowledge to end up in your brain... )

 

2] Schrader valves [the type we all use on automobile & motorcycle tires] leak. (1)Some have slow leaks that can be measured in days, some have relatively good sealing that can be ignored vs. the process above. But typically, a slow leak in a tire is the valve [or valve stem, if old or has a bad seal.] Easiest way to check this is take a spray bottle of soapy water, take the valve cap off & coat the valve stem liberally w/ the liquid. Grab a chair & a tall cold one, & spend some quality time eyeballing your machine. Pretty soon you may notice the occasional bubble rising from the valve itself or base of the valve stem. Voila'! You've determined the source of your leak; now, depending on how frequent the bubbles appear, you have the decision to make regarding whether it's worthwhile to replace the valve/stem before the next tire change, or just check the pressure more frequently/religiously.

 

Oh yeah, and don't forget: sunny weather means the ambient air pressure went up, which in turn means that the air pressure in your tires went down; "riding weather" is synonymous with "check your tires!"

 

(1): this is why the serious sport bicycles come w/ Presta valves, which enable you to "lock out" the valve to prevent slow leaks. But they're a fiddly nuisance on any kind of tire that has decent volume vs. operating pressure requirements...

[Martin Barrett]

2 things:

 

1] All pneumatic tires lose pressure over time.

 

2] , or just check the pressure more frequently/religiously.

 

Oh yeah, and don't forget: sunny weather means the ambient air pressure went up, which in turn means that the air pressure in your tires went down; "riding weather" is synonymous with "check your tires!"

 

...

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Guilty, I'm just too lazy and I should/do know better. Probably because I ride nearly every day I forget when I last did it. I even keep a tyre pressure gauge in my jacket pocket.

 

Though the rear hadn't lost any pressure since they were last checked, perhaps the Ultra seal prevents osmosis? (though isn't osmosis more to do with molecule transfer due things like difference in salinity, and it's not Brownian motion either, that just when you find you have 15 psi mid corner )

 

I will do better.

[Guest Nogbad]

Oh yeah, and don't forget: sunny weather means the ambient air pressure went up, which in turn means that the air pressure in your tires went down; "riding weather" is synonymous with "check your tires!"

 

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Mmmmm. So a standard rear has a gauge pressure of 42 psi. A low pressure weather system is maybe 980 mbar abs, and a high sunny one maybe 1070 mbar abs, giving a difference of 90 mbar or just a shade over 1 psi.

 

So, if you inflate your tyres in the middle of the perfect storm, you might be 1 psi out or so in 40 when the sun comes out. Big deal? I don't think so.