I'm sorry need to know TYRES

[petejw1966]

the way to know that u have the correct tyre pressure,
start with a base line  say 40psi on a cold tyre,
ride the bike for a good 20 min - 30 minutes or how ever long to warm up the tyres
then recheck ur tyre pressures
ur looking for a 3 - 4 psi increase,

if the tyre is to low (psi) it will create more heat,   higher psi reading
if the tyre is to high (psi)  it will create  less heat,  lower psi reading.
then adjust accordingly.

[tripodtiger]

I recently read where some old cogger was talking about tyre pressures.

He was prattling on about never using a pressure guage and always getting better mileage and fuel economy that the tyre shop reckoned.  And his pressures were always lower.

He reckoned the trick was to ride the bike for a bit, at normal speeds, then feel the tread face.  'Too hot' meant it was under pressure.  'Too cold' and it was over pressure.

Goldilocks must've been his pillion.


Okay - great in theory but the problem with that was the specific conditions of the individual rider.  Maybe he was really slow.  Maybe he was so gentle on the throttle and brakes that he got 25km/l.  Maybe he never got the thing more than 10 deg from vertical.

I suppose, if you took an infrared thermometer with you, you could actually ajdust the pressures to be within a specific range.

How do they do it in road racing?  Atmospheric & track conditions, range of speed, % at full noise, % on maximum brakes &, I dare say, camber and gradient, all go into their big database to spit out a number.  For each rider.

For us, tyre selection, pressure selection etc, is all a bit of a lottery.  Get a starting point, or maybe a minimum, work from there.

[excess.11]

I was that impressed with the Demons as well.
 Could nt imagine they would transform the handling and ride as much as they did.

I would use the higher pressures as i think the figures he s quoted you are a little too low......especially as you have all the extra fairing weight etc.
 I t s when you have to make an emergency manouvre or something similar as hard braking you ll need the tyre not to squirm underneath you.
Also handling the odd pot hole or open road speeds .

[Xsrunner]

  Hi Guy's   UPDATE on the tyres all i can say is WOW  It is a totally different bike to ride now .only have 60km on them so far and the guy at the shop said to run a bit lower preseure in them (31 front 32 rear ) normally i run 34 front 36 rear until the bed in a bit  ... It doesn't wiggle (sidestep ) any more runs straight and i don;t have to fight with it in the corners .I think they will only get better with a few more k's on them .. they probably won't last as long as the michelins (look softer ?) but the ride difference is no comparison to before ..I would highly recommend them ..

[AussiXS11G]

I found the BT45 front was good dry and wet but at the recommended pressure was prone to wear on the sides
I found that by upping the pressure this stopped - I cant remember the pressures but think that the best (for me)
was 38front
The pirelli is a much better tyre for me tho....

[Eveready1100]

John, don't be sorry about asking for advice on tyres, or anything for your bike, for that matter. What tyre works well on maybe a GSX1100 or Z1000, may be prone to excessive wear etc on these heavy XS's. This is the place to ask and I hope all goes well with your new set. Let us all know your results over time, mate.

Jeff, I just ditched my front BT45 due to exactly that issue. The tyre felt weird from the moment I had it fitted but I just put it down to the different carcass structure to the old Spitfires I'd run previously. It is only lately that it's shown its problem since it is about 1/2 worn. The bead marker moulding you mentioned has a runout of about 1.5.. on one side of the tyre and must have been a manufacturing fault when the tyre was made, as it had no noticable runout over the outer circumference of the tyre when new. As it's worn though, it's taken the shape of the inner carcass and had resulted in a shimmy of the bars at 60-70kph and after discovering the cause, I removed the wheel and took it back to where I had it fitted for him to try reseating the bead properly. He had 3 goes at it all resulting in the tyre still having that runout along the bead marker and confessed that it must have been a fault in manufacture, but because of the miles put on the tyre, I had no claim to a replacement.
So I just had a new Avon roadrider fitted to the front and the bike is transformed. No more shimmy, wiggles or hops.
BTW, I actually fitted that BT45 to my spare bikes front wheel for emergency use only. The old Michelin A48 still looked nearly new, but had a date of manufacture of the 3rd month 1982.

[excess.11]

Could be tyre was never centred on the rim and there was a slight runout.
Check the bead on the tyre near the rim is constant all way round.
Did it occur as a certain speed or was it there all the time?

[Xsrunner]

Thanks for the replies guys I have a set of Demons coming get fitted Monday I hope.. I run 34psi front 38 rear because of the full dresser and I'm no light weight 110kg  .The wiggle is kind of weird feels like the front wheel just moves sideways and then back again  rear tire is low but did it when i had the new ones fitted 4yrs ago ( lazertec metzlers ) can't remember what orginally was on it when i bought the bike rode home from picton to wagga wagga with no wiggle but they were 15yrs old so they had to go..

[steptoe]

the pirelli,s are good tyres, especially down where you are {you have lots of corners} ,,,,,,,,,but,,,,,,,,you won,t get the distance that the metzellers or the Avons will give you,,

the only thing I myself would be causious of buying that particular tread pattern is the shoulder groove comes in to meet the centre, so after some klms you will end up having high and low spots in the centre giving you a small case of the corrigations in the touring department, {try and find a pattern where the grooves don,t get so close} if it exists

I run the avons, because I,m after milage with a little bit of playing,

sorry mate, but it,s back to you  

[excess.11]

Front end "Wiggle" = low tyre pressure.
Check your running at least 32psi in the front and 37psi in the rear.
Pirrelli Sport Demon for me.

Tyre report from members.........

http://xs1100.com.au/forum/index.php?topic=1500.msg8845#msg8845

[AussiXS11G]

I recommend the Pirelli Sport Demon....I am using them atm - I run 34 psi front and 38 psi rear (for a track day 38 + 42)
great wet and dry - for touring tho - a dual compound rear tyre is the shot I reckon (like a BT45)
B

[Fred]

Hey John,

can't say much about Pirelli tyres on an XS as I havn't had a set on for 30 years but just love them on my Merc B.

As for the XS I can't go past a set of Avon Roadrunners M20/M21 myself. Without going down to the shed I think the new name for them is Avon Venoms. A very respectable 12,000 klm and on the better side of average for grip in the wet. These shoes are especially made for heavy Touring / Sports Touring Bikes.

By the way, what front end Wiggle..Tracking? Those sort of problems usually arise when your'e running your tread way too far down or not keeping the Steering HeadBearings nipped up.

Whichever tyres you go for let us know if the new one fix your "Wiggle" for you.

[Xsrunner]

HI GUYS 
   
    I Know we hate talking tyres but i am due for a set had metzler lazertec  good in wet  6000km on rear front ok  I was wondering has anyone tried these  ( click on the find button )   http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/ww/en/motorcycle/genericContent/fitment.html .reading on the other XS site some like radials some won't try .i'm just curious because they are supose to be better for the front end wiggle..tracking..will be replacing both ...thanks...