Tire Pressure with new tires

[Newman]

KatRiders,
I've been riding on Pirelli Diablos on my 1993 Katana 600 for a few hundred miles and am really wondering whether or not the tire pressure I'm using is correct. They're 120/60F and 150/60R, as recommended by the guys on this site, and I run 33 psi up front and 36 psi in the rear (as per the manual). They're really sticky, it seems, and the handling is a lot different than the Barracudas that were on before (better, I believe).

I can ride at the same pace my riding buddies do and yet they can't believe how big the "chicken strips" are. While I have about an inch of non-used rubber, they're toying with the edges of their tires. Don't get me wrong: I don't care how big the strips are and neither do my buddies. I just want to know if something's wrong.





When I look at my old Barracudas and then at the Pirellis, the curvature of the tire is much more pronounced on the Pirellis. Like, it seems that the reason there's so much of a strip is because the tire is angled so much that I could never use all of it unless I was leaned over at like 80 degrees. Is that ok? Should I just not be concerned? Should I change my tire pressure? I'm hoping that a pressure change will improve the handling of the bike, since it sometimes feels 'off'.

I appreciate your time.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Tire Pressure with new tires

When I look at my old Barracudas and then at the Pirellis, the curvature of the tire is much more pronounced on the Pirellis. Like, it seems that the reason there's so much of a strip is because the tire is angled so much that I could never use all of it unless I was leaned over at like 80 degrees. Is that ok? Should I just not be concerned? Should I change my tire pressure? I'm hoping that a pressure change will improve the handling of the bike, since it sometimes feels 'off'.

(A) Your tire pressure should be slightly higher. Pirelli's baseline for those tires are 34/36.5 for 140lb rider, and go up from there (at 200lb rider + load, they should be 35.5-36 front, 38 - 39 rear for street/highway use).

(B) Yes, that extreme arc is designed intentionally that way. It's a triple-radius arc, meaning that the center is flat for stable straight line riding, followed by the first arc off-center for normally (fast) handling, followed by the second arc (for extreme handling). You'll probably never run out of tire before the fairings touch the ground. The way triple-radius arc designs handle is a big part of why everyone recommends them.

(C) Chicken strips will go away when the terrain calls for them to -- until then, don't sweat it.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[bonstrosity]

Good post to know, I've got my diablos on the way.

[Newman]

Hey, thanks

Thanks Cyberpoet! I was hoping that you'd reply. It was exactly what I was looking for.

[SweetLou]

Good post to know, I've got my diablos on the way.

When did you order them? I am gona try to get mine in a coupla weeks.

[md86]

You could always e-mail the Pirelli guys to get their opinion , but Cyber was pretty close with that one . They recommend higher pressures , with the fronts at 34 , and the rears at around 37-38 I believe for both the Sport Dermons and the Diablo Stradas .