Cold Pavement | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cold Pavement

arogal

Well-known member
Hi all!
This weekend going forward the weather is looking great! All double digits, but keep in mind that the pavement is still going to be quite cold and your tires won't generate much heat. For all you folks that ride super sports with softer compound tires (Q3, S21, Pilot Power etc) when do you feel comfortable leaning the bike over at this time of year? I went for a quick ride early yesterday evening (town, and highway) and then I got off the hwy I put my hand on rear tire and it still wasn't warm. I have never had this "type" of tire on a bike at this time of year (Pilot Power 2CT) and am being overly cautious taking corners as I'm scared to lean into them as I feel the rear tire may slip out. I know there is still gravel and salt on the roads, but in my area, I know which corners are caked, and which ones are clean.
Not sure if I'm just being a bit paranoid or not, but do sport tires still have decent grip when they are not heated up?
PS - I have dropped my tire pressure in the front and back to accommodate for the colder temps.
Thanks!
 
I'm running stock tires, stock pressure and i'm leaning after a good 10 mins street/hwy. But i'm being a little over aggressive on the throttle and braking in the hopes the friction will help speed up the process.
 
10 yrs ago tire technology was worse. The good tires today are God sent!
 
I did about 6 rides this year in January and February but i dont do anything aggressive unless its 15 degrees +
On one of our rides on January on a day that was around 5-6 degrees, a buddy of mine lost traction going hard on throttle just making a left turn and laid down the bike. And he's a seasoned (but pretty aggressive)rider. and that was after riding a good 20 minutes on the highway There is just not enough traction to do anything fun besides cruising and the tires wont warm up so i would wait for 15+ days before cornering hard. Thats just my opinion though. Others might not agree but ive lost traction a few times in corners on colder days and its just not worth damaging the bike before the season even starts
 
I'm running stock tires, stock pressure and i'm leaning after a good 10 mins street/hwy. But i'm being a little over aggressive on the throttle and braking in the hopes the friction will help speed up the process.
Savage. I always used to do some hard accel and braking to warm up tires myself. Def speeds up the process. What tires come stock with the FZ09? I still really wanna ride one :p
 
Savage. I always used to do some hard accel and braking to warm up tires myself. Def speeds up the process. What tires come stock with the FZ09? I still really wanna ride one :p

Can only speak to the 17' - Dunlop Sportmax D222.

Careful..you'll go back to the SS sulking lol.
 
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Others might not agree but ive lost traction a few times in corners on colder days and its just not worth damaging the bike before the season even starts

I've had the tail wag twice so far ;) then TC lights up and all is right in the world.
 
I've found oem tires are some of the worse tires to ride on. Those are the first mod to any bike I've owned.
 
be smooth with your inputs and you'll be fine as long as you're not trying to drag knees on hwy ramps.
street tires have quite a bit of grip even when its cold, what gets most riders is jerky input, chopping throttle, grabbing brake etc
 
be smooth with your inputs and you'll be fine as long as you're not trying to drag knees on hwy ramps.
street tires have quite a bit of grip even when its cold, what gets most riders is jerky input, chopping throttle, grabbing brake etc
Ya better to take it easy at this time of year. Doesn't help I'm still getting used to the weight distribution and throttle response of the zx6r. Wife got me FAST riding school for my bday on May 15th on a '16 zx6r. that should teach me alot. So excited
 
Ya better to take it easy at this time of year. Doesn't help I'm still getting used to the weight distribution and throttle response of the zx6r. Wife got me FAST riding school for my bday on May 15th on a '16 zx6r. that should teach me alot. So excited

Ohhhh a fellow Tauren, nice! Mine is the 18th, enjoy the school!
 
Just remember that TC is non IMU, best to hold off being aggressive in the corners till roads are warm and dry
 
And sand or grit has been washed off the roads. Nothing like losing it in a corner because of fine sand you can't see.

Still need a few good rainfalls before your tires will grip like you hope they will.
 

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