I agree, but it works. I checked and there was no heating at all. My riding style is not at all aggressive however on some freeway entrances and off ramps the bike felt very planted and stable when layed over and on the gas; very different to when the tyres were at “recommended pressures. I recommend that you research recommended tire pressures and find out why they are what they are. I also felt, for the first time, very safe at way higher than the legal speed limit with a strong cross wind.
Hi David. Thanks for an interesting discussion.
A bit more info please:-
1. I note that your weight is 130lb. What is your rider weight?
2. What make/model tyres are you running? (some makes like Bridgestone and Michelin seem to have stiffer sidewalls than others, such as Continental)
Manufacturer's recommended cold tyre pressures for motorbikes has always irritated me. For instance, if we were car drivers then we'd be advised to change the tyre pressures depending if we are two up, or five persons plus luggage, or sustained high speed driving etc. No such advice for motorcyclists. Whatever our modus operandi (with a few exceptions) our tyre pressures are listed as 36psi front, 42psi rear. So lightweights like you and I are told to use the same pressures as a 200 lb rider carrying a 160 lb pillion plus luggage! Ugh?
Is it that manufacturers don't think we bikers are intelligent or diligent enough to adjust pressures accordingly? Or is the one-size-fits-all approach merely a way of getting a reasonably, but not optimised, tyre pressure range that works most of the time for most of the users, keeping us reasonably safe and avoiding litigation?
I have written and spoken with tyre makers in the past but they cannot or will not explain the criterion. Only Continental came close to hinting that pressures might need changing for different conditions but did not commit or elaborate.
We lightweights cannot possibly be pressing the tyres into the tarmac by the same degree as a heavily-laden bike. The grip for us can feel skippy and harsh, as if its bouncing over irregularities rather than biting and gripping them. So your lower pressures must be counteracting this to an extent. Provided your hot running pressures do not rise more than 10% more than the cold pressures, then you'll probably be fine.
If we were to embark on a track day for example, you would not even be allowed down the pit lane until you had lowered the tyre pressures, in anticipation of the pressures increasing back nearer to optimal due to heat expansion when ridden in anger, in accordance with Boyle's Law.
In our "lightweight" situation the lower pressures will help with comfort. You are clearly achieving a more compliant contact patch which is conforming to the road, improving grip and confidence. If the handling is still predictable and to your liking then it is working for you and is a welcome free fix. It will have no effect on high speed compression or rebound damping - only the forks and shock can sort that out. But maybe on your roads you don't need anything more. In the UK we have some atrocious road surfaces that often break up mid-corner into choppy, rutted, destabilising sections. Thats where suspension upgrades pay back, but at a price.