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Dumb questions

Discussion in 'Beginners Bikes' started by Choco, Oct 29, 2011.

  1. Choco

    Choco Commuter 500 +

    Messages:
    228
    Although, there really shouldn't be any dumb questions, just questions.

    I have a questions about warming tyres. Saw a friend last night who has a thou and he was talking about his rush in the mornings, having to wait for his tyres to warm up.

    My questions are:

    - How would he do this apart from riding it around and/or with tyre warmers (which is a little excessive even for him)?
    - Is this something everyone needs to be cautious of (including small bikes) now that the colder weather is setting in?
    - If my tyres weren't warm, and I am on a 125 remember, would it possibly explain why I've done a few powerslides recently. :oops:
     
  2. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    lol...

    All tyres have a happy operating temperature but unless he's riding on soft compound trackday tyres needing to warm them up with tyre warmers before you go on the road is a fantasy promoted by the bike journos - you just get on and ride a little more carefully for the first mile or so. And if he IS riding on soft compound trackday tyres you need to ride quite hard to get them up to and keep them at operating temperature - so rather unlikely on the average commute to work with queues and traffic lights!

    Once warmed up, normal all-weather bike tyres will offer pretty much the same grip summer and winter, but roads at this time of year don't have the surface grip they do midsummer.
     
  3. Jim

    Jim Race Rep +

    Messages:
    661
    The only time I would conciously think about 'warming my tyres' is on a track when I know I'm going to 'hoon' it around a bit or in the middle of summer when I'm on the road it may occur to me think to myself "hmmm tyres will be nice and warm now which is good, let's push on a bit". There's a definate difference in temperatures and how grippy it feels but I would say the road surface temp has more to do with this than the tyre temp (on dual compounds anyway), do you agree Kevin? Choco no question is stupid though so ask away.
     
  4. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    Sport touring compounds are designed to a) warm up fast and b) work at temps down to freezing, with minimal changes of grip by the tyre itself, so yes most of the grip issues at this time of year are the road surface. A cold DRY surface is almost as good as a warm dry surface, but when the tarmac's cold it can be damp without appearing wet - and that means less grip.
     
    RetryRider likes this.
  5. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    Not sure what Choco's riding or the tyres fitted... but all weather bike tyres (ie sport touring tyres for most sports bikes) are designed to
    a) warm up fast (that's one reason they have more tread blocks, they are not simply to clear water)
    b) to maintain consistent levels of grip when the weather is cold as well as when it's hot

    So yes, much of the difference in grip between summer and winter (so long as you're on suitable winter tyres) is down to the road surface - it can be damp without being obviously wet, and that's enough to cause minor twitches.
     
  6. Choco

    Choco Commuter 500 +

    Messages:
    228
    *whispers* Why do you think I asked this question here? Because if I asked it anywhere else I would get a screen full of "You're a $&^*ing idiot, what kind of question is that? Get back in the kitchen." /*whisphers*

    See, that's kind of what I thought - about the road temp, rather than tyre temp. I understand the whole track day scenario of warming tyres, but wondered if it might have to be a consideration off the track too.

    And I guess my powersliding isn't to do with tyre or road temp, but more likely that I figured out how to do something they didn't teach me to do at the training school. :whistle:
     
  7. Skortchio

    Skortchio Caustic +

    Messages:
    2,035
    Cold roads and a little damp are enough to lower the friction of tyre to tarmac enough that any alterations in thrust have a greatly amlified effect.

    Or, when it's cold / wet - do you braking and throttling in a straight line or you get powerslides. Of course, once you get the hang of the powerslides... :thumbsup:
     
  8. megawatt

    megawatt World Superbike +

    Messages:
    5,039
    Don't worry about stupid questions Choco, not asking is what's stupid! Don't worry about warming tyres on a 125. Just ride normally and you will be fine. Obviously take it easy if it's wet or salty.:)
     
    _Yappa_, Roadwart and Spin like this.
  9. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    Yep, agreed! Too much total cr@p written in the magazines unfortunately and understandably, people start worrying about it... because journos must know what they're talking about! :confused:
     
  10. Jim

    Jim Race Rep +

    Messages:
    661
    This is a great answer, says it all.

    As for asking questions and being met by the attitude that you're a F*&$£ WIT or something is typical of the Pub talking twats I was on about earlier, chances are that they're declaring your a numpty to try and make you not ask the question again because the truth is they probably just haven't got a bloody clue what the answer is!

    You're never too old or too clever, I was recently struggling with getting my carbs sorted, which to be honest, I felt that I should have been able to do on my own, needless to say I didn't have a 'Scooby' so didn't think twice about posting my questions on here, the result..................I learnt something new and now my bike is running beautifully, to the best of my knowledge no-one said I was an idiot and should have known already (well not in my hearing).

    A GOOD forum should be filled with willing advisors/helpers who don't judge, fortunately you've stumbled across a good one! :):thumbsup:
     
  11. megawatt

    megawatt World Superbike +

    Messages:
    5,039
    Ask anything and everything, we don,t mind.
     
  12. Roadwart

    Roadwart Administrator Staff Member Administrator +

    Messages:
    6,720
    I think that sums it up for you right there Choco :10:
     
    _Yappa_ and Choco like this.
  13. BlackHornet

    BlackHornet Look before you turn Staff Member Moderator +

    Messages:
    7,985
    only bit of advice i can give is never take my answer seriously :thumbsup: as i know sod all about bikes bar the fact that there appears to be ways of making them go and stop connected to the handle bars :D
     
    _Yappa_ and lammyR6 like this.
  14. Emma - 125cc Marauder

    Emma - 125cc Marauder Off Roader +

    Messages:
    93
    heres a question, apart from if its heavily snowing/ extremly icy, i will be riding my bike, if its excessivly cold would the petrol freeze even under a cover?
     
  15. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    Hmm. Don't actually know what the freezing point of petrol is but it must be pretty low as I've never heard of petrol freezing (diesel, by contrast, goes 'waxy' at very low temperatures which is enough to clog injectors so there are additivies in winter diesel).

    However... what CAN happen when riding is that moisture from the air which is mixed with it in the carburettor / injector body can freeze! The combination of low temperatures and high humidity in the air combines with the cooling effect as the fuel itself evaporates to cause ice crystals big enough to partially block the carb. This can cause poor low speed running and misfire, and can even cause the engine to cut out completely. It's pretty rare and most bikes don't suffer from it (some Kawasakis were bad but were retro-fitted with a carb warming kit to combat the problem) but it's happened to me on the old GS500 on occasion, including coming to a complete halt on the hard shoulder of the M20 some years ago. The clue it's carb icing is that 2-3 mins later (when the heat from the engine has warmed the carburettor up and melted the ice) the bike starts first time and runs perfectly again!
     
  16. megawatt

    megawatt World Superbike +

    Messages:
    5,039
    You should be ok Emma. What Kev said. If you are worried and you need to get somewhere, gadgets can be made to keep the carb warm. Not electrical.!!!
     
  17. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    [​IMG]
     
  18. GuzziRob

    GuzziRob Race Rep +

    Messages:
    896
    Best cure is to P**s all over them
     
  19. Spin

    Spin Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    193
    Rather tricky for 50% of the population tho, Rob :)
     
    _Yappa_ likes this.
  20. megawatt

    megawatt World Superbike +

    Messages:
    5,039
    Have seen a water heating coil tapped off the cooling system, wrapped around the carb bowl?
     

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