Aussie,are we talking racing tires like BT-02s here? If so, I can agree that racers run lower tire pressures to get better cornering grip but street tires are constructed differently with regards to tire compound and construction.
Kruz - I'm talking about any "sports" tyres, def. including the OEM 014's. The Bridgeston 002's (which I assume is what you mean by 02? Or do you mean the old 012's?), which are now replaced by the new 003's (which I haven't yet tried) came in a a track-only version (with different compound hardness options) and the "002-RS" street-legal version. I'm getting off the track now though...my point being that what I spoke about in my post should apply to any rubber that is designed for "sports" riding on the street.
I can see that I'm not going to be able to convince many of you to drop down from 42, which is fine. Each to his own and of course everyone needs to feel safe, comfortable and confident at all times when on the bike.
Without wanting to be offensive...I think the problem is that some rider's are mistaking easy/quick steering (what they may call "handling") that their rock hard tyres give them, with the different but more positive/helpful benefits that are created by running at lower pressures. The grip that becomes avaiable if you get your rubber nice and hot 'n sticky, plus some flex in the tyre that allows it to put down a bigger contact patch under hard acceleration & braking, FAR outweighs that "easy steering/handling" you get with those rock hard, 42/42 tyres. Also with tyres at the "right" operating/hot temp (& therefore pressure), the rider (if they are experieced enough) can get a huge amount of feedback from their tyres, which is so, so important when pushing hard whether on the street or track.
Like skiffman was saying, if you aren't pushing your tyres hard enough to heat them up much, then running them at 42 may be fine for you. And for a new rider it may be better to start at higher pressures, for the sake of easier steering? I dunno. I guess if your riding doesn't heat the tyres up, and quickly, then it wouldn't be good to run them too low, as that may create more negative results than positive!
As for local weather making a difference, I'm sure it does to the cold/starting pressure, but I think the aim is always to get to the same operating pressure that is ideal for the bike, setup and rider...regardless of ambient temp. For the street though, it shouldn't be hard to find a supersports tyre that suits most seasons...the problem really is wet vs. dry...another story all together! Here in Queensland, Australia, it's bloody hot most of the year...but I was still going down to less than 30 PSI back & front on the OEM tyres when I was touring through the moutain twisties a few months back. Those OEM tyres aren't great, but I got them working ok with a bit of mucking around (still not great though).
* Last updated by: AussieNinja on 9/4/2009 @ 3:53 AM *
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