Radial tires

Many new bikes, especially high performance ones, now have radial-cord
tires, as cars have for many years now. What advantages accrue, and are
they less significant than for non-leaning cars?

If there are real advantages, why has it taken so long?

 

This is utter, utter rubbish. Radials are *slower* wearing, mph and bhp
for mph and bhp.

I think this is utter rubbish too, because when radials first appeared
they weren't being fitted as OE. The Pirelli MP7 was claimed to be the
first radial (its plies were set at 80 degrees to the tyre rather than a
true 90, so it wasn't... quite...) and I attended a factory test day
where we sampled the tyres on a variety of bikes. This has happened
since as well.

I think you're thicker than natural rubber, myself. either that or you
are confusing bikes with cars.

Look, car tyre sidewalls are intended to flex. Bike sidewalls aren't,
because you want the tyre shape to retain its integrity as the bike
leans on it, or you have some very odd handling and a nasty crash.
Cross-ply tyres achieve that.

Radial tyres run cooler, last longer, etc etc etc. The technical trick
was getting radial tyres on a bike that *didn't* deform their sidewalls.
It's now been achieved but for this reason they tend to be very low
profile tyres (as you, obliquely, said) because it's still tricky making
a radial tyre that doesn't deform.

 

Why? Because he says you're wrong?

And this you know for a fact, having done exhaustive tests? Don't make
me laugh.

Anyone who gets 30k miles from a tyre on a Wing must ride like a nun and
never get it out of bottom gear.

Oh, right, so an overheard conversation is the same as technical press
briefings from (at the last count) three separate tyre manufacturers, is
it?

That is a straightforward CYA warning. Nothing like "on no account" or
anything. Radial tyres were being fitted to bikes not designed for them
nearly 20 years ago.

Where I will agree, of course, is the recommendation not to mix x-ply
and radial on the same vehicle.

I *do* remember a Pirelli tech briefing in which they said that,
interestingly, wear rates for radial and x-ply were working out roughly
similar because the improved characteristics and grip of radial meant
that people were actually pushing the tyres harder.

This was at a Pirelli factory radial tyre test day in Italy, in which a
dozen different motorcycles were served up for our delectation, in
pairs, one bike being shod with x-ply and its identical twin shod with
radials, so we could asess the difference.

But obviously this never happened because Pirelli would never put
radials on bikes not designed for them.

 

You *are* spitting your dummy, aren't you? Just because somebody told
you (and not impolitely) that you were spouting nonsense.

Now two other posters have also told you that you're spouting
nonsense...

And like I said, if you're riding a 100+bhp 700lbs+ motorcycle, and you
get 30,000 miles out of a rear tyre, you are riding it like a nun.

Quote from Michelin, at a press do: "Any tyre will last forever, if you
push it along the road with your hand...."

You're missing the point here and everywhere else: there are very hard
long-wearing tyres, and there are very soft fast-wearing tyres. Radial
tyres allow you to use a softer compound than would normally be
acceptable (in wear terms) because, by their nature, they last longer.

You're trying to compare sports bikes with Gold Wings. You, sir, are not
being very bright here.

Ah, here we go. The old get-out.

At every press conference I've attended

Once again you display your ignorance. we were on a race track because
it is unsafe to do this sort of testing on public roads. The bikes
available ranged from Kawasaki sports bikes, through BMWs, to large
Japanese tourers.

No! You haven't been saying this at all!

Now you're changing your tack to "touring radials".

And here I'd agree. Radial development has been mainly done on sports
bikes. And, yes, it's time the better wear rate of radial tyres was put
to good use by developing more touring oriented tyres.

But you have now shifted your position, haven't you? And what became of
your assertion that radials shouldn't be fitted to bikes designed for
x-ply?

 

I bet you he won't be....

 

Well, yeah, obviously. If you can't find a tyre to fit..... ;-))