What the heck, let's talk tire pressure....

[wheatonFJR]

I didn't know what "chip seal" was so I googled it. The scary part was the last paragraph:

"After curing, the loose gravel is swept off the surface. This may take several sweepings"!!

In Florida, they make some of the roads out of thousand-year-old reefs that are crushed up and mixed with asphalt.

When the road is new the shell parts destroy tires, and the surface becomes a slippery mess when the shell parts have worn smooth and water and a little car oil is added.

Yeah, other places they may call it oil and chip...but chip seal is one of the common names. Usually, the oil is laid down first and the "chips" are spread on top of the hot oil or "tar". In "Coolhand Luke", they showed em placing some sort of sand. Sometimes, Indiana...looking at you, the oil is premixed with the chips and laid down and "compacted", sort of. In Indiana's case, the HWY Dept counts on vehicle traffic to compact the material the rest of the way. The worst part of Indiana's chip seal is that, since the chips are "precoated", the loose gravel is the same color as the better compacted material....causing unexpected "whoopsies" in a curve. "Chip Seal" material is meant for lesser traveled roads for lower maintenance costs. Depending on when the "chips" have been applied, it can be a very sucky surface for a motorcyclist and hard to "read" with regards to amount of grip available...but y'all knew that already.

Although those that travel to Arkansas will not trust it at first, they will learn that it is not like other states "chip seal" with regards to grip OR life of tires...or "tars".

[fontanaman]

Oh give me a home were asphalt roams
Where the FJRs and others can play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And my tire pressure remains the same all day.

[Uncle Hud]

....... So yeah, I can see how a camper on a twisty mountain road would be a recipe for rocks and debris in the corners. Honestly never thought about it.

Rock "spray" happens a lot on mountain roads as vehicle tires roll off the roadway surface and splash gravel back onto the asphalt. Large trucks, trailers of all types, cars with Florida (or Louisiana) license plates, and screamin' fast local pickup trucks are the usual causes around here.

Roadway surfaces with a coarse surface allow water to run off quicker, which helps avoid puddling or that thin layer of water as it flows in a sheet across the roadway. Quick water runoff is a real benefit to chip seal. Chip seal is also easier to apply and less expensive than smooth asphalt, so it's often the pavement of choice for small roads in rural counties.

Water also drains superbly through the microscopic open spaces beneath a new, smooth asphalt surface -- until those microscopic open spaces get plugged with dirt, oil, mud, or teeny-weeny rubber tire bits from FJR hoons and screamin' fast local pickup trucks. Smooth surfaces can get really slick after a brief rainfall, especially if it was dry for a few weeks before the rain, because those contaminants are floated to the roadway surface by a heavy drizzle or light rain. (The heavier rainstorms will float contaminants to the surface, then wash 'em off the road.) Be alert for a sudsy-looking film on smooth asphalt -- it's as slick as a diesel spill.

[Night Fly 57]

I ha. EPirelli Angel GT. A spec on rear. I start of cold at 40 front and 42 rear

[Hppants]

I'm gonna regret this, but quite frankly, that hasn't stopped me before.....

In another thread, I've already shared my concern about making the full 7300-ish mile CFR trip on one set of PR4s. My first 2 days (and last 2 days) will be VERY flat and VERY straight. Basically, it will be about 900 miles of "just set the GPS, sit your ass in the saddle, and make miles".

I normally run 40/42 cold. I was thinking about bumping that to, say.... 43/45 for the first and last 2 days, in an effort to extend the life of the tire.

It will be hot (90-95 each day).

Whatcha think?

[wheatonFJR]

On the bike it says 42/42 fully loaded...if you want to save your front tar, do that. Your lack of curves will save your back tar.

[bigjohnsd]

100F+ heat,+FJR horsepower+ hot slab pavement=shitty tire life.

Pants, I've got a dark side tire and brake rod in my garage, you're welcome to them.

We can change your tire the night before you leave.

[mcatrophy]

On the bike it says 42/42 fully loaded...if you want to save your front tar, do that. Your lack of curves will save your back tar.

I'm a little surprised. Each of my bikes has said the same pressures whether loaded or not, both in the handbook and on the bike's swingarm sticker:

2006 & 2010, cold pressures: 39/42, whether for 0-90 lbs, 90-208 lbs or for "high speed riding";
2014 cold pressures: 36/42, same conditions as above;
2018 cold pressures: 36/42, whether for "1 person" or "2 persons" (they have obviously dumbed down the Owner's Manual ).

For the record, I run mine at around 40/43, though when I first got my 2014 (with the ES suspension [AS or AE in the UK]), I did drop the front to the manual's 36 because I found the bike incredibly harsh. After a few thousand miles, it became more normal, so I could up the pressure to my usual. My 2018 didn't need this.

[bigjohnsd]

You MoFo's coming with me to Alaska next summer are going To really learn what Fresh ChipnSeal is all about, especially when we got the first freshly chipped section of the ALCAN, we will filter to the front of the line, be the first to go following the pace car. The 1/4" pea gravel will be 1" -2" deep and your bike will be a tad squirely underneath you. You'll learn that faster is better and that the front brake is not your friend. JSNS