Q3 Street Pressure

A number of years back the tire manufacturers got together and agreed to just recommend one set of tire pressures which I recall being the 36F-42R. Keep in mind that these pressures are just a starting point and the numbers are high enough to avoid legal problems with premature tire failures due to under-inflation.

The motorcycle manufacturers recommend their own set of pressures specific to the OEM tires they install. When a bike manufacturer is developing a new model their test riders will determine what pressures in their opinion, best suit the new model. The recommended pressures are the best for general street (not track) riding, so you can increase grip somewhat by reducing pressures.

Further, you'll notice that there are higher recommended tire pressures for Japanese in-line fours versus Ducati twins. In-line fours heat up their tires more than a twin so a higher starting pressure is needed to prevent overheating the tires, particularly the rear tire.

Years ago, superbike racers discovered that it was easier to modulate the power to prevent wheel-spin on the Ducati V-twins than it was to do the same on the Japanese inline-fours. This is because there is a longer interval (in terms of both time and crankshaft rotation) between cylinders firing, which gives the rear tire a "break" - time to recover traction and match its speed to that of the motorcycle.

More recently, more sophisticated traction control systems have been used – they reduce tire temperatures, improve tire life and lap times.

As an example, here's what Bridgestone says:

When bike manufacturers are developing a new model they have approximately 3 years during which time their test riders will be able to determine what pressures in their opinion, best suit solo and (if different) pillion riding. They are also generally only working with two tyre manufacturers who will become the original equipment (OE) suppliers. Bike manufacturers usually launch no more than three new models a year.

Bridgestone has approximately 4,000 different tyre approvals in our fitment guide so, as with all other tyre manufacturers, we obviously only have limited time to test each bike so we test for the one set of pressures that work well whether solo or with a pillion. It would be irresponsible of a tyre (or bike) manufacturer to recommend pressures that did not give optimum stability, and higher pressures lead to greater stability. If we were, due to the aforementioned time constrictions, to only recommend pressures for solo use and then a rider took a passenger along without increasing pressures, and suffered the consequent instability that may occur, it would be the tyre company that would be held to blame.

The higher pressures we recommend are perfect for commuting, touring, motorways, general riding and pillion use. The only area where you could possibly increase grip by reducing pressures is solo sport riding, and then not by a heck of a lot.

One other point - we are recommending pressures that our test riders have found best for our tyres on, in your case, a 999. Ducati have never tested BT010s on a 999 and because of the different way each type of tyre behaves, what's to say that Ducati's recommended pressures will work with our tyres?

By the way, we used a 999 as one of the bikes for our recent BT-014 launch and they suited the bike perfectly. The BT-014 is the tyre that will replace the BT-010.

Bridgestone UK Motorcycle Technical & Sales

The Best Tire Pressure

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