Back tire snaking over white lines... POSS SOLVED.

[thunder]

Hi

Well being fairly new to Vtr's (old '70's bikes before this), i am finding recently, a tendency for the back tire to snake briefly when i cross a white line when overtaking.
The other day it stepped out about a foot, over a pedestrian crossing(white painted lines). Unnerving.

Now i realize I'm probably a bit overzealous in throttle application ... but

Are there any tires that do this more than others? (slicker ones as opposed to those with more tread?)
Could Air pressure effect this (bearing in mind most times I'm not leaning very much)

It seems as if even when I'm being mindful of it, it'll still spin a bit on white lines.

Or must i just get some, and suck it up?

[marravtr]

what tyres are you running? tbh all tyres are going to spin up on white lines at this time of year!

[lloydie]

I Stay away from the white lines they keep me awake for hours talking crap

[Jester666]

...Or must i just get some, and suck it up...

Yep!!

As previously said, at this time of year with the greasy roads and all that lovely VTwin torque it will spin up without too much provocation.

The other day I had 3rd gear, full throttle wheelspin on a left hander! Lovely!!! Just back end stepped out a bit and carried on spinning!

[thunder]

Heya:)

Actually I'm down here in South Africa... Weather is fantastic, had dry weather for a few months now.
Yeah wet weathers a nightmare.

The lines I'm talking about are generally pretty dry.
It could be that as I'm getting more comfortable with the bike (read higher in the rev range) , and overtaking more in peak power, that I'm just noticing it more.

Basically if , you guys who have ridden these bikes longer than me, could tell me if its normal that it gets a bit squirrely over the lines in normal good road conditions?
+-4000-5000 rpm?

Cheers
T

[linden46]

Worth checking tire pressures and condition first, but wet or greasy roads and handfuls from the noise lever will result in spin. Its also cold enough for the side of the tires not to generate heat so that could result in a slide or spin, worth taking note that what feels like a step out of a foot is normally only an inch or so, still enough to leave a brown mark in your pants if your not expecting it though.

[thunder]

SOLVED!!! Possibly

Bridgestone battleaxe on the back and Michelin dual compound Pilot power pureon the front...

Well i got home rather late from work but nipped down to the garage,to check the tire pressure...
Front 2.3 bar but the back was 2 bar!!!

Bloody hell, i should've KNOWN that was the problem.

Thing is, the problem creeps , the ride quality slowly deteriorating,
but I thought the crap riding was me , having an "off" day/week or something.

Thne I'm overtaking and bloody hell...this can't be normal...thus this forum.

Anyhow, taking her for a ride tomorrow and will let you guys know,
I have an accurate digital gauge.

2.3 front and 2.5 rear is what i was running.
If anybody reckons that's wrong,please lemme know, but she felt pretty stable on
those settings.

But pretty confident it's the problem as the only thing I've done recently was
fit manual CCT from bazza.(cheers mate)

Only thing that i don't quite get, is why would a pressure drop cause the wheel to spin over lines?
Surely with a lower pressure the tire "footprint" is bigger thus a greater grip?



Thanks for all the advice, and remember, to make it exciting let yer tires down a bar or two...

[Wicky]

Hopefully you'll be changing the mismatched tyres as well as keeping a closer eye on the pressures.

Front 36psi (2.5 bar) - Rear 42psi (2.9 bar)

[agentpineapple]

is the battleaxe tyre of similar compound to the power pure?

[thunder]

Yeah , the mismatched tires are not ideal, but the power pure was what they had in stock michelin dealer.
But i must say (before this incident) the bike was really tracking and handling well.

I Don't know about the Battleax's compound, but the front is dual compound, harder middle, softer sides.

@wiki, ill give your pressures a try. As for keeping an eye on it, yip, lesson learn.

Popped down to the shops this morning and purposely gave it more gas over a crossing.... fixed:).

[benny hedges]

you might want to check wheel bearings & headstock as well next time you got the wheels off....
another possible cause - definately doesnt help like.

[linden46]

Glad to be of service thought it might be pressures, think a new set is required, squared off tires can also be a pain. A few PSI off the recommended pressure can result in excessive tyre movement if you don't attack your riding every time you go out look for dual compound tires as the Storm can eat into the centre of the tyre especially this time of the year.

[seb421]

Tyre pressure makes a massive difference in handling and snaking

took the blade out other day and it hadn't been used for a while front was about 25psi and back was sat at 30psi felt terrible, a quick pump to 36 / 42 and all was well, that bike is on Pilot Power 2's

on the storm i use pilot road's in the winter and pilot powers in the summer


this time of year can still ride the storm harder on its pilot road than the blade on its power's specially on a damp road


going to stick that Pilot Road 3 on when i next get some tires, some times next month i should think as these are running thin now

[elric]

Something else you might consider is the road.

Quite a few of the roads i commute along have been resurfaced, they tend to do one lane at a time up to the white line! Then a while later they do the other side of the road and once again up to the white line!
Now i have a raised ridge down the centre of the road and this is raised slightly more with white paint. When crossing this line the back end would rather be one side or the other and really does not want to be running on top of it, strangly it is the back end i feel most affected.
More noticeable at slow speeds whilst filtering through traffic.