I'm looking for a bit of advice with regards tyre pressure on my 1098S, it's currently running Bridgestone Battlax BT016 Pros and I was wonder what the general consensus on best pressures for road use? I've done a few searches and am aware that some of it comes down to personal preference, however any advice would be much appreciated.
Good question. Coming from Japanese bikes, I was very surprised to see Ducati quoting 30F & 31R for my 1198; this seemed very low for a road bike. I'm guessing this is when the oem tyres are fitted (supercorsa I think). I had PR4s' fitted last week & as you know, these are very different to the SC & because Michelin don't list them as suitable for an 1198, they don't recommend a road pressure either. In the past, on other bikes, I have always been happy with 34F & 38R, but I have guessed at a compromise of 32F & 36R for the Ducati on the PR4's & will adjust from there. I think the 016 is more sporty & Bridgestone generally have a stiffer sidewall, so I would probably start nearer the 30F & 31R with those. Personal preferences can differ significantly.
Stick with stock pressures of 2.2bar front and 2.4bar in the rear. I ran the BT016's on my 1098 without any issues. I get a lot of bikes coming in the workshop with customers asking about handling issues and it's usually down to pressures. A lot of tyre fitters seem to go with "stock Jap" pressures and put 36/42 in them without checking. Ducati are pretty sensitive to front pressures in particular and setting to factory usually sorts most issues out.
Another thing just came to mind whilst fitting a set today..... get a good quality pressure gauge. I use a Clark inflator to pump the tyres up and get them seated. It's reading around 3bar when my calibrated gauge is reading 2.2 bar. That's around 11psi out!!
32/36 on the last Bridgestones I had on an 848 and worked well enough may also depend on profile, as if you have come off a tall tyre like SC to a flatter one it will be noticeably slower
