[subsonic]

Possibly the stupidest question ever, but has anyone ever used tire warmers before riding on the street...?

I was looking at the 1098 brochure, which cunningly shows tire warmers as an item on the DP accessory page. Now, either this is the greatest "trade-money-for-futilty" posing tool ever devised (nothing against that, fundamentally), or could there be some point to giving it a try?.

On one hand, the whole idea seems ridiculous, given that most street situations demand nothing close to max performance from any bike component. On the other hand, it would look killer in the garage > I assume street tires are designed to warm up fairly quickly, but could a head start hurt?

Anyway, just curious if anyone has done this, or if there could be any harm in it (other than wasting some cash).

 

[Paper5tr3et7]

Sounds like a huge PITA and a waste of time.....what would the point be? I'm sure the tire warmers in the acc were for those who were going to have a 1098 track whore. I say nay sir.

 

[ducpainter]

Maybe Ducati is marketing the tire warmers to the track day guy.

You certainly don't need them for the street.

 

[toolfan]

Unless you lived at the end of a gnarly twisty road...

how sweet would that be - turn on the warmers, gear up, hop on and rip it up! for a daily commute. drooool.
Of course, you'd also have to warm your bike up. And you should warm your mind up.

Yeah, ok, bad idea, never mind.

 

[Sieg]

However, if you think you need them for the street I'd seriously consider a body helmet first ;D

 

[Archimedes]

Surprised you haven't gotten more/stronger negative responses to this post. I agree with the original poster, dumb idea. If you're running street tires, they cycle at a lower temperature and you don't need warmers. You're more likely to overheat them and grease them out, which is pretty easy to do and is worse than cold tires. If you're running DOT race tires, you're also wasting your time, because you won't be able to maintain that temperature on the street anyway; you won't be accelerating/braking/turning enough or fast enough to flex the tires enough to keep them 'in cycle'. Anyone who's really felt a tire come in on the track knows that it's somewhere between difficult and impossible to do it on the street.

Even for most track day folks, tire warmers are more bling than bang for your buck. Your tires will fully come up to temp within a 1-2 laps anyway if you're riding quick enough. Warmers are only for racers who need maximum traction right from the get go.

I say do whatever makes you feel good, but I'd save my money for more useful mods.

Again, just my $.02.

 

[subsonic]

Hey folks,

I originally meant this partially in humour, with a bit of real curiousity thrown in...

Lots of excellent points, tending towards the "waste of time' argument, as I suspected. I ignore the waste of money issue, given the irony in worrying about that on a Ducati forum.

Archimedes, good info ref different tire types- certainly don't have the expertise to challenge any of that. However, I still wonder if some level of pre-heat (presuming you can avoid overheating) wouldn't be a good thing. The best riding time for me is in the autumn up here, so it gets a bit cool at times and a few good corners are 3 min from my garage door. However, it would be a PITA to frig with stands, warmers and all that before riding.

Also, if the street tires on sport bikes weren't able to heat up quickly enough to cover the possibility that some riders push it too soon when heading out for a ride, I'm assuming tire company lawyers would be losing a lot of sleep...

That said, what is a "useful" mod for the street? 102 db exhaust? $2500 forks? $3000 carbon rims? >

 

[ducpainter]

Hey folks,

I originally meant this partially in humour, with a bit of real curiousity thrown in...

Lots of excellent points, tending towards the "waste of time' argument, as I suspected. I ignore the waste of money issue, given the irony in worrying about that on a Ducati forum.

Archimedes, good info ref different tire types- certainly don't have the expertise to challenge any of that. However, I still wonder if some level of pre-heat (presuming you can avoid overheating) wouldn't be a good thing. The best riding time for me is in the autumn up here, so it gets a bit cool at times and a few good corners are 3 min from my garage door. However, it would be a PITA to frig with stands, warmers and all that before riding.

Also, if the street tires on sport bikes weren't able to heat up quickly enough to cover the possibility that some riders push it too soon when heading out for a ride, I'm assuming tire company lawyers would be losing a lot of sleep...

That said, what is a "useful" mod for the street? 102 db exhaust? $2500 forks? $3000 carbon rims? >

IMO any money you spend on suspension is money well spent. You decide the amount.

 

[Speeddog]

IMO any money you spend on suspension is money well spent. You decide the amount.

+1. Lighter wheels are good too, same on the cost.

 

[Archimedes]

That said, what is a "useful" mod for the street? 102 db exhaust? $2500 forks? $3000 carbon rims? >

Suspension, suspension and suspension.

But then again, any mod that makes you enjoy your bike more is useful in my book. I would just put tire warmers WAY down on the list. And if I did use them, I wouldn't let anybody see me doing it. ;D

 

[sausage creature]

I bet they sell those to a lot of guys with ducs who ride around the block like 2 times a month and wear jackets helmets and socks that all say DUCATI.

 

[MNMONSTER750]

Just a little overkill in my mind

 

[Yoda9]

I bet they sell those to a lot of guys with ducs who ride around the block like 2 times a month and wear jackets helmets and socks that all say DUCATI.

They sell socks that say DUCATI.....where can I get some? But only if I can get some sock warmers too!

 

[subsonic]

I would just put tire warmers WAY down on the list. And if I did use them, I wouldn't let anybody see me doing it.

They'd never see me with the warmers - I'd get my sports psychologist/riding coach to go out and remove them first.

Observers would also be distracted by my Ducati socks, red handgrips, irridium screen and flush signal lights. Might even throw a clear tailight lens on the old girl.

In fact, if I went with LED lights, I could skip the warmers altogether - the brightness might simply tractor-beam my a$$ to the pavement.

....jackets helmets and socks that all say DUCATI

<looks in closet> Umm, hang on a minute...

I had sock warmers once, but they overheated and things got greasy. I've gone back to street socks and I pay more attention to heat cycles now.

Jokes aside, agree regarding value of suspension mods. I'm also thinking about adjustable bars/rearsets - better fit + better comfort = better control?