Spring's New Beginnings

It's been a long cold Winter in Chicagoland.
As I had bought my Tricolore during the Fall last year I hadn't spent much time on it; not enough to play with settings etc. Really only a couple of rides.
I remember being a little disappointed as it didn't seem to want to turn in as easily as my old 996S did. Nor did it instinctively go where I wanted it to go. When I rode my 996 it felt like it was an extension of my body, part of me that would track around bends by my thought process alone.
Thankfully Spring has finally made its arrival and with the wife and kids out of town I could also justify some evening rides to get better acquainted with the Panigale.
I swapped the comfort seat that the previous owner had fitted for the standard seat he threw in as part of the deal and immediately I felt like I was part of the bike again, just as I had with the 996. I felt that I was sitting on top of the bike with the comfort seat on.
I played around a little with tyre pressures and a cold setting of 32psi front and 34psi rear made all the difference in handling for me.
I'm finally looking forward to getting out and riding it . . . just need to find a few decent roads on which to do so. I have been told a little north of Madison, WI is nice.
Here's to a great, exciting and safe riding season everyone.
Cheers,

Sammo

Hey Sammo, I'm out in Plainfield. I have a nice little route out to Starved Rock. I'd also be game to explore north of Madison.

PM me if you ever interested in going out for a run.

Oh, and if we do ride together you'll need ear plugs. Thank Phl for that...

fellow midwesterners JPKII & Sammo;

indeed there are quite a number of excellent roads up here in SE Wisconsin.

In fact there is a pretty cool bi annual gathering/ride coming up in May that explores roads North of Madison, perhaps some of the same you had heard of:

Slimey Crud Run | Pine Bluff to Leland and back!Slimey Crud Run | Pine Bluff to Leland and back!

A bit closer to Chgo, just north of Lake Geneva / Elkhorn & east of Whitewater on RT12 you can jump into the lower Kettle Morraine via Hwy H thru Palmyra. Really nice section leading into scenic routes. Lots to explore in those areas, quality roads & scenery.

This site put together a nice loop in that area, Lower Kettle Moraine Wisconsin | Wisconsin Motorcycle Rides and Motorcycle Roads

ride safe.

Question for the OP...

Did increasing the tire pressures really help? What you have listed for the rear is above what the manual recommends. I may adjust mine.

steveved said:

Question for the OP...

Did increasing the tire pressures really help? What you have listed for the rear is above what the manual recommends. I may adjust mine.

Click to expand...

Only if your going to go slow.



Over the years the typical pressure is 32f 31r

I run 31f and 30r and my bike does everything asked


When rode in traffic or slow, this complaint is typical. You start hitting over a 100mph 34r can be an issue.

Good to know. I have only been over 100mph once since picking up my 1199 last week. I only have 145 miles on it now and am trying to explore the handling qualities while I wait to break it in.

steveved said:

Good to know. I have only been over 100mph once since picking up my 1199 last week. I only have 145 miles on it now and am trying to explore the handling qualities while I wait to break it in.

Click to expand...

Even in second gear, if your even half on the pipe canyon carving below a 100, you still want 30-31 rear cold.


A few pounds less in the rear is not going to change turn in much, over what the front pressure does. 31f-32f works really well at all speeds.

Steveved and Outhouse:-
You are absolutely correct - I was a long way away from "giving it the berries" as it was much more a case of getting to know a bike that i'd had for 6 months but hadn't had a chance to ride because it's been way too cold/snowy.
Therefore the tyre pressures I listed are definitely not what you'd need when riding in a, ahem, spirited fashion up and down canyons or on a track - they just happened to be ones that felt best whilst I was trundling <70mph around a 60f Chicagoland earlier this week.
My manual lists the standard tyre pressures as 30.46psi front and 31.9psi rear so I am around a couple of psi up on both.
The front particularly felt much better and the steering was heaps quicker.
I wonder if the rear pressure raised the rear ride height a mm or two? That would also speed up the steering.
Don't discount the benefit of going back to the stock seat. Everything felt a lot more natural over the comfort seat.

To be honest, I left my front at 32psi, but raised the rear to 35 before going out for a ride 3 hours ago.

I must say that turn in was a little quicker through the twisties than when I only had 32 in the rear. Odd that 3 psi made a noticeable difference, but it did.

I am now up to 200 miles on her and she didn't smoke today! Hopefully, that is all behind me.

I think I will leave the rear a little over inflated for a while, I kind of like it this way.

I'm with outhouse on street pressures, cold 31/29 f/r seems to work well for the supercorsa sp with Ohlins ttx and 25 mm / 1.0 up front tuned for my weight.

Once I got it sprung correctly, dialed suspension in for feel, I dealt with turn in with the bikes geometry by raising the rear almost 10mm with the suspension link SATO RACING | Suspension Link Rod - Ducati 1199 Panigale / S

If I started with an increase in pressure, the tires would show increase wear & cold tear. Not good. I can usually count on 2-3 lbs pressure increase at speed. Overall, I found the sp to be a great street tire and as well fantastic track day tire that does not require warmers. Starting @ 31 front 29 rear