Tyre Warmers/generators - advice for a virgin racer

[kwaka]

As i am a mechanical half wit, can anyone give me some advice on what tyre warmers to get. It seems you can get some cheapies (motrax) from e-bay but are they any good? If you pay the extra and get summat like Diamond warmers what are you getting for your extra dosh? Obviously they need to be supplied with a power source, so what sort of generator do i need to get?
Finally, and please dont laugh, the gap between the front tyre and mudguard is so small that i cannot see how the warmers would fit. Have tried adjusting the mudguard but it does'nt seem to alter. See - i told you i was a mechanical numpty. Cheers and thanks in anticipation!

[G]

Hi,
This may not be the best asking for racing advice, as there's not many of us.

However, I have been told diamond tyre warmers are better than the extra-cheap ones like motrax. I suspect better tempreture control and a better distribution of heat are advantages of the better ones.


Whjat bike have you got? You may need to bodge something to lift the mudguard up a bit if it's really that close.
Probably good practice anyway, as it could get nasty if a stone got caught underneat while riding.

For the generator, I think it's something like 1.2 or so for the tyre warmers. You porbably want a bit extra for other stuff and maybe enough to run two sets, so look at around 2.5kw. This equates to about 2.8kVA I think.
You want 240V AC and 12V DC if possible.
These can be found on ebay from about £180 I think.


What series are you racing in?
I'm gonna be in BMCRC rookie 600s as much as I can afford.

[Korn]

Popular opinion is that the Motrax tyre warmers are more for show than for go, at 850w they're a bit weedy. The Diamond warmers are a popular choice and will cost you around £150, they draw 1200w so bear this in mind when shopping for a generator. For around £250 you can find a set of Euroquip warmers which are slightly hotter and have the advantage of extra insulation built into the warmers, I think they draw 1500w.

What bike do you have? On my R6 the gap between the mudguard and the tyre is visibly quite tiny, especially with the steep profile of dry weather tyres - but the warmer still manages to squeeze in ok...
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[kwaka]

Hi G,
Riding a ZX6r G2, as yet i dont know which club(s) i'll be with as my licence is still being processed. As i am 48 in May, i was looking for a club that has an geriatric dodderer class but not holding out much hope. Let me know where your first race is and i'll come to watch.

[G]

Have you done a race school?

First race is in a couple of weeks at Snetterton!

I'm told the BMCRC rookie 600s are pretty competitive, but hopefully I'll at least still be able to hang on at the back .

A lot of people do reccomend getting along to a race meeting first to get an idea of what goes on.

There'll be other posts up nearer the time with details for people that do want to come along.

Looking at the euroquip website, theirs can do 85 degrees (think diamond are 80) with 650W each, so only a bit extra. I think the insulation is an option, so maybe cheaper without.

Think it's the same when buying pretty much any bike kit; avoid motrax unless there's a really good reason not to .

[kwaka]

Thanks for that Korn. will bite the bullet and buy the expensive ones. Just experimented by forcing a towel around the front wheel and you're right - it does go!

[kwaka]

Hi G,

Hav'nt done a race school but did a few track days last year. Sadly i realise that i am not competitive but racing is something i have got to try. Lap times at Mallory came down from 1'10" to 1'02" on the standard bike - fast lads were doing 54's - which means i would be lapped. I've changed the gearing and suspension and put Dunlop GP's on but first time out i crashed so i dont know what difference the changes have made (if any).

[Korn]

These also look quite good: https://www.tirewarmers.com/Technology/technology.html - also see this page. No proper UK distributor as yet so you'd have to import them, but they do 240v models for around £200.
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[kwaka]

Just got some Diamond warmers and a generator! F*@k me, i nearly choked when i started it up. Neighbours round to see what the racket was and did they need to call the fire brigade. Trying them out at Donington tomorrow so hopefully will not be wobbling around the way i was 3 weeks ago.

[G]

I got myself a 'quiet' generator... cost a bit more at £320 or so for 2.8kva/3kva max, but is relatively a lot quieter.