tire pressure

[rww930]

i was low, near 30 front and rear so i upped both to 40. the ride sucked! i backed both down to 35 and much better. i have a 98 tourer with metzlers.

curious what others do...

[Wildman]

Lower pressure is good for comfort put not for tire life and performance.
Most people that have posted on this subject run 40 front and 42 rear, minimum, and some are up to 44 up front & 48 in the rear.

If you push your bike hard in the corners you should probably increase youe pressures.

I'm not sure what the manual says but I'd be surprised if its below 34 PSI

[Chrisj CMA]

Dunlop E3 40(F)  42(R) no matter what one up two up trailer no trailer hot cold slab, twisties......always the same......never had a problem over 20K on tires always

[Farther]

Metzlers recommends front 38-42 and rear 40-42 depending on the weight being carried.  I have been running 45 in both front and rear and after only 5k miles I am getting a flat spot on my rear Metzler. 

[JetDriver]

Lower pressure is good for comfort put not for tire life and performance.

If you push your bike hard in the corners you should probably increase youe pressures.

I agree with increasing pressures for tire life, but I'm thinking a lower pressure will increase the size of the contact patch, thereby increasing grip in the corners.  Just my thought- have not pushed it enough to know it's true.

[DFragn]

Lower pressure is good for comfort put not for tire life and performance.

If you push your bike hard in the corners you should probably increase youe pressures.

I agree with increasing pressures for tire life, but I'm thinking a lower pressure will increase the size of the contact patch, thereby increasing grip in the corners.  Just my thought- have not pushed it enough to know it's true.

+1 Agreed. The higher the pressure the smaller the patch.

And, it's my belief with some of these really high pressures the tire is very hard and could loose contact with the pavement over small bumps and skip out. And, with the reduced patch recovery is reduced. Prolly not good for the peg grinders here [which I'm one of] not on bumpy curves anyway. I won't run 'em at those PSI's.
I do believe the higher psi's reduce [not eliminate] cupping though.

I'm currently running:

Front: Bias Kenda K671 (Rear Tire - reverse mount) 150/70-17, 33 psi. (Tread new is 10/32 Looks like a snow tire or mudder) Yes, it sticks like glue laying it way over.

Rear: GoodYear Assurance Triple Tred Radial  205/60-16, 34 psi.

Progressive Fork springs & rear 440's.

Best ride this bike has ever given me in 80k miles/12 yrs.

IMHO of course.  

[Jess from VA]

I ran multiple pairs of Metz (and no others) on my two interstates, and got the best ride, handling, grip, breaking, and longevity with 44-5 rear 43-4 front.  Dragging boards at high speed, rain, and all weather too.  The max pressures printed on the sidewalls of both front and rear is 50psi.  These pressures are not too high.  And I never had any problem with irregular wear or cupping, not once.

Run them in the 30's and lose 1/3 or more of your tire life.... and the tires run hotter.  

[John U.]

I ran multiple pairs of Metz (and no others) on my two interstates, and got the best ride, handling, grip, breaking, and longevity with 44-5 rear 43-4 front.  Dragging boards at high speed, rain, and all weather too.  The max pressures printed on the sidewalls of both front and rear is 50psi.  These pressures are not too high.  And I never had any problem with irregular wear or cupping, not once.

Run them in the 30's and lose 1/3 or more of your tire life.... and the tires run hotter. 

I agree, I've never felt a lack of traction/handling at mid forties pressures. I have noticed quicker wear and cupping at lower pressures (30's). I think 42 front and 44/5 rear should be the starting point, unloaded. When carrying an added person or gear add some pressure.

[fudgie]

40-42 on my Front Metz. I get 22k out of them.

[R J]

48-50 in my frront Metz.
36 in my GoodYear Triple Tread rear.....

[PatrickDoss]

What's this?  A thread about something as controversial as tire pressures, and everyone seems to be in relative agreement with what's being said regarding pros and cons of different pressures?  Is this bizarro world?

[Ferris Leets]

I run mine at a minimum pressure.  All that extra weight from the air in the tires is bad for your mpg.  45# + 42# that's 87# extra to push around.  I think it would be a good idea to fill the tires with either Helium or Hydrogen.
How is that for a different opinion R.J.?

[Gunslinger]

Lower pressure is good for comfort put not for tire life and performance.

If you push your bike hard in the corners you should probably increase youe pressures.

I agree with increasing pressures for tire life, but I'm thinking a lower pressure will increase the size of the contact patch, thereby increasing grip in the corners.  Just my thought- have not pushed it enough to know it's true.

+1 Agreed. The higher the pressure the smaller the patch.

IMHO of course.  

Ok, Let the games begin!
I came across some interesting information following links a little while back regarding contact patch and traction.

Evidently... Contact patch has little to nothing to do with traction
http://www.stevemunden.com/friction.html
Second Law of Friction
The coefficient of friction is independent of the apparent area of contact.

I am still not completely convinced, as I feel there is a difference between static friction and rolling friction, but I am certainly not an expert on the subject and will deffer to the experts for now.

[Mildew]

All I know is I get twice the wear out of my front Metzler after I've been keeping it a pinch above 42 psi. I've never felt much noticeable difference running lower pressure unless the tire is flat.  Their is not much hope for a rear M/C tire on the valk at any pressure.

[R J]

I run mine at a minimum pressure.  All that extra weight from the air in the tires is bad for your mpg.  45# + 42# that's 87# extra to push around.  I think it would be a good idea to fill the tires with either Helium or Hydrogen.
How is that for a different opinion R.J.?

You done good Ferris......    LOL...   

[JetDriver]

Ok, I'm also no expert, and I only read the front page of the link, but I'll bite.  I think I can accept that the size of the contact patch doesn't matter, but increasing the pressure in the tire makes the tire harder, and, I would think, less sticky.  Decreasing the pressure makes the tire softer and more sticky.  So it's not the size of the contact patch, but the tires will still grip better with less pressure.  Secondly, my bike weighs approximately 800 lbs.  When I'm riding in a straight line, all 800 lbs are pressing straight down on the road.  When I lean into a curve, my bike still weighs 800 lbs, but some of that weight is now pushing towards the outside of the turn, thereby leaving something less than 800 lbs pressing onto the roadway, meaning I have less friction in the turn.  Maybe, since the tires are not sliding (hopefully), they're still holding the whole 800 lbs to the ground, but they're using more of the available traction, thereby leaving less traction for braking or other things that require traction.

I'm just playing with ideas I learned from the link.  Maybe Ferris is right- 45# is a lot of weight to carry; I'm just going to let all the air out and see how they do.

[Tundra]

Solo.............33psi rear, (Goodyear Triple Tread). 40psi front, (Avon Cobra).
Passenger.....36psi rear, 42psi front
Tire pressure checked every time the bike leaves the garage, it's that important.

[DFragn]

Tire pressure checked every time the bike leaves the garage, it's that important.

We may not all agree on pressures. But, that's one thing all riders should agree on.

It's easy to check with a pencil gauge. It's even easier to blow off stopping by the nearest service station and top the psi off if needed, we all know the rarity of well functioning air pumps too. How 'bout the ones that let more air out then in!

It's even easier then that to [at the least] purchase a very inexpensive 2 gal. 100 psi compressor. You don't have to buy an 80 Gallon, 175 PSI Air Compressor.
12v pumps are good to carry on the road, but most won't hold up for long if used regularly.

And checking before each ride [even if daily] can inform you of a potential hazard already picked up and destined to possibly ruin your day or worse.

Even while out riding I'll at the least put an eye ball & hand on my tires when taking a break or fueling up.

[Spirited-6]

I have 880`s on my Tourer with almost 10,000 miles on them. Maybe another 5,000 on rear. I keep 40 front and 41 rear. Front  looks like maybe another 6 to 8,000.