[CoachP7]

I bought PR3's mid summer last year and been keeping pretty much to spec - 36/41. This year, been riding lots of 2up so been keeping it around the same. Last year, tho, was experimenting around 31/36. Quite liked it .. after getting some use to it. Was different .. but I liked it.

 

[Lag 4]

I don't see the optimum tire pressure question as anything to do with talent, it is however a bit of a moving target as has been discussed,,.

HoloQuest, the one I have is called a Cheifton from Amazon for around 60 dollars, its completely wireless, all Bluetooth and only needs to be charged every three months,. I had the new PP3's mounted at the local Kawasaki dealer and they were very impressed with this device,,. They told me that it was deadly accurate with there calibrated compressor, a requirement by Kawasaki to meet correct OEM pressures in the new bikes they sell, hey also do significant tire sales,,. I don't know but I would think that they have the H2o thing covered as well,,. As I mentioned Ive observed a 54 degree temperature difference from lowest to highest which at 1 PSI per 10 degree F would work out to 5.4 psi hot to ,,. Similarly the TPMS has accurately indicated a 6 psi range so far,,.

The whole point is that if you run cold 36 front and 42 rear, when they heat up you will have 42 psi front and 48 psi rear,,.

 

[Mark59]

That pressure increase is one reason i ran nitrogen in our race karts tires to control the increase in pressure, it actually works pretty good and really not that expensive once you get a small bottle and nitrogen gauge, i got my nitrogen from a welding supply shop for nearly nothing.

 

[luciano136]

That's a very open ended question with several factors to consider and the best the option is to use the recommended hot psi provided by the tire manufacturer. Hot temp is measured right when getting off the bike after a ride.

If no info is provided by the tire manufacturer, I found that using a slightly lower psi than recommended in your owner's manual works best. I typically lower the rear a bit more than the front, so instead of using 36/42, I go with ~ 34/39 (cold). If you do aggressive canyon riding, I'd drop the rear another 2-3 psi.

 

[Lag 4]

Just to further the discussion a bit,,.
What all your thoughts on psi levels effects on tire wear,,. I'm thinking that if you run the OEM 36/42 Psi cold you would actually be riding at closer to 42/48 Psi most of the time and perhaps this would result in more of a flat-lining wear pattern then you would get at lower Psi,,. Just thinking out loud but for all round street riding would you get better tire wear with the lower pressures?

 

[luciano136]

Just to further the discussion a bit,,.
What all your thoughts on psi levels effects on tire wear,,. I'm thinking that if you run the OEM 36/42 Psi cold you would actually be riding at closer to 42/48 Psi most of the time and perhaps this would result in more of a flat-lining wear pattern then you would get at lower Psi,,. Just thinking out loud but for all round street riding would you get better tire wear with the lower pressures?

That logic makes sense to me. The higher the pressure, the smaller the contact patch with the road. In general, most vehicle recommended tire pressures seem to be set with max speed in mind; in that case, an underinflated tire could overheat and fail. When it comes to actual tire wear in regular driving/riding, I found that slightly lower is best.

 

[57x]

To refute that theory, the lower the pressure the more heat due to tread movement, and therefore friction. When I get a new set of tires I put about 20 PSI in them and accelerate/brake violently to break them in quickly. I often see huge temperature jumps with this approach.

And to argue with myself, I seem to get great mileage from my tires and run them at a low 32/33 PSI all the time. I have been getting around 8000 miles out of a set of S21s. My girlfriend runs the same tires and pressures as I did with similar miles on the tires.

I just can't seem to find the engineering details behind the relationship between air pressure and tire wear. I would love to understand it better. I just know I am more comfortable with lower pressures than many of my friends.

 

[Lag 4]

Thats interesting 57X,,,so are you setting your tire pressure at 32/33 PSI (sitting on the garage floor cold) or is that after you drive somewhere for air,,.

 

[57x]

Thats interesting 57X,,,so are you setting your tire pressure at 32/33 PSI (sitting on the garage floor cold) or is that after you drive somewhere for air,,.

Cold, before I ride. I find a bicycle pump works fine if I need to add a pound or two. Also, I rarely loose air over time since I installed 90 degree metal valve stems.

 

[57x]

I had to go to 33/34 on my H2 SX SE since it is about 50 lbs heavier than the N1K. I felt the bike was pushing in the corners at 32/33.

 

[rcannon409]

One tough aspect we have, on motorcycles is the tire wear and air pressure.

It's not unusual formus to see strange tire wear, and then blame the pressure. In ways, it's all we have control over.

Once your suspension is valve and sprung, for your weight, the crazy wear often goes away.

 

[Avintage69]

I had to go to 33/34 on my H2 SX SE since it is about 50 lbs heavier than the N1K. I felt the bike was pushing in the corners at 32/33.

@57x on the S21s I ran. I noticed at mid 30s cold on normal roads they started wearing funny up front. It created a flat top triangle of sorts there, maybe better discribe as out side the hard center strip they were wearing faster then down the center.
At 39 cold I couldn't see ether changing and at 41 cold the center caught up after a 1000 or so. Then ran the front at 38 39 except when things really warranted it. Again all this was on very mild roads where the most exciting thing to hit hard were the clover leaf exits. So leaning the bike more than 10° would take serious speed. I thought that just off center area was were most of the turns took place at. Any way I said all that to ask if you had the issue seeing the pressure you run?

 

[57x]

I live near goat trails with tight turns, increasing radius' and sharp elevation changes all around me. I do have some "slabbing" areas that knock the center down some, but I work to take those roads as little as possible. I always wear the sides of my tires out well before the center. We have quite cool weather here, most of the year not getting over 80 degrees, but it rarely drops below 50 degrees also. There has to be some good parts of living in the People's Republic of California or nobody would stay.

 

[rcannon409]

Mine is opposite. If you showed up , at my house, and had only 1-1.5 hours to ride, the only turns I could guide you to are freeway exits or entrances.

I don't see a lot of rain, and I think a sport tire is more safe. That being said, my dream tire is the soft outside, and the Harley guy centerr rubber.

The shortest turn filled run would be about a 70 mile ride, for 8 miles of turns.