Tyre pressures - advice sought

[StoneY]

Ok, my turn to sound NEW ignorant and NOOBY
Ive owned a lot of bikes by my standards, very few by other peoples

Ive never seen a bike tire at over 40PSI till I checked my ST4- rear was 46 and front was 42!!!!!

I had been unhappy with the handling, felt like I was 'skating' and had no real grip yet I have supposedly awesome tires, Pilot Powers!

I reset the pressures to 35f/36r and wow shes gripping MUCH better and the ride feels a lot more....stickier, cushioned, smoother...... far more confident all round!

BUT the handbook also has the pressures up over 40 reccomended! Min 42 f and min 44 r!!!!!!!

ADVICE please,
Go with 'my feel' at mid 30's, or go with the books reccomended 40+ settings and look at the suspension setup to make the ride more as I enjoy?

I thought anything over 33 was 'sufficient' for the tire to work right?
Or do some flavours NEED that higher pressure despite rider feel?

[Elysium]

You could always try this Hydrogen or what ever that gas is racers like to put in their tyres. I think they do them to car tyres at Firestone now too.
On my bike I have shitty Shinko's on the front and they take ages to warm up and apparently if I use the recommended tyre pressure, I end up having too much pressure in the tyre as they warm up.

Oh and its "Tyres" not "Tires"

[st00ji]

nitrogen they use, much more stable (ie doesnt expand nearly as much with heat as plain air does)

costs a bit and you have to use it exclusively - moisture causes issues apparently, dont remember the details

[celticbhoy]

On mine I run 36F 38R (pilots also) but I have not played with suspension much yet. Other week on long run to Napier they were right down - as far as 28 I think for rear by the time I found a working air hose on the backroads. Was an awesome ride as seemed really sticky!!! Trouble was got to Napier and had scrubbed off the tread to almost slicks from being at least 50%!!! Was having bit of fun tho.....

[Lurch]

Nitrogen!

Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.

78% !

[James Deuce]

If you're tired under pressure, have a sleep.

[avgas]

you ride to slow if you have to go below the recommended pressures.
May i suggest you swap bikes with me.

[_Shrek_]

it depends on what/where you ride don't forget running at 35/36psi cold they will heat up to 40/42 when hot, but if it feels right & you feel secure then these no prob
pm Larikin, Far-que, Mista, NighthawkNZ, McJim & see what they all those duc thingy's

[Morepower]

it depends on what/where you ride don't forget running at 35/36psi cold they will heat up to 40/42 when hot, but if it feels right & you feel secure then these no prob
pm Larikin, Far-que, Mista, NighthawkNZ, McJim & see what they all those duc thingy's

Agree , run what feels right for you. The TL is recommended 36 / 36 and thats where I tend to keep it .

[sinfull]

What temp you checking them at ?
What tyres ya checking ?
Ex race or road tyres ?
You happy with what ya found, coool !
Me i'm riding two up on race tyres (road ride) with 36/42 cold and it's working for me !
Same tyre i'd drop to 26/28 for the track !

[MSTRS:Me]

You are checking those pressures cold? There should be a 10% increase in pressure once they reach optimum working temp.

[StoneY]

All good points gents

What I am looking for mostly, and can start to see a picture of what I need to know forming here, is what are the consequences of the different pressures and tyre (ty for that) vs lifespan/performance

I see obvious referral to soft= stickier but faster wear

Surely 46-42 is too high for a mere sport tourer thats not really being ridden as hard as it can (by a long measure indeed)

I have snuck it back up a touch to 38r and 36f, and have found what seems to be the perfect feel coming home over Mt Wainui

So, at the higher pressures I could not feel traction or road AT ALL, I imagine any lower than I went already would feel baggy....
Is it possible the 46-42 is for the concrete autobahns in europe?

[MSTRS:Me]

What are the consequences?
It's a hard one to answer, cos all bikes are different. At a pinch, I'd have to say that too soft will lead to squirmy feel, overheating, odd wear patterns and reduced life. Too hard will lead to a harsh ride, lack of grip being under temp, increased wear in the centre.
I run the 750 at 33f and 37r - seems to be perfect (for me)

[sinfull]

All good points gents

What I am looking for mostly, and can start to see a picture of what I need to know forming here, is what are the consequences of the different pressures and tyre (ty for that) vs lifespan/performance

I see obvious referral to soft= stickier but faster wear

Surely 46-42 is too high for a mere sport tourer thats not really being ridden as hard as it can (by a long measure indeed)

I have snuck it back up a touch to 38r and 36f, and have found what seems to be the perfect feel coming home over Mt Wainui

So, at the higher pressures I could not feel traction or road AT ALL, I imagine any lower than I went already would feel baggy....
Is it possible the 46-42 is for the concrete autobahns in europe?

Cold or hot ? 46 WTF ?

[Mom]

My bike handles like a piece of crap with the sort of pressures you would think "normal". Wobbles all over the show, wallows even Personally I would not have believed that a couple of psi in a tyre could make such a dynamic difference to my ride, but it does.

I dont have fancy pants tyres, but my bike is old and heavy and needs a bit more pressure in the tyres than you would normally think to use. If your handbook is saying run 42, then run 42. If she still handles like a dog then maybe you will have to review your suspension set up