An interesting take on tyre pressures

[HenryDorsetCase]

I'm not sure if that is the coolest name I've ever heard for a tyre or a scary nickname relating to it's grip!!!!

Its called a Bridgestone Trailwing. OEM. Its perfectly adequate for the bike's intended use, and the way I ride. I think the DeathWing name came about from the guys who punt them about aggressively offroad. I ride mine on shingle roads, and NZ chipseal, and they're fine.

Best part: $180 fitted. Compared to Diablo Corsa's that were on the Hornet I had, a freakin' bargain!!

I'm 74 or 75kg ready to ride

[ellipsis]

....bloody tyres....

[Al]

I run 40 front and 42 rear on the Beemer.
The bike is rather heavy and I am no "slim-jim" at 100kg...

[TimeOut]

The next question is, how accurate are your tyre gauges!

I've found a 5 psi difference even in the same make/model of gauge.

I checked mine against the local bike shop who have there's calibrated regularly

[YellowDog]

The next question is, how accurate are your tyre gauges!

I've found a 5 psi difference even in the same make/model of gauge.

I checked mine against the local bike shop who have there's calibrated regularly

Great Point !

I've not had any problems with squaring off however I do enjoy my cornering, which may account for that. IMO - The tyre manufacturers are in the business of selling more tyres and also have a legal responsibility over the advice they give, hence it will not be performance related.

I have spoken to many about tyre pressures and have come to a trial and error agreement that the recommended 42 rear is reduced to 39 and the recommended 36 front is reduced to 34. For long motorway journeys I bump back up to the recommended pressures.

The Gas stations are dangerously inaccurate, as are the pointy needly thing on the home pumps. Worst off, they tend not to be consistently inaccurate so you can't accurately guestimate.

I carry a pen sized pressure guage on the bike as I am quite fussy with my tyre pressures.

Whatever makes you feel confident is the right tyre pressure setting for you

[slofox]

The next question is, how accurate are your tyre gauges!

I've found a 5 psi difference even in the same make/model of gauge.

I checked mine against the local bike shop who have there's calibrated regularly

My practice is to use one gauge and one only. It doesn't really matter if it is not 100% accurate if you use it to set suitable pressures and stick to them...

There's a lot of discussion out there re pressures. Maybe I just need to experiment over a longish period of time and develop a set of pressures that feel right to me...

[slofox]

I go entirely from a reccomendation supplied by the tyre manufacturer,

Where do you find these recommendations please Mishy? I have looked all over and found none so far...

[slofox]

Incidentally, HERE is a thread that I have read recently...

This is where some of the ideas being mooted here have come from. especially those relating to maximum pressures and loadings.

[vifferman]

My answer would be "It depends" (on tyre brand type, riding style, load, bike, etc etc.)
On the last few bikes I've owned, I haven't deviated far from the recommended pressures (usually 36F 42R) and run 36F and 40R. I've been running a bit lighter in the rear tyre lately, as although it's still just leagal WRT tread depth, the tyre has done its heat cycles and lost a lot of grip, so needs some coaxing to get up to temperature. Even then it tends to spin up if I accelerate out of corners in first gear.
The front's a different kettle of worms. VFRs tend to load the front end quite a lot, and are hard on tyres as a result. Running less than 36 means the tyre doesn't last long. Plus the current Storm tends to wander a bit (a general tendency with Avons) if the pressure's even a couple of PSI low.
The rest comes down to comfort: too much air, and you feel every little ripple and bump. Too little, and there's insufficent feedback, and the bike can feel a little unresponsive when cornering.

[p.dath]

One of the things I read said that the maximum pressure on the tyre (42psi in your case) is NOT the recommended but the MAXIMUM pressure you can run it at. Should only be used when "fully laden" (whatever that means).
So if you are a lightish sort of person, and don't load up with luggage, you wouldn't run it at maximum.

I think this might vary a lot with the bike. But the manual for my CBR600 says 32psi is the RECOMMENDED pressure for a single rider, and has a separate set of pressures for when the bike is laden.

[p.dath]

I'm guessing the actual tyre pressure to be used will depend on what you are expecting from the tyres, and what you are asking the tyres to do, and as a result any general "recommend" tyre pressure will be a compromise between several factors.

For me, I'm a sedate road rider. And I would like the tyres to last a reasonable amount of time. I use the bike manufacturers recommendations.

Other road riders might cane their bike, get the tyres so hot they can't touch them, and not care about tyre life, so they might opt for a lower cold tyre pressure.

[MSTRS:Me]

I'm a low pressure sort of guy...8 psi in the rear.

You running rimlocks with that?

Pressure recommendations are as varied as 'which tyre should I get?'
If there is such a thing as optimum pressure, it is subjective to each individual bike/rider/tyre model, as we are all after slightly differing things out of our tyres.
As for higher pressures giving higher mileage? One manual I read said 36f/42r on the 750, another said 37/37. I arrived at 34f and 37r as feeling 'right' on PR2s and got over 17,000kms. Oh, and I don't change that with a pillion either.

[HenryDorsetCase]

My practice is to use one gauge and one only. It doesn't really matter if it is not 100% accurate if you use it to set suitable pressures and stick to them...

There's a lot of discussion out there re pressures. Maybe I just need to experiment over a longish period of time and develop a set of pressures that feel right to me...

good point that.

[MSTRS:Me]

good point that.

Yep. But also, be sure that the gauge you do use returns the same reading every time. Not all do, especially those cheap little pop-up pencil types.

[MikeL]

For both my bikes I find the manufacturer's recommendations too low. The Honda specifies 33 and the Yamaha 36 F and R, but especially with the XJR I find 39 R is much better (I stick to 36 in the front). At 36 R the XJR wallows a bit but at 39 it's much tighter on the corners.
As for tyre pressure gauge accuracy, the worst example I came across was a gauge built into a foot pump, which showed 20 psi difference (higher) than a separate gauge (the latter was reasonably consistent with service station pressures).