Tyre pressures. So What?

[Pbassred]

So the modern general tyre standard is 36psi front 42 rear. In his tuning videos Dave Moss says that this is only a starting point (like static sag, but that's another conversation). What does deviating from that standard give you? Why would you do it? How would you know it worked?

[Guest Swagman]

Everyone has their own opinions on this and that is up to the individual as usual, I stick 42/36 in mine and that’s what I keep them at, that is two up riding and have no problems with it.

[geofferz]

On track and off road people let them down considerably to get more traction (bigger contact patch). And on track the air heats up so much and exceeds oem specs if you ride hard which is double bad.

I haven't personally off roaded on a motorbike, but on a mountain bike (identical principle) you simple do not go anywhere uphill with tyres inflated to oem specs in boggy conditions - the wheel just spins. Drop 50% psi and you do.

[gogs01]

If you ride on the road, you're probably one of the 95% of riders on one of 95% of bikes who should be running 36psi front / 42psi rear.

If the handbook for your bike advises something different then you are probably ok going for what it says, but I would advise contacting the tyre manufacturer before going for them, especially if your bike is more than 20 years old - tyre technology changes.

If you're riding a Suzuki Hayabusa or BMW K1600 you probably know that both tyres should be at 42psi (and there are others .....)

Dave Moss's advice can only apply to track riding because it depends on being able to set the pressures cold, do a few laps, then check the pressures hot. This will allow you to arrive at an optimum pressure for maximum grip for that rider, that track and that ambient + track temperature. Bit of a faff for a track day, totally impractical for road riding.

I've ridden on a rear tyre with too low a pressure and taking a bend fast felt like the frame had a hinge in the middle - not recommended !

[husoi]

Then, you add some TPMS and find out that as you ride the pressure and temp on the rear goes up like crazy and the front one goes up by a few PSI as the tyre heats up.

[jedibiker]

I used to go by manufacturer spec of 36/36 but never felt right. I saw daves video about setting up for you based on weight etc and he did mention for road riding.

I added 2 psi to the rear until it felt better. at 40psi it feels great so didnt try 42. Ive not messed with the front but when I did my front shocks I felt every bump until i got settings right, and 34 was ok then. i dont go higher than 36 front.

[The Hitcher]

Ducatis recommended pressures in the handbook when I had my Panigale V4 were 33 front and 30 rear, felt about right on that, I run 36 and 38 on the R1 on the road which works well for me.

[Stu]

On the old GSXR's I had both had 36 front and rear and was fine but I was inexperienced and had huge chicken strips so never knew any different!

The TL1000s at the book pressures 36 front and rear I used to get movement on the rear tyre! I spoke to michelin about it whos tyres I was using and they recommended upping the pressure till the movement stopped but to not go above 42!

The movement stopped at 38 psi

On the FJR its 36F 42R

36 is way too low for the front on these big bikes and it feels so much better at 40 psi so that's what I run

[bonio]

26 and 29 on the DRZ. I think it's 17 all round on the VanVan. But 36 and 42 has worked well for me on everything else.

[S-Westerly]

The Multistrada according to owners handbook is 35 psi front and between 36 and 42 for the rear depending on load. I find about 40 works for me.

[Marino]

By the way, pressure that work on dry will not be good on wet. That why manufacturers have recommended pressures. Recommend pressure shall work on wet and dry.

As well depends from tyre walls, softer or harder, there is a lot of variables to be accounted. That’s why keeping recommended pressures or to stay in vicinity is very important.

[Pbassred]

I appreciate that different bikes have different recommendations and that people find a setting that works for them, but that does not actually answer the question; what does it do, and how do you know if its working. Is this just one of those things that we don't actually know?

[manxie49]

I tend to stick to what the handbook says for my road bike, my off roader however, well that's a different story, I ride 17 front and 17 rear, maybe up them a bit for rocky trails but 17psi works well for softer ground. Its the only bike I've ever really played around with when it comes to tyre pressures to find what works best for me.

Edited October 28, 2020 by manxie49

[Breezin]

I appreciate that different bikes have different recommendations and that people find a setting that works for them, but that does not actually answer the question; what does it do, and how do you know if its working. Is this just one of those things that we don't actually know?

 

On my (non-muscle) road bike, I would avoid going too high, as I intuitively would expect to lose grip, whiteline etc., and I would avoid going too low, because that means increased wear of expensive tyres.

32psi front and 36 rear as per the manual seems to work, and I haven't seen a compelling reason to deviate from those.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

The difficulty is that our road conditions are so variable it's very hard to change pressures and know what makes a difference. Grip levels round here are none existent at the moment as the roads are wet, covered in leaves and usually have a layer of mud and grit thrown in for good measure. I just stick to the recommended pressures and take it easy on the bends.

[Cpt_Tact]

I've always fiddled with tyre pressures but like everyone has said its very bike/ rider and tyre specific.

Most bikes that have said 36/42 I've usually ran around the 34/36F and 36/38R for on-road all year apart from that one time when we had a 30+ degree summer for nearly 6 weeks and then I dropped them further.

CBR600s - road 34/38 - Dunlops

KTM 950SM - road 34/34 - Dunlops

Dorsoduro 750 - road 32/32 - Dunlops

GSX-R600 - road 36/38, track 32/30 - Dunlops unless a really hot day and a grippy track then dropped further

GSX-R750 - road 36/38 - Dunlops and Pirellis

ST675R - road 36F 36/38R, track 30/32F 28/30R - Dunlops and Pirellis unless a really hot day and a grippy track then dropped further

XSR700 - 34/36 (stock) - Dunlops and 36/36 - Pirellis

If you haven't guessed I really like Dunlops and the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa 2s after trying everything else. Using those pressures above never caused any adverse tyre wear or handling problems. I always tried stock pressures first on any new bike to get the baseline (as with suspension setup) but always found the handling and ride improved as they dropped on the rear and occasionally on the front for Dunlops but with the Pirellis I always found going up on the front on road improved the handling and feel (probably because of the softer compound).

Or it's all in my head