Total Motorcycle Community Forums

First off, yes, soft tires warm up quicker, but they also will have a tendency to over heat as well due to the flexing of the side wall. If a sidewall is flexing too much for any length of time, tire failure is a serious possibility, (low pressure is the most common cause of tire failure.)

You should follow the bike manufacturers recomended tire pressure, not the writing on the side of the tire, the pressures on the side of a tire tell you the limits of the tire and some bikes will not handle well at the printed pressures.

If it is an older bike and the tire manufacturer says it is suitable for the bike, then the manufacturer recomended pressures shouldn't change. As Mintbread said, it is the tire compound that will make the most difference to traction.

Mintbread wrote:

CNF2002 wrote:Check your owners manual, not necessarily the tire (especially if it is a nonstock tire).

What?!
That is completely wrong. If you have a non stock tyre on your bike, how is the manual going to know what it is and its capabilities? My manual was printed 10 years ago and tyres have come along since then... Always check the tyre.

Lowering the pressure is simply going to reduce the life of a tyre and reduce the handling capabilities of the bike. Tyre compounds make the difference, not the pressure.

I stand corrected. But I have read many times that the psi listed on the tire may not be suitable for the vehicle, and that any tire that doesn't handle the recommended vehicle psi shouldn't have been installed on the vehicle in the first place, and that the tire psi is the maximum the tire can handle, not necessarily the amount the vehicle should be riding on.

Beyond that I look forward to reading more information on the subject!

The tire manufacturer can only tell you the safe max. pressure for their tire. The bike manufacturer can only tell you what worked best for them (which usually means the safe minimum pressure)...

Proper tire pressure is basically a balance of wear/traction/loss/etc... so if you want better wear and reduced loss bumping the pressure up is good. If you want traction and don't care if your tires fail in a few thousand miles cutting it might be good... the limits are when the tires start damaging themselves (pulling off the rim, popping, etc).

The advice I've seen (though I haven't tried doing this) for optimum performance is to start with the bike's recommended pressures cold and go for a ride of the sort you like (i.e. for verm it would be a canyon run)... immediately after the best part of the ride pull over and check the pressure... If it goes up less than 10% front/20% rear, reduce the pressure. More than 10/20%, increase the pressure.

Personally, I tend to run a few % under max PSI on most vehicles because I usually prefer the fuel economy/prolonged life over marginally better traction or smoother ride.

-Holiday wrote:i fill mine up once a year to whatever it says on the sidewall. then, if they get so low the bike starts bottoming out, i fill them up, or go on a diet as needed.

I hope this is a joke... ?

i tired 31-33 today... it worked well for me.

It's over a 100 F in LA today, why on earth do you need help heating up the tires?

Actually I've had experience that running at a lower PSI will make turning a little more sluggish but comfortable. I usually go 1 PSI higher and the bike feels like it falls into corners easily.

What'dya mean 100f in LA? It's effin freezing! I rode in to work today in fog and drizzle, water soaking through my mesh jacket and every part of me (except my feet and heads) freezing, seriously wishing I had an aerostitch suit. It took an hour to warm up once I got to the office. I've been wondering what happened to the summer!?!? The spring was cold... snow didn't melt off the local mountains until May.... real summer weather only started in late June we're back to winter weather before July is even over. It's warmer in January most years.

summer is overrated!

fall is the best!

and yeah, it's been cloudy lately... just the way i like it.

I don't mind clouds unless I'm riding through them. Wet fog ain't fun in mesh... It was probably 60f but at 80MPH that feels effin cold when you are basically wearing a tee shirt. My gloves were soaked through... what a whiner!

Fall is nice... you actually get some wind which is a welcome change... but winter/early spring is the best... rain (if you are dressed for it, or at least not freezing your fingers off wearing summer gear on a motorcycle) is the best.

earwig wrote:

-Holiday wrote:i fill mine up once a year to whatever it says on the sidewall. then, if they get so low the bike starts bottoming out, i fill them up, or go on a diet as needed.

I hope this is a joke... ?