Tire pressure

[MoeMar]

Whats the best tire pressure for normal everyday riding? When I had the tires put on they said the pressure on the tire is too much. I think he had it set up for like a track day. I'm in Myrtle Beach SC so its warm to hot all the time I would be riding. any input for cooler, warm, to hot would be appreciated. BTW I put a 200 on the back

 

[c10]

What do you weigh ? two up ? I'm in hot Texas , and follow the 42 psi cold in the rear on my gen 2 , and it shows the best tire life , and I still get knee dragging grip with the pilot road 5 . I am a above average rider at light weight . If your not on a race track anything below 34 might be asking for a bent rim if you heavy .

 

[RedBull]

 

[MoeMar]

As big as I am you can say 2 up.. lol

 

[MoeMar]

I'm running Dunlup Sportmax Q2.

 

[1busa]

Around 38 in the front and 42 in the rear

 

[MoeMar]

just going down the street (been sitting) felt very heavy and a chore to ride. So I know its got to be low

 

[sixpack577]

I never put more than 36psi front and rear.
I go down a couple knee draggin, and up to 38psi rear if there's alot of highway.
All cold psi, and I let a couple lbs back out if I'm going to be riding for a while, as it raises 2-3 psi or more as the tires get hot.
The lower the psi the bigger the contact patch, which is why 34 psi front/rear hot is great for railing corners, but a couple more lightens the stearing and causes less tire wear for cruising.
A couple more psi in the rear still gives good control, but most of it is in the front,
so a bigger contact patch in front is ideal.
No way I'de run 42psi in a front, that's the max, the smallest and firmest contact patch, and is on the edge of giving up traction so much easier.
If you lose the rear, it fishtails, drifts, whatever, it's easy to handle, and usually alot of fun.
If you lose the front, usually you're f'd.
You can save it, but most times don't.
Try 36 front, 36-38 rear and see what you think of that.
If you have a passenger, add one psi to the rear above whatever you have it set at.
90 degree valve stems and a good small gage make them easy to check as they heat, when you stop during your ride.
The best way to adjust to your riding style and preference.
My 2 cents...for whatever that's worth.

 

[sixpack577]

You're also running awesome handling tires, but the rear will likely last half the mileage of the front. Because of the weight and torque of the Busa.
Next set of tires, try the same front, but a Dunlop Roadsmart sport touring rear.
Firmer compound, more life, less grip than a sport tire, but enough even for knee dragging.
Still keeping the sport tire in front, for best grip and control.
It's fine to run them mixed this way too, and they will wear out evenly, at the same time.
Even though you're not dragging knees through MB, you can be confident that your tires can handle any riding you do.
The little patch where the tire meets the road is it, it's nice to be confident in your tires.
Whatever works for the individual, but too high psi is bad.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I'm with six pack on this, very good advice, but I always run a matched pair of tyre, never mix them.

 

[Popie]

All good advice. It also depends on what you're doing... When I take a ride on my Busa I'm going for my idea of fun. I have a Shinko B on the front at 30psi. And an Ultrasoft on the back at 24psi. The Ultrasoft work's just fine with 10psi at the dragstrip. Even with a more standard road tire I wouldn't be over 32psi front and rear. I'm not doing twisties. But you can still lean into a corner with these tires at that lower pressure. If you set your TP when the tires are cold. It's not a bad idea to check again when they're warmed up. Even using nitrogen you will see an slight increase.

 

[AsleepAtTheTree]

For me cold temp- everyday ride
(stock)front 35psi (200/55)rear 15psi

But I mostly drag on the street, does jus fine in the corners, tho I'm not a GP rider either

 

[Kiwi Rider]

For me cold temp- everyday ride
(stock)front 35psi (200/55)rear 15psi

But I mostly drag on the street, does jus fine in the corners, tho I'm not a GP rider either

15psi in the rear?? wow . . . that's low, you will really heat that tyre up, it must roll in the sidewalls a fair bit in the corners too, not my idea of fun.

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

I run RS10 Bridgestones , and used to run 38 psi in front and 40psi cold pressures for street . Well since then , I been messing around a bit more with tire pressure with my previous and current front suspension settings , and I really am having fun with 32psi front and 34 psi rear cold on street . I do not generally stick around town , but out to open type roads , so I would expect to gather a bit of tire heat sooner than not . With my considerable weight , the bike feels so planted and now the tires grip like Kong onto Jane..... I love the ride feel at this pressure best .

 

[AsleepAtTheTree]

15psi in the rear?? wow . . . that's low, you will really heat that tyre up, it must roll in the sidewalls a fair bit in the corners too, not my idea of fun.

Never thought about the sidewall Rollin in!!!
Only bc u ride the sidewalls anyways...jus never crossed my mind

Tho like mentioned never had any problems

Doesn't mean I won't ever either!!!!

 

[ali123]

For me cold temp- everyday ride
(stock)front 35psi (200/55)rear 15psi

But I mostly drag on the street, does jus fine in the corners, tho I'm not a GP rider either

15 pounds of rear air pressure..... lol... jeesus man... with stockish power levels and even with a lil stretch.... I don't think ure gonna run into traction problems unless ure maxxing out the shock because of the stretch.... even the new 200 hp liter bikes and h2 run into wheelie problems waaaaay before traction issues...

 

[Mr Brown]

For me cold temp- everyday ride
(stock)front 35psi (200/55)rear 15psi

But I mostly drag on the street, does jus fine in the corners, tho I'm not a GP rider either

With 15 in the rear you're slowing the bike down. On a stock motor/swb setup it will hook with 25 or probably 30. You'll run out of arm before you run out of tire.

 

[Bumblebee]

I use the air pressure recommended in the owner's manual....I'm not that much of a cutting edge rider that 2-3 psi would make any difference.

 

[Red05]

35 front 40 rear; I've run that my whole life and am unable to change lol

 

[fallenarch]

I think people don't always think the tire pressure issue through. Low pressures are for traction, which is critical in most track situations. Tracks are smooth (relatively speaking) and fast. If you have ever wrestled your Busa with 30 psi in the tires through the pits the low speed handling is shot - slow, mushy and difficult. It's more than just wearing the tire faster. Also, a low pressure tire will follow every bump in the road, ridge, tar snake, etc. Low pressure tires don't perform as well in rain either, as the flattening of the tire closes the tread and water is not pumped out from under the contact patch as well. There is also feel. A low pressure tire will transmit absolutely everything back through the bars. That's what you need on the track, not so much on a bumpy, uneven backroad. Also egos aside, most people can't put that much heat in a tire - especially on the road.

Tires are made to work at certain pressures. A high mile, road oriented tire is not going to become a sport tire just because it has no air in it. A tire has several parts to it: A sidewall and 2 or 3 zones in the contact patch. Running pressures outside the design specs for a tire may or may not improve performance or safety.

So, my point is this: You should run multiple pressures. Set the bike up for your specific ride that day, the weather, air temps, expected road conditions, etc. When you buy a tire think about how you will run it, tires are actually very specialized for PSI and applications (road, track). This is not an "I always run this pressure" sort of thing.