Tire pressure?

MeatGrinder

Registered
Many times I've read posts with riders saying they use different tire pressures than what the owners manual states.
What advantages are there to using less pressure? Street or track? Handling or ride? This would be for any sportbike.
 
I run 32 in the front and 30 in the rear.  At the track and street!  This is recommended for track.. But I use it at all times.

Road course track that is.. not 1/4 mile track.. I ma sure you go MUCH lower at the drap strip.... my guess like 15 psi in the rear...



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I think they recommend pretty high pressure (42 psi both if I remember) to avoid liability when tire blows out due to overheating when folks don't check tire pressure, and ride with something like 20 psi. If you have 42, even after a while you still be in the 30th assuming you lost some due to temp going down, etc.

Also depends on how you ride. Lower pressure for more traction.

I use 35f/38r for just highway riding, 33f/36r for aggressive riding in the twisties, and 30f/32r on the racetrack. Give, or take 1 - 2 psi depending on ambient temp: if it's very cold, I would reduce even more by 1 - 2 psi; if it's very hot, I might add 1 - 2 psi to those numbers.
 
See, you both have different pressures. With one of you using MORE pressure in the front.
Will less pressure make the ride cushier?



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Primary reason I always use less on the front is to make sure the front has more traction with all other things being equal.

I don't mind rear sliding, but not the front.

In some cases (more on the race track), riders use super soft front, and medium soft rear. This is another way to achieve better traction on the front, so the pressure on the front can be higher.

I am not sure about softness of the ride. I don't feel big difference. Certainly not from 1 - 2 psi difference. Perhaps, 42 psi vs. 30 psi would be noticeable.
 
i run about 38 on both. if the psi is too low, a heavy bike like the busa will cause the tires to cupped especially the front.
 
Running a lower pressure will cause a lot of heat build up which is good for the track, but not for the street. Lower pressures will make the bike feel heavy in the turns unless you're on the track. I run about 30 psi in the front and back while on the track, but 36 front and back on the street. Lower pressures will also cause accellerated wear.

Try an experiment: Find a bicycle. Ride it with proper tire pressure while peddling and tuning. Now reduce the tire pressure by 1/3. Repeat the riding and see the difference it makes. It will feel wobbly at low speeds and it will be harder to handle.
 
42 long traveling stints or high speed runs - for better milage, longer wear and stability
34-36ish the rest of the time and for fun
29-30ish on track for heat, sticky, and grippy

my unscientific opinion is the street is not as smoothor pedictable as the track thus requiring a little more cushion against varying surfaces. hats off to Roy running track PSI on the street, but with the weight of the busa and varying surface, I feel it's too wallowy

I have no ligit reason for 42 on high speed runs, just feels better to me. better rolling [not so good traction getting to speed maybe], proper cushion against surface abnormalities, proper tire cooling, solid form for higher speed spinning - less deformation, less surface friction slowing you down, and the people that designed a 200mph street bike recommend it .... all comes to mind. I asked the record breakers in the other forum but no one really had solid evidence for any particular PSI for high speed runs



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