Low Tire Pressure

[tricky]

Hello everyone,

I bought my bike 2nd hand in June. For some reason I never thought to check the tire pressure, just figured it was fine. I got my tire pressure gauge the other day, and man was I wrong. My pressure is suppose to be 33 front/36 rear, and it was 15 front/22 rear. It was presumably this way ever since I got the bike, and because the previous owner didn't really use it (2008 model with only 3,700km when I bought it) I can venture a guess and say the tires have been under-inflated for a very very long time.

So I just inflated them to the right PSI (or as close as I can get), tomorrow morning I'll go check to make sure they've held the air. I guess my concern is, is there any danger in running these tires? To have them under-inflated for what could have been years, and then suddenly pump them up and carry on.. seems risky to me. The tread is still looking great, and they don't seem to have any cracks or anything suspicious looking.


ALSO, I suppose I learned to ride on woefully under-inflated tires. Should I be expecting a noticeable change in the way it runs and corners?

[jeero]

Tire pressure will fluctuate throughout the year, especially when it gets hot and cold often, such as the weather of september.
This is why checking your tire pressure is a recommended pre-ride inspection for every time you want to take the bike out.
Check any motorcycle manual, or car manual, and checking tire pressure will be one of the most common things you should be doing.

As far as your worry about the tire now, check for heavy uneven wear and cracks in the rubber.
I personally think the above will be highly unlikely.
If all is good (no cracks or heavy uneven wear) then go out and enjoy the ride.
Remember that with the temperatures of this time of year, a lot of things will fluctuate and its your responsibility to keep checking.

[DemonPig]

Tires are fine. It's almost impossible to ride a bike with pressure low enough to ruin the tire. Unlike a car. The bike wouldn't be stable enough.
Nevertheless, if that were the case, the tires would be powdered on the inside and on the outside you'd see a stress line(s) running parallel to the rim.
The only thing is, the profile of the tire may have been affected by running on low for a prolonged period of time due to a larger contact patch than recommended. Even so, I highly doubt it would be that noticeable.

[adri]

Congratulations. You're about to learn what riding a motorcycle is supposed to feel like lol.