Please check your TIRE PRESSURE NOW before you crash

Thanks for the reminder. My bike felt a little skittish along CR 9 yesterday on my way up to Meaford. I just thought it was due to the wet roads; however, when I checked the pressure this morning, the front was down to 24 while the rear was slightly better at around 30. Topped them off and will see how it feels tomorrow.
 
Wondering what your logic for having underinflated tires on the street? You guys losing traction a lot at the higher PSI? Higher safety margin because of increased grip at lower PSI?

I put as much emphasis as possible on smoothness, and am an intermediate street rider (whatever the hell that means), and run my michelin PR2's at recommended pressures without ever losing traction.

Isn't the argument that sport touring tires are all you need on the street? That tire tech is so good now that you wouldn't really need to lower the PSI that much?

I too used to run lower pressure but have had absolutely zero issues running at the PSI recommended for the bike I ride... I enjoy my tires lasting longer as well

Am I missing something here?
 
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just back from the garage and thanks for making me go check the bike,I had 10lbs front and 20lbs on the rear,too low for my likeing.
 
Found my tires were down about 6-8 psi last week too. Could feel the difference when riding.
I agree with checking what the bike manual says vs. what the tire says. A combination of the two seems to make sense. Rider & bike weight should come into the equation too. I'm a 210lb guy on a 500lb VFR, I'll likely need a few more psi than a 120lb guy on a 400lb cbr with essentially the same tires, correct?
 
Ouch - 10 in the front - that's pretty dangerous - must have felt pretty mushy ( understatement ) :rolleyes:
 
Wondering what your logic for having underinflated tires on the street? You guys losing traction a lot at the higher PSI? Higher safety margin because of increased grip at lower PSI?

I put as much emphasis as possible on smoothness, and am an intermediate street rider (whatever the hell that means), and run my michelin PR2's at recommended pressures without ever losing traction.

Isn't the argument that sport touring tires are all you need on the street? That tire tech is so good now that you wouldn't really need to lower the PSI that much?

I too used to run lower pressure but have had absolutely zero issues running at the PSI recommended for the bike I ride... I enjoy my tires lasting longer as well

Am I missing something here?

Yes you are
 
Wondering what your logic for having underinflated tires on the street? You guys losing traction a lot at the higher PSI? Higher safety margin because of increased grip at lower PSI?

I put as much emphasis as possible on smoothness, and am an intermediate street rider (whatever the hell that means), and run my michelin PR2's at recommended pressures without ever losing traction.

Isn't the argument that sport touring tires are all you need on the street? That tire tech is so good now that you wouldn't really need to lower the PSI that much?

I too used to run lower pressure but have had absolutely zero issues running at the PSI recommended for the bike I ride... I enjoy my tires lasting longer as well

Am I missing something here?

You're missing poser bullsh*t. Tire engineers knwo what they are talking about, the rumor-mill idiot-phone and the internet, not so much.
 
3. inflate to the tire you are using recommendations e.g. most modern sport bikes is 36PSI front and 42PSI rear is the recommended however I reduce mine by 5PSI so 31PSI front and 37 Rear (30/35 is easy as well to remember).
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Ummm... you aren't riding at the track. 30psi is way too low for the street.

Go with the recommended on the bike/tire, not with the forum-post recommended.
 
"Max" molded into the sidewall of the tire means "past this point on brand new rubber, tire blowout can happen". If max is 42 and you inflate it to 42, you're ok rolling out of your driveway. Then when you start heating them up on the highway and they start going up to 45-50, then kaboom + gws posting.

Don't trust gas station pumps at all. I remember the digital ones Shell or another big chain experimented with once. They are long gone now. I loved them until I came across one that was mis-calibrated upward by 10 psi. 10!!

Don't trust your handheld gauges either. They can lose calibration if you drop them or handle them roughly.

If you have 1 gauge, then get a second. If both give the same reading then put one away. Chances are pretty decent both weren't roughly handled. If they differ, then you will need to get a third different one to see which of the two is off. You can still use the off one just need to mentally compensate for the number shown.

Don't lower your pressure to "drive better" in cold conditions either. It won't give you better traction and you can help damage them.
 
"Max" molded into the sidewall of the tire means "past this point on brand new rubber, tire blowout can happen". If max is 42 and you inflate it to 42, you're ok rolling out of your driveway. Then when you start heating them up on the highway and they start going up to 45-50, then kaboom + gws posting.

.

Where did you get that idea? The Max tire pressure is generally the max "cold" tire pressure.
 
So? As I see it, when it heats up from use it will be higher than the cold max.

yes, because it will no longer be cold tire temp as the tire warms up as used. If however the ambient air temp rises, then yes you should reset, just like when it gets colder you should resent. So once the tire is used and warms up, it will be warm tire temp and the mfg is giving you the cold tire temp. Furthermore, the cold tire temp is for max load. if you aren't at the max load rating of the tire you can run lower temp cold.

In any event, a few PSI above cold max is generally not going to cause a "GWS" event as you described.
 
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