What Tires and Tire Pressures do You Run?

[bornagainbiker]

I am still running the stock Michelin Pilot Road 3 tires that came on my bike.  I have been keeping them at the recommended pressures of 33 psi front and 36 psi rear.  However I  find that these pressures give a very harsh ride.  I have also noticed members stating on various threads that they run lower pressures for better ride, handling, tire wear etc.  So I was wondering fellow members:  What tires and tire pressures do you run?  

[faffi]

PR3 at 28/30 or less (if they drop over time or with temps). Not going to use PR3s again, going to Metzeler Roadtec 01, most likely, when these PRs wear out.

[r1limited]

The old what pressure to run question....

 

Easy if you are not racing and commniting, use what is suggested from the OEM.  If you are racing, that is a matter of track condition, temps etc etc etc.  If you joy riding through the canyons, again this is al labotu temp, road conditions and how fast you want to go.  I will not even specualte on the shet for bridgestone tires they put on the bikes for US 07's. but I found 33/33 works.

[gregjet]

Faffi, I would be interested in yopur thoughts when you get the metzlers up and going. Only used adventure Metzlers on my tr650 in the last few years and not a fan, but I used to like them a long time ago for road tyres. The Lazers were the first modern wet weather tyres that actually really worked leaned over. Read a review/comparo a couple of years ago in a British magazine and they loved them.

[faffi]

I will, but it will be some time before I get a pair of Roadtecs - there will not be much wear on the PR3 now over winter with the 07 barely seeing any use. In the meantime there is this

 

 

 

[stevebtx12]

I like the feel of the ride better running about 2 lbs under recommended (31/34), if the tires wear out faster, good (running stock) then i'll get some i like better.

 

[Beemer]

What pressure my tires say to use and what the manual says are two different things. I went with the manual and run 33 lb. in front tire and 36 lb. in the rear tire. Feels alright so far.

[Yury Lo]

I also kept the stock PR3's and I run them at 29/32. 

The ride feels cleaner and smoother

[sen07]

Im 67-70kg with gear. I kept the stock rear at recomended and 31 front. I find it shaky on rear if the pressure goes below 32

[pjfz1]

This is an age old question, and as r1limired said, there are huge variables.. throw in all the different conditions (riders being the biggest one) and there is no set answer.  The 3 bikes I ride  most often are shod in 2 different tires, and each has a different Pressure I'm happy with.

 

  Do realize that pressure preferences are good to investigate,, try something different and see how you like it, as long as you remain safe.  In general lower pressures do mean more wear.  It's a trade off.

[gregjet]

" In general lower pressures do mean more wear."

Not necessarily true. Especially in radials , as you increase the pressure the contact patch gets smaller and smaller. The tyre also tends to bounce, or slide, more and can chunk, because it is reacting faster than the suspension can.  That increases wear ( and decreases grip substantially faster than reducing pressure).

What matters is having the right contact patch size and compound operating temperature, even on street tyres.

Higher temperatures mean you need to run less pressure ( measured cold). In the tropics on mountain roads the tyres can get near water boiling point in the dry. Static pressures given by companies ( bike or tyre) are usually for tyres used in colder climates, so if you are somewhere that the has much higher road temps, you WILL have to adjust your tyre pressures to try and keep them in the operating temp range.