tire pressures

jayel · Posted: March 10, 2009, 5:44 pm Post subject: tire pressures

I have seen this on several different forums

For bias-ply tires, a good rule of thumb is that a properly inflated tire
should gain about 10 percent pressure when warmed up to operating
temperature. For example, if you start with 40 psi cold and end up with 44
psi hot, you were right on target. If it only got to 42, your starting
pressure was too high. If it got to 46, your starting pressure was too low.

Now that said, I can't find anyone that recommends using a similar rule of
thumb for radial tires. Dealers, manufacturers, answer-guys at motorcycle
magazines all say, "follow the owners manual" for street use.

tinyurl.com/bt-45-pressures front 2.3 bar 33 PSI rear 2.7 bar 39 PSI

On the Dunlop website they reccommend 32psi rear and 30psi front for both GT501 and the 404 on a XS 650.

penn71911 · Posted: March 10, 2009, 6:24 pm Post subject: Re: tire pressures

I don't know about a rule of thumb, but I run 28psi cold in the front and 32psi cold in the rear... which is what my haynes book says... feels good, rides good and no problems so far in 2 years and about 14k miles. Dunno if that helps... oh... Barracuda radials with tubes...

Retiredgentleman · Posted: March 10, 2009, 7:02 pm Post subject: Re: tire pressures

I've been using 31 PSI for both front and rear with Dunlop 404's. Bike handles well.........works for me.

xs1961 · Posted: March 10, 2009, 8:07 pm Post subject: Re: tire pressures

Ive always run 32 rear 28 front , inflated /checked cold..

xsleo · Posted: March 14, 2009, 6:32 pm Post subject: Re: tire pressures

With regular tires your 10% forula will work verey well. With radials, I have them on cars and trucks, and run them at the max pressure on the side wall. I have found that this gives better mpg as well as longer tire life. The braking and handling is better also. I have never used radials on a bike, so I would do some experimenting to find the right pressure.

gordo · Posted: March 14, 2009, 9:04 pm Post subject: Re: tire pressures

I was working for Ford in Dearborn when we had all that hoopla about the Firestone's coming apart.Ford has alway's been into the smooth,comfortable' limo ' ride,sacrificing tire pressure for a 'softer' ride.Well after the Firestone problem's, we told ALL the Instructor's at our factory school's to put the word out that ALL vehicle's should be set at 35PSI across the board.So I've been doing the same on the bike.No problem's yet,& they seem to run cooler.Oh Yea ,Dunlop 404'S

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650