Front Tire Pressure?

[Shinden]

What pressure to you run your front tire at?

The manual (2003) says 36 psi but I search I performed here indicates that at least some are running them up around 41 psi.

I am interested to know what other FJR riders are inflating their front tires to and the reason for their choice.

 

[jaybird]

40 in the front and 42 in back on my 05 with original tires. Pretty much because that seems to be the general thought among everybody on the board. Jay

 

[In10city]

I've used 40 in my ZZR for 3 years and since the FJR is only a few pounds heavier I'm using 40 in both tires and all seems well.

In the past, I only ran the fronts at 34-36 and experianced some cupping before I was even halfway through the tire's life so I keep them higher now and they last a good 12K miles.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Your choice. Higher pressure seems to reduce tire cupping on the front and extends life of tire both ends. Lower pressure will increase the stickiness of your tire by increasing the footprint. So, do you want to save money, or have the best handling performance?

 

[Shinden]

Thanks, those were fast replies

I was talking to the chief mechanic, who I know pretty well, at the dealership I have dealt with for 10 years; we had the same conversation.

He is a good guy and I trust him completley (never steered me wrong) but it is nice to get some more feedback.

......going to the garage now to fire up the air compressor and get the tire gage out

 

[luvtoride]

40 front, 42 rear

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Increasing tire pressures a few pounds does not decrease the "footprint" of the tire enough to lose handling capabilities unless you are track riding. Ask the LD riders at the speed they sometimes travel how it affects their handling. And I will bet they are way better riders than most of us. So if higher pressures keep the tires from wearing oddly or cupping, don't you think you just increased your handling capabilities by haveing evenly worn tires? I would think so. The pressure ratings on these tires for the FJR are at 42 lbs. So raising them to those limits are way safe.

 

[Derek]

i'm running 39 39 monitored with smartire. it seems to be a good comprimise between tire wear and traction. i ride exclusively in the mountain twisties so i dont dare go any harder. if i find myself on slab i might tweek em up a bit.

derek

 

[twowheelnut]

Inflated to 40/42 F/R for the tires. My ego, on the other hand, runs at a much higher rate, or so I'm told.

 

[feejer222]

I've used 40 in my ZZR for 3 years and since the FJR is only a few pounds heavier I'm using 40 in both tires and all seems well.
In the past, I only ran the fronts at 34-36 and experianced some cupping before I was even halfway through the tire's life so I keep them higher now and they last a good 12K miles.

When I had a Honda ST1100 I went to my dealer a while ago and commented in passing that my front drifted sometimes when fully loaded on 70mph plus curves. 'Check your pressure' was his answer, sure enough it was 24 I raised it to 28 and it cured the problem completely.

Always check pressures when the tyres are cold!

 

[Afast03nNJ]

I run with 38 - 40 psi in both the front and rear.

40 rides a bit on the hard side. 38 seems to run better on bumps keeping the bikes tire more planted on the ground.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Increasing tire pressures a few pounds does not decrease the "footprint" of the tire enough to lose handling capabilities unless you are track riding. Ask the LD riders at the speed they sometimes travel how it affects their handling. And I will bet they are way better riders than most of us. So if higher pressures keep the tires from wearing oddly or cupping, don't you think you just increased your handling capabilities by haveing evenly worn tires? I would think so. The pressure ratings on these tires for the FJR are at 42 lbs. So raising them to those limits are way safe.

I agree that the difference in traction with the tires at 36/38 vs 40/42 is so small that in most riding conditions no rider would notice the difference. I ride 40/42 myself most of the time. Sometimes in cold and wet weather I drop them to 36/38.

I think that if you want optimal handling, you ride 36/38 and change the tire before it cups enough to impact handling. I don't want to buy tires every 2000 miles so I ride 40/42 and only occaisionally have experienced any traction loss in the turns where I thought riding at 36/38 would have made some (although small) advantage. Even then, the tires gripped enough to get me through the turn just fine.

Do LD riders know how to turn? I thought they just looked for straight desolate roads :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Increasing tire pressures a few pounds does not decrease the "footprint" of the tire enough to lose handling capabilities unless you are track riding. Ask the LD riders at the speed they sometimes travel how it affects their handling. And I will bet they are way better riders than most of us. So if higher pressures keep the tires from wearing oddly or cupping, don't you think you just increased your handling capabilities by haveing evenly worn tires? I would think so. The pressure ratings on these tires for the FJR are at 42 lbs. So raising them to those limits are way safe.

I agree that the difference in traction with the tires at 36/38 vs 40/42 is so small that in most riding conditions no rider would notice the difference. I ride 40/42 myself most of the time. Sometimes in cold and wet weather I drop them to 36/38.

I think that if you want optimal handling, you ride 36/38 and change the tire before it cups enough to impact handling. I don't want to buy tires every 2000 miles so I ride 40/42 and only occaisionally have experienced any traction loss in the turns where I thought riding at 36/38 would have made some (although small) advantage. Even then, the tires gripped enough to get me through the turn just fine.

Do LD riders know how to turn? I thought they just looked for straight desolate roads :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good one! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

 

[Bearly Flying]

The biggest killer of tires is Heat. the largest contributor to that heat is carcass flexing.

To set the pressure for Your Tires and Your Riding Style, Take the cold tire pressure, go riding to warm up the tires, Take the tire pressure while the tires are up to temp. If the hot pressure is more than 5% to 7% higher than the cold pressure, Add Air to the tire.

This will set the pressures for Your Bike under the conditions You normally ride. Different tires may require different pressures depending on tire construction.

 

[fjrchik]

i run with synthetic air in my tires. they last 50% longer now.

 

[blueman]

Great info for me toooo for tire life. I have been running 41 rear 36 front per manual. But I will go to 42 rear 40 front for tire life.

 

[odot]

They put air in the tires? Oh, schade.

 

[Scab]

i run with synthetic air in my tires. they last 50% longer now.

Phooey on synthetic air. I am strictly a dino-air guy. (of course, dino-air is really just a prehistoric fart)

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

I got free nirtogen in my tires before WFO5 and the pressures are much more stable than before. Don't know what I will do if I need to add except put in regular air.