I've been riding Harley street bikes for 30 years but as a teenager I was riding dirt bikes. This Spring I bought a dual sport and fell in love with the combination of of traveling mostly forest roads but after eating dirt 4 times the first day I needed to figure out what was wrong. After lowering my tire pressure to the 1.5 bar-21psi, I couldn't believe the difference I felt and after many more days of riding I haven't gone down again. I no longer feel like I'm riding on ice when on rocks. I've read some people say it makes very little difference but I disagree 100%. Its a huge difference. I bought a tiny 12V motorcycle pump I can plug into my battery to quickly reinflate the tires for pavement.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience with this things! I do feel a lot of difference to, and wonder how come some people say its not worth it :P ...its totally worth it, and the more pressure you take out, the better (until of course its too much and you get a bunch of flat tires) :P
I agree. I have a 94 DR650, and being a heavy bike is not going to be running low low pressures. But trying 1 lap at street pressures, then dropping down to the risk a valve step 18psi make a world of difference, especially to a beginner to offroading. If you are going to be doing more than a short trail, it definitely is worth the tiny extra weight of a pump and the small time to raise and lower the pressure. If in doubt, you can at least go to the very bottom of what you are comfortable with on the street. And not dropping your bike or even just fighting it less because it grips more is far less tiring. (couldn't resist) And if the concern is tire wear, that is true for street, but sliding on gravel and rocks is really bad for tire wear, so I would guess you actually save wear for having the lower tire pressure (as long as you aren't prolonged freeway driving)
Nice easy to understand explanation, thanks!! I've ridden both with full pressure off road and lowered pressure. For me the softer pressure instills way more confidence and makes the ride much safer and more enjoyable.
Yes! Lower pressure off-road but take in account variables. Terrain, temperatures, vehicle weight, tire sidewall strength, tube or tubeless, etc… Great food for thought. 👍
Would have pointed out Bret Tkacs advice, but you have that covered already. I think your idea of "trying out different settings by yourself" is more akin to the adventurer's spirit. And after all, Bret's beemer is more technological and probably assists his driving so that lowering pressure is not really needed (maybe?). Good to see you again! was getting worried thinking that you left us :'(
Thanks for watching and commenting (as usual! :D) Well, I don't really know why Bret wouldn't consider lowering the pressure by even just a nudge, but I don't think its because the BMW has good technology. What those bikes can do is to be surprinsingly good off road CONSIDERING their weight and size and touring capacity...thats very different from just being good off-road (like proper enduro motorcycles) :P. I hope you know what I mean. So, although a good BMW may perhaps behave better than expected, it definitely would have more traction (braking, accelarating, cornering, etc) with a lower tire pressure (not too low...just lower). Although I don't agree with him on a few things here and there, I have a huge respect for Bret, so I don't think it would be right for me to try to guess and write down publicly why he says such a things. If he sees this video, hopefully he will explain it himself =) Nevertheless I am 100% confident on my teachings. I know all I am saying is true... but I do understand that "there are many truths" when we are talking about a trade-off. More traction or more rim/puncture protection? Its only natural that everyone will have their opinion =) ...damn, I should have used this sentence in the video! xD
@0:54 I used the manual for a starting point because it was my first bike ever(196cc "mini" bike even though its not actually mini and when I was a kid it would have been called a fat tire trail bike but anyway haha). I've ridden it a week and decided I don't like it and it feels soft. The trail I ride daily is a mix of rocky dirt road, grass(mostly down the middle and if one drifts to the edge but then in some parts if one wants to ride a little faster the middle isn't as bumpy for me at least), and a little mud here and there. Great in some places and too sof in other parts so I am trying to find a happy medium. And that is why I am here, TY for sharing.
Good timing for this video. I've not been to happy with my T7 on gravel roads / pot holes. My ride is too rough. I watched your video on setting up the suspension on my T7, but I still can't get a smooth ride. So I have ordered a new rear spring (90nm - I am 200 lbs). In regards to air pressure I guess I was to heavily influence by Brett Tkacs video! I've been doing all my gravel riding at factory tarmac pressure. So when the rain stops gonna air down for some more tests. Think I'll start at 25psi front and back.
Glad I was helpful, Yukon! Are you running the Pirelli STRs? I suggest trying a different tire, at least on the front wheel. The STRs are nice on the street but very sub-standart off road in my opinion. Personally, for 50-50 use I LOVE the anakee wilds
You are absolutely right! Depending on the carcass of your tire, the (moderate) lowering of pressure may lead to additional wear, but that provides grip I need. At least, grip depends a lot more on suspention setting. When I ride a road setting on a rocky downhill slope, I shall not be surprised to feel like a drunken rabbit.
That shall be a topic for another video! Good idea! I already have a series of 3 videos teaching how to set up suspensions (for dummies...I am not a suspension professional), but I should make a video explaining those simple things like why are there "street settings" and "rock settings" and "sand settings", etc. Thanks for commenting!
I gots to be honest, i only check my pressure`s in the first day i fitted a new tire and when i think its to low when riding. Each time i need some fresh rubber I buy a different tire and try it out on the road and in the dirt on different pressures, write it down and go with that for the life time of the tire. I don`t change pressure when going from road to dirt because around here i can`t stay in the dirt for more than a couple of km`s before i hit some asphalt and since i`m not racing i`ll just go a bit slower in the dirt. If there was a place here i could stay in the dirt for let`s say 90min or more i`d deff air them down a bit but probably not lower than 1.5 bar on the rear because i don`t have rimlocks and i don`t wanna rip my valve stem of the tube. On the enduro bikes we ran as low as 0.5 bar but that`s with 2 rimlocks. How is that rear shock holding up by the way? how much better is it than the stock shock?
Considering all the things you said, I think I'd probably do the same. There's no point in playing too much with the tire pressure if you can't spend enough time on any specific environment. Just pick an "average" pressure and stick with it =D As for the shock, I will probably make a video about it eventually. I am still playing with the settings trying to get it eactly how I want it... but straight out of the box I can tell you it made a considerable difference. The bike can now handle hard hits and jumps much better, and in sand sections for instance the front wheel seems way more planted (thanks to the stability in the rear). However, I must admit I had hopes that the differences would be more game changing. The bike is overall much better, but it inda still feels like the same bike. Does this make any sense? I had hopes that it would feel like a DR650 or something like that.. closer, but not quite :P
Maybe it's just confirmation bias, and coming from mountain biking but I've always felt better on lower pressure. That's why I was kind of shocked when I saw Brett's video on running road pressure 🙈. Keep up the good work!
BMWs are known for having soft rims... considering he has been riding those for so long, maybe he is just playing safe (too safe in my opinion... i'd rather always have a low pressure and ride extra carefully when big rocks come up than to ride around all my life with high pressure just in case I find some rocks) ... but you know, there are no right answers, everyone needs to figure out what strategy suits them ;)
Olá Diogo, Obrigado pelo video!... Tyres and tyre pressure discussions are ALWAYS a great theme, if you want to get into an argument, especially among the riders with the least amount of experience riding a motorcycle Off-road... I have 3 motorbikes, A 1200GS, a 690 and a Vertigo Works 300 Trials bike, all are fitted with OFF-road, knobby tyres TKC 80 (GS) and Michelin Desert Race (690) Michelin Trials competition (Vertigo). I run the following pressures: On road: R1200GS Front 2.5 Bar, Rear 2.9 Bar. The 690 is about the same. The reasons. High speed stability, cornering and braking performance but mostly, safety, for the ones saying that they "forget" to re-inflate their tyres when going back on the road, well you can be quickly reminded because as soon as you go above 100km/h you tend to start feeling the death wobble pretty quickly, so if you don't decelerate or re-inflate the tyres, tough luck, your problem... OFF-road: R1200GS Front 2 Bar, Rear 1 Bar (yep that is right one BAR) the 690 is about the same but some times I can even go lower to 0.5 BAR on the back for the 690 if it is really muddy and slippery or very very soft sand. For the Vertigo on Trials I run 0.6 Bar Front and 0.4 Rear. The reasons Traction and purely traction. The only thing I don't agree with the majority of the tyre pressure videos is that they advise people to lower the pressure on the Front tyre, I think this is dangerous. If you lower the pressure on your back tyre you gain traction, there is no possible discussion there, the more you lower it the more traction you get. The front tyre I don't feel that the result is so noticeable, but the consequences are. Lowering the pressure on the front tyre might give you pinch flats or worse unseat the tyre from the bead, both of these might be very dangerous I have ha friends crashing bikes because they have hit a rock at speed and the front tyre was damaged and deflated very quickly and in less than 50 meters he crashed, luckily with no serious consequences. So if I'm running lower pressures because of traction I lower the pressure on my back tyre to gain traction. I have never had a tyre spin on the rim (use rim locks) I've never had a pinch flat on the back (much less common on the back wheel) and certainly have never had a rear tyre come unseated from the rim. Hope it help fuel the discussion a bit more. Keep up with the videos.
Thank you very much for such a complete comment! Funny enough, your comment showed me its really impossible to agree when it comes to tire pressure xD Because if I had to choose, I'd choose lowering the pressure on the front instead of the rear wheel :D But maybe we can figure out why. I assume you are somewhere from"The North" of Portugal, right? I'm assuming this cause in the north there is a lot more hills and a lot more big rocks, and in this scenario i understand that you need a better inflated front wheel and that lack of traction in the rear is a real problem. I am from ribatejo, and although i ride in all sorts of terrains, fast and smooth tracks are "my home", therefore i dont value some much rear traction as I value being able to go into a turn at 50-100km/h and knowing the front isnt going anywhere :D (And i assure that in fast/compact dirt and gravel roads you can feel the benefits of lower front pressure just as well as you feel the benefits of lower rear pressure in sand/mud/hills, etc...the ride becomes muuuuch smoother, and you immediately gain a lot more confidence while turning at high speed) Now i am very glad I didnt even mention front-to-rear pessures in this video, cause that would only make the discussion worse. Note: I am NOT saying you are wrong. If my assumptions are correct, I totally agree with you :D
Adorei o vídeo, Diogo, e a teu jeito natural de interagir com a câmera, até pareces um ator de cinema....😊 Recebas um grande abraço meu e da Carmo... 🙏🥰
Tenho uma 250cc que pesa uns 150kg seca, com piloto e carga completa chega a uns 250kg. Meu deslocamento envolve asfalto e terra. Uso 28 atrás e 26 na frente. Esses valores me atendem bem em ambos os cenários. Lembrando que o calor dilata o ar e aumenta a pressão, então esses números ganham até 3 PSI após algumas horas de estrada.
Parece-me bem, para uso misto! Numa moto assim tão leve sugeria um pouquinho menos se fosse para fazer uma sessão séria de offroad, mas para uso misto parece-me optimo. A dilatação da temperatura sinceramente acho que é um factor não muito relevante para nós comuns mortais. O importante é estarmos confortáveis, se nao tivermos, pomos/tiramos ar. No fim, o número é só uma referência. Isto não é a formula 1 :P
For 50-50 use i usually do a little trick...instead of having 2 50-50 tires, i use a 60% offroad 40 on road tire on the front and a 50-50 or a 40-60 in the back. That way both tires last more or less the same, but i have great traction all around. For the front tire i am in love with the Michelin Anakee Wilds. For the rear maybe a Mitas e7+, a e09, e10, heidenau k60, motoz GPS, motoz adventure, etc. Ritght now i am using Michelin Starcross V Hard (front) and Anakee Wild (back) cause i wanted to try a more agressive offroad setup :)
For me 1,5 bar is the max and not the minimum for safe offroading because I do the vast majority of my "offroading" on the snow/ice that covers the roads for a few months whenever winter comes around.
Did you ever run close to 20 psi or lower on the XTR? I usually run 22 psi for off-road. Lately I was thinking of installing rim locks .. but it's a heavy bike and I am not sure if it's a good idea to lower the pressure down to 15psi where a rim lock would be advantageous.
mais uma vez obrigado pela partilha, já agora fica uma ideia se conseguires fazer ou dar umas ideias sobre a yamaha xt600 E ou anterior como mota para um agajo sem experiencia blá blá blá , obrigado de qualquer maneira
Obrigado eu, por veres os videos! Fazer reviews de motos "usadas" é uma ideia muito porreira! Obrigado mais uma vez :D Quanto à XT600, eu ja fiz muuuuitos kilometros em várias, quase sempre por off-road (todas as variedades de offroad). Posso-te dizer que é uma moto infinitamente mais facil de conduzir e de brincar do que, por exemplo, uma AfricaTwin 1000 ou mesmo uma T7, mas é um bocado "banheira" quando comparada com outras motos +/- da mesma época e valor (DR650, TT600, DRZ400,) que são mais leves, mais potentes e têm suspensões muito melhores. Mas não quero desrespeitar a XT600! É um motão que te leva a qualquer lado! Salvo raras excepções, se não conseguires atravessar um caminho montado numa XT600, também não é numa DR650 que te vais safar :P
@@OFFroadOFFcourse mais uma vez obrigado pelo esclarecimento, pois como não tinha ideia nenhuma sobre esta mota fico agora mais esclarecido, pois andei muito tempo de mota mais propriamente 12 anos ( chuva e sol) mass com uma Honda cb500 e está mota até nos deixa mal habituados de tão fiável que é eheh, abraços e siga com os excelentes vídeos que fazes que eu vou seguindo.
so how is the handling with 1.5 bar? do you go over 15km/h on asphalt? on my bike, 2bar and lower spells death on asphalt, front becomes twitchy and wants to tuck in at every bump in the road.
Ui, o tema dos pneus... 😅 Eu uso sempre pressões na ordem dos 1.8. Para tudo! Off-road e estrada... Os klms ensinaram-me a confiar menos nos pneus (com + pressão) e evitar parar para reparar um furo e evitar danos em jantes. Excepto em areia (quando é mesmo absurdo) é que tiro e baixo consideravelmente.
Vamos ter de concordar em discordar :D Como tento explicar no video, pressoes na ordem dos 1.5 a 2 Bar nao deviam ser um problema de todo. Na opinião de muitos até é pressão a mais mesmo assim (e na opinião de outros, já é de menos). Eu ODEIO ter de reparar furos, e odiava ter de trocar uma jante porque a empenei, no entanto com estas pressões nunca tive problemas desses. Mas no fim, depende da moto, do pneu, do terreno e do estilo e velocidade do piloto, como sabes :D Se está bem com 2.8, estás bem com 2.8! Porquê mudar? :D As dicas servem é para quem anda aos papéis e quer melhorar mas não sabe como :) MUITO orbigado por teres visto o video e por te teres dado ao trabalho de comentar ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse ahahha, é 1.8 e não 2. isso já não!! btw, nada ver, mas há uns tempos meti-me a andar em off-road com pneus de estrada e... já não me lembrava sinceramente. aquilo até cumpre/desenrrasca!
Hey, it's nice, my manual pressures are equal to your recommended ones (manual says 1.5 bar for front, ant 1.5 for back (2.0 if loaded))! Should I try lowering them then or just stick to 1.5?
@@skardunas hey, that was my first bike! I'd say keep the 1.5bar. Use less (like 1.2bar) if you are riding on sand or very sandy terrain, but overall 1.5 is ok and safe, to prevent punctured tires :)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse Thank you! Yeah, it's my first one too, having heaps of fun riding around on the gravel and in the forests. Might be bit lacking on the standart roads, hard to keep 90km/h sometimes, but other than that - amazing bike so far 👍
@@skardunas If you are not riding it very far, consider increasing the acceleration by changing the front sprocket for a smaller one. 1 tooth less is enough :)
I agree completely. I learnt this actually on mountainbiking, so if someone is scared of testing on the bike, this is a place where it's noticed very much and easily done. But I am also not the type who change pressure multiple times on a ride. Like you I like to keep a constant pressure in the Goldilocks region :) Thanks for another professional video. /Robert
On lighter dual-sports and enduro bikes (for witch 1.5BAR actually too high for off road) rim locks are a "must have". For heavier dual-sports (600cc+) and advs i think the rim lock isnt that necessary (mainly cause you wont below 1.5bar that often). Mind that the rim lock will unbalance the wheel so should not be used in high speed bikes
Is it just me or does running low psi (I run 12) not last? I have to air my tires back up to 12 psi every few days. It gets to around 6ish to 8 psi. I don’t ride much on road unless it’s to the grocery store. This bike I ride off road (bmw xchallenge). so it just me about the tubes not holding pressure?
I’ve watched a lot of Bret Tkacs stuff and respect him, but I struggle to agree with his tyre pressure view. NOT because I am an expert, and I DON’T actually lower my pressure, historically (lazy, didn’t know, no time, etc etc). It’s because I do /have done a lot of 4WDing in sand, and it is an undisputed fact that you must lower your tyre pressure in sand. So why would a motorcycle tyre not function in the same way? Well yes, shape, but pressure will still be a factor. Also, every motorcyclist who rides sand or off road that I’ve ever spoken to decreases the pressure and says it’s is easier. What I can say is that at road pressures, sand is very difficult and disappointing.
You are mean Rad :D I think Bret suffers a bit from "teacher's professional deformation". Which is a good and bad thing. I respect his opinion, although I have enough confidence on my experience to disagree when I have to ;)
I have found that the dark art of tyres for motorcycles is best left to the manufacturers of the bikes and the tyres themselves. I say this mainly because of the insane speeds that the KTM 790 and 1290's are capable of. With a 21" front wheel, those things are going to start deforming at HIGH speeds if not inflated properly! It's a complete rabbit hole and normally results in a flurry of opinions and arguments either way! LOL Thanks for attempting it though.
Thanks for commenting (as usual :D ). But i have to complain this time...you didnt pay any attention :p My recommendations are for offroad use, and i said several times that low off road pressures reduce on road performance...that becomes way more serious if we are talking about bikes capable of reaching 250km/h and + (and when you actually use them to that point). I stand my everything i said (which was not much...basically dont be afraid to try stuff, and 1.5-2Bar are a good starting) Cheers ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse I did pay attention, the thing is that "dual-sport" or adventure bikes will never be trailered to the trails and there will ALWAYS be an on-road portion to the ride; so it needs to be considered. I have often reduced pressure, then forgotten to reinflate on paved section. This can be dangerous for the bigger, faster bikes. (which mine is NOT) ;-)
@@glinleyt i really dont what to say here Graeme xD... The title is pretty clear. These are "optimal" pressures for OFF ROAD adventure use, where obviously there always will be a considerable portion of on road involved, but certainly not 250km/h with 2 people on board and a lot of luggage. Thats touring or sport touring...if you want to do that in the middle of an adventure trip, then definitely you will need to stop and fill up the tires :o And if for some reason even alone and at low speed you feel that 2Bar is too low for any kind of On road use, then do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable. Infalte/deflate more often, or just like me, find a pressure that works "meh" enough on both environments. ...but certainly keeping the recommended Road pressure will not be ideal Off road. I am sorry to criticize your comment like this man, but i think i did a pretty good job explaining a bunch of times throughout the video what is the intended use and the advantages/limitations of a lower tire pressure... After that, its up to the users to understand and adapt the knowledge and decide what to do with it :o
Great informative video when I used to race Enduro‘s in New England I would run my KTM‘s tire pressure 13 psi now I run my Husqvarna FE501s at 23 psi For back Road riding in southern Vermont seems to be the perfect tire pressure
Yah, 13 PSI I guess it only makes sense if you are doing really slow speed and hardocre stuff. For "travelling" you don't need to go so low (in my opinion.. my background isn't light enduro motorcycles =) )
Thanks for commenting :D I have a responsibility to keep thinks safe... I believe that most people who will try the 1.5-2Bar will realize they could go lower and get even greater benefits, but i also know that some other people cant really navigate through obstacles and have pretty heavy bikes with butter rims... So i prefer to guide them in the right direction but with some sort of safety net ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse all good Dio. On a big adv bike? For sure I wouldn't go too low. On a 250 dual sport, I'm usually airing down to 15 psi in the trails, and back up to 28 on the road. I have a second set of rims with rim locks, and a set of Pirelli mt43 trials tires. Those I'll go down between 5 & 8 psi. Rock crawling!
I've been riding Harley street bikes for 30 years but as a teenager I was riding dirt bikes. This Spring I bought a dual sport and fell in love with the combination of of traveling mostly forest roads but after eating dirt 4 times the first day I needed to figure out what was wrong. After lowering my tire pressure to the 1.5 bar-21psi, I couldn't believe the difference I felt and after many more days of riding I haven't gone down again. I no longer feel like I'm riding on ice when on rocks. I've read some people say it makes very little difference but I disagree 100%. Its a huge difference.
I bought a tiny 12V motorcycle pump I can plug into my battery to quickly reinflate the tires for pavement.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience with this things!
I do feel a lot of difference to, and wonder how come some people say its not worth it :P ...its totally worth it, and the more pressure you take out, the better (until of course its too much and you get a bunch of flat tires) :P
I agree. I have a 94 DR650, and being a heavy bike is not going to be running low low pressures. But trying 1 lap at street pressures, then dropping down to the risk a valve step 18psi make a world of difference, especially to a beginner to offroading.
If you are going to be doing more than a short trail, it definitely is worth the tiny extra weight of a pump and the small time to raise and lower the pressure. If in doubt, you can at least go to the very bottom of what you are comfortable with on the street.
And not dropping your bike or even just fighting it less because it grips more is far less tiring. (couldn't resist) And if the concern is tire wear, that is true for street, but sliding on gravel and rocks is really bad for tire wear, so I would guess you actually save wear for having the lower tire pressure (as long as you aren't prolonged freeway driving)
Nice easy to understand explanation, thanks!! I've ridden both with full pressure off road and lowered pressure. For me the softer pressure instills way more confidence and makes the ride much safer and more enjoyable.
Right on! And thanks for commenting :D
Yes!
Lower pressure off-road but take in account variables. Terrain, temperatures, vehicle weight, tire sidewall strength, tube or tubeless, etc…
Great food for thought. 👍
Not fuel for thought, things to experiment upon! :D Less over-thinking, more field testing ;)
Would have pointed out Bret Tkacs advice, but you have that covered already. I think your idea of "trying out different settings by yourself" is more akin to the adventurer's spirit. And after all, Bret's beemer is more technological and probably assists his driving so that lowering pressure is not really needed (maybe?).
Good to see you again! was getting worried thinking that you left us :'(
Thanks for watching and commenting (as usual! :D)
Well, I don't really know why Bret wouldn't consider lowering the pressure by even just a nudge, but I don't think its because the BMW has good technology.
What those bikes can do is to be surprinsingly good off road CONSIDERING their weight and size and touring capacity...thats very different from just being good off-road (like proper enduro motorcycles) :P. I hope you know what I mean.
So, although a good BMW may perhaps behave better than expected, it definitely would have more traction (braking, accelarating, cornering, etc) with a lower tire pressure (not too low...just lower).
Although I don't agree with him on a few things here and there, I have a huge respect for Bret, so I don't think it would be right for me to try to guess and write down publicly why he says such a things.
If he sees this video, hopefully he will explain it himself =)
Nevertheless I am 100% confident on my teachings. I know all I am saying is true... but I do understand that "there are many truths" when we are talking about a trade-off. More traction or more rim/puncture protection? Its only natural that everyone will have their opinion =) ...damn, I should have used this sentence in the video! xD
Bret has explained the reason in his videos. His reasons are valid.
@0:54
I used the manual for a starting point because it was my first bike ever(196cc "mini" bike even though its not actually mini and when I was a kid it would have been called a fat tire trail bike but anyway haha).
I've ridden it a week and decided I don't like it and it feels soft.
The trail I ride daily is a mix of rocky dirt road, grass(mostly down the middle and if one drifts to the edge but then in some parts if one wants to ride a little faster the middle isn't as bumpy for me at least), and a little mud here and there.
Great in some places and too sof in other parts so I am trying to find a happy medium.
And that is why I am here, TY for sharing.
great video as always!!!
As always a very useful upload. Thanks a lot.
Always welcome! ^^
Great video......very sound advise.... Thanks from Canada!
Glad it was helpful! and thank you for commenting!
Good timing for this video. I've not been to happy with my T7 on gravel roads / pot holes. My ride is too rough. I watched your video on setting up the suspension on my T7, but I still can't get a smooth ride. So I have ordered a new rear spring (90nm - I am 200 lbs). In regards to air pressure I guess I was to heavily influence by Brett Tkacs video! I've been doing all my gravel riding at factory tarmac pressure. So when the rain stops gonna air down for some more tests. Think I'll start at 25psi front and back.
Glad I was helpful, Yukon! Are you running the Pirelli STRs? I suggest trying a different tire, at least on the front wheel. The STRs are nice on the street but very sub-standart off road in my opinion.
Personally, for 50-50 use I LOVE the anakee wilds
Advice that makes sense, thank you .
Thanks for commenting, David :D Glad I was helpful
You are absolutely right! Depending on the carcass of your tire, the (moderate) lowering of pressure may lead to additional wear, but that provides grip I need. At least, grip depends a lot more on suspention setting. When I ride a road setting on a rocky downhill slope, I shall not be surprised to feel like a drunken rabbit.
That shall be a topic for another video! Good idea!
I already have a series of 3 videos teaching how to set up suspensions (for dummies...I am not a suspension professional), but I should make a video explaining those simple things like why are there "street settings" and "rock settings" and "sand settings", etc.
Thanks for commenting!
Loving this channel 👍
Much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to comment
I gots to be honest, i only check my pressure`s in the first day i fitted a new tire and when i think its to low when riding. Each time i need some fresh rubber I buy a different tire and try it out on the road and in the dirt on different pressures, write it down and go with that for the life time of the tire. I don`t change pressure when going from road to dirt because around here i can`t stay in the dirt for more than a couple of km`s before i hit some asphalt and since i`m not racing i`ll just go a bit slower in the dirt.
If there was a place here i could stay in the dirt for let`s say 90min or more i`d deff air them down a bit but probably not lower than 1.5 bar on the rear because i don`t have rimlocks and i don`t wanna rip my valve stem of the tube. On the enduro bikes we ran as low as 0.5 bar but that`s with 2 rimlocks.
How is that rear shock holding up by the way? how much better is it than the stock shock?
Considering all the things you said, I think I'd probably do the same. There's no point in playing too much with the tire pressure if you can't spend enough time on any specific environment. Just pick an "average" pressure and stick with it =D
As for the shock, I will probably make a video about it eventually. I am still playing with the settings trying to get it eactly how I want it... but straight out of the box I can tell you it made a considerable difference. The bike can now handle hard hits and jumps much better, and in sand sections for instance the front wheel seems way more planted (thanks to the stability in the rear).
However, I must admit I had hopes that the differences would be more game changing. The bike is overall much better, but it inda still feels like the same bike. Does this make any sense?
I had hopes that it would feel like a DR650 or something like that.. closer, but not quite :P
Maybe it's just confirmation bias, and coming from mountain biking but I've always felt better on lower pressure. That's why I was kind of shocked when I saw Brett's video on running road pressure 🙈. Keep up the good work!
BMWs are known for having soft rims... considering he has been riding those for so long, maybe he is just playing safe (too safe in my opinion... i'd rather always have a low pressure and ride extra carefully when big rocks come up than to ride around all my life with high pressure just in case I find some rocks) ... but you know, there are no right answers, everyone needs to figure out what strategy suits them ;)
Olá Diogo, Obrigado pelo video!...
Tyres and tyre pressure discussions are ALWAYS a great theme, if you want to get into an argument, especially among the riders with the least amount of experience riding a motorcycle Off-road...
I have 3 motorbikes, A 1200GS, a 690 and a Vertigo Works 300 Trials bike, all are fitted with OFF-road, knobby tyres TKC 80 (GS) and Michelin Desert Race (690) Michelin Trials competition (Vertigo).
I run the following pressures:
On road: R1200GS Front 2.5 Bar, Rear 2.9 Bar. The 690 is about the same. The reasons. High speed stability, cornering and braking performance but mostly, safety, for the ones saying that they "forget" to re-inflate their tyres when going back on the road, well you can be quickly reminded because as soon as you go above 100km/h you tend to start feeling the death wobble pretty quickly, so if you don't decelerate or re-inflate the tyres, tough luck, your problem...
OFF-road: R1200GS Front 2 Bar, Rear 1 Bar (yep that is right one BAR) the 690 is about the same but some times I can even go lower to 0.5 BAR on the back for the 690 if it is really muddy and slippery or very very soft sand. For the Vertigo on Trials I run 0.6 Bar Front and 0.4 Rear. The reasons Traction and purely traction.
The only thing I don't agree with the majority of the tyre pressure videos is that they advise people to lower the pressure on the Front tyre, I think this is dangerous.
If you lower the pressure on your back tyre you gain traction, there is no possible discussion there, the more you lower it the more traction you get. The front tyre I don't feel that the result is so noticeable, but the consequences are. Lowering the pressure on the front tyre might give you pinch flats or worse unseat the tyre from the bead, both of these might be very dangerous I have ha friends crashing bikes because they have hit a rock at speed and the front tyre was damaged and deflated very quickly and in less than 50 meters he crashed, luckily with no serious consequences. So if I'm running lower pressures because of traction I lower the pressure on my back tyre to gain traction. I have never had a tyre spin on the rim (use rim locks) I've never had a pinch flat on the back (much less common on the back wheel) and certainly have never had a rear tyre come unseated from the rim.
Hope it help fuel the discussion a bit more. Keep up with the videos.
Thank you very much for such a complete comment!
Funny enough, your comment showed me its really impossible to agree when it comes to tire pressure xD
Because if I had to choose, I'd choose lowering the pressure on the front instead of the rear wheel :D
But maybe we can figure out why.
I assume you are somewhere from"The North" of Portugal, right?
I'm assuming this cause in the north there is a lot more hills and a lot more big rocks, and in this scenario i understand that you need a better inflated front wheel and that lack of traction in the rear is a real problem.
I am from ribatejo, and although i ride in all sorts of terrains, fast and smooth tracks are "my home", therefore i dont value some much rear traction as I value being able to go into a turn at 50-100km/h and knowing the front isnt going anywhere :D
(And i assure that in fast/compact dirt and gravel roads you can feel the benefits of lower front pressure just as well as you feel the benefits of lower rear pressure in sand/mud/hills, etc...the ride becomes muuuuch smoother, and you immediately gain a lot more confidence while turning at high speed)
Now i am very glad I didnt even mention front-to-rear pessures in this video, cause that would only make the discussion worse.
Note: I am NOT saying you are wrong. If my assumptions are correct, I totally agree with you :D
@@OFFroadOFFcourse I am from the North of Portugal but now live in Australia, so pretty much like Ribatejo. ;-)
Excelente, o vídeo que faltava!
Nem que seja só para dar o meu bitaite :D Obrigado por comentares!
The man's back! Soft, firm or stiff? Depends who you ask 😉😂
Always... and as long as it works for you, it works for you ;)
Adorei o vídeo, Diogo, e a teu jeito natural de interagir com a câmera, até pareces um ator de cinema....😊
Recebas um grande abraço meu e da Carmo... 🙏🥰
Hehehe, muito obrigado! Isto é uma trabalheira, mas da-me tanto prazer...
Um abraço/beijinho aos 2! E obrigado por verem!
Tenho uma 250cc que pesa uns 150kg seca, com piloto e carga completa chega a uns 250kg. Meu deslocamento envolve asfalto e terra. Uso 28 atrás e 26 na frente. Esses valores me atendem bem em ambos os cenários. Lembrando que o calor dilata o ar e aumenta a pressão, então esses números ganham até 3 PSI após algumas horas de estrada.
Parece-me bem, para uso misto!
Numa moto assim tão leve sugeria um pouquinho menos se fosse para fazer uma sessão séria de offroad, mas para uso misto parece-me optimo.
A dilatação da temperatura sinceramente acho que é um factor não muito relevante para nós comuns mortais.
O importante é estarmos confortáveis, se nao tivermos, pomos/tiramos ar. No fim, o número é só uma referência. Isto não é a formula 1 :P
Beautiful video!!! Which tires do you use for 50-50 use?? Thank you so much!!
For 50-50 use i usually do a little trick...instead of having 2 50-50 tires, i use a 60% offroad 40 on road tire on the front and a 50-50 or a 40-60 in the back.
That way both tires last more or less the same, but i have great traction all around.
For the front tire i am in love with the Michelin Anakee Wilds. For the rear maybe a Mitas e7+, a e09, e10, heidenau k60, motoz GPS, motoz adventure, etc.
Ritght now i am using Michelin Starcross V Hard (front) and Anakee Wild (back) cause i wanted to try a more agressive offroad setup :)
Great video!!! Thanks!!
For me 1,5 bar is the max and not the minimum for safe offroading because I do the vast majority of my "offroading" on the snow/ice that covers the roads for a few months whenever winter comes around.
Did you ever run close to 20 psi or lower on the XTR? I usually run 22 psi for off-road. Lately I was thinking of installing rim locks .. but it's a heavy bike and I am not sure if it's a good idea to lower the pressure down to 15psi where a rim lock would be advantageous.
Does anyone know if something happened to Pedro Mota? Haven`t seen anything from him since June 8th at Mago`s shop in Portugal.
Damn, just noticed that too. Hope he's alright!
He just released a couple of videos a few days ago! I assumo he was on youtube vacation :D
mais uma vez obrigado pela partilha, já agora fica uma ideia se conseguires fazer ou dar umas ideias sobre a yamaha xt600 E ou anterior como mota para um agajo sem experiencia blá blá blá , obrigado de qualquer maneira
Obrigado eu, por veres os videos!
Fazer reviews de motos "usadas" é uma ideia muito porreira! Obrigado mais uma vez :D
Quanto à XT600, eu ja fiz muuuuitos kilometros em várias, quase sempre por off-road (todas as variedades de offroad).
Posso-te dizer que é uma moto infinitamente mais facil de conduzir e de brincar do que, por exemplo, uma AfricaTwin 1000 ou mesmo uma T7, mas é um bocado "banheira" quando comparada com outras motos +/- da mesma época e valor (DR650, TT600, DRZ400,) que são mais leves, mais potentes e têm suspensões muito melhores.
Mas não quero desrespeitar a XT600! É um motão que te leva a qualquer lado! Salvo raras excepções, se não conseguires atravessar um caminho montado numa XT600, também não é numa DR650 que te vais safar :P
@@OFFroadOFFcourse mais uma vez obrigado pelo esclarecimento, pois como não tinha ideia nenhuma sobre esta mota fico agora mais esclarecido, pois andei muito tempo de mota mais propriamente 12 anos ( chuva e sol) mass com uma Honda cb500 e está mota até nos deixa mal habituados de tão fiável que é eheh, abraços e siga com os excelentes vídeos que fazes que eu vou seguindo.
so how is the handling with 1.5 bar? do you go over 15km/h on asphalt?
on my bike, 2bar and lower spells death on asphalt, front becomes twitchy and wants to tuck in at every bump in the road.
Ui, o tema dos pneus... 😅
Eu uso sempre pressões na ordem dos 1.8. Para tudo! Off-road e estrada... Os klms ensinaram-me a confiar menos nos pneus (com + pressão) e evitar parar para reparar um furo e evitar danos em jantes. Excepto em areia (quando é mesmo absurdo) é que tiro e baixo consideravelmente.
Vamos ter de concordar em discordar :D
Como tento explicar no video, pressoes na ordem dos 1.5 a 2 Bar nao deviam ser um problema de todo. Na opinião de muitos até é pressão a mais mesmo assim (e na opinião de outros, já é de menos).
Eu ODEIO ter de reparar furos, e odiava ter de trocar uma jante porque a empenei, no entanto com estas pressões nunca tive problemas desses.
Mas no fim, depende da moto, do pneu, do terreno e do estilo e velocidade do piloto, como sabes :D
Se está bem com 2.8, estás bem com 2.8! Porquê mudar? :D
As dicas servem é para quem anda aos papéis e quer melhorar mas não sabe como :)
MUITO orbigado por teres visto o video e por te teres dado ao trabalho de comentar ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse ahahha, é 1.8 e não 2. isso já não!!
btw, nada ver, mas há uns tempos meti-me a andar em off-road com pneus de estrada e... já não me lembrava sinceramente. aquilo até cumpre/desenrrasca!
Hey, it's nice, my manual pressures are equal to your recommended ones (manual says 1.5 bar for front, ant 1.5 for back (2.0 if loaded))!
Should I try lowering them then or just stick to 1.5?
Hey, thanks for commenting! What bike are you riding?
@@OFFroadOFFcourse XR125L
@@skardunas hey, that was my first bike!
I'd say keep the 1.5bar. Use less (like 1.2bar) if you are riding on sand or very sandy terrain, but overall 1.5 is ok and safe, to prevent punctured tires :)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse Thank you! Yeah, it's my first one too, having heaps of fun riding around on the gravel and in the forests. Might be bit lacking on the standart roads, hard to keep 90km/h sometimes, but other than that - amazing bike so far 👍
@@skardunas If you are not riding it very far, consider increasing the acceleration by changing the front sprocket for a smaller one. 1 tooth less is enough :)
I agree completely. I learnt this actually on mountainbiking, so if someone is scared of testing on the bike, this is a place where it's noticed very much and easily done. But I am also not the type who change pressure multiple times on a ride. Like you I like to keep a constant pressure in the Goldilocks region :) Thanks for another professional video. /Robert
Glad to know you watched and agreed! And thanks for commenting man, i appreciate it ^^
What about rim locks? Is it better to use them when you`re around 1.5bar?
On lighter dual-sports and enduro bikes (for witch 1.5BAR actually too high for off road) rim locks are a "must have".
For heavier dual-sports (600cc+) and advs i think the rim lock isnt that necessary (mainly cause you wont below 1.5bar that often).
Mind that the rim lock will unbalance the wheel so should not be used in high speed bikes
Is it just me or does running low psi (I run 12) not last? I have to air my tires back up to 12 psi every few days. It gets to around 6ish to 8 psi. I don’t ride much on road unless it’s to the grocery store. This bike I ride off road (bmw xchallenge). so it just me about the tubes not holding pressure?
👍🏻
I’ve watched a lot of Bret Tkacs stuff and respect him, but I struggle to agree with his tyre pressure view. NOT because I am an expert, and I DON’T actually lower my pressure, historically (lazy, didn’t know, no time, etc etc). It’s because I do /have done a lot of 4WDing in sand, and it is an undisputed fact that you must lower your tyre pressure in sand. So why would a motorcycle tyre not function in the same way? Well yes, shape, but pressure will still be a factor. Also, every motorcyclist who rides sand or off road that I’ve ever spoken to decreases the pressure and says it’s is easier.
What I can say is that at road pressures, sand is very difficult and disappointing.
Tell Bret to go and… check his tire pressures! 🙄
😂😈😂
You are mean Rad :D
I think Bret suffers a bit from "teacher's professional deformation". Which is a good and bad thing.
I respect his opinion, although I have enough confidence on my experience to disagree when I have to ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse I don’t remotely pretend to have experience… but I know what I feel when I change my tire pressure!
; )~
I have found that the dark art of tyres for motorcycles is best left to the manufacturers of the bikes and the tyres themselves. I say this mainly because of the insane speeds that the KTM 790 and 1290's are capable of. With a 21" front wheel, those things are going to start deforming at HIGH speeds if not inflated properly! It's a complete rabbit hole and normally results in a flurry of opinions and arguments either way! LOL Thanks for attempting it though.
Thanks for commenting (as usual :D ).
But i have to complain this time...you didnt pay any attention :p
My recommendations are for offroad use, and i said several times that low off road pressures reduce on road performance...that becomes way more serious if we are talking about bikes capable of reaching 250km/h and + (and when you actually use them to that point).
I stand my everything i said (which was not much...basically dont be afraid to try stuff, and 1.5-2Bar are a good starting)
Cheers ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse I did pay attention, the thing is that "dual-sport" or adventure bikes will never be trailered to the trails and there will ALWAYS be an on-road portion to the ride; so it needs to be considered. I have often reduced pressure, then forgotten to reinflate on paved section. This can be dangerous for the bigger, faster bikes. (which mine is NOT) ;-)
@@glinleyt i really dont what to say here Graeme xD... The title is pretty clear. These are "optimal" pressures for OFF ROAD adventure use, where obviously there always will be a considerable portion of on road involved, but certainly not 250km/h with 2 people on board and a lot of luggage.
Thats touring or sport touring...if you want to do that in the middle of an adventure trip, then definitely you will need to stop and fill up the tires :o
And if for some reason even alone and at low speed you feel that 2Bar is too low for any kind of On road use, then do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable. Infalte/deflate more often, or just like me, find a pressure that works "meh" enough on both environments.
...but certainly keeping the recommended Road pressure will not be ideal Off road.
I am sorry to criticize your comment like this man, but i think i did a pretty good job explaining a bunch of times throughout the video what is the intended use and the advantages/limitations of a lower tire pressure... After that, its up to the users to understand and adapt the knowledge and decide what to do with it :o
Great tip and advice..
It would be nice that I remember this every time I get on dirt!
But normally I just keep riding like an asshole🤣
On the XT you can set up those 1.7BAR and forget about that for the rest of your life :P...well, yo should re-check from time to time, just in case :D
Great informative video when I used to race Enduro‘s in New England I would run my KTM‘s tire pressure 13 psi now I run my Husqvarna FE501s at 23 psi For back Road riding in southern Vermont seems to be the perfect tire pressure
Yah, 13 PSI I guess it only makes sense if you are doing really slow speed and hardocre stuff. For "travelling" you don't need to go so low (in my opinion.. my background isn't light enduro motorcycles =) )
L-O-W-E-R.
That is all.
Thanks for commenting :D
I have a responsibility to keep thinks safe... I believe that most people who will try the 1.5-2Bar will realize they could go lower and get even greater benefits, but i also know that some other people cant really navigate through obstacles and have pretty heavy bikes with butter rims... So i prefer to guide them in the right direction but with some sort of safety net ;)
@@OFFroadOFFcourse all good Dio. On a big adv bike? For sure I wouldn't go too low.
On a 250 dual sport, I'm usually airing down to 15 psi in the trails, and back up to 28 on the road.
I have a second set of rims with rim locks, and a set of Pirelli mt43 trials tires. Those I'll go down between 5 & 8 psi. Rock crawling!
@@supermotardrider oh yeah, that sounds like a right setup :D
There was no irony on this video. Or was it?
Nah, sometimes when the topic is already too controvertial I try not to play too much with that :P