Motorcycle Tire Pressure and Why It’s Important! | MC GARAGE
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- Back to basics! Checking tire pressures is the most fundamental of maintenance items, yet most riders fail to do it as often as they should. (Hint: You should be doing it at least every other week!) In this video from the MC Garage, Senior Road Test Editor Ari Henning explains the importance of properly inflated tires as well as where to look to find the recommended pressures for your bike.
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We know, tire pressure is hardly an exciting subject, but it is really important. After all, your tires are the only thing connecting your motorcycle to the road, and tire pressure affects a lot of stuff like traction, handling, stability, ride comfort, and tread wear.
Checking tire pressures is the most fundamental of maintenance items, yet most riders fail to do it as often as they should. As a rule you want to check your tires at least every other week. Make sure you're using a decent tire gauge (see Tools 101: Tire Gauges), and check the tires when they're cold. That doesn't mean waiting until winter, it just means doing it before you ride since the tire will heat up as it rolls down the road.
Left alone, your tires are going to deflate. Tubeless tires bleed down more slowly than tube-type tires, but in any case the fact that air molecules find their way out of tires all on their own means that under-inflated tires are pretty common.
If your tire pressures are too low, then you end up with a soft tire and a big old contact patch. That leads to sloppy, heavy handling, premature wear, excess friction and tire temperature, and poor fuel economy.
On the other hand if your tire pressures are too high, you’ll have a really small contact patch and a very hard tire. That means less traction and a rough ride.
So how do you know what the correct pressure is? Some people go by the pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire. That’s the wrong place to look. That figure is the maximum allowable pressure for the tire, and the recommended pressure is sure to be well below that.
The right place to look is in your owner’s manual, or right on your motorcycle. There’s likely a sticker on you bike’s swingarm or on the frame that lists the pressure for your particular bike.
And since tire pressure is so critical, you’ll want to use a quality tool to check it. Those cheap pencil gauges are convenient but they’re notoriously inaccurate and are good for a ballpark reading at best, so you should invest in a decent gauge.
So in review: Check your tire pressures at least every other week; use a quality tire gauge; and take the measurement when the tires are cold.
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Oddly enough checked the pressure on my Daytona 675R today, holy shit....21 psi front 29 rear, manual calls for 34 front 36 rear. That seems dangerously low, I'm disappointed in myself for not checking sooner! Good video!
Just did my speed 1050
Excellent reminder, Ari. Thanks. From Murphy's Laws of War: The important things are always simple; the simple things are always hard; the easy way is always mined.
sensible stuff. i didn't bother checking mine for a month or so, but when i did and inflated properly, the difference in feel & handling really surprised me, so lesson learned !!
Oh man I miss this guy, Hope he is doing well..
It also matters how hard you ride, I started riding with tyres around 38psi but now I ride around 28-30 psi because the harder you ride the warmer the tyres get and of course the more they expand. If you commute and don't ride hard go by the label, but if you ride harder reduce tyre gradually and keep an eye on your tyre ware
Be careful when you go to the track. I crashed the first time I went. The rear tire went up 6 PSI just from the heat generated and the the day heating up. You can either check the pressures through out the day or set and forget. I normally just set and forget now.
26 front/24 rear
i am alwayse surprised at how many people think the recommended tire pressure is on the tire itself.
because with bicycles it is like that ;)
For mine it is
My tire PSI matches the swing arm recommendation
On many tires, it is!
But most bikes have their own PSI numbers printer either on the drive chain cover or the tank.
Same here my swingarm psi is equal the to the tire psi
Anyone watching in 2024?
Yes
Me!
Yep!
Yep
Mayyyyybe
Best call is this: git your Toyota and car tire pump on, then check for pressure with it and inflate your bike's tires accordingly.
A pretty decent pump will list both Psi and Kg on the gauge, easy to monitor during the process. I made a schedule to check both the bike and car's tires at the end of every month just to use that convenient tire pump.
And yes, ditch the dumb gauge!
I think you should explain "sloppy Handling" when many people states that (low pressure = more traction).
I get better traction on sunny, 80 or 90 degree days with 40 psi than I do on overcast, 28 degree days with 28 psi, and I'm talking about a swift street pace (45 degree lean angle, no hanging off, no dragging knee). I may eventually try 20 or 25 psi in Winter. (We used to race at 30 psi in Summer.) And don't dare do a swift pace on a 50 degree day with 40 psi, that's crash material (video on the way). I'm slipping a little bit as low as 32 psi that day. The sun and wind make a huge difference on pavement temps, such as a little slide vs an actual crash. Be mindful of air temp, wind and sun. (I've never ridden on valcanically heated roads, so feel free to chime in if you have.)
I was finally found unswer..your so smart and intelligent. I will recommend you to all my American & Polish friends..thanks. Peter
In places like Georgia where our seasons changes rapidly but don't always stick 80 on day, 50 the next, 80 the day after that, I check my pressure more often because the temperature loves to mess with it. (On my mountain bike and my cage, unfortunately don't have a motorcycle yet)
The indication on the tyre isn't for the maximum allowed pressure, it's an indication for the maximum allowed weight at said pressure. Just wanted to make that clear.
I agree that Track Pressures shouldn't be run on the Street because you will never get the amount of heat into the Tire that you would on the Track. I do not agree that you should run Manufacturers recommendations that are usually around 34front and 36rear. Again there are a lot of factors to take into account. What kind of Bike ( Sport or Cruiser ), Suspension setup, Tire make, Rider weight, Bike weight, and style of riding. For Example, I ride a 1990 Honda Hawk. Wet weight is 380lbs, Michelin Pilot Powers, Penske8983 on the back with Straight Rate Springs up front tuned to my weight of 140 lbs. I run 33psi front and 31psi rear on the Street. Heavier Riders with heavier Bikes would run higher Pressures but for me these pressure provide the best stability for all the factors I have listed above and the reason for running higher front then rear pressure is because the rear get more heat/friction being attached to the Throttle/Engine. Once the Tires have warmed up and Pressures increase ( Hot Pressure) this ratio will eqaulize. I would run the same front/rear ratio on the Track but it would be much lower numbers. Probably around 28-30front and 26-28 rear. Manufacturer ratio and recommendations don't take into account any of the factors I listed above and are designed to be a catch all Rule to cover their asses for liability reasons.
I hadn’t checked my pressure since I got new tires (about 3 months) I was at 26psi front and 35 rear - I felt unconfident in my stability in corners, always felt like it was going to kick out, and handled weirdly...
Just inflated and damn it feels completely different, a lot more planted, confident and handling is amazing
Hello, love this series. A few video suggestions. One on winterizing your bike or on combatting rust would be extremely helpful. Keep up the good work.
Ari Hennings you're doing a great job. I like M.G a lot, love from India
Tires are one the top3 most interesting topics regarding motorcycles. A SportTires group review video would be an amazing adition from you guys! Thank You.
I still have a question. For example, my bike has the following recommended Tyre pressures: 2.0 Bar Front, 2.5 Bar rear. But those are pressures for the recommended tyres: Dunlops and Pirelli. I have a set of Bridgestone BT45's and I found them to be too soft using those pressures. So I phoned Bridgestone, and their representative said that the recommended Tyre pressures for my bike + my tyres were: 2.5 bar front and 2.8 rear! Since their Tyres have less "lateral wall support". So should I still go with the bike values?
I support the comments in this video, I had too much pressure in my back tire when it was balanced, and it diminished traction, increasing stopping distance.
Who died? I did. Tire Pressure!
Thanks for the clarification! Happy Holidays! ❤🎉😊
I check my tire pressure before every ride. Probably overkill, but it gives me peace of mind, and I'd rather be in the habit than to be reminded by a sloppy handling bike while out on a ride.
Where can I buy that pressure gauge you're using?
it is a motion pro digital tire pressure gauge :)
Just go with one better. www.amazon.com/JACO-ElitePro-Tire-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B015HURK64?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_13221225011
no joke, I just finished looking up my bikes tire pressure recommendations online right before pulling up my RUclips feed and seeing this video posted today. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
Did you just buy the bike today?
Tomos13 no ive had it for a bit. I just wanted to double check the number.
***** yeah I went right outside and checked. How about a series on how to properly prep your bike for winter storage (riding season is almost over up here in Idaho) and a full spring prep series when its time to ride again. I'm sure I can find the info somewhere but I'm a subscriber to your channel for a reason. Keep putting out that top notch content.
***** yeah I'm originally from San Diego. I miss the weather, waves and Rubios fish tacos.
Can you address wheel alignment? What are the best practices of aligning the wheel, how much slop is reasonable, how to check if the wheel needs aligned and so on. Thanks Ari. Great videos. I find them very helpful.
Tire pressure should be different depending on riding style and temperature? We don’t come far with that sticker unfortunately…
Hi,
Can you do a video on spoked/ laced wheel maintenance what to look for, adjust, protect (wash & coat) etc?
thx,
MC Garage is great. Thanks for continuing to make these videos shorts.
I would like to see more motorycle review/adventure videos with yourself and Zac though. Thats great stuff! They don't need to be with brand new bike either. You guys could do some old bike compairos possibly for the used market buyer.
Cheers
Dan, Up in Canada. Still waiting for Spring weather and this damn salt to clear off the roads.
I've been filling my tires with helium for years. The weight of the bike drops dramatically because of this, which reduces the need for higher pressures. An extra plus is when you hit a speed bump at 70 MPH, the landing is delayed by several minutes.
bruh
Thanks for the info man. I knew 42 psi on the tire was not correct.. didn't know the info was on the frame.
Tire pressure is part of your TCLOCKS. OK maybe I didn’t get that perfect however, the first thing I did this morning was check my tire pressure on my 2021 Kawasaki Z 900 RS café. If you would’ve asked me to check my tire pressure 15 years ago I wouldn’t have even known what you were talking about LOL but now I’m educated now we have RUclips
Or, appropriate tire pressure depends on the bike, tire, rider, ambient temperature, load on the bike (and distribution), riding style (twisties versus interstate), and speed.
nice video but failed to mention the need to add tyre pressure when carrying pillion etc... You can also get valve caps that warn you if pressures are dropping by showing green, yellow & red - most of the time you can just tell by looking at them if they are low. You can also get valve adapters that change the angle of the stem so you can fit cheaper pressure gauges easier or simply do what most people do and physically pull them over.
any advice on tire pressure for a track day? I've heard people throw out random numbers but what is the right way to set tire pressure for the track?
Sure: tires still need pressure when at the track.
You're welcome.
Depends on the tire mfg check the UTQG for age and the pressure owners manual doesn't specify what didn't come w the bike
That intro made me smile!
Ok, but here is a question to which I still don't know the answer. One should use the tyre pressure indicated in the manual if the bike has the tyre brand indicated in the manual. What happens if the bike has a different tyre brand?
The swingarm recommended tire pressure is a base to start from, not what the actual pressure (factors depending) your going to use.
Chances are that recommended pressure is not going to be the optimal pressure for you
I didn't check mine for like 3 months and it was 19 psi 😖 got it to 33 so it's oki now but I did notice a difference.
Love your work from the MC Garage, Ari .... still, it seems like you just scratched the surface on a huge, and very important subject here, especially considering the vast array of bikes you guys represent. Maybe a little more in-depth revisit of the subject at some point? Just a thought. ATB!
Tire pressure is vital, but varies based in bike, riding style and of course load. A little experimentation for your current tire model and your bike is essential for keeping rubber to the road/gravel and longevity.
That intro deserves a like
You should've talked about airing down when going to the track and why. I've seen a lot of people who don't achieve good grip at the track due to not airing down.
Ari Henning True! I'll be waiting for the video Ari. Been following your videos since motor trend and they're top notch! And we miss the dreadlocks lol.
I'm exited to install a Tire Pressure & Temperature Monitoring System. One that will work with Ride-On tire sealant.
So using nitrogen for air, they claimed that nitrogen has larger molecules and it's harder to leak through the rubber. However I found through autos it isnt worth the cost ...any thoughts ?
I have a KTM 390, which says 26 and 28.5 psi on the swingarm. I fill them to 26 and 29. The problem is, every two weeks, the tyre deflates enough to cause heavy steering. Is this normal? If not, what would be your guess on what's wrong? And advice to fix?
P.S. My use is approximately 30km (18.5mi) a day. Thanks.
I get it now. Just bought a new bike and on the sidewalls it said 32 psi in the front and 40 in the back. I'm a new rider but that seemed like a lot even to me. In the owner's manual it says 20 psi front and back so I guess that's what I'll go with.
Someone’s got to say it . . . Mmm num ba de, Dum bum ba be, Doo buh dum ba beh beh
Pressure . . . pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Ruins tires too.
If you're a spirited rider on the street, the manufacturer pressures on the frame are way to high. Not even going to get into track pressures.
Tire pressure is sooo important! I have a completely different ride without the right amount.
wow thanks for this.... I always rely on vulcanizing shop without measuring my tires.
How about supermoto, I want a good psi where I can get really good grip without steering being heavy. Mainly for street and sometimes twisties
Can I follow the written psi on my tire instead? i noticed that there are different psi written on each of every tire depending on its brand
My bike doesn’t have the sticker so what should I put the tire pressure to?? Max is 42 psi
Hey Ari, do you allways go by the recommendation? i heard a lot of people are puting about 3-5 less psi on each tire, mostly on spory riding or hot summer days. what is your opinion? thanks
please make a video about nitrogen inflated vs air inflated tires
Apparently it's a bad thing for motorbikes, cause tyres heat up a fair bit and it becomes unstable. At least that's what I was told.
tire pressure changes dependent on manufacturer. Dunlops can run in the 30 where avons can run in the 50 on the same bike
New rider here. Thx for posting.
hi Ari, i just recently change from Tube to tubeless, do i still need to follow what my manufacturer recommend on tube type for pressure?
Thank you for the simple but useful explanation
Should I drop some tire pressure on a cold and wet roads during rains?
Quick and really stupid question: So say I check the tires before I hit the road and they are not the number that the owners manual recommend and need air. From my understanding of the video, the air pressure will increase once I get on the road. So I ride to my local pump how will I know the correct number to inflate the tire by since the number at the pump will be inaccurate since the air pressure increased?
Ok, for example my manual says my front tire needs to be 32psi, but doesn't take in consideration the driver weight, I am not your average guy, I am bigger guy (power lifter) I weight little over 220lbs, so what tire pressure should I run ? Still 32psi as recommended or more like 34-36psi ?
The sticker on that Monster 1200 says F33 R30.. My MT09/FZ09 says F36 R42. Seems abit high for a bike thats 20kg lighter than the Ducati?
Maybe your tyre is of less width ??? 🤔
Tyres of less width need higher pressure...
Yeah. Keep it like F33 R37, I think that won't be a problem...
Book manual isn't good place to look if you use difference tire then was mounted in the factory. My Hondas book guide works for Bridgestone semi-offroad tire but for Pirelli street tire pressure from the book is wrong (tire became slippery), so I had to adjust tire pressure to the tire not the book manual. So the best way to check is recommended tire pressure for given tire. Problem is, if on the tire there is max pressure, where should we look for tire pressure if manufacturer doesn't provide it. So in the end we have a problem:/
Whats the right psi pressure for Diablo Rosso III , the front size is 120/70 ZR 17 and back is 160/60 ZR17 ?
Hi there i have a triumph street triple 660 2015 model. i check the owners manual, they say put recommended pressure and there's none. check the street triple if there a sticker for the recommended pressure and there's none as well. at the moment i put 40 psi front and back.
Do you have any recommendation on pumping up tires at home? I don't trust the gauges at the local petrol stations. I have a high quality bicycle floor pump at home (Lezyne floor pump). I don't see why it wouldn't work other than maybe taking a while to pump the required volume of air.
I'm a little worried that the recommended tire pressure in the manual is the same as the maximum tire pressure written on the tire. It should be way lower right?
my dealer put 45lbs in both tires on my new zx6r 2024 (raven killer edition) is this too much air? and yea thats the cold temp
Short, sweet, and straight to the point. Thank you.
it also depends on what surface you are riding on off-road you want to lower the pressure and if you are going on a long trip you can bump it up.
Labelled tyre pressures are based on stock tyres, if I were to change my tyres to a different brand should I use the bike manufacturer as a guide? Or is their a calculation to enable correct pressure?
As a long time fan of the show, just a suggestion in these MC Garage videos: Insert some humor, rigor, emotion, sarcasm, facetiousness, funny stuff into the process of the demonstrations to liven them up a little bit. They are great, but a little clinical.
Thanks for the quality content and value.
:) I understand. You guys are doing a great job and have some quality content. I know you've been running blooper reels on some of them.
Even better is to check yr tire pressure at every fill up at the gas station, or at least once a week. Just give it a once over & also check for nails or whatnot stuck to it. It'll give u peace of mind every time u go for a ride.
I took a spill yesterday on my motorbike (not motorcycle) and was wondering if it was partly caused by lack of tire pressure. I was in a neighborhood with very small streets, so wasn't going too fast and came upon a very sharp turn. A car was coming from the opposite direction and since the road was very narrow, I quickly steered even sharper to the left to avoid hitting the car. The bike just slipped out from under me. There was some loose gravel on the road, so that couldn't have helped. I suppose I could have avoided this if I were going a bit slower when making the maneuver, but it also seemed like the bike should have been able to handle it. Any ideas on how much tire pressure could have influence this?
I want them to go over the different pressures. still kind of new to riding my Zx6r recommends I think 36 front 42 rear or something. When I took it to the shop they asked my if i planned on riding spirited to do 32 from 34-36 rear. Why is that if he said lower pressure would cause worse handling?
Mine is not stock tyres.. should I increase tyre pressure?
What to do when the tire pressure in the manual is different from the one in the swingarm sticker? I own a KTM Duke 200 and the manual says 29/29 psi (Front/Rear solo rider) while the swingarm says 25/28.5 psi. Is this much of a difference or should I just choose the average between the two figures?
My motorcycle (duke 790) recommends 2,3 bar in the front and 2,6 bar in the back. Should I put those numbers in or less for more sporty street riding? I have now 2.0 in the front and 2.3 in the back.
I know some cars nowadays use nitrogen. and there are even nitrogen fill ups at gas stations. I work at a Ford dealership and people get it all the time. i was a bike mechanic for many years. however. with nitrogen molecules being bigger it's harder for them to escape the porous rubber. it won't oxidize your rims as it's has less moisture than air. but it also doesn't fluctuate like air would when driving. I don't have it in my motorcycle tires. I was just wondering g what would your opinion on putting nitrogen in Motorcycle tires be? good thing or bad thing? I'd like to see people's opinions on this. technically there is no right or wrong answer. annnnd go!
Would you have to constantly check cold psi? Would it make a difference at warm temps? On the race track I run 32psi. When they are up to temp it's about 36 psi. Same with the street after riding hard. Do u think nitrogen would fluctuate like that. Or stay around the same 32psi? Think u can do a testing video?
Hey Ari!
I've got myself some new tyres (from a different brand) and none of the manuals or websites list the optimum tyre pressure for the tyre that I have.
The new tyre has a smaller aspect ratio than the old one. Should I stick to the old tyre pressure?
I have few small hairline cracks developed inside the treads of my Tyre after riding on a flat Tyre for a fair amount of distance. The rims are fine though. The cracks are on the sides near the chicken strips. Should I change the Tyre?
mine is 42 psi rear, 36 psi front. 2000 CBR 929... I have a friend that has been riding way longer than me and he said the rear was too high.
It is if you're riding the twisties. I hope you're not dead.
I read in one of the website can't remember which one. It says to pump your tire pressure around +1 +2 psi more than your manual recommended pressure. Will it have any side or bad effect to the bike?
For a dirt bike shod i run what dunlop recommended (12-14) or shod i run what you recommended.
My dirt bike does not have a recommendation for tire pressure.
I don't have a garage or an air compressor so I am filling my tires at the gas station. Any tips on how to get the right pressure when I have to ride a mile before I can fill up and my tires are probably a bit warm?
Hey can you tell me, should i fill normal air in my bike tire or Nitrogen.
What is good for bike tires.?
Hey man. I have a question about newly installed tires. How long could it take for the tires side wall to properly fixed to a mags's side wall(im not pretty sure if my terms is even correct). I just changed my tire days ago and the pressure is too hard.
What if you opted to put a bigger tire what would be the recommend tire pressure?
Would you go still for the owners manual recommendation?
how to confirm , if the tyre pressure sticker is wornout and no way to find out the exact pressure required , is there any universal method to find the psi ? ty
@Motorcyclist Magazine, Your advice on Tyre Sealant.
Are they safe to use?
Does it effect the tyre's longevity?
Do they have any adverse effect?
Will it work efficiently on tropical conditions?
Any advice would be well appreciated...
Hi it dont say on my bike😅 got a 125cc frame with 390cc engine KTM duke. Anyone got any recommendations for tire pressure?
Thanks for vid. Really wish to see Fuel Pump System (How to clean and How they work), THANKS
Does Nitrogen filled tyre really make a signifucant difference compared to compressed air filled one???
Is the recommended tire pressure valid for all tires you could try on your bike?
I know that some tires have a different recommended pressure, mostly sport and track oriented ones, so I am wondering whether there is actually a rule to follow. Unless the tire maker says different, use what the bike maker says?
Another reason I ask is also because some bikes with similar characteristics, like dimensions, power, weight, etc, have different recommended tire pressures.
For my bike they are 2.5 with 2.9 bar while for a friend's bike they are 2.25 with 2.5. Similar characteristics. Why?
Tire pressures seem a bit like oil preferences, everyone has a favorite.
Not the same tires out of the factory. It would make sense to treat it as a baseline, though I have to wonder how they're determined when you have the same pressures recommend for a single passenger and full load. In my case, on a naked 600cc engine with 100hp they're 2.5 and 2.9 in both cases.
My problem is that if I do not understand the logic behind it I have trouble sticking to the recommendations.
Motorcycle adventures Southern Africa
What if I changed tires? Should I follow the stock tire pressure recommendation?
What was the specific brand of gauge you used Ari? Inquiring minds want to know.