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[ST] Tire Pressures, a week behind the thread(s)...



Holy smokes!  You actually put 42PSI in your tire?  The tire manufacturer
tells you the MAX pressure to put in, right on the side of the tire.  That
doesn't mean it's the pressure YOU should run with.  I run with 31/32 in the
front and 33-35 in the rear on my BT020s, but my bike is maybe a bit lighter
than your bikes are.  Mine's around 450 lbs.  Not sure what you ST guys
weigh with luggage and passengers and whatnot.

Now I've got nearly 15k miles on my bike, and I put them on at about 7k
miles, about a year ago.  My BT020s have worked GREAT for me.  I expect
about 10k out of the rear before replacment.

As I've read it before, the optimum tire pressure to have is the point at
which the PSI increases by 2 after you ride like you normally do.  So, say
you have your tires both at 40PSI cold, and you ride like a maniac, and
immediately stop on the side of the road and check, and you still have 40 in
the front, and 41 in the rear.  That would indicate you have too much
pressure.  On the other hand, if you have 25PSI cold, and ride like a
maniac, and you immediately stop and see that you have 29 in the front, and
31 in the rear, then you know you've got too little pressure in your tires.
This is similar to what David Funk said, which was 10% difference (and not
2PSI, which is more like 8% different).

I think the 42 is over-inflated, and is causing some of your tires to wear
prematurely.  Therefore, I agree with don draper's message.  Unless you're a
guy like collett_mc, who needs full pressure for his riding style
("overloaded" bike).

And to the guy that said he doesn't need to be on the track because he has a
perfect driving record:  YOU NEED TO GO TO THE TRACK.  Your driving record
means nothing.  It's all about the fun.  And you'll still learn something.

Luke Sankey
sank@xxxxxxx
99 Buell Thunderbolt S3

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