When I have taken my 14 in to the dealer (just twice) for its first two services, they seem to like setting my tire pressure really low in comparison to the manual's 42 psi. Don't ask me what they had it set to exactly because I don't recall as I have changed it to what the manual states. I think the front tire they set somewhere around 36 psi, and the rear was higher.

Why would the dealer set the pressure below what the manual states?
I guess the reason I am asking is because I have set my tires to the "proper" pressure and my front tire's profile is off. It seems to have a strip in the middle, maybe 1 1/2" to 2" wide that is flat and seems to bulge out a bit. Perhaps bulge is not the best term, but the only one that comes to mind right now.

I am wondering if I need to lower my front tire pressure again into the 30's. Any thoughts?

front tire's profile is off. It seems to have a strip in the middle, maybe 1 1/2" to 2" wide

That makes sense CycleJunkie. Mine have about 5200 miles on them, so I need to get that sorted out.

Thanks much.

I run 42 in the rears but the front I run slightly lower. I usually run 38 in the front, I've found the lower pressure gives a little more feed back and better wear.

Thanks for the feedback heathun.
I think I will play around with it at 42 and then 38 and see which I prefer.

42 front and rear here, I like the quick low speed turn in with higher pressure up front, below 38 it feels truck like to me.

Kruz

I just got a new BT-016 put on the front this afternoon. I changed my rear late last year and have not put much mileage on it. It too is a BT-016. I don't know what pressure they put in the tire, but turning it is really easy...I will have to check the pressure tomorrow.

Stoopid me for going to the dealership today.
Saw the 09 SE Candy Burnt Orange *droolz*, and now I am thinking of trading my 07 black in for it, but I still owe too much on it for what I could get on it as a trade-in

Without looking at mine, the dealer said their book says they can give me $5.5k trade-in, but probably more since I purchased my 07 from them, low mileage, etc.

* Last updated by: Rhavin on 5/19/2009 @ 8:13 PM *

Ya Rhavin,I'm likin the 09 Orange meself-However-I've got my Baby set up just as I want it.I'd have to go and change all my stuff onto a new ride-nah,wouldn't be worth it to me.But that color is very cool(and the graphics of course).

Agreed blue07. It doesn't work financially for me right now anyway, but it was fun to consider...at least up until I checked the numbers.

I run 38 rear and 36 front cold allowing for up to 4 degrees increase when Tyre is hot and all my tyres are usually worn right out on the sides before the middles but that's just crazy me and twisties. But is usually a good sign the straight line wear is okay which indicates pressures are ok.

36 Front, 36 Aft, that's my recipe for wider contact patch. Only for two-up I take it up a notch to 38 F & 40 R.

Have to agree with Kruz , had 38 rear 34 front didn't like the way it cornered, changed to 42 rear 40 front had a major change in the way it turned into corners, running PR2 tyres . Bike and tyres loved the higher pressures.

After having my suspension set up last month my the dealer,, he told me the bike tires are like stock car tires,,, the tires are as much as the suspension as the springs are? hummmm,, I watch F1.

I keep mine at 42/42. And have really felt in the wind/ cross wind I get pretty blown all over the road. I ask the cruiser person I was with, are you getting blown all over,, she said nope. Bikes are about same gross weight.

So Im just checking my psi before my ride and then using that for a feel. I think last time I was out I was at 38/38.

The dealer said my with my weight/ size I could run them at 35/35? Im about 280lbs.

So what is the bottom for psi testing? 35psi about it? I check mine cold.

About to do another test now,, I will check back latter. I think the 42/42 makes for quicker turns... the lower might help he getting blown all over the road.

Thanks.

i run 36f and 42r which seems to give good feedback and good wear. the way a tire wears depends a lot on where you ride. i ride in the nw nc mountains where there are a lot of curves so i seldom wear the center out before the sides. but if you live in fl it will be a problem. i have yet to get more than 3000 miles out of a tire on this bike. my cousin came over last weekend to meet for a ride on his sportster 1000. his tires looked low to me so i ask him how much air pressure he was running. said he didn't know, he'd never checked them. i checked them for him. front had 11psi and rear had 18psi. i guess it's just part of the care free harley lifestyle. cooooooooooooooool.

Just use the 10% method. It works for any tire and any set up and gets you the ideal pressure for the temp range the tire is designed to work in.

And the 10% method is?

Set your tire pressures and go out for a decent paced ride and heat the tires up, recheck your pressures. What you are wanting is a 10% increase between cold pressure and hot pressure, that will be the ideal pressure for the tire to perform.

If you get less than 10% between the 2 then the pressure is to high and you need to reduce it (the tires aren't getting up to an ideal temperature). If you get more than 10% between the 2 then the pressure is too low and the tire is generating too much heat.

I have 4 guages, and every one reads a different psi with a difference of 8 being the most and 3 the least. 2 are the exact same model, and still read different. These aren't cheapies either! They range from $15 to $50, and I have 4 because I have one in each car. So personally I don't think anyone knows what their tire pressure really is.

Sharkey, here is the simplest description of the 10%/20% method I THINK heathun is referring to. If I'm wrong, I'll accept the flame.

"A technique for those wanting to get the most out of their tires on the street is to use the 10/20% rule.

First check the tire pressure when the tire is cold. Then take a ride on your favorite twisty piece of road. Then, measure the tire pressure immediately after stopping. If the pressure has risen less than 10% on the
front or 20% on the rear, the rider should remove air from the tire. So for example, starting at a front tire pressure of 32.5 psi should bring you up to 36 psi hot. Once you obtain this pressure increase for a given rider, bike, tire, road and road temperature combination, check the tire pressure again while cold and record it for future reference.

Each manufacturer is different. Each tire model is different. A tire design that runs cooler needs to run a lower pressure (2-3 psi front) to get up to optimum temperature. The rear tire runs hotter than the front tire, road and track. So the rear tire cold-to-hot increase is greater. Dropping air pressure has the additional side effect of scrubbing more rubber area.

When I used the tire pressures recommended by Ducati (32.5F/36R) for my 916 on my favorite road, I got exactly 10/20% on a set of Bridgestone BT-012SS. So I guess I’m an average rider and the BT-012SS runs at an average operating temperature compared to other brands.

For the track you’ll have to drop the cold tire pressures an additional 10/20%. Track operation will get tires hotter (increasing the cold-to-hot pressure range) so starting at say 32/30 psi now should bring you up to the
same temperature (and pressure) that 35/39 psi gave you for the street.

Don’t even think about running these low track cold pressures on the street.

Finally, dropping tire pressures on street tires for track use has its limitations, so street compound tires on the track often get too hot and go beyond sticky to greasy. That’s why you have race tires. Race tire compounds are designed for severe operation at these higher temperatures for a limited
number of thermal cycles. On the other hand, race tire on the street usually won’t get up to the appropriate temperature for good performance. At street speeds, the race compound often won’t perform as well as a street tire."