tire pressure

just baught my first bike, VFR800...bad ass!
and i also just ordered new tires, i was wondering the best pressures to use.
does weather have any effect?
thanks
billy

 

Use the tire pressure the tire manufacturer suggests. Can't go wrong when you are on the street.

It should be printed on the side wall of you tires.

Take Care!

BZ

 

number printed on the sidewall of thye tires is not correct, that is the max recommended pressure for that tire by that tire manufacturer

The HOnda recomended pressures are in your owner's manual and/or on a sticker on your swingarm.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but don't you want to go by the range the tire manufacture says?

The Honda pressure recommendations I always took as "Suggested" unless you have the OEM tires on the bike.

BZ

 

Bubba, Spike is right. So many people make the mistake of thinking the tire
pressure on the sidewall is the recommended pressure. It is the MAXIMUM
tire pressure. If you put the maximum air pressure in your tires and ride your
bike on California roads....your teeth fillings will fall out!
I ride my '98 solo most of the time. I weigh 210 lbs., and I have found that the bike seems to handle best with 32 psi in front and 36 psi in the rear, with
Bridgestone tires. Remember to check your tire pressures when the tires are
cold. After they heat up they could be approximately 4 pounds higher.
When I was racing 250 gp I used nitrogen because it allowed me to zero in on
the proper psi with very little increase after they were warm.
I find that having an air compressor in my home shop is really the only way to go. Wburns...good luck on your new ride. Keep the rubber side down

 

On the VFR have always used the recommended 36psi Front and 42psi Rear as measured first thing in the morning with cold tyres...Seems to work best for me, had tried to drop them 2-4psi at times but didn't like the change in feel so went back to standard 36/42 and stayed....

 

I guess I should have written my post with more information.

What I meant to say was:

When I put Metzler Z6's on the 97 I asked Metzler what pressures do you recommend? Metzler stated a min and max psi amount that I should be in. These number are close, but do not relect the same psi amounts in the Honda manual.

So my advice to Billy is, check with the tire manuafacture and see what min-max psi range they recommend for your VFR.

Tire pressure is like "what oil should I use?", it can turn into a big debate LOL!

BZ

 

That's fine as long as the tire manufacturer's rating is taking into account the MODEL of bike on which the tires are installed. If not, you should stick with the manufacturer's reccomendation of 36F/42R.

A recommendation by the tire manufacturer made independently from the model of bike can't account for the weight and/or front-to-rear weight bias of a particular model.


HTH,
Jake

 

Honda dealer recently told me that those psi figures in the manual are what should be used for "maximum tread wear", and not for best handling. He recommended 2 pounds less than the manual states both front and back for better ride and handling. That's HIS 2 cents..., but sounds right to me.

 

Along these lines my dad just put the little tattle tale valve caps from walmart on his busa that show green if 32 psi and red if less. They may not be a subsitute for properly checking but day to day if your not good at checking or on a long ride they could alert you of a problem. I think I might see what other pressures are available for my application (36/42).

 

Dont fool around with tire pressure. Get it right, and check it often. Your survival depends on it. Tire characteristics change drastically with different pressures. Too low of pressure, you can risk damaging your rim or even worse, it will roll the tire off the rim which in most cases will cause a horrific crash. Too high of pressure, the tire loses it grip and can cause instability problems while cornering.

Generally speaking, tire manufactuers have different pressures listed based on the different matrix of the tire (belt casings, plys, rubber composites). Dependingn on the weather mainly talking about temp, I usally run my 6-8 pounds below max tire pressure. Something to consider is as the tire heats up from riding, so does the tire pressure raise. On very hot days, tire pressures can raise more than 10-15 psi. Most road racers will compensate for this by lowering their tire pressure, than put heater on the tires to raise the pressure and make the rubber stick better.

If you are into high tech air pressure, try filling your tire with 100% nitrogen. This gas will not expand as much during the heating up the tires during hard riding. Plus nitogen weighs less than air making it the idea upgrade to decrease rotating mass and unsprung weight.

 

Just had new Michelin Pilots put on my '01 VFR and they are the best I've had. They're better in the wet than the Battlax BT020's were in the dry. I'm using 36F/42R and, although it sounds high, it's working great.

I always fill my tires using a mixture containing 78% nitrogen, by the way.
http://mistupid.com/chemistry/aircomp.htm

 

Wow! I thought that was a misprint! 42lbs? I've been riding sport bikes for years and never inflated a tire above 32lbs. I guess I'll try it.

 

the lower the pressure the more grip you will have but the tires will wear more, and the opposite goes for the higher you pump it up. but i wouldnt go lower than 32 on the street.

 

My bike doesnt want to initiate turns and then wants to fall over when it does. I'm thinking it is squared off tires, but it feels like excessively low tire pressure to me. I was running 29/30 psi, I pumped it up to 41/35 yesterday but I didnt have much time to try it out. It didnt feel that much better in the mile I road it but there may have been an improvement. Wish I could ride it today but I hurt my shoulder doing yard work yesterday and its killing me.

 

1st thing is that you did your air backwards. You want 36/42 (f/r).
2nd check the roundness of the tyers. Look at them, and run you finger from one side to the other.
What you are describing is squared off tyers.

 

Tire pressures... Some thoughts
I've found my dunlops like 38/40, going up or down doesn't seem to alter the handling dramatically. Higher pressure when wet is the way to go and long life are important to me (15k on my current road-smarts), so I like higher pressures.
78% nitro mix is best (cheapest)
I don't think I would notice the loss of unsprung weight with 100% nitrogen (LOL)
Honda's reccs are likley the safest for the average rider and you can't really go wrong with that. A little higher in the summer to reduce heat would also be a good idea.
Read the load rating on the tire to see how close you are and set press accordingly.
Happy trails

 

i would hope its the cheapest. its free on the on the planet im from.

 

Now thats funny! I had to check but your right the earths atmosphere is roughly 70% nitro and 20% oxygen. I was going to ask where people are buying bottled tire gas, thanks you just helped me save face.