load rating questions
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Joined: Mar 2017
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From: Aurora, Co
load rating questions
I took a long look at my Sumitomo Apen Touring tire. Load rating is 1201lbs at 51 PSI. Bike weighs in at 900 lbs. Between me and my wife add another 300 lbs. Already at 1200 lbs. Add on the trailer weight and we have surpassed the 1201 max load. Looking at the tire specs on tire rack.com i went through 30 tires in the 195 55 16 size range. Everyone had a 1201 load rating. Should that concern me? Why or why not?
Not giving up on the CT idea but i need a tire now that i can feel comfortable on with my wife, towing a trailer, and not worrying about the death wobble. Putting a Michelin MT back on til i understand all the nuances of speed rating, max load capacity, and max PSI. If it were just me i wouldn't mind taking the chance. Please help me understand.
Not giving up on the CT idea but i need a tire now that i can feel comfortable on with my wife, towing a trailer, and not worrying about the death wobble. Putting a Michelin MT back on til i understand all the nuances of speed rating, max load capacity, and max PSI. If it were just me i wouldn't mind taking the chance. Please help me understand.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 3,423
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From: Northern, Ohio (Yuck!)
I took a long look at my Sumitomo Apen Touring tire. Load rating is 1201lbs at 51 PSI. Bike weighs in at 900 lbs. Between me and my wife add another 300 lbs. Already at 1200 lbs. Add on the trailer weight and we have surpassed the 1201 max load. Looking at the tire specs on tire rack.com i went through 30 tires in the 195 55 16 size range. Everyone had a 1201 load rating. Should that concern me? Why or why not?
Not giving up on the CT idea but i need a tire now that i can feel comfortable on with my wife, towing a trailer, and not worrying about the death wobble. Putting a Michelin MT back on til i understand all the nuances of speed rating, max load capacity, and max PSI. If it were just me i wouldn't mind taking the chance. Please help me understand.
Not giving up on the CT idea but i need a tire now that i can feel comfortable on with my wife, towing a trailer, and not worrying about the death wobble. Putting a Michelin MT back on til i understand all the nuances of speed rating, max load capacity, and max PSI. If it were just me i wouldn't mind taking the chance. Please help me understand.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 7,860
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From: Texas
As stated previously, the load rating is the amount of weight an individual tire can handle. Weight distribution is not 50% front - 50% rear (maybe more around 35% front - 65% rear for touring bikes with a rider on the bike). Any weight you add in terms of passenger and luggage is going over the rear tire, so you're not affecting the load on the front tire. A trailer's tongue weight will impact the weight distribution more greatly due to the distance from the rear wheel - it will add more weight to the rear wheel and unload the front wheel.
Rear Tire:
[900 lbs (bike) + 200 (rider)] x 0.65 = 715 lbs
715 lbs (bike and rider) + 150 lbs (passenger) + 70 lbs (cargo) = 935 lbs on rear tire without trailer
As long as the tongue weight of the trailer is not (1201 lbs-935 lbs=) 266 lbs, you'll be under your rear tire load limit (which I assume your tongue weight will be like... 50 lbs?)
So, in total, for the rear:
935 lbs + 50 lbs (assumed tongue weight of trailer) = 985 lbs on rear tire with trailer
Front tire:
[900 lbs (bike) + 200 (rider)] x 0.35 = 385 lbs on front wheel without trailer
This load will only decrease when adding a trailer due to the lever action the trailer is inducing on the bike (for ease, we are assuming the addition weight of cargo and passenger on the bike are directly over the rear tire).
(385 lbs x 64 in) - (50 lbs x 12 in) = (F x 64 in), where F is the weight felt by the front tire with a trailer, 64 in. is distance from front axle to rear axle, and 12 inches is distance from hitch to rear axle.
F = 375 lbs, therefore, a 50 lbs tongue removes (385 lbs - 375 lbs=) 10 lbs from the front wheel.
Rear Tire:
[900 lbs (bike) + 200 (rider)] x 0.65 = 715 lbs
715 lbs (bike and rider) + 150 lbs (passenger) + 70 lbs (cargo) = 935 lbs on rear tire without trailer
As long as the tongue weight of the trailer is not (1201 lbs-935 lbs=) 266 lbs, you'll be under your rear tire load limit (which I assume your tongue weight will be like... 50 lbs?)
So, in total, for the rear:
935 lbs + 50 lbs (assumed tongue weight of trailer) = 985 lbs on rear tire with trailer
Front tire:
[900 lbs (bike) + 200 (rider)] x 0.35 = 385 lbs on front wheel without trailer
This load will only decrease when adding a trailer due to the lever action the trailer is inducing on the bike (for ease, we are assuming the addition weight of cargo and passenger on the bike are directly over the rear tire).
(385 lbs x 64 in) - (50 lbs x 12 in) = (F x 64 in), where F is the weight felt by the front tire with a trailer, 64 in. is distance from front axle to rear axle, and 12 inches is distance from hitch to rear axle.
F = 375 lbs, therefore, a 50 lbs tongue removes (385 lbs - 375 lbs=) 10 lbs from the front wheel.
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