Tire pressures
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,846
Likes: 173
From: Simi Valley, CA
Look at the tire sidewall. See what the tires max load and pressure ratings are. Then run the pressure anywhere in between HDs recommended pressure and the tires maximum pressure.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 12,653
Likes: 18
From: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Bike and car makers recommend a tire pressure based upon the characteristics of that particular machine. To deviate more than a tiny bit from that recommendation can cause handling issues, at all the wrong times.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 20,530
Likes: 2,305
From: texas panhandle
Higher than recommended pressure is what I think wore out the rear tire ahead of schedule. Low pressure on a tire can lead to catastrophic failure(not a little low, but really low). I run about forty in front and rear on touring harley.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,846
Likes: 173
From: Simi Valley, CA
That is as dangerous on a bike as it is in a car. A road king might use the same tires, with very high pressures on the sidewall, as a Road Glide Ultra. But they may not handle the same at the same tire pressure since there is a weight issue, along with other handling characteristics.
Bike and car makers recommend a tire pressure based upon the characteristics of that particular machine. To deviate more than a tiny bit from that recommendation can cause handling issues, at all the wrong times.
Bike and car makers recommend a tire pressure based upon the characteristics of that particular machine. To deviate more than a tiny bit from that recommendation can cause handling issues, at all the wrong times.
Vehicle Manufacturers recommendations are a compromise of many factors, i.e., ride comfort, fuel mileage, wear characteristics, handling characteristics, etc., and are recommended to provide satisfactory performance under typical and varying conditions for a wide range of users.
Varying tire pressures can actually improve performance and safety for different riders under different conditions.
For the average rider under typical conditions, I see absolutely no issue with my original recommendation of running the tire pressure anywhere between the vehicle manufacturers recommendation and the tire manufacturers maximum rating.
For the sake of argument, and I'm be no means recommending this, you could probably run a tire above the maximum rated pressure without issue because the max pressure rating is engineered with some safety factor designed into it.
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 222
Likes: 3
From: London, England
I run my car tyres pressure well above manufacturer's recommendation and get a much improved mpg. Still below the max recommended by the tyre manufacturer.
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,013
Likes: 1
From: South Bay, CA
I run 40 psi in front, and 42 psi in the rear. When I got the bike it had 36 psi in front, and 38 psi in the rear. I had a wobble in the front end around 75 mph. The higher pressure has pretty much made that problem go away. I also tightened my spokes at same time so that could have been the fix too.
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