Tire Pressure

[jimmbo]

Hello everybody! I was hoping for some advice...
I'm riding an '86 Limited 250......Checked the tire pressure and I'm a little low. Checked the manual and it calls for 28 psi both front and back...
Checked the markings on the tires themselves and they are calling for 40psi rear and 80psi front (at least that's what it looks like...damn bifocals)
So..can anybody tell me what they're running theirs at??
Thanks for the help!

[txsizzler]

Wow.. I never have heard of a tire requiring 40 or 80 psi... I would probably go with what the manual calls for. My tires on my Rebel are stock, and I keep them at what the manual calls for (I have an '06 Rebel 250 btw).

[jimmbo]

I thought those numbers were really high too ( and remember between the bi-focals and some road wear I'm making my best guess at reading them) That's why I asked here...Thanks again

[jsonder]

The 80 should be a mistake. The 40 is viable.

I've got Perilli MT66 tires on my Rebel and the sidewall max pressure is 38 pounds.

I'll inflate them to 38 after gassing up and figure that I'm "close enough" to a cold tire pressure. After all, that is a maximum pressure, but I don't want to be more than 10% under it.

Hope that this helps.

PS Take the glasses off and get your face down with the tire -- what I hadda do.....

[b4v4]

Boy, Jimmbo, are you sure you weren't looking at the sidewalls of your 1 ton dually pickup? Just how bad are those bifocals? Just kidding of course! Without knowing what brand and type of tire you have, I suppose there could be a brand that asks for that kinda pressure, but I've never seen it. I know a lot of bicycle tires want high pressures like that. I wouldn't run any more than 28-32 psi on any standard motorcycle, short of a Goldwing pulling a trailer. That will give you maximum tire wear, and still get a decent ride and handling.

[GearJammer]

Yep........I remember the tire pressures for the 250 were 28 psi max, cold.

On some bikes, 30-32 psi on the front isn't unusual, and even 40-41 psi both front & rear are quite possible on a larger, heavier bike. Running a 16" Harley rim on a stock Triumph hub for the chop & depending on the tire at the time, the rating can be anywhere's from 36-40 psi. I've got a feeling that the "80" you're seeing might actually be a "30" with the "3" being kinda funky lookin'....

[Duke Bushido]

The Avons on my Valk run 66 front, 60 rear.

The build of the tire makes a huge difference.

Get a friend with good eyes to confirm your reading.

Going with the bike data instead of the tire data results in things like people with Ford Explorers putting 20 pounds in a 38 pound tire and then wondering why the tires were blowing out and the trucks rolling over....