| Author | Message | ||
     Johnnylunchbox |
What air pressure do you guys generally run on the stock tires? Just curious. | ||
| Ezblast |
30/32 GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Jprovo |
30F/35R When commuting, I usualy run 28F/30-32R when I'm carving. James | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Excellent, thanks. | ||
| Heckle |
Do you get longer tire life when commuting by pumping the tires to 30/35, instead of the listed 28/30? | ||
| Newblaster |
Yes, the lower pressures give a larger contact patch, which translates to more tire wear. You have plenty of grip and traction when commuting with the higher pressures. Now I have a question... Why the higher pressure in the rear? I usually run slightly higher in front than rear, for better traction on the rear tire (I've never had any problem with front slippage, but rear... The stockers made me feel like a dirttracker sometimes. lol...) | ||
| Heckle |
So it's not just me? I've felt "slippery" on my Blast on occasion... being a new rider, I assumed it was me! I've had great experience with Dunlop car tires -- are these MC tires really that bad? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
No, they're not that bad.If its a new tire or one you havent had a chance to lean it over on, it'll get a little slippery (as with any new tire) because it still has that slick stuff on it from the tire factory. The Avons or Pirellis are better though. I've probably taken off more Dunlops before their time is due as I'm not a big fan of them. | ||
| Newblaster |
For me, the big problem with the Dunlops isn't necessarily the lack of stickiness, it's the comparatively small temperature tolerance of the compound. When I have to work on weekends, I usually treat the parking lot as my own personal track for a bit (shhhhhh, don't tell the bosses...) By the time I had done my commute, then gone halfway around the building, the rear tire would feel "greasy" because it had overheated. Funnily enough, it wouldn't heat up until halfway through my commute, and then by the end it was at the top of its usable range... I've said it before, one of the first things I noticed about the Pirellis is that I have about as much traction/grip on wet roads as the Dunlops had on dry ones. Heckle--Like Erik said, the slipperiness may be from a new tire, but it's just as likely from the compound the stockers are made of. Don't judge all Dunlop's mc tires by these, though, they apparently make some good ones. It's just that the stock Blast tires are really really not. lol... | ||
| Ratsblast |
I've ridden both tires and to be honest cannot tell a difference. They both keep me upright in the rain and run good up the hills. I don't know how much power you are putting through the rear tire to be worried about traction. I've never ever had traction problems in dry weather minus dirt/gravel. I have had the front end lose traction two or three times after hitting dirt and that'll get the heart pumping. The real issue with the dunlops is they wear like crazy. | ||
| Ezblast |
I have had the Dunlops break traction a lot, the Pirelli is a very rare thing indeed. There is a decided difference in feel - I envy your riding style. I bet you get like 5000 miles out of them as well - your bike will last forever, just keep feeding her oil - lol EZ | ||
| Ezblast |
My current tire pressures are 32/32 - so far they are running well and doing a good job of holding air - I usually only have to add .5 lb of air per tire per week - a lot less intensive than the Avon every other day thing. The Pirelli are being very consistent on both bikes as well. This tire combo was made for this bike - lol EZ (Message edited by ezblast on March 28, 2009) | ||
| Krjoseph |
I've noticed the same thing, the Diablos really hold air well. Seemed like I was adding air to my Dunlops several times a week, the Pirellis, maybe once a week. | ||
| Britchri10 |
I have a Dunlop front and a Pirelli rear on mine. The book says "32FR 36RR. I took mine to a small shop here in Jax (much less expensive than the Harley dealerships in town - all Harley qualified mechanics ) They set my pressures @ 36FR 38RR. I noticed almost immediately a much better response from the front end, although the Dunlop has only c2MM tread life left. I still haven't had the rear slip on me. I'm no racer and this set up seems to work much better than the manufacturers recommended pressures. I've had no problems with loss of pressure from either tire. I guess it's all down to personal preference/comfort. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Once you put a Pirelli on the front, you'll notice the difference, probably immediately. The Dunlops follow every little groove in the pavement. The Pirelli MT75's (now stock) all but ignore them. The scooter Diablo front makes them disappear completely. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I had no problem finding the scary side of the stock Dunlops, and I'm a old fart...the Pirelli's are a much better tire with plenty of grip...I have Avons on it now and it handles even better than the Pirelli's did....34# front, 35# rear. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Stock Dunlops should be run solo 28psi front/32psi rear. Fully loaded 30 psi front 36 psi rear according to the owners manual. Stock Pirellis are recommended 34 psi front/36 psi rear solo or loaded according to the owners manual. Dunlop tire pressures are usually low because they're so hard. A high rear tire pressure will cause the rear to lock up very easily. I'd call Avon to see what they recommend as the tire pressure for my other bike running Avons are recommended 8-12psi higher front and rear than the stock Dunlops. I bumped up the scooter Diablo front to 33psi as 30 felt too low. I've never run the rears at recommended pressures (Dunlop or Pirelli) as it always felt way to hard and I havent had a wear problem yet. Too low a tire pressure will cause 'cupping'. | ||
| Evilbetty |
+1 the Avons I've been running them at stock PSI (I think?) We had not been on it enough last year when it was not back and forth to the HD dealer to have to check it ourselves. I tried to check it last week, and of the 4 tire gauges I tried, I could not get any of them to seal up to the valves on the blast. So I tried to put a shot of air back into them and neither of my tire chucks would seal up either! Before I let her ride it again I'm going to get the bicycle pump out! Am I missing something with these valves? The front wheel is factory original, but the rear wheel is brand new! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Nothing special, just metal valves. |
