I don't think it's an error. My 2015 also is 36/42. That is probably the most common street bike pressure spec. Of course you may decide to deviate for special circumstances or preferences, but 36/42 works fine over a broad spectrum.

 

I found the stock pressure to be to hard. I have been very happy with 34, 38.

 

36/42 is correct. This spec is for maximum load carrying capacity. It does not mean something lower won't work, as a matter of fact, something lower will give better traction. But they won't list it, no manufacturer will, for liability reasons. Let's say a person that normally rides alone uses 32/36 and gets good performance, then loads up the bike to it's maximum allowable weight, then has a tire failure - no manufacturer will take this risk, they'll tell us 36/42 and let us decide how much lower to go w/o their consent.

I learned the above from the Dunlop website a couple of years ago (legal conclusions are mine), I don't have a link, I think it was in a Q&A section.

 

My GT manual says 36/42 for all loads.

 

SanDiegoDuke~ Like newjerseyduke, I use a lower pressure setting (solo riding) and have zero complaints.

 

32/38 is what i run. Pretty solid grip and less chatter from the front wheel when I'm at extreme lean angles.

Also, my suspension is setup on the firmer side recoended in the manual.

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I run 32/30 on Rosso Corsa 2

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I do 33-34, 40-41 on the GT and I'm fine. there's way too many potholes in my area to ever want to go to full and I want to get more grip out of the Angels as they're not the stickiest of tires.

 

I may be in a minority on this but I don't care at all what kind of life I get out of the tires on my 1290R. I want the best handling and performance from the tires, period. Because of my previous experience on my S1000RR and with the California Superbike School, I run them at around 30 - 32 psi on my 1290R. At CSS, they had determined, by working with Dunlop engineering folks, that the best temperature for their Q3 tires on their fleet S1000RR bikes was 29 - 31. This is on a bike were the factory recommended pressures are 36/42.

It makes sense to me that the factory recommended pressures are for a max load on the bike. If I ride it at less than that max load, it makes sense to me that less pressure would be required. And, because I like the tire to heat up quickly and turn my tires to sticky goo, I keep them at that much lower temp.

 

I'm going to disappoint you, but CSS didnt determine anything with Dunlop engineers at all.
29-31 is random tire pressure that they've chose to extend longevity of their tires / kinda right balance for novice/medium level of students at the track.
If you look at Dunlop website (see attached), their recommended pressure for D212 GP Pro (kinda analog of Q3/Q4) is 30/18psi.

ps.
I did all levels at CSS in europe.

 

I'll just offer a note that I'm sure won't be news to most readers: For street riding, the lower the pressure the higher the risk of wheel damage from common road hazards, e.g., potholes, railroad tracks, cattle guards, debris. As with most choices, there are trade-offs for higher or lower tire pressures.

 

I assume you watch the road and don't go over pot wholes right?



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I actually prefer my GT at around 36 fr and 42 rear. Less on the front and it feels heavy to turn and wants to drop into slow corners.
Maybe my tyre wear is contributing to that. Furthermore, my TPMS sensors seem to be out my a few psi and display pressures higher than they actually are when checked with good quality gauge.

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So when you say 36/42 you don't mean 36/42 But what the GT thinks is 36/42?

Mine seems accurate.

 

No Such Thing As Correct Tyre Pressure

Well, that's an attention grabbing headline :laugh2:...... but it is true enough.

The owners handbook will quote the vehicle's maximum loaded pressures for solo unloaded use just because they are afraid of legal liability issues (eg 36F 42R).

Track guys will use lower (but not "too low") pressures like 32psi, because they ride on a closed racing circuit and can 'keep' their hot pressures consistently at optimum grip levels (eg they are prob 36psi hot anyway).

So stop writing about what is correct and start thinking about your climate & riding requirements and factor in the brand of tyre you are using...... not all tyres are happy at the same pressure the handbook recommends :wink2:.

I do not run "too low a pressure"...... I run a cold set pressure of 34psi F and 36psi R on my light (233kg wet) SDGT and that translates to hot pressure readings of +2 to 3psi after a good 5-10kms of warm-up on public roads. i ride solo only and for a long tour with panniers loaded I usually up the rear to 37/38psi from habbit and might run the front at 35-36 but it really doesn't have that much effect..... just gives a few more days touring before I need to check/top up (and accounts for cooler temps at altitude over the otherside of our Great Dividing Range......).

So if you think you need max 2up +luggage (ie set for the maximum load capacity of your bike) then fine - just be careful on wet roads if you are only solo + no luggage.

Your tyre will not collapse and dent a wheel rim with 34psi cold (ie 36psi hot) - though if you hit a bad enough pothole (one with "teeth") you may damage a rim/crash regardless of tyre pressure choice (depending on angle of hit/bike lean angle/depth of hole/etc).

Also, each brand of tyre has a temperature that gives optimum grip-life balance. A Michelin tech once told me for Pilot Road 4's I should be running with 35F & 37R..... he was correct as I have had safe wet weather grip and 20,000km tyre life for many many sets of PR4's on my Blackbird.

The SDGT with Angel GT's likes 34F & 36R for solo unloaded work here in the Aussie climate (I currently have 11,300kms and expect to get to 15,000kms before changing to PR5's). A mate over the ditch (in New Zealand) tossed his SDGT down the road due to 'too high pressures'..... he now runs 34f 36r and has no problems).

Others (on SDR's) run even lower pressures, but they are all over 30psi and they ride hard enough to heat them up and keep them in their optimum temp ranges...... I am a mere street-road rider and have to share the road with traffic so I compromise for wear and grip and feel (and I don't have snow/cold conditions unless I travel 2,000kms south.....:wink2.

Don't forget the old days - cross ply tyres - the pressures used to be (if I can recall correctly) in the mid 20psi ranges........ so if you are a slacko riding around on tyres bulging at the side and squirming around with 20something psi...... then you have "too low pressures" and are in danger of tyre failure/bead separation/crashing.

Thanks for putting up with my raving rant eh? :grin2: hope it clears the issue for some, and stay rubber side down:wink2:

Ps The mention about the TPMS being inaccurate....... I'd be wary of the gauge you are comparing it with (I once had a gauge that was 8psi in error)....... to get around this I have three gauges - A "PCL" english made engraved stick type, a "Bluepoint" US made dial type and Michelin digital battery type..... they all agree with the TPMS (which naturally only reads hot pressure which correlates to +2 to +4psi depending on how fast and how long you have been riding before testing - eg 100kph+ will see +4psi over cold temp reading).

It's a personal choice but so long as you have pressure around the 32-36F and 34-38R mark you will be fine - obviously choose the higher range for 2up riding with luggage.

One thing to adapt to these days, tyres have more silica in them than in past decades so they offer great grip and long life without the old style need to run very hard maximum pressures on soft compound tyres...... in fact that may cause rapid wear.

Ps nearly forgot...... not all tyres are constructed the same - eg michelin PR1-2-3-4-5's are all Kevlar Belted Radials, whereas Metzler/Dunlop/Pirelli/etc are Steel Belted Radial's....... a kevlar belted tyre will run cooler than a steel belt radial (and last longer) but will take longer to heat up from a cold start........ choices choices..... no right or wrong.... just gotta select the right bike & tyre combo for the individual's needs/preference/etc........ easy eh ? :wink2:

 

I run a cold set pressure of 34psi F and 36psi R on my light (233kg wet) SDGT and that translates to hot pressure readings of +2 to 3psi after a good 5-10kms of warm-up on public roads
...
Michelin digital battery type..... they all agree with the TPMS (which naturally only reads hot pressure which correlates to +2 to +4psi depending on how fast and how long you have been riding before testing - eg 100kph+ will see +4psi over cold temp reading).

I'm surprised your hot pressures don't rise more. I'd expect the tyre to get warmer than at stock pressures and hence go up more.
36/42 cold equates to 42/49 hot for me which is high and a 6psi increase. Maybe I need to work out percentage increases...

 

Cheers mate..... you're correct...... mine go up +2 or +3 psi after 5-10kms of riding...... once out on the motorway at 100kph for a decent time they show 37F and 39/40R....... who knows what they read when in the twisties or having a good run with some fast guys - no time for TPMS reading there....... and for those deviants who twist the throttle (or is that 'throttle the twisty') heaps more than me and get their tyres to melt.... it probably will be 6-8 psi (guessing)....

As I tried to suggest...... it all comes back to how a rider wants to ride..... if doing wheelies all the time, maybe 40r is the go to keep the rear tyre from slipping on the rim (?)....... I ride to the edges of the rear and can be smooth and quick on a good day, but can't be bothered abusing the gearbox doing stunts (that's why I get huge mileages out of tyres, but still keep in front of most riders as well as cleverly avoiding speeding fines :grin2.

Resisting the temptation to assume that anything less than the manufacturer's settings is 'low' or dangerous is an interesting new age issue - Honda published 42f 42r cold psi for my 05 Blackbird (insane - nil grip in wet.... zero!) so were they correct pressures? I knew they weren't - I rode past many CBR1100xx owners who were really really slow on wet roads..... I figured they had 42psi f&r....... just like the handbook stated....... >... yet my Bird was fine in the wet.

Cheers Bro - how's the snow? Melting yet? :grin2:

 

Let's not get into 42/42 for the 'bird. Theres pages and pages on the web about that!!

Snow? We're due to hit the warmest Feb ever in the next day or two! We're hitting 18-19C. Glorious sunny days. Feels like spring already

 

Not at 5.15am it doesn't.... -2 on the way into work....

I was in the Mondeo obviously

 

I prefer much lower than their recommended settings. I enjoy grip

Usually I'm at 34 F and 31 R unless I know it's a serious twisty day or track day then a 30 F and 27 R. Unfortunately, the bike doesn't like me making these executive decisions and I get a low rear tire pressure warning on the dash... That's annoying and I'm hoping a dealer can wipe that out for me by resetting the values.

 

Cheers mate..... tell them they can....... it has been done to my GT from brand new (ie Feb 017) - they disabled the 'warning' message but left the TPMS active (back then)..... I've since read that they might be able to reset the trigger values now, so you only get the warning when the pressure gets down to where you want to be warned (eg a slow leak/puncture alert, instead of a legal nanny state distraction in corners :wink2. (they will probably treat you like a novice who thinks they want softer tyres.... or argue it's against company policy - just tell em you are distracted by the false warning and have nearly crashed because of it).

I forgot to ask again at the recall service last month (and they were busy)..... I would prefer to have lower trigger values but I'm fine with 'no warning' & scroll to TPMS for checking.

Lets us know if they can reset those values.

I was wondering if it might be as simple as scrolling to the TPMS screen, then holding both arrow buttons in until the screen changes, then possibly alter the pressures or switch off warnings (just like adjusting the service tool screen)....... maybe it has to be done while hooked up to the KTM diagnostics....? must write this down and have a look later...... gotta go into the big city this morning....... >

Ps.... tried this and it didn't work...... maybe there is a trick to it, but it's prob a hook-up laptop job....

 

I would be surprised if any dealer could or would tweak the TPS system.

 

We'll see... I think it depends upon the competence of the dealer. The local dealer where I bought the bike, locked me out of the bike for almost 4 hours, deleted my old keys, and thankfully managed to set up my new $300 extra fob so I can ride the bike... with no spare keys... I'm headed north a few hours this weekend for the Akra flash, a key fix, and hopefully a reset of the low pressure warning values. On the phone today, he said he didn't think they could be revalued, but rather just deleted. He said he'd look into it, however, and I'll keep you guys posted as to what I find out.

 

Well, my dealer called and said they "can't" hook up to the computer and install the Akra map or look into the TPMS thresholds because I have PC V installed.

They wanted 2 hours labor to remove the PC V then the time for the Akra map and to look into the TPMS. I told them not to worry about it.

 

You might be joining me on a trek to Waco....

 

I use 32-32 or 34-32 in Rosso Corso 3 on streets.

Tire wears off pretty quickly, but it least I have confidence in grip.

 

Somebody please explain the need for the Akra flash AND a Power Commander, which holds it's own maps? I would think the latter totally negates any need for the former.

A Power Commander trims the fueling to suit (map) and if the Akra map is present, it would just overlay that map or even supplement it only to arrive at the same ideal total.

The PC could achieve the same values starting from stock WITHOUT the Akra map present as it could WITH, so having both seems redundant or just an unnecessary extra layer.

 

My understanding is the Akra map has timing advance built in. PC V alone cannot change timing unless you also buy the $300 ignition module. Hence the PC V built on top of the relatively cheap Akra map.

Add to that, Rottweiler has a PC V map from Fillmore's Pikes Peak SD R that was built on top of the Akra map. With an SD R built with the same mods, it should be really close no matter the small differences in SD Rs. And I do have a copy of that map.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense now.

 

It depends on the tires. If you stay with the TKC 80 you should be aware that the rear tire is rated at max psi cold of 34 psi. The front is rated at 39 psi.

Most people are putting too much air in the rear tire. The recommended pressure is way over max rated pressure for that rear tire.

 

Curious more on the tire pressure. The recommended is for max load so if I was to go through twistys with a passenger obviously not knee dragging but I still want max grip what's recommended then? Also curious about this I live in Central Cali where in the morning if I leave it can be either 75-85 all day vs some days I leave it'll be 80 and where I ride it's 95+ would removing tire pressure be recommended? I still have the stock tires and gonna need to replace mine soon just hit ~5k Miles. Besides rough riding and feeling grip limits how do you know what's a good tire pressure? For now my bike is set for 36 front and I believe 38 rear. This is because I ride with a passenger here and there and do twistys.

 

The max cold psi on the tire should be as high as you ever go. It will go up when the tire gets hot and that's okay. Just keep in mind that at high altitude a tire pressure gauge does not read correctly. At 10,000 feet it reads around 5 psi higher. So to get the correct max pressure at 10,000 feet set it 5 lbs higher than you want. At 5,000 cut that in half. A tire gauge reads correctly at sea level.

The TKC 80 rear tire I run 32 to 34. If the temp changes drastically you need to adjust. I always carry a compressor.

I just pit on a Dunlop rear tire today and it's rated for 41 psi. I'm running 34 to 38.

These tires can handle being low on pressure because they are pretty stiff. I would not over inflate and make a long highway ride that way. The center of the TKC 80 will wear out quick if you run over 34 psi.

 

If you've never heard of Dave Moss - he's good, you might like this on pressure.

 

Cheers bounddy,

It's an art rather than a science (finding a good compromise between grip and mileage). I rode for decades doing what the tyre shop recommended..... and that was fine....... then I started to develop my own feeling for the settings as bikes became more responsive and lighter etc.

So all you can do is try a setting for a week then change..... until one day you find a pressure that just feels right. The beauty of the forum is that you can find out what others are having fun with and how they like it, so you can try their settings.

So there is never any "correct" setting for you in particular...... rather a range that may suit........ I found a video on the Blackbird forum that was worth watching........ I'll come back and add it soon........

Aaaaah....... Spartacus has already posted it.........

 

So if I want my Pirelli Angel GTs to last longer grip better, and comfortable haul around my 90kg, dhoule I set psi at lower than the recommended 36/42?

I must admit, I do seem more comfortable, and get better performance, and longer life at 34/38...hmmm...