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C14 tire pressure

mjsrmiller9825

Guest
Guest
Going on a several day ride from near Oregon Coast to Central Oregon. My new Michelin tires seem great but 2 of my shop pressure gauges show 42 lbs and tire sensors show 44. What would you believe? I don't mind being a lb. or two light but hate to over fill them. This bike corners amazingly to an old guy like me who has ridden some real stone age equipment and I want to have it in the zone. thank You.
 
I'll go by my tire gauge, only consistent thing I found. I have several good ones and they all agree :) why tpms are usually 3 -4 pounds less then my other gauges. seems to work for me, no issues cornering or otherwise, I'm at 5000'
 
+1 on the TPMS accuracy. I have a digital gauge from Motion Pro, supposed to be accurate to +/- 0.6psi. My TPMS is within 1psi of the Motion Pro gauge. Shop gauges can get banged around a lot if other people are using them.
 
Hot Florida roads I like the mid to high 30s, better grip, don't really care what the gauge says I go by feel.

Light track bikes run as low as 17, track days I go down to the low 30s on the big girl.
 
I'm on my 3rd Concours 14. On all three the TPS have read 2 to 3 psi higher than my tire pressure gauges.
 
It's not uncommon for tire air pressure gauges, including TPMS sensors to be off up to +/- 3 psi. IMHO, this variation is acceptable. From what I have read, under inflation is more problematic and can lead to tire failure.
 
I've never had a flat in 11 years on this bike...

I can't remember a flat tire EVER.
 
I've never had a flat in 11 years on this bike...

I can't remember a flat tire EVER.
I hate magnetic tires…

I run tire pressure 41 rider only, 45 two up, 46 two up / loaded. Measure with tire pressure gauge. I believe the TPMS use an equation for pressure at a given temp, something I read - forgot where.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
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Since the rear TPS on my current 08 has failed I have been using a Garmin TPS. It displays tire pressure on a Zumo 390, 395 or 396. The Kawasaki TPS is adjusted for temperature as 2andblue mentioned. The display stays pretty close to the cold PSI. The Garmin does not do this. It starts out close to the cold psi as measured by my digital gauge. But after 5 miles or so on hot pavement it will go up to about 49. I prefer the way the Garmin works. On the 390 you can set the display to show front and rear psi as you navigate. On the 395 you have to switch screens and scroll to see psi. Not sure about the 396. correction: the 396 does not support TPS
 
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I have always relied on shop gauges that I own. I use the TPS to monitor air loss. I do this is because it's too hard to put air in the tire then take the bike out around the block to see what they read.

Are my shop gauges accurate 100%? I don't know. I suppose I could go and buy a better gauge that are supposed to be closer to actual air pressure but so far, it's not been a concern. I always air with cold tires when possible.

My batteries died or got intermittent. I sent them off to Fred. (Old Style) It is nice they both read the same when tires are cold.
 
TPMS reading has been accurate to my 'quality gauges' if looked at when TPMS first clicks on - after the first 200 yds of riding. After that the gauges increase psi reading by 2 or 3.

I run my tires at or above max sidewall pressure; have for > decade. My C14 handles well for me if front tire is 2 or 3 psi above the rear tire. So on my ride yesterday, my front was 44 and rear 42 at start. 65K miles on the beast.
 
If you don't want to overfill them then you better stay in the low to mid-thirties for street. I set 28 front 26 rear for the track. Such a high pressure narrows or contact patch and makes the tire micro bounce its way down the road. You have no grip like that.
 
I guess I'm lucky or something is wrong as my tpms and my fancy motion-pro gauge read the same. The gauge is newer, never been dropped, no one ever borrows it or touches it, and, I read to it at night before tucking it in for bed. Is something wrong.....:)
 
I check my tires with trusted gauges at home (I also cary a trusted portable gauge on the road in case I loose TPMS) and I watch TPMS while riding. They have a lesser margin of accuracy, however once you start moving there are several factors that change pressure inside a tire such as temperature, humidity and relative altitude.

For me, TPMS alerts me that I am loosing tire pressure before I feel a change in how the bike handles. Years ago I was riding out of the, "last town" and I felt a bump. As we exited that town I noticed my TPMS drop 1 PSI. Nothing I haven't seen before and I kept glancing at it. Before we entered the anticipated twisty roads I noticed TPMS was registering a 3 PSI drop that was not normal from my experience.

We circled back to a safe place to examine and found that indeed there was a hole in my tire. For me TPMS alerted me to an impending flat either before I crashed in the anticipated turns ahead or I was stuck outside of cell reception with a flat tire and looking forward to a walk in motorcycle gear.

For me TPMS monitors are for safety reasons, not optimal tire pressure.
 
I hate magnetic tires…

I run tire pressure 41 rider only, 45 two up, 46 two up / loaded. Measure with tire pressure gauge. I believe the TPMS use an equation for pressure at a given temp, something I read - forgot where.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
I couldn't imagine having pressures that high 😂
 
Yup 2-up, loaded, and ripping the roads hard - if pressure left lower will destroy your tires quickly. Or so has been my experience.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
Tires are like gasoline. Burn through it. You're going to have to come to a tire seminar at the track sometime. Max McAllister at Traxxion Dynamics can also explain. You should look up some of his YouTube videos or reach out to him. Setting your tire pressures high to get maximum life out of them is like shutting off three cylinders and riding the twisties at idle so you can get fuel economy
 
I use a tire gauge and set mine at 39-40 psi. (TPMS indicates 40-41)
On a hot day {while riding} the TPMS pressure will climb to 41-42 psi as the tire heats up.

When I did the Track days with Doug in Florida, I set it at 30 psi.
The tire stuck well for me.
Yes, I wore off a lot of tire.
&&& "Yes" I had a GREAT time doing it!

Ride safe, Ted
 
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Tires are like gasoline. Burn through it. You're going to have to come to a tire seminar at the track sometime. Max McAllister at Traxxion Dynamics can also explain. You should look up some of his YouTube videos or reach out to him. Setting your tire pressures high to get maximum life out of them is like shutting off three cylinders and riding the twisties at idle so you can get fuel economy
Appreciate I could learn a lot at other seminars.

Tire pressures low we were melting tires, raised pressures no more melting and adequate traction.

Michelins we were 4,000 - 5,500 miles (not great) Dunlop SMRS IV 6,000 - 6700.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
I agree Wayne . While being on the track and ripping around is one thing but at $650 per pair of MIchelins (canada) it gets too expensive to not get the max out of them .( especially when using up 3 sets per year). I"m seing uneven wear also at lower than 44 ( also running a bit heavy with tools,hydration and aux tank. I've yet to try those Dunnies IV's . So you like them better than the Michelins ?
 
Interesting to read what y'all are using for front and rear pressures. I've been fairly vanilla, running cold temps at 41 for the front and 42-43 on the rear. When they heat up they'll go to 43-44 front and 44-45 rear, which for me seems like the sweet spot. In the past 18,500 miles I've gone through 3 sets, only one of which I rode the rear down to the white (unknowingly). This previous set, before I installed the Road 6 GTs, was a Dunlop Road III front and a Road II rear.

They held up well enough and were plenty sticky enough for roughly 6,500 miles. I estimate that I still had probably 1,000 left in them if I was just commuting. But I changed a bit early because I was originally planning to head to Big Bend so I swapped out early. Instead, the wives planned a weekend in TX Hill Country, and the 3-Sisters romp for us.

As I'm not doing any track days, much less drag racing, I've found that my biggest challenge is getting the flat spot on the rears. The fronts seem to hold up better no matter which brand or model I'm using. The only front that showed some oddness was the Battlaxe with its V-shape design. By the time I got to 5k miles on them, there was a noticeable tip-over point on either side of a 1" center line. That made turning in and out of corners a little frisky from time to time, depending on the speed and surface type.

I've been pretty consistent in keeping the pressures at the same level, in order to maximize predictability. One thing I've noticed some of the guys in my group (who ride HDs) do is pull over to deflate their tires. We start off at the same pressures, and then an hour into our ride I'll see flashers come one and everyone pulls over so that the Road Kings and Street Glides can let air out. Apparently, the HDs come with monitors that flash a red lamp when the TPMS shows 50 or above. Can't say that I understand how they're generating that much more heat than I am, but I'm guessing that they've got another 100lbs +/- over the C14 and their alloy rims simply aren't dissipating the heat the way ours do.
 
......... and, I read to it at night before tucking it in for bed. Is something wrong.....:)
Perfectly normal, I do the same with my ACCUTIRE gauge and my KIPASS FOB.
( 🤫 sometimes I even let them sleep together 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 if they've been good, but ear protection is required on those nights.) 😻🥰😘😻😻😻🥴🥴🥴🥴
 
I agree Wayne . While being on the track and ripping around is one thing but at $650 per pair of MIchelins (canada) it gets too expensive to not get the max out of them .( especially when using up 3 sets per year). I"m seing uneven wear also at lower than 44 ( also running a bit heavy with tools,hydration and aux tank. I've yet to try those Dunnies IV's . So you like them better than the Michelins ?
“Dunnie IV’s” have treated us well - no loss of traction and >30% more tire wear.

Michelins guys great tire, butter smooth at first but don’t do well for our weight / power to the ground ratio.

Let’s keep hearing more on the 6’s.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
Sidewall the tires is part of your suspension. When you set the tire as hard as a rock you're not letting them do the work that you paid for. When the trade is worn out the sidewalls will still be unused. You should be using the bump absorbing abilities of those tires. Sending every little crack and crevice through the suspension is just beating the snot out of it. You also narrow your contact patch. Cliff is right about what he's saying. Tires are like gasoline Just use them. But don't beat the snot out of your bike with high pressures. What pressure you want to set to is up to you but I couldn't imagine being in the 40s. Those numbers are crazy. On a sport bike I set the pressure in the '20s but on public roadways somewhere in the '30s is fine. And yeah Cliff is right about the tire cupping thing too. It's the rebound being set wrong for the spring that causes cupping. Too fast and it cuts one way too slow and it cuts the other way. Rebound does not to your liking. Rebound must be set for the spring and not settled with after that. Read the tires to figure out what the setting is and use Dave Moss videos to figure out what's going on. But gosh darn guys pressures in the 40s can't imagine. Invite set up worldly have a saying it's soft tires stiff shocks
 
Buy a quality tire gauge. Been using one for years even if all your scoots have a TPMS system. Set the front and rear at 40/40 or front 38, rear 40. This seems to work the best for me. This is a big heavy motorcycle, it needs proper tire pressure....Sean
 
Buy a quality tire gauge. Been using one for years even if all your scoots have a TPMS system. Set the front and rear at 40/40 or front 38, rear 40. This seems to work the best for me. This is a big heavy motorcycle, it needs proper tire pressure....Sean
Add two people and bunch of gear and even more so important.
 
Traxxion AK-20 front, Penske shock rear.

I like a larger contact patch (y)

If I have a passenger, she is only 100 lbs, and I am 200 lbs.

95% of the time, it's just me, myself, and I.
 
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