Touring tire longevity

I replaced the rear Continental GO THAT the OP installed on my CX, after 8k miles, with a set of Shinko 712. The front Conti still has some life left in it.

8600 miles later I put on a new 712 on the rear - just over a month ago. Getting close to 3k on this rear and it's starting to square off as well. I have a daily commute of 180 freeway miles. Plus I tend to be throttle heavy in the morning (to get to the job on time!)

I had been looking for a tire that would last longer but on a cost per mile basis, the 712 is reasonably priced.

My front tires are hardly worn - I think I will be at a 3:1 ratio on replacing the rear vs the front.

I was low on the pressure on the first 712 (mid 20's). This time I am up closer to the maximum pressure of 36 psi.

phat fingered on my smarty pants phone with Tapatalk

39psi is well within the 'correct' inflation for a PR2, and 36 is too low. The max load rate on a PR2/3 is 42 or 44 psi from memory. I ran my 1250 Bandit's PR2s and 3s at 38F/40R and got very decent mileage out of the PR3s compared to the PR2s and the previous Bridgestones.

Yep. the manuals are way off. The kawa 650r manual says 32 in front, 36 rear... no wonder I had terrible cupping at the front in the first years! Now its 36psi in front, 39, even 40psi with luggage in back. pr2 rocks, but this is an adv forum, so I'll shutup now...lol

I get about 20,000 miles.

I'm doing that on the Goldwing for it's next tire.

What size is that?

The tire is a Dunlop Winter Sport - 195/55R16.


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FYI: The tire pressure in the owners manual or on the sticker on your bike is for the tires that came on the bike from the factory.

Thanks!!

Thats what I was thinkin.

So , do you apply this wisdom to your four wheeled vehicles as well ? And run the max pressure on the side of the tire ? You really don't know what you're talking about.

The factory seemingly never recommends full inflation. Take both Toyota 4x4's we have. Either door plate says 28 rear and 29 front. Both run 16's and if you run LT' s like BFG's or?? that's pretty damn low especially if your loaded or towing the 5K max. Every LT tire Ive bought indicated 36 to 80 in some cases. Wouldn't 28 psi cause overheating and eventual failure?

Do you think vehicle manufacturers put info in the owners manual for tires that aren't installed on the vehicle when delivered?

Do you think tire technology doesn't change/evolve during the life of a vehicle?

Where did I state anywhere in this thread how much air I put in tires? (Nice empty attack there though.)

Ok , sorry , I guess I started on the wrong person. The fools running at max pressure on the tires sidewall don't know what they're talking about. The bikes tire pressure is determined by weight. That's why you get separate pressures front and rear and with or without passenger. As far as the truck tires , did you ever wonder how 30 pounds of air holds up 4,000 pounds of truck? The weight is spread by the volume of the tire. No , your larger tires do not require more pressure.

450lbs bike + 210lbs driver = 660 lbs
660lbs/39psi ~= 17 squareinch.
Of course its not a fair equation for front/rear distribution*, and that for me is the rear pressure, but if you try to keep this virtual contact patch at 17si for grip and shape, heating and wear, the weight you intend to put should dictate the pressure. Simple. (all luggage can be weighted separately and assumed to go straight to rear wheel)

*The front pressure is a few psi below rear since we dont quite know the proportion, but you could find that easily rolling each wheel on a body scale while sitting on the bike (might want to try using front and read stands if they are secure enough).

You're on a relatively light sportbike , so you should be around 32 front and rear , assuming average ability. If you just cruise , about 36.

I have those on my Kia in the winter

Im fully aware a bigger tire does not require more pressure, I did not say that. Hows 30psi X 4 tires hold up a car..hell I figured it was magic or something. So you'd run P rated 3 plys the same as 6 ply LT cause Toyota said to. If not enlighten me here. 850 lbs of bike, 250 to 400 lbs of people and gear on a rear tire with a max load capacity of 805/50 psi. Show me a tire PSI to load curve to suggest safe PSI?
Metzeler ME 880 Tire Pressure?

I've been looking at the Metzeler tire site and noticed the page about tire pressures Note Recommended Tire Pressures

It looks like Metzeler is recommending higher air pressures than the motorcycle manufacturer may recommend. It looks like they're recommending air pressures of 38 - 40 psi for Solo and 40 - 42 psi for 2-up (Suzuki spec is 36psi for both Solo and 2-up). They're recommending 44 - 46 psi for rear tire for Solo and 46 - 48 psi for 2-up Light and 48 - 50 psi for 2-up Heavy (Suzuki spec 36 psi for Solo and 42 for 2-up).

Furthermore, for several tire sizes, including the 210/50R17, they recommend air pressure of 40 psi for Solo and 42 psi for 2-up.

Are you guys who are running Metzeler tires running them with the Metzeler recommended higher air pressures or the standard 36 / 42 ps​

How about another option - at the track I compare cold and hot tire pressures for determining optimum pressure. I'm looking for 10% increase. Too little increase means too much cold tire pressure. Too much increase means underinflated cold tire pressure.

I've never tried that experiment with a street tire, but it might be able to give you an indication of the sweet spot, based on the same principles - an over inflated tire doesn't reach optimum temperature, whereas an under inflated tire overheats.

jeezus people. tires and air pressure are not complicated.

for sure