weight Question

sailor v said:

Bairo,
Just a thought but your front tyre pressure seems very high for a classic. With 28 in the front and 32 rear being "book" .
I wonder if you are using the Custom (narrow tyre) pressure of 40 ish ?? Of course each to their own.
I use 28 and 36 and i mine falls into bends beautifully .

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I have a friend that works for a MC tire manufacturer. He follows the school of belief in following the tire recommendations versus the vehicle manufacturer. I can't say which manufacturer he works for because they can't hold the official position of stating anything but max pressure for their tires. With that being said.... His general consensus is that the best starting point for most applications is 10 percent below max on tire and round up for rear and down for front. While many will be closer to the 5 percent under max depending on bike and total load weight. Of course you have to "feel" the bike, evaluate wear patterns, and consider if your maxing out the weight on the bike or simply a light weight rider cruising solo. I'll go through all of that again for the new rear since I'm switching models. I'm close to max weight at least 50 percent of the time. I have found that with the MT66'S that I really like 40/38 (cold) and that I can feel even 1 lb difference either way. It may be that I get away with less in the night dragon? Have to see.

bairo said:

I have a friend that works for a MC tire manufacturer. He follows the school of belief in following the tire recommendations versus the vehicle manufacturer. I can't say which manufacturer he works for because they can't hold the official position of stating anything but max pressure for their tires. With that being said.... His general consensus is that the best starting point for most applications is 10 percent below max on tire and round up for rear and down for front. While many will be closer to the 5 percent under max depending on bike and total load weight. Of course you have to "feel" the bike, evaluate wear patterns, and consider if your maxing out the weight on the bike or simply a light weight rider cruising solo. I'll go through all of that again for the new rear since I'm switching models. I'm close to max weight at least 50 percent of the time. I have found that with the MT66'S that I really like 40/38 (cold) and that I can feel even 1 lb difference either way. It may be that I get away with less in the night dragon? Have to see.

Click to expand...

I run 40/40 on my custom, as it feels the most "planted" to me. I am a bigger guy, and with lower pressure in the back, it seems to have a bit of wiggle when rolling on the throttle coming out of corners. The tradeoff there is that you do feel a little bit more of the imperfections in the road, but the stability of the bike in those situations more than makes up for it, in my opinion. I also tried a little lower pressure in the front, and it just didn't feel right to me. The mechanic that put on the Night Dragons for me had recommended them, and said he believed they were a heavier built tire that have a harder/stiffer feel to them, but I don't know how true that is. I had some pretty sketchy tires on it when i bought it, and when I took to it in for a complete inspection, he prompted me to consider new tires. I am sure glad he did, because it really changed the feel of the bike on the road. Best money I have spent, really. My only concern is longevity, and the Night Dragons are marketed as a performance tire for cruisers which usually translates into stickier and softer compounds. We will see. I have about 5k miles on them now, and the front still looks new. The rear shows a little wear, but not extreme, so i believe that i can get at least another 5k out of the rear. Tire wear is so subjective and dependent on riding style/conditions that I don't know really what to expect. But I am very impressed with how these feel on the twisties. Rode Cherohala Skyway, the Dragon, and Moonshiner 28 on a weekend jaunt, and felt in control and solid throughout.