hardtail bike rear tyre pressure

[devon-tony]

as you might have seen I have advertised my chop for sale due to my back just getting battered by the local roads

was going over the bike and noticed the back tyre is well hard, checked the pressure and was almost 40psi, so know thats too high, as a bit of an experiment I let it down to almost flat, still looks perfectly normal but bike is noticably harder to push about, however it has transformed the ride, its not as nice on long fast sweepers anymore, but its far less harsh on my back and rideable again

BUT how low can I go??

tyre is a 150/80/16

[kiffer38]

id say 25 no lower, or you run the risk of the tyre deforming on bends, and coming off the rim :eek:

[Creature]

if a tubed tyre around 12 - 18 psi is what i ran the old chop at - when i converted her to tubless 15 - 20 psi

[Freak]

Fuck me, I'm amazed you could see over 40mph
I've always run hardtails around 20 psi depending on what make/type of tyre is fitted.
It's suprising how much difference a couple of pounds less or more than this makes to the handling or ride. You have to compromise one or the other a little mind as you're unlikely to get it perfect for both.
Have a play around till you get the best average for you.
Oh yes.... and run a tube

[devon-tony]

cheers for the feedback guys, just put the guage on the tyre and its 12psi, but its starting to be a bit noticably "squirmy"

going to try playing about as suggested above and see how it goes

40psi rear tyre and 90mph cruising on a hardtail on a road that resembles a concrete sea is very interesting, sort of makes your eyes revolve around the wrong way and ties all internal organs into a big knot!!

[contail]

i run mine at 32 psi. but as im stretched over the bike i dont find the bumps a problem.....yet.
i keep the pressure up as i like to chuck the bike around a lot.

i had a new tyre fitted once and the guy over inflated the tyre to seel the beed. he forgot to deflate the tyre. vision was a problem for a while

[lowrider]

Don't forget to check pressure when the tire is hot,make a differance

[critch]

used to run my old z650 at 15-20lb any more than that i had chalfonts that elton john would have been proud of :eek:

ran it at above normal pressure once, after me mate borrowed it and did 100 odd miles on it ..he wined at me for loaning him a death trap..... barmpot had inflated the tyre to 40 psi

the fukka put me neck out within a mile..... :mad:

needless to say it was back down to 20lb for the return home....

[ChopperFXR]

I run my FJ12 rigid at 22psi. If the road surface is dodgy I get a bit of a squirm but I am used to it. Any more than 22psi and I feel like I have my kidneys in the back of my throat.

I run a tubed tyre and check the pressure often. I also played around with different grades and quantities of fork oil. Took a few attempts to get it right, but I can really hammer the chop round bends now.

If you make any changes to the pressure take time to get used to the way the bike behaves after.

Chopper.

[johnr]

if its a spoked rim and youre planning to run a lower pressure, it might not be a bad idea to fit tyre security bolts to the rim to stop tyre creep from tearing the valve stem from the tube. anywhere that sells trail bike or motocross stuff should have them.

[Taff]

Aint no tyre pressure charts for this one, i used to run my GS750 rigid at 20PSI.
But that weren't your bike.
Chops are all individual, you gonna have to use a process of elimination, trying it at increments of +/-5PSI, till it's kinda right, then fine tune the pressure by riding it and fine tuning it till it works.
And accept that unfortunately it aint never gonna have the comfort of a Gold Wing, with the cornering abilities of a GSXR.

[minxy]

I used to run me old CB650 chop down as low as 15 sometimes. Roads around Lincolnshire aint that good!

[devon-tony]

cheers, Im on about 22-24psi at the moment and its about in the region I think it needs to be, still a smidge too hard, but any softer and you really start to notice it in corners

hopefully it wil be sold sometime soon and I can get back to being wimp boy with some rear suspension LOL

[kitkatman]

i run my fj12 at 24psi....i dontz seam to get rattled around as much and have my spine shattered, upgraded the fork oil for cornering.....bit of give and take really

[devon-tony]

ended up at 20psi, new owner jumped on it and rode it home 100 odd miles, he hadnt ridden for some time, let alone a hardtail chop with drag pipes, so fair play to him

now got 3 projects on the go and hopefully might finish one this year LOL

[TektroG]

And accept that unfortunately it aint never gonna have the comfort of a Gold Wing, with the cornering abilities of a GSXR
:D :D :D