Air Pressure

[Jaster]

What psi do you guys normally run in your tires? filled to the factory cold tire pressure of 36 front and 42 back I feel like it's a pretty bumpy ride but when I go much lower it feels wobbly in the turns. Any thoughts would be great.
cheers,

 

[karl]

i look at the cold recommendations as minimums and go up from there if I am going to carry more weight. Adjust the preload on the damper to tune the ride. You need air in the tire to give you a load rating that will carry you and the bike without destroying your tires. Do you recall the Firestone debacle? That was all about people not having enough air in there tires. Running with too little air can overheat the tire carcass and set you up for a rapid deflation event (read blowout). Lived in NYC for more years than any other place so far and the roads are not getting any better, the 70 series tires on our bikes do pretty well with the crappy roads compared to some others. Hope that helps
enjoy

 

[MAC]

Air Pressure

This has a great deal to do with HANDLING and TIRE WEAR. So it is best to stay with - 36 front and - 42 rear. IMO.

edit:
I just looked in the shop manual and the pressure is the same with or with out a passenger.

 

[Warren]

What psi do you guys normally run in your tires? filled to the factory cold tire pressure of 36 front and 42 back I feel like it's a pretty bumpy ride but when I go much lower it feels wobbly in the turns. Any thoughts would be great.
cheers,

The bumpy ride is not caused by the air pressure its the poor suspension. Stick with the recommended air pressure and learn to live with the jarring ride although adjusting the rear shock preload can be of some help.

 

[Igo]

I do what the tire says and adjust that at summer and winter. I ride a relatively soft preload. Great ride.

 

[banjoboy]

I'm with Igo on this. I have a relatively 'soft' preload and I have a comfy ride. Play around with it, find what you like.

 

[ARKNT]

I'd stick with recomended tire pressures. Tire pressure is not the correct adjustment for ride quality.
I'm with you on the harsh ride of the NT. Part could be the NT is fairly light so it is thrown around more on road bumps. I'm fairly small (155 Lb) so it is a little stiff for me. I did lighten the rear spring pre-load with the adjuster and also cut 3/4 inch off the front fork spring spacers to lessen the pre-load in the front. The front is not too bad but I wish the rear was a little better.

ARKNT

 

[Chucksklrst]

The bumpy ride is not caused by the air pressure its the poor suspension. Stick with the recommended air pressure and learn to live with the jarring ride although adjusting the rear shock preload can be of some help.

My ST had the same issue. Sonic Springs and a different weight fork oil resolved that. Of course being 200+ lbs keeps my NT planted on the road:rolleyes1:

 

[DirtFlier]

[Do you recall the Firestone debacle? That was all about people not having enough air in there tires...Karl]

That was mainly Ford's fault because they didn't want to spec the Explorer tires for the higher pressures used for pickup trucks as recommended by Firestone. The correct pressure made the ride too harsh but the old Explorer was just a pickup with a different body...can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. That being said, I agree with you about people mostly ignoring air pressure in their tires unless they have a blowout or flat!