Under Pressure

tire pressure

The owner's manual says 42/34. I use 42/36 because my dealer suggested it.
 
I run mine a couple lbs less on both cuz I'm only around 200lb and they appear to wear the best that way.
Now if my wife ever joined me, lbs would change drastically if you know what I mean!;)
Flips right. It seems I add air more often but that's always been the case with my motorcycles.
 
I follow the owner's manual, but if I wanted to pull wheelies I'd drop the rear some :D..

Just remember, for every 10 degrees F drop in temperature you loose one PSI.... you could actually loose 4 or 5 psi depending on how hot it was when you filled them with air and how cold it is now...

And I like to fill my tires with helium... it makes the bike lighter, plus you can huff it and it makes you talk funny...
 
I agree with Sidecar on this one. I run 42 psi front and rear. I've never understood the lower tire pressure on the front tire considering it is a smaller tire, it is supporting about 75% of the bike weight, and has a considerable amount of downforce on it. I can tell when the front tire on my Rocket is down a couple of pounds of air...it handles like a stump.
 
Please note...

A little note on tire pressure gages. They aren't all created equal. Just the opposite and just because it's a digital one, that don't mean it's good to go either.

I use a Wikka glycerin filled gage (which is a true Burdon tube gage). The glycerin is just for dampening pulsations and isn't really necessary. I have the gage coupled to a foot long whip hose with a Milton air chuck on the end. Wikka gages are industry standard for accurate pressure measurement and are ISO certified. They aren't cheap either. I believe the most inaccurate gages are the slide type pencil gages. The friction of the moving slide can acerbate the inaccuracy. I've compared the Wikka to a Milton slide gage in the shop and have found a 5-7 pound differential. The cheaper digital one from Auto Zone is better at 3 pounds, but I prefer the analog Wikka gage.

I don't see any advantage in filling your tires with an inert gas other than if you want to spend extra money or if you are running 200 plus mph., day in and day out. Save the extra bucks and buy some beer.
 
The main reason I asked is (as stated by others) it seems I am always adding air. I also noticed the max pressure stamped on the tire is the same Triumph recommends in the owner's manual and as stamped on the frame decal. At least on any of the vehicles I have owned, I never have had to inflate the tires to the max pressure stamped on the tires, the manufacturer's specs is usually substantially lower. I can't remember if my old speed triple was that way also.

My wife bought a new set of tires at Costco. I noticed they put green valve stem caps on. I asked what that was for and they said they only fill tires with nitrogen because "normal" air breaks down the tire faster and is not as reactive to changes in the temperature. Sounds good to me.
 
Pig9r said:
My wife bought a new set of tires at Costco. I noticed they put green valve stem caps on. I asked what that was for and they said they only fill tires with nitrogen because "normal" air breaks down the tire faster and is not as reactive to changes in the temperature. Sounds good to me.

Sounds okay to me too. I'll keep using shop air from the compressor. I have a feeling that while Costco includes the Nitrogen fill, nitrogen must be purchased in bottles or generated with a nitrogen generator (which ain't cheap) so you are paying for it somewhere along the way.

Normal o2 might break down the tire's insides faster, but I suspect you'll wear out the carcass before that happens. I've never used Nitrogen in my class 8 truck tires and they run hotter and longer than any passanger car tire. Besides, if you need to add nitrogen to adjust pressure and there is no nitrogen available, you're screwed.:D

I don't have green caps or black either. I use metal hex caps with internal "O" rings called "test caps" on all my vehicles including the trucks.
 
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