'08 GS Kumho rear tire pressure

[oldgoat]

As this is a different type of tire from the OEM Kenda, what pressure do you many Kumho converts use for 1 up & 2 up riding?

Many thanks to BLUEKNIGHT911 for selling me a surplus to needs new rear Kumho. I drove down to VT, had the pleasure of meeting him & his 4 legged friend, & picked it up.

Got it installed (old one removed & new Kumho put on for $10 in the small Quebec border town of Pike River). They did it immediately as I waited.

Arrived home, opened the garage door, drove in, closed the door & BANG !!! one of the door springs broke. Glad I had a retaining cable down the center of it or my head may have been ripped off.

Many thanks for the other goodies, Mike

[SPYD3R]

hey there OLD GOAT.....
how goes it up there in the north country....
have you installed the FLOOR BOARDS yet...?

i have had the KUMHO AST on the rear of my '09 RS/SE5 since 2009... i ride 1 UP all the time... and i keep mine at 18 psi... ya ya ya, i know, the book says.... but what the book doesn't tell you about is all the variables that can take place... @ 18 psi, mine wear down evenly across the thread... and i'm getting around 30,000 miles of life out of these tires...

hope all is well my friend... be good, and ride safely...
btw: i ordered me a new F3-S... should have in within a week of 2....
Dan P
Easley, SC
SPYD3R

[BajaRon]

I ride my 08 GS 1 up and I run 28-30 psi. I get even tread wear and traction seems good. Everyone should run what they think best, but I'm surprised that 18 psi works well. I'd be afraid of coming off the bead in hard cornering with that low a pressure.

I ran mine down to 24 PSI for drag racing. Not sure it helped much. When I was done I didn't like the way it handled in corners so I pumped it back up as soon as I was able.

[Spyder Tony]

I am on my 2nd Kumho Ecsta AST and use 30 psi in mine. 18 seems pretty low to me, but then again I never ran my non-OEM tire that low. Only got 7K out of my OEM...but am on close to 20K on my 2nd Kumho and it's not even showing signs of wear (and I ryde on the aggressive side). I put a Kenda with the reformulated rubber compound on the rear of my gal's ST-L last week, so I could compare the wear of the new tire compound on the "improved Kenda", but honestly, i'll probably just put a Kumho on hers next time too.

[SPYD3R]

I ride my 08 GS 1 up and I run 28-30 psi. I get even tread wear and traction seems good. Everyone should run what they think best, but I'm surprised that 18 psi works well. I'd be afraid of coming off the bead in hard cornering with that low a pressure.

I ran mine down to 24 PSI for drag racing. Not sure it helped much. When I was done I didn't like the way it handled in corners so I pumped it back up as soon as I was able.

Ron;
on my 1st KUMHO, i ran 28 psi, and could see that the center was wearing... reduced it to 25 psi, same, 23 psi, same again, down to 20 then finally to 18 psi... never had an issue with air-bleed whatsoever.... i'm now at 25,000+ miles on my 2nd KUMHO, with approximately 5 - 6000 more miles to go before it will need replacing... at my 245 lbs, i guess this is the correct number for me....
Dan P
SPYD3R

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

On my GS and then my RSS I ran both at 20 PSI cold ...........never had an issue .......pressure goes a few pounds up after about 5 miles , anyway..............Remember the car tires have much stiffer side walls and can support considerably more weight than the Spyder........20 lbs....gives a more comfy ride with no loss in Handling ....JMHO...................Glad you arrived home safe , Mike. I truly enjoyed your visit , you and the missus are welcome anytime ..................I hope I didn't over-whelm you with everything.......It's not an ego thing , just trying to let you know what's possible without breaking the BANK......................Mike

[oldgoat]

hey there OLD GOAT.....
how goes it up there in the north country....
have you installed the FLOOR BOARDS yet...?

i have had the KUMHO AST on the rear of my '09 RS/SE5 since 2009... i ride 1 UP all the time... and i keep mine at 18 psi... ya ya ya, i know, the book says.... but what the book doesn't tell you about is all the variables that can take place... @ 18 psi, mine wear down evenly across the thread... and i'm getting around 30,000 miles of life out of these tires...

hope all is well my friend... be good, and ride safely...
btw: i ordered me a new F3-S... should have in within a week of 2....
Dan P
Easley, SC
SPYD3R

hey there OLD GOAT.....
how goes it up there in the north country....
have you installed the FLOOR BOARDS yet...?

Dan, you know I have, sent you pics & I love them. Pondering whether to use the aluminum ones now instead of the steel ones.

Enjoy your new F3. I like them.

[oldgoat]

Thanks

Appears I will run it as follows:

1 ride at 30
1 ride at 28-30
1 ride at 20
1 ride at 18

That should cover the bases

Yesterday I discarded a Kenda that was down to the wear marks in the centre & had about a million miles left elsewhere. That p*ssed me off no end After the effort to get this Kumho I don't want that happening again.

Though it is a car tire & presumably would run in the 20-35 range on a car it should be ok at 30 on a spyder except for maybe comfort.

BTW I also have a brand new Arachnid rear on another rear rim. Now I have to decide whether to leave the Arachnid on the Spyder or swap it out with the Kumho. Luckily I still have 2 months of winter to ponder on it.

[BajaRon]

Ron;
on my 1st KUMHO, i ran 28 psi, and could see that the center was wearing... reduced it to 25 psi, same, 23 psi, same again, down to 20 then finally to 18 psi... never had an issue with air-bleed whatsoever.... i'm now at 25,000+ miles on my 2nd KUMHO, with approximately 5 - 6000 more miles to go before it will need replacing... at my 245 lbs, i guess this is the correct number for me....
Dan P
SPYD3R

Not saying you're wrong, just giving my perspective. I got even tread wear at 28-30 psi so I'm surprised you were getting center wear. If it works for you then great!

Granted, not a Kumo. This is my Toyo which I also ran at 28-30 psi. Most definitely got my money's worth out of this one. I like to wear tires out. I figure I paid for all of it, I want to use it all.

[PistonBlown]

Not saying you're wrong, just giving my perspective. I got even tread wear at 28-30 psi so I'm surprised you were getting center wear. If it works for you then great!

Granted, not a Kumo. This is my Toyo which I also ran at 28-30 psi. Most definitely got my money's worth out of this one. I like to wear tires out. I figure I paid for all of it, I want to use it all.

Thanks for posting this Ron. Just had one of those Toyo's fitted on my RS and was wondering what tyre pressure to use.

Thanks,

Jos