Tire pressures

[ARNIE R]

Having just recently purchased an ST-S Spyder, I was wondering if there were any thoughts to modifying some of the recommended tire pressure settings for handling, steering, etc.

The reason for asking, is that I noticed a few comments from some members which had done so due to the Spyder's ride characteristics. I have only been able to ride mine twice so far, and noticed that the steering seems very sensitive, especially around curves. Not sure if that is a characteristic of the Kenda tires or the Spyder's steering geometry or both. Sometimes, I feel as if I am cutting the inside of the curve way to much without much handlebar action.

Thanks.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

& ..... Frankly ( this is well documented ) Kenda tires are not on anyone's list of Quality tires..... lots of issues especially with rear tire wear ....if you get 8 to 10,000 on the rear you are lucky .... most car tires on the rear will give you 30,000 to 40,000 ....... If you can't do rear wheel tire changes , this can get very expensive ..... Kenda tires will be OK on the front IF you have perfect alignment !!!! .... which means LAZER - and not from the dealer unless they are using certified Rolo / TruTrac system. I could type another 1000 words on this but it's late ...... Mike

[Trbayth]

Having just recently purchased an ST-S Spyder, I was wondering if there were any thoughts to modifying some of the recommended tire pressure settings for handling, steering, etc.

The reason for asking, is that I noticed a few comments from some members which had done so due to the Spyder's ride characteristics. I have only been able to ride mine twice so far, and noticed that the steering seems very sensitive, especially around curves. Not sure if that is a characteristic of the Kenda tires or the Spyder's steering geometry or both. Sometimes, I feel as if I am cutting the inside of the curve way to much without much handlebar action.

Thanks.

Not sure what your prior experience with Spyders is but if you have very little it may just be a question of time spent riding. While the tires, tire pressure, and alignment can have an effect on squirelliness, Spyders in general do have sensitive steering; it takes very little input to make the bike respond. If you're maintaining a "death grip" on the handlebars you could be supplying steering input without realizing it. Spyders need a light touch (some people have said pretend you're holding eggs between your hands and the grips and you want to avoid breaking the eggs.) If you haven't yet, please read the Do's and Do Not's thread that's stickied at the top of the General Forum.

Oh, and

[AY4B]

Having just recently purchased an ST-S Spyder, I was wondering if there were any thoughts to modifying some of the recommended tire pressure settings for handling, steering, etc.

The reason for asking, is that I noticed a few comments from some members which had done so due to the Spyder's ride characteristics. I have only been able to ride mine twice so far, and noticed that the steering seems very sensitive, especially around curves. Not sure if that is a characteristic of the Kenda tires or the Spyder's steering geometry or both. Sometimes, I feel as if I am cutting the inside of the curve way to much without much handlebar action.

Thanks.

Arnie, if you are that new, then stay with the recomended tire pressures of 18 in the front and 28 in the rear. Put a few thousand miles on your spyder and then you can start to think about making changes. The touchiness if the variable power steering is what everyone feels when they get started.

[ingramwc]

I have a 2013 STS SE5, I run 20 lbs. in the front and 28 lbs. in the rear. You mentioned steering sensitivity on turns, have you installed a BajaRon sway bar and billet Hiem joints?
If not you will feel the steering to be "uncertain" on entry of a turn/ curve. Also you will notice that the groves in the road caused by traffic will also move you around a bit as you are
traveling, even on straight sections of a road. You can search on this topic and gather a bunch of info!!! I would also recommend a Laser alignment for your front end.
I hope this helps!!!

[ARtraveler]

Handling issues on curves are usually caused by over input from the driver. Read the Do's & Don'ts thread. Lots of very good information there.

Start with the recommended tire pressures before making changes.

[ARNIE R]

Thanks all, for your replies. I read all of the "Do's and Don'ts" and also took a good 150 mile ride today. Got more comfortable with the handling characteristics.

Still gotta overcome that higher RPM shifting fear - sounds stressful, but I will try to keep that point in mind from now on.

[ingramwc]

ArnieR, the 998 is by design a high reving engine so don't be afraid of the RPM's!!! I usually do not shift until 6,000 - 6,500 RPM, so the RPM's do not drop below 5,000 RPM after the shift.
Have some fun with it, try some 8,500 RPM shifts and stay in it, the engine loves it!!!!! Of course you want to have the engine warmed up before you try this!!!!
This engine does not like to be lugged, so try to avoid running at low RPM's. Sometimes in traffic it cannot be avoided.

[ARtraveler]

Thanks all, for your replies. I read all of the "Do's and Don'ts" and also took a good 150 mile ride today. Got more comfortable with the handling characteristics.

Still gotta overcome that higher RPM shifting fear - sounds stressful, but I will try to keep that point in mind from now on.

Don't be afraid to run it up to 5500 before shifting. You get used to it very quickly. Even though you have five gears, you do not have to be operating in fifth. I don't hit fifth unless I am driving 65 on the highway. I drove the 50 miles of Hana Highway (Maui) in first gear the whole way. Speeds under 30 mph. After a few miles, the "sound" of the engine is all you need to hear for shifting.

[Road-Kill]

I read this thread and realized I never checked my tire pressure. Pure laziness at its finest. I have put about 1800 miles on my new beast since I bought it in January. To my amazement my front pressure was 24psi and my rear tire was 30psi. I reduced the front pressure to 17psi and my rear to 28psi. I wish they made the valves more accessible!

IN SHORT.......CHECK YOUR PRESSURE!

[Easy Rider]

The touchiness if the variable power steering is what everyone feels when they get started.

Potential new owner here. (I think it's just a matter of time.)

I'm in a riding club with lots of Spyders of various model years.

Took my first test ride yesterday.
I immediately noticed the tendency to "oversteer" with the electric steering.......on the 2011 I was on.
I didn't think too much about it because I though part of it was due to riding on 2 wheels for about 50 years.

THEN.....one of the club members said:"Be sure to get one 2014 or later because the design changes make it handle much better."
I haven't had a chance to ask him what he means by that yet, and also not too sure his opinion is worth much................
So for those of you who have ridden both the old and new designs, is the steering any LESS touchy with the new design ??

[pegasus1300]

The twitchiness is still there,that is a function of your 50 years on 2 wheels. It will go away as you become accustomed to the machine and it's steering.

[Easy Rider]

The twitchiness is still there,that is a function of your 50 years on 2 wheels. It will go away as you become accustomed to the machine and it's steering.

Thank you.....I think.

At least I won't have to fork out an extra 10K or so to get a "new" design model because of that.

I can live with the short-comings of the older design otherwise.

[Markku]

Hello

Could someone make a poll of tire pressures?

[Road-Kill]

Hello

Could someone make a poll of tire pressures?

How about a poll of how often people check their pressure.

[Peteoz]

Hello

Could someone make a poll of tire pressures?

Why exactly are you interested, Markku? I only ask as nearly all the posts by those running Kendas say they run at the recommended BRP pressures. Once you get into aftermarket tyres, that a whole new ball game.

Pete

[Peteoz]

How about a poll of how often people check their pressure.

I check mine whenever FOBO warns me to, Road-Kill.

Pete

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hello

Could someone make a poll of tire pressures?

I'll only address the rear tire ..... for the Kenda you might as well go with 28psi, because nothing you run will change when it will wear out !!!!!!, or how it will handle .......... If you have changed to ANY type of CAR tire a very advisable PSI would be 17-18 psi for any spyder either one or two passenger ...... myself and Peter Aaewen have explained in extreme detail dozens of times why this is an ideal psi, so I'm not going to repeat it here ....... Mike

[Peter Aawen]

^^ Wot'E said! ^^


But I'll go so far as to add that just as we know about the rears & the lack of impact adjusting pressures has on them, the OE Kendas are much the same up front - you can't really do too much for/with the pressures in the OE Kendas, altho since the front is carrying very little weight & is not subjected to much more than the ryding/cornering stresses, they do reasonably orright up front anyway!! Not great mind you, but certainly alright - well, that is if you don't have vibration, balancing, alignment, or wear issues anyway!

However, when you swap to better quality tires (which is effectively pretty much ANY car tire ) you'll notice very quickly that 1) you'll almost certainly get scads better grip, ride, handling, & tire life from them than from the OE Kendas, especially if you are running pressures somewhere in the range of saaayyy 16-20psi; & 2) adjusting the pressures in those alternative tires up front to suit you & your wants/needs can make a big difference to how your Spyder feels, grips, & rides as well as how long your tires last.

There are methods to work out what's the optimum pressure for any tire/application, front or rear; but I won't go into them here - suffice to say that the pressure that you feel is ideal for you & is optimal for your tires (whichever tires you are running) can be markedly different to the pressure that I feel is ideal & is optimal for my tires - there is no one-size-fits-all tire pressure - if you want your ideal tire life, ride, & handling at the optimal pressure for your tires then you will need to make some effort to get that from them; you can make an effort & do this, or you can choose to just pick a pressure then set & forget, but doing that will mean you are compromising something/somewhere in that grip, ride, handling, tire life range!

[Markku]

Hello

In this forum is very many debates of tire pressures therefore I thought that if here is a poll so would people see which tire pressure people are driven more generally.In my opinion it is no major differences in tire pressures and a various tire manufacturer.If the tires are different widths or other various sizes that event the tire pressure can be different sorts.

[willey]

I don't think your problem has to much to do with your tires.Riding a 3 wheeler is not much different than a 2 wheeler.I like to call it the shotgun affect.When you shoot a shotgun you don't aim,you just look at the target.When riding you know what ever you are looking at,that is what you will hit.When I got my first spyder,I was looking about 5 yards out in front.After a few miles I realised that was my problem.You need to look about as far around the curve as you can see.Before long you will be as smoth as glass and not even thinking about turning the bars.Look your way thru the curves and look your way down the road,before long you will be having more fun than you ever did on a 2 wheeler.I rode my first spyder [ 13 RTS ] 30,000 miles and I have 33,000 miles on this 14 STL. i'am not an expert,to be an expert you have to be at least 50 miles from home.I'am here at home so you are just getting an old farts opion that has been riding for over 50 years and well over a half million miles for what ever thats worth.I hope this helps now go have some fun.

[newbert]

Speaking of checking tire pressure, how the heck do you access the valve on the rear tire on an F-3T? I can't even see the valve. Is it on the left or right side? And do you need to remove a saddlebag in order to reach the tire?

Thanks!

[AeroPilot]

With a gauge that can get through the sprocket to fit flat on the valve stem. This is only when the FOBO indicates that I need to add some air.

The rest of the time FOBO tells me what I need to know to satisfy my obsessive/compulsive disorder..

[Peteoz]

Speaking of checking tire pressure, how the heck do you access the valve on the rear tire on an F-3T? I can't even see the valve. Is it on the left or right side? And do you need to remove a saddlebag in order to reach the tire?

Thanks!

Yeah, it's a pain, Newbert. It's on the left side (the non muffler side). I put the F3 in neutral and roll it back or forward until I can see the valve through one of the wheel gaps, put the park brake back on just in case and then hit the floor armed with everything I need. I couldn't live without my FOBO or Lamont's battery operated air pump though.

Pete