tire pressure consensus

[irvin48]

ive read so much on this i dont know what to set them at.
new stock tires coming home tomorrow unless they
blew it up . whats the experts general thought ?

[NM Wrench]

18 to 20 front & 28 rear

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

[Bob Denman]

I'm certainly no expert; but I keep the fronts on my 2014 up at 21 psi...
But don't be afraid to try out the range from about 19 psi, up to about 23 psi.
Personally; I'd not want to go below 20...

Out back: I liked 26psi in the Stock tire, and 24psi in my Kumho.

[SpyderAnn01]

If you have a few bucks left over after your tire change you might want to consider investing in the FOBO Tire Pressure Monitoring System. It takes the guess work out of it, you always know what your tire pressure is. I check tire pressure on every Spyder that we align and you would be amazed at the number of Spyders that have too little or too much pressure in their tires. Correct tire pressure makes for a better handling Spyder.

[Dan McNally]

I've been running 20 in the front (still OEM Kendas) and 30 in the rear (Kumho Ecsta AST) and it seems to work well for me.The Kumho wear pattern is far superior to what I experienced with the OEM Kenda, and I have twice as many miles on it, to date.

I use JT's Dual Fill to check pressure, so the front are always equal in pressure.

FOBO is probably in my future, but so are a lot of other farkles, I hope!

[Chupaca]

Your manual gives you a range for tire pressure. Maybe everyone here has found the perfect pressure but that may not be the best for your ryding style. Go to the high side of the range if your ryding double up and the low side for solo. Test them out and perhaps the mid range if you a mixed ryder...It will vary from model to model and combined weight of spyder and passengers.....

[irvin48]

99 % wife on back. around 400 # for both of us. cant wait for fri. gotta take the camera.

[fratzba]

+1000 on the FOBO.

Mine have already paid for themselves.

I started out on a little ride a couple of days, and all the sudden in my headset I hear this blaring alarm.

Quickly pull over, and take a look at my phone to see what's going on, and find that my left front tire is down to just under 14 lbs.

Ease back to the house and verify with a manual gauge. Yup, 13.4 lbs in just that one tire.

A quick blast of air from the compressor, and all is better. I'm wondering if I was a little too aggressive on a few corners on my previous trip...

Anyway, I highly recommend them!

-Fratz

[Peter Aawen]

ive read so much on this i dont know what to set them at.
new stock tires coming home tomorrow unless they
blew it up . whats the experts general thought ?

Whatever works for me might not be ideal for you; nor whatever works for someone else - each individual rider is likely to have a different 'ideal' tire pressure depending on all sorts of things like how they ride, where they ride, the ambient temps when they ride, the surfaces they ride on, the speeds they travel at..... yada, yada, yada!!

It's probably good to start with your pressures somewhere in the TIRE MANUFACTURERS recommended pressure range for their tires in the size/tread pattern etc you bought carrying whatever load your tires have on them when you are riding - at best the BRP pressure recommendations are a compromise that might be sorta OK for some (maybe most) of their 'target buyers', but that compromise is very likely to be biased to suit their perception of what their target buyer will want from the OE tires on the std Spyder - and that could be soft & comfy, or to give direct steering, or whatever; and won't necessarily be the ideal pressure to give you the best balance of ride, handling, traction, &/or tire longevity! The tire manufacturers generally have an much better idea of what pressure their tires will need to be run at to carry whatever load you specify, and you should start with that & fine tune the pressures up or down to suit your particular needs in terms of the ride, handling, etc....

Me, I'm no longer running the crappy Kenda tires under my RT, they only managed to last less than 5000 miles all round for me under the conditions etc I ride in, & were basically appalling in terms of ride, traction & handling while doing it too, no matter what pressure I ran them at!! So far, the slightly larger Kumho non-directional touring tires I replaced the Kenda's with have managed to return over 13,000 miles while providing MUCH better ride, handling, & traction etc, an they've done it all with 16-18 psi up front & 18-20 psi in the rear.... And they look like continuing to last for probably at least the same again; but remember, whatever pressure works for me may not necessarily work for you!!

[trikermutha]

I definitely found 20 PSI in the fronts worked well. Rears depends on the tire brand..running 30.5 for now on Vee Rubber.

[Bob Denman]

If you have a few bucks left over after your tire change you might want to consider investing in the FOBO Tire Pressure Monitoring System. It takes the guess work out of it, you always know what your tire pressure is. I check tire pressure on every Spyder that we align and you would be amazed at the number of Spyders that have too little or too much pressure in their tires. Correct tire pressure makes for a better handling Spyder.

Ann,
I have two questions about this FOBO system:
1. Does it come with it's own monitor, or do you need a "Phart Smone", to read them?
2. Are the steel valve stems required?

[Highwayman2013]

http://www.lamonstergarage.com/fobo-...et-of-3-black/

[Bob Denman]

Thanks! Lacking the proper phone: I'm out of luck!

[robmorg]

Your manual gives you a range for tire pressure. Maybe everyone here has found the perfect pressure but that may not be the best for your ryding style. Go to the high side of the range if your ryding double up and the low side for solo. Test them out and perhaps the mid range if you a mixed ryder...It will vary from model to model and combined weight of spyder and passengers.....

Yep, lots of variables. Like you said, the weight your Spyder carries is the largest variable, but having pre-load adjustments on your shocks could also make a difference, and automotive tires can take more air pressure due to the stronger sidewalls, which gives you a larger range to choose from. Lower pressures can give you a softer ride, but running them too low can cause excess heat and shorten your tire life. Higher pressures can give you a firmer ride, and support more weight, but may result in uneven treadwear (as can not enough air). There is no "right or wrong" pressure. You have to experiment a bit to find the right compromise between comfort and treadwear given your most common configuration.

[Ex-Rocket]

I like to keep the front tires at 20 PSI. I only change the rear tire PSI depending if I'm riding by myself or if I'm riding two up. The rear PSI can be from 26 to 30 PSI. The lower PSI when riding by myself and the higher PSI when riding two up. That's works for me and my tire wear looks good so far with almost 6000 miles on my 2015 RTS. I still have the stock Kendas.

[robmorg]

Thanks! Lacking the proper phone: I'm out of luck!

Bob, while metal valve stems are often recommended for TPMS systems, the FOBO units are so light that rubber stems really are not a problem – especially since the spider has relatively short valve stems. Too long a stem in the rear could cause a problem with clearance between the sending unit and the belt, if the valve stem flexes. Not Sure why Lemont's right-up states that the stock stems are too short. It could be that that is a problem when using the locknut on the rear tire. Personally, I've never used the locknuts on any TPMS system I've ever had, and never had a problem.

As for the phone, the FOBO system works with almost any of today's mobile phones. Generally, you also can expect better phone reception in remote areas with the phones being sold these days. Although, that can depend on your carrier.

[Bob Denman]

Hi Rob!
You haven't seen the "Dumb Phone", that I travel with...
It's 10 years old; need I say more?

[PaladinLV]

Ann,
I have two questions about this FOBO system:
1. Does it come with it's own monitor, or do you need a "Phart Smone", to read them?

YES you need a smart phone

2. Are the steel valve stems required?

No, OEM valves are fine.

AJ

[robmorg]

Hi Rob!
You haven't seen the "Dumb Phone", that I travel with...
It's 10 years old; need I say more?

I think you told me once that you never upgraded because the phone reception wasn't too good in your area. But I don't remember having much of a problem with my phone and Verizon when I spent three days in the Catskills last fall. I do remember that I had very good wireless internet connection with Verizon at the motel I stayed at in Kerhonkson.
Heck just having the FOBO TPMS system on your Spyder would be reason enough to upgrade. Now that I have it I would NEVER be without it. Anyway... just something for you to think about.

[Michael82009]

ive done this your forty years and I've gotten maximum wear from all my tires no matter what they are on.

https://youtu.be/ojGsavK0Uwc

[Deanna777]

I am running 26 psi on the rear tire( General Altimax RT 43).
Deanna

[MikeT]

Question from a freshman Spyder owner:
Is the front tire inflation pressures dependant on whether you are using the OEM swaybar & links, or you are using the Baja Ron swaybar with metal links?

[captblack]

20 in the front and 30 on the rear since 2011 on my RT. Excellent mileage on everything. Best thing for tires ts the ROLO alignment, IMHO.

[rcturner]

Question from a freshman Spyder owner:
Is the front tire inflation pressures dependant on whether you are using the OEM swaybar & links, or you are using the Baja Ron swaybar with metal links?

The is no connection between tire pressure and swaybars. Toe in would be far more critical in combination with pressure and how the bike handles relative to road surfaces, wind, etc. The pressure needs to be the same from side to side, however.