Car Tire Advice Please! What do I need to be aware of? Pressures, etc?

[I-Day]

I have a 2016 F3T and I just put a Kumho Ecsta on the rear! I’m 6’5 and weigh 310. I plan to run 22psi in the tire. My question is should I be aware of anything else while riding? For example riding in rain and overal handling?

 

[Mazo EMS2]

Not familiar with the F3, but 22psi doesnt seem like enough air for the rear. As for everything else, it's a tire....ride responsibly...

 

[Bob Denman]

I ran 24 psi in both of my Kumho tires, and they worked really well on the RT-Ls.
Since your bike is quite a bit lighter: you should be fine.
But if it were me: I'd start at 24 psi, and work my way down to 22. :thumbup:

 

[AeroPilot]

Dry weight of F3T is 948 lbs. Add gas and oil and you get 1000 lbs plus your weight. I Run 26-28 psi on my rear General car tire on the RT, but the wife is running 23 psi on her

General T43 and has even wear at 20,000 net miles and ready for the next General. But she only weighs about 110? Try a few different pressures, working your way down like Bob says... see what feels good to you. Also remember to check the air bag pressure under the pillion. The wife's has about 25 psi....

 

[Highwayman2013]

I’m running 22 psi in my rear General Altimax RT43. Seems to work well.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I never liked the Kumho on wet roads.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I never liked the Kumho on wet roads.

If there is anyone on this Forum who can testify to what happens with Kumho's it's you ...... :agree: they seem to lose wet traction early & earlier than most car tires Especially if they are over-inflated ( like over 20 psi ) .........Mike :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

Mine seemed to be "pretty comparable", to the Kendas on wet roads. :dontknow:

And WAYYYYYYyyyy…. better than the Falken that I tried! :shocked:

 

[Peteoz]

I have a 2016 F3T and I just put a Kumho Ecsta on the rear! I’m 6’5 and weigh 310. I plan to run 22psi in the tire. My question is should I be aware of anything else while riding? For example riding in rain and overal handling?

I’m 320 and running my rear Kuhmo at 20, I-Day.......no general issues over 6 months, but I have only ridden in lightish rain a few times (albeit with no issues). We are in drought out here, so we have pretty much forgotten what heavy rain looks like. Based on some posts by highly experienced riders like Ann , I will be riding carefully when I do finally see heavy rain and standing water, before I make a call on how they perform for me in those conditions.

Pete

 

[Chiisai]

Yokohama S Drive on rear, 20 psi. Great traction on wet or dry pavements. It sticks like glue on dry roads and handles water like it was a duck in rain.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Any car tire on the rear of any Spyder only needs 17 to 18 psi for it to perform at it's best .....this is determined from Real Science ....not BUTT theory ............ ride happy ride safe ....... Mike :thumbup:

 

[tehrlich]

Are there actual studies of car tires on Spyders?? That would be "real science." "Butt" if not, it is just conjecture.

I ran 18psi as the rear tire for a while because I fell for internet forum group-think. Hated the way it rode. People may like it.. I didn't.

As I slowly started to increase the psi on recommendation by others, it ran like I wanted. I'm at 28psi and ridden through the hardest of rains and tested as safely as I could on wet parking lot surfaces. I even did heat signature readings as suggested here by low pressure advocates, and nothing of any significance across the tread.

I'm not even saying that lower pressures are wrong, but there is NO SCIENCE that says 28psi is wrong either for CAR TIRES on MOTORCYCLES. Even with the loudest of words, the most emoji's used, the multiple times it is repeated, it is only opinion. Opinion is not science.

I like the ride of hard shoes, front and back, and have had zero issues for three years.

(For those that don't know about scientific studies, what I just said is called "anecdotal evidence." Anecdotal evidence can be very helpful in determining best methods or directions, but it is still not "science." Internet forums are loaded with anecdotal evidence, and that's what makes them so fun! )

 

[PW2013STL]

Here is a way to tell what pressure is right for you.

Pick up some white chalk (Target, Walmart)- the kind that kids use to draw on the sidewalk- and after riding your Spyder to get the tires up to temp. Pull over in a safe spot and run a line across your tire - go down each side to make finding your line easy- and go riding (no burn outs or riding throught water). Then pull over to a safe spot and see what is left of the white line.
If only the center is missing then you have too much pressure.
If the outer edges are missing, but the center is visible, then you have too little pressure.
If correct then all across the tire the chalk is missing then you have it correct

For me at 24# on the RT (2 up riding and pulling a loaded trailer) I was wearing out the center. It wasn't until I hit 18# that I achieved even wear on the car tire.

 

[Easy Rider]

Are there actual studies of car tires on Spyders?? That would be "real science."

In this case, "real science" is a lot like "fake news".

Both are made up descriptions for a heavily biased personal opinion.

 

[Gunner3773]

Since this spring, I had been running my tires at lower pressures until recently. When I was running my Kuhmo on the rear at 19 psi, two-up, I found the rear tire noticeably warm. I pumped up the pressure to 25 psi and found the rear tire ran cooler. I also pumped up the Formoza's from 14 psi to 18psi and like the feel of the steering better. I came up on a curve yesterday a little too fast and really had to crank on the steering. The bike held the curve and I was surprised the nanny did not kick in.

For me, I going to leaving the pressures at their current levels until I "test" rain. I will adjust if necessary. I should mention that I do a lot of 75-80 mph, two-up, freeway riding.

Just my two cents!

Gunner

 

[ofdave]

In this case, "real science" is a lot like "fake news".

Both are made up descriptions for a heavily biased personal opinion.

Obviously you do not have knowledge of the background with tires that Peter Aawen and Blue Knight have.
They offer much more than "a heavily biased personal opinion".
Knowledge of what you are talking about will result in more intelligent comments from you. Try it for a change.

 

[jlc41]

PW2013STL, Good Idea with chalk. Thanks for sharing.

Joe

 

[tehrlich]

Obviously you do not have knowledge of the background with tires that Peter Aawen and Blue Knight have.
They offer much more than "a heavily biased personal opinion".
Knowledge of what you are talking about will result in more intelligent comments from you. Try it for a change.

It is STILL opinion though! There is NO science as he claims. His opinion is not science. Ask him what the data shows for braking safely at different pressures of CAR TIRES ON MOTORCYCLES. There has to be a "range" of safety. They do not KNOW if what they claim on higher pressures are out of a safety zone! There is no science. None. Zero. Opinion, not fact.

And... people usually get trashed here for mentioning a "chalk technique." Usually countless emoji's banging their fists on the floor and bug-eye emojis to follow. But, when it promotes their narrative, they LIKE the post!! See for yourself above.

I took their advice and ran heat signatures (Chalk line techniques are bad according to them) for a few hundred miles at different intervals to show I wasn't getting hotspots. Showed the data. But, that still isn't good enough.

Conjecture and opinion. But, I can tell you that I'll never be running 14psi on my front wheels, which I tried for arguments sake. I'm surprised the tires stayed on the rims through the turns.

26psi up front and 28psi in the back Yokohamas just ran through all of the downpour of Austin today and 150 miles of Texas Hill country wet roads. Had a blast!

 

[Deanna777]

Add gas and oil and you get 1000 lbs plus your weight. I Run 26-28 psi on my rear General car tire on the RT, but the wife is running 23 psi on her

General T43 and has even wear at 20,000 net miles and ready for the next General. But she only weighs about 110? Try a few different pressures

working your way down like Bob says......see what feels good to you. Also remember to check the air bag pressure under the pillion. The wifes

has about 25 psi....

I am running the General Altimax RT43 on the rear of my 2014RTS-SE6 and I am running it 26PSI. My weight is around 140 lbs. and I am 5ft. 6in. Also, I have at 18,053 miles on the general (OEM tire was changed @ 5,824 miles in 2015).


Deanna