Alright well i'm very new to motorcycle riding but not to tire pressure.

The book says 42psi rear and 36psi front. I do believe mine are off by a good amount. I have Continental Sport Attack and there about a year old (bought the bike used). Just wondering what is optimum tire pressure for these tires or for the bike in general. Should i just follow honda specs?

 

I run 36f/42r, just like what MOM says, and have not had any issues using my bike as a daily commuter. I'm running the stock Dunlop Sportmax's.

 

I suggest you run whatever it says on the side of the tire. Yes, Michelin pilots state 36F/42R and that's how you should run then. I also suggest you check your pressure when the tires are still cold, And when I say cold, I mean at Air temperature, not after you've done a few laps around your race track.

 

Running the highest possible according to mom/tire manufacturer will get you the best wear

sometimes people lower psi for trackdays or riding twisties, but you won't get as much life out of them

 

Well i know all about checking a tire when its cold (full time auto tech haha) I think when i checked my tires they were at 28F and 34R so ill make sure to change that.

Higher PSI will be better for handling too am i correct? I know in a car when i autox i usually have it at like 45ish

 

The owners manual just tells you what the stock tires the bike came with should be at. After you replace them with after-market tires, the manual is useless (for tire pressures that is). Just run what the sides of the tires tell you to run, and you should be golden.

 

I always thought the pressure on the side of the tire is max pressure, not sure if id wanna run my car tires at 52psi daily haha.

I hear 42R and 36F is perfect, just looking for some opinions.


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I've heard a lot of people say 42r/36f as that's what the manual recommends...but i've also heard people say that's the max recommended psi for a bike with full load (ie two passengers). I've tried some different settings and now just keep mine at 34f/38-40r because that's what i like. You do get better turn in and feel with the front tire closer to 36, but slightly better ride and traction with it lower. But i don't think i would ever go below 32 for either front or rear on the street...and yes, your tires will wear faster.

I always wondered about the whole 'recommended pressure' on the sidewalls. I thought that was max pressure, and as you said, you never want to run max pressure in your car all the time. Completely unnecessary.

 

It depends on the tire you're running, but for the most part I'd go with a maximum of 34 to 38 psi. 42 psi makes no sense.

On track i'm running anywhere between 28 to 32 psi, depending on the tire, conditions, etc.

 

Motorcycle tires are not like car tires. You run a/x pressures high because car tire sidewalls are not as rigid as MC tires (or Car R-comps) and higher pressures mean less roll over and better turn in characteristics. But on a motorcycle tire, 42 psi means that the tire will warm up very slowly and also feel wonky. Race cars w/ r-comps generally run pressure in the high 20's to the mid 30's, hot, meaning that cold pressures are lower.