Rear tire presure

Wayne Harmsen · Mar 6, 2009

I have a 1500 with a Motor Trike Coupe
I am wondering what tire presure you are running in the back tires?

Also what setting are you using on the coil over shocks.

THANK'S

Wayne Harmsen

John Luciano · Mar 6, 2009

I have a DFT ( I think the only one on this forum BTW) I am running 20lb in both rear tires. I tried the 20# in Right and 22# in left ( to adjust for road crown ) it didn't help that much so went back to 20 & 20. JMO . As far as shock adj I still have the air ride on mine at 20lb

Wayne Harmsen · Mar 6, 2009

Thank's John 
 
I also have air bags along with adjustable shocks. 
I am running 23# in both tires and around 25# in the bags and it seems a little stiff. I will play around with the tire presure and air bag presure. 
I am trying vto get as much information as possable as this is our first trike. 
 
So far nothing but smiles<img src="images/smilies/grin.gif" border="0" alt="" title="big grin" class="inlineimg" /><img src="images/smilies/grin.gif" border="0" alt="" title="big grin" class="inlineimg" />

The Wolf · Mar 6, 2009

Wayne,
I have an 1800 Motortrike and I run my back tyres on our crappy roads at 21. I have to compensate for all the roundabouts which have cambers on them.

ultraboy · Mar 6, 2009

The M/T adjustments for my HD conversion say 18-24 psi for the rears. I've tried both extremes, with the softer setting providing best handling. On a 'Trog' kit, you've also got the spring preload 1-2-3-4 clicks on each side, plus the air bags at 20 to 55 psi, making final adjustment settings somewhat cumbersome when different roads/loads come into play. I did not install the M/T air compressor, but did recently get a 'slime' mini compressor to make those 'on the road' adjustments a bot more convienient. LOL, the only constant is the front tire at max. sidewall pressure.

Ultra

Gorilla · Mar 6, 2009

I run 24 lbs in the rear tires and no air in the HD shocks of my HD Champion. Nice ride solo. My wife has her own ride. She runs the 42 in front, 24 in rear recommended by TBMS for the Stallion. She runs 50 lbs in the bags. 
 
Ted

Okie · Mar 7, 2009

Renegades (Dealer in Glenpool, Ok) told me to run 32 in the rear and 40 in the front on a 04 Honda Goldwing 1800 with a Trike Shop Kit.
Okie
Tulsa, Ok

John Luciano · Mar 7, 2009

Well Okie he is going by the tire spec. If it was on a Lincoln Navigator I would agree. You don't need that hard of a tire. Drop it into the 20's and you will see a world of difference. 40 to 41 front is what I run.

Ozarkryder · Mar 7, 2009

Wow! 32psi in the rear tires? You must be having one heck of a stiff ride. At those pressures you'll have plenty of tread on the outside of the tires, and the center will go bald. Give a call to the Trike Shop, either the Minnesota or Florida shops and they will help you out. We got The Blue Trike from Dick, and have delt with his son Doug. Good People.

Papa Zook · Mar 7, 2009

I agree. Anything in the 20-24 range is going to give the best ride on any brand trike. 32 lbs is way too much unless its on a car or truck. Also agree with max air pressure in the front tire. You may also be surprised how lowering the rear tire pressures by that much will affect the steering. It will drop the rear of your trike a bit and act as if you picked up a degree or two on your rake. Be aware of that when you adjust it as you'll notice a difference.

Trikerjim · Mar 9, 2009

41 in front, 22 in rear and 25-35 lbs in the air bags depending on the load.

cjmitch · Mar 10, 2009

Okie said:
Renegades (Dealer in Glenpool, Ok) told me to run 32 in the rear and 40 in the front on a 04 Honda Goldwing 1800 with a Trike Shop Kit.
Okie
Tulsa, Ok

I would give a lower pressure a try...
Check the tyres, I'll bet that the center is wearing out faster than the outsides of the tire.

Lower it some and I'll bet you'll feel a lot better about the ride

I have a 1500 with a Motor Trike Coupe
I am wondering what tire presure you are running in the back tires?
Also what setting are you using on the coil over shocks.

For the shock, that depends....
Me by myself.... about 30 lbs
Me & wife - about 40 lbs
Me & wife and Trailer about 50 to 60 lbs

ben721364 · Mar 20, 2009

Okie said:
Renegades (Dealer in Glenpool, Ok) told me to run 32 in the rear and 40 in the front on a 04 Honda Goldwing 1800 with a Trike Shop Kit.
Okie
Tulsa, Ok

I have experimented with my GL1800 Roadsmith [Trike Shop] and come to a similar conclusion. I run 32 in the rear and 41 in the front. When I had a Hannigan/BMW K LT, I ran 32 rear and 39 in the front.

Juju · May 31, 2009

Bazooka said:
I agree. Anything in the 20-24 range is going to give the best ride on any brand trike. 32 lbs is way too much unless its on a car or truck. Also agree with max air pressure in the front tire.

OK, so let me be sure I've got this right. Even though the max pressure on my rear tires says 44 psi, I should keep them inflated to around 20-24 psi.

I'm sorry if I seem to be beating a dead horse here, but that just seems like a remarkable difference. OTOH, I recognize that the tire manufacturer had a car in mind when the tires were built and spec'd. Just want to be sure I'm doing this correctly. BTW, for those who don't already know, I ride a 2006 Honda VTX1300, Champion kit.

Nana · May 31, 2009

Juju, I keep my rear tires at about 17 psi for the best comfort and ride on the trike. That is at the recommendation of the Champion dealer who installed the kit and he based that on my size and the fact that I rarely, if ever, ride a second person other than a young child with me. He says he always keeps his own at just over 20 psi on his trike.

Riding home from the Harley dealer after my last "big" service there, I noticed a really hard ride & checked pressure in the tires at home---35 or so. I immediately dropped it back to 17-18 and the comfort was back! Definitely don't need the high pressure in the trike as you do in the car!

Juju · May 31, 2009

Nana said:
Juju, I keep my rear tires at about 17 psi for the best comfort and ride on the trike. That is at the recommendation of the Champion dealer who installed the kit and he based that on my size and the fact that I rarely, if ever, ride a second person other than a young child with me. He says he always keeps his own at just over 20 psi on his trike.

Riding home from the Harley dealer after my last "big" service there, I noticed a really hard ride & checked pressure in the tires at home---35 or so. I immediately dropped it back to 17-18 and the comfort was back! Definitely don't need the high pressure in the trike as you do in the car!

LOL--similar thing happened to me, but it was the Chief who increased the pressure. He was doing a nice thing--cleaned and polished my trike and then checked the fluids, etc. In the process, had my tire pressure up to around 35.

Yesterday, we went out for a lunchtime ride and I felt like I was bouncing all over the place whenever I hit the slightest bump! Checked the tires when we got home and sure enough--way too inflated. When I told Earl what the pressure is supposed to be, he expressed doubt (oh, he of little faith

), which is why I posted on this thread--just to respond to HIS doubts. Thanks for chiming in!

Ozarkryder · May 31, 2009

We run about 20-22 psi for general riding, and about 24-25 when on a trip, leaded with the Bunkhouse in tow. It is surprising how much difference a few pounds of air pressure can make.

Years ago I ws told that the way to fine-tune the air in the bike tires is to fill them to spec, then go on a good long ride. Measure the psi, and the gauge should read 10% higher than when cold. So if you fill to 40psi, the reading should be 44psi. Don't know if this would work for the rear tires on a trike.

Another way, is to check the tread. Ride lots,then check the tires.
If they wear out in the middle, too much preassure. Wear out on the edges, not enough.
Change tires, increase or decrease psi as appropriate, and do it again.
After a few sets of tires, you'll find out what the psi should be for your trike, loading annd riding style.
Of course, if you ride solo, then 2 up, then loaded with 2 up, gear, trailer, etc, the perfect psi will be different for each circumstance. Prepare to ride a lot, take some time and have plenty of tires on hand.

Gorilla · May 31, 2009

Think of the tire as a inner tube you used to play with. The side walls flex in and out depending on the weight on the tire and if the tire hits a bump. The more air the less the ability to flex the side wall. Remember that inner tube was more flexable when less air was in it.

Now the off setting part is that the air supports the weight of the object that the tire is attached to. The heavier the object the more air is required to support it and maintain a ride and tread to road contact. Now your trike is only about 1/4 to 1/2 of the weight that the tire was orginally design for. Therefor you do not need as much air in the tire to support the trike and allow the side wall to flex some what to provide a comfortable ride and keep the tread flat on the ground.

There is alot more to it but this will give you a general idea as to why only somewhere around 20 lbs of pressure is required for the rear tires on your trike.

Ted