**psi in rear tires...who is right? You guys or the trike mfg tech??**

Is this a legal or common sense thread ?

bikerbillone said:

So, does the question becomes, since they are 'car tires' with manufacturer's recommendation based a 3K vehicle with four wheels with maybe three or four people and cargo of weight, become a bit skewed for trikes? Think I prefer the trike builder's recommendation.

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Devil's Advocate:

I would guess that the rear tires we run on our trikes were not designed to be run on the back of a motorcycle. They were designed specifically for automotive use.

Hypothetical Question:

If you were to run your front motorcycle tire on your car, would you run factory recommended air pressures ?? And if you wouldn't, WHY NOT ???

Hypothetical Answer:

Motorcycle Tires are not designed for an automobile, and visa-versa !!!!

Therefor, this an apples vs oranges thread and looking for a non-litigious answer defies logic.

Lee, I don't think this thread is about suing or getting sued, just how much air goes into the trike tire. Surely there are happy numbers out there, so opinions abound, does this become a 'flip a coin thing'?

Papa Zook said:

We do not all ride solid axles, a majority rides IRS. The opinions here have been formed over the years from thousands of trike owners, riding many thousands of miles on every make, model and brand of trike and sharing that information. The best ride is going to be in the low to mid 20s of rear tire pressure. This pressure is perfectly safe and better suited in every way. Read this article from Lehman, it backs this up:

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/assets/docs/uploads/Manuals/techbook-master.pdf

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I have been riding a trike for a while, this is one of the best reads on trike I have seen

DFT air pressure

Found this on the DFT website brochure.

I run mine at 26, P.O. was running at 30. I couldn't really tell a difference.

tbird71 said:

OK, I'm hearing two different ideas here...

I have a GL1500 with a DFT Kit, everyone here says run 25 PSI in the rear.

The DFT Tech/Builder says you guys run 25 PSI because all of you have SOLID AXLES

The DFT Kit has IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) and that I should run 30-32

I pumped mine up to 30 but actually FELT better at 25...

Who if anyone is right and why? Your thoughts?? Thanks!

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I was told to go with 26 lbs. Huge car tires and not allot of weight with a trike like a car. The dealership tech told me 26 lbs and that is what I have been using to 72K Miles and 4 years. Just on my second set and still have plenty of life. I have IRS and air ride suspension.

Trail Blazer said:

I have been riding a trike for a while, this is one of the best reads on trike I have seen

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Agreed. When I found it, I also found the following, which i keep thinking about posting on this thread, and since it's been dug up again, here you go...

I design and build custom trikes and the amount of air pressure is only relative to the weight placed on each tire. On all my builds the front tires are set to 17psi and rear to 24 (reverse trikes) On a conventional trike the pressure setting should be about the same ie 32 front and 17-19 rear. The ride will be better, tire life should exceed 40k and handling will also improve as you will get less rebound or bounce. 30 psi would be a disaster as this the the pressure used for weight of approx 900+ lbs per tire but the trike tires have only 250-270 lbs on each which requires a lighter pressure setting.

I actually void the warranty if the pressure is set over 20psi front for these reasons.