What is the correct Front & Rear tire pressure on the Trike, riding mostly 2 up?

[mpolissky]

I own 2008 Goldwing Trike with the Roadsmith / Trike Shop conversion and 17x7 rear wheels and a stock front wheel.

I have a question to all you experienced trikers; what should be the correct Front and Rear Tire pressure on the Trike riding mostly 2 up?

Thanks,

[John Luciano]

You should have a Pilot Activ rear tire mounted on the front of your trike, even if you don't , front tire pressure either way is 41# front . Most of us are running 22 rear . 2 up wright has something to do with ride and MPG . wife and I together total tip the scale at aprox 300# so that is the combo we use and get a good ride and 36 MPG is Average .

[docweb]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>John Luciano</strong>
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<div class="message">You should have a Pilot Activ rear tire mounted on the front of your trike, even if you don't , front tire pressure either way is 41# front . Most of us are running 22 rear . 2 up wright has something to do with ride and MPG . wife and I together total tip the scale at aprox 300# so that is the combo we use and get a good ride and 36 MPG is Average .</div>

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</div>what about when towing a trailer, do you increase your rear tire pressure at all. <img src="images/smilies/confused.gif" border="0" alt="" title="huh??" class="inlineimg" />

[John Luciano]

I never change mine, My trailer is aprox 500 # loaded

[Gorilla]

40 in front 20 in rear. No on the increase whentrailer added.

[Ozarkryder]

The MotorTrike dealer in Afton, OK (Nutting Trikes) recommend 18 - 25, depending on the load and tires. The tires that came on the trike when we bought it were at 22 lbs, and were worn more in the middle than the edges. I dropped it down to 18, and that seemed to help, but the wear on those tires was at the point where the tread goes away quickly. Different brand of tires now, the sidewalls are supposed to be stiffer, so I set the pressure at 18 for the first long trip. I used a dry marker and made a heavy line accross the tread. (some have used chalk, but that is on the surface, the dry marker soaks in a very little bit.) After a few miles I checked the line and it was worn off more on the outside, not so much on the middle of the tread, added two pounds and made another line. Same amout of riding, checked again and the line was even accross the tire tread. 20lbs seems to be the spot for this trike/tire combo. Your set-up, riding style, tire brand/size/compound will most likely affect your exact PSI.

[Nauga Mok]

Most bike/trike trailers have a relatively light tongue weight. A lot of trailers are designed so the tongue weight is under 50 lbs -- usually way under that. How much weight you cram into the trunk would be of more concern. Roadsmiths have enough room back there it's concievable you could get an easy 100 lb in there. Since the trunk is behind the rear axel, it'll affect handling more than another 100 lb of rider weight. The nice thing about towing a trailer, you won't have to load the trunk so heavy. If the rear end feels loose or "squirrely" add a couple of pounds of pressure to the tires. Be alert to how your trike feels &amp; what fuel economy does. It'll tell you what it wants. You could be fine at 22 lbs fully loaded.<br />
<br />
Also keep an eye on ride height.

You may need to increase spring preload.<br /><br />
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NM

[Nauga Mok]

Ozark has a better idea than me! His method should work fine.<br />
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NM

[mpolissky]

Thanks for your recommendations.

This is what the Trike Shop of Daytona recommended for me:

40 PSI in front tire
36 PSI in rear tires

Keep in mind that my rear wheels are 17x7

It does not make sense to me, I think the rear is too high at 36 psi.

What's your opinion?

Best regards,

[Nana]

You will find the ride really rough at that pressure in the rear. It will be much more comfortable (and won't hurt the tires with the lower trike weight) if you drop it to about 20 psi. It would be worth a try....... You can always add air if you want to.

[Ozarkryder]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Nana</strong>
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<div class="message">You will find the ride really rough at that pressure in the rear. It will be much more comfortable (and won't hurt the tires with the lower trike weight) if you drop it to about 20 psi. It would be worth a try....... You can always add air if you want to.</div>

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</div>At that high PSI you'll find you wear out the center of the tread rather quickly. If the PSI is too low,the outside of the tread area will wear first.

[John Luciano]

The rear ti=res were designed for a car not a trike. Soooooooooooo the weight of the trike will not squish the tire flat at 36# at 22 it will. As I said in other posts even with 5# of air the tire will not look flat.

[hepengr]

I have an 07 Ultra with Lehman conversion. I am running stock air pressure<br />
38 to 40 PSI in the front tire (Michelin Commander), and 18 - 20 in the <br />
rear tires ( Dunlop 225-60R16). <br />
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I tried running increased air pressure in the rear tires (28 - 30 PSI) to improve the fuel econonmy, but didn't see any improvement in MPG. The<br />
ride was very rough with the increased air pressure, so I backed off to 18 -<br />
20 to get the better ride.<br />
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There should be some amount of "belly" in the side wall of the radial tires<br />
to achieve a reasonable ride. Take a look at the profile of the side wall when<br />
your fully loaded vs. unloaded. If the side wall of the tire has excessive<br />
deflection in the side wall, the tire will heat-up, and the stability will become<br />
"squirrly".<br />
<img src="images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" />

[ben721364]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>mpolissky</strong>
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<div class="message">Thanks for your recommendations. <br />
<br />
This is what the Trike Shop of Daytona recommended for me:<br />
<br />
40 PSI in front tire<br />
36 PSI in rear tires<br />
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Keep in mind that my rear wheels are 17x7<br />
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It does not make sense to me, I think the rear is too high at 36 psi.<br />
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What's your opinion?<br />
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Best regards,</div>

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</div>Contrary to some others, I think the installer's recommendation is a good place to start on the Roadsmith/GL1800. I would get a good tire gauge and experiment in 2# increments themn go to 1# increments when you begin to get close. The Roadsmith and other IRS equipped trikes can run higher pressures without compromising comfort than those with live axles. That said, I had a Hannigan and now have a RS. After experimenting I settled on 41# front on both. In the rear, I found 30# suited me on the Hannigan and that 29# works for me on the RS. YMMV.

[Ozarkryder]

How do the tires wear on the Roadsmith with 29 lbs of air in them? The previous owner of our MotorTrike had 22-25 in them and the center of the tread wore to the wear bars, but the outer edges had more than half of the tread left. Dropped it down and the wear seemed to even out a bit before the new tires went on.

I have always gone by the wear- center wearing too much PSI, edges wearing, not enough.

[Gorilla]

Ozark you hit it on the head