Rear Shock air pressure

[Yanko]

With DK Comfort lift should I carry less air in the shock. When I got the trike from the dealer after install the tech told me he put 8# in shocks. It rode great on the way home. Being 250# I put 20# in and now it rides harsh. Have 24 in rear tires and 36 in front. Appreciate help. Thanks

 

[Sully]

Having the Lift Kit installed, ( I have it also ). I don't think makes any difference what pressure you run. You just need to try different settings for what works best. I'm 230lbs and run 20lb in mine with 26 in rear tires and 36 in front. Works Great for me.

 

[headheaded]

i run 22# in the rear tires and 36# in the front, 15 in the shocks. seems to ride good now. i think 26 in the rear tires is tp much. do a search on here.

 

[MikeyTX]

Not sure I could handle running under inflated in high heat conditions. I do believe a call to Dunlop is in order.

 

[consitter]

Not sure I could handle running under inflated in high heat conditions. I do believe a call to Dunlop is in order.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but 'underinflated' is what's recommended on the TG. 22-26 lbs of air is all that is usually run, depending on who you are and if you are running one or two-up.

The tires are pretty much car tires, and they don't carry near the load they normally would if they were used on a car. Being underinflated won't hurt them nearly as bad as if they were on a car. Most people get quite a lot of miles out of them. I'm talking 25,000+ from what I've read here on the forum.

Now, I'm not sure if there's any rotation or not. Of course the only type that could be done is swap sides, which would be running them in reverse. Some tires can't be run that way. Don't know if the TG tires are those kind or not. Hmmm...now I'm gonna have to do a little research.

And YES, I've just managed to derail the thread...sorry OP.

 

[NHBAGGER]

I ride two up mostly at 300+ lbs. Normally 22 in rear tires and shocks. Shock pressure at 18 felt "mushy" cornering with a little sway. It also tended to bottom out on harsh bumps. Did not feel right, pumped them back up.

 

[MikeyTX]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but 'underinflated' is what's recommended on the TG. 22-26 lbs of air is all that is usually run, depending on who you are and if you are running one or two-up.

The tires are pretty much car tires, and they don't carry near the load they normally would if they were used on a car. Being underinflated won't hurt them nearly as bad as if they were on a car. Most people get quite a lot of miles out of them. I'm talking 25,000+ from what I've read here on the forum.

Now, I'm not sure if there's any rotation or not. Of course the only type that could be done is swap sides, which would be running them in reverse. Some tires can't be run that way. Don't know if the TG tires are those kind or not. Hmmm...now I'm gonna have to do a little research.

And YES, I've just managed to derail the thread...sorry OP.

Guess I need to go back through the o m. I have mine set based on that shown on the tire pressure setting sticker.

 

[johnf]

tire pressure

my manual says 13# in front tire?

 

[rhino 2]

my manual says 13# in front tire?

What manual are you reading?.... 36 psi for the Tri-Glide.... 13 psi would be for a basketball....

 

[MikeyTX]

What manual are you reading?.... 36 psi for the Tri-Glide.... 13 psi would be for a basketball....

Or a big wheel like my granddaughter's

 

[Larry Sobczak]

On my 2011 Tri Glide I run 35 lbs in the air shocks riding two up 90% of the time, when traveling I up the pressure to 45 lbs.
Front tire pressure at 36 lbs and rear tires at 26 lbs.
The first set of rear tires I got 69,000 miles and the second set I got 61,000 miles. Over 10,000 miles on the third set and they look almost new.
Front tires have averaged just over 25,000 miles on the first five, sixth tire has a little over 10,000 miles and also looks good.

 

[bronxbill]

Running 38 lbs in the shocks of my 2013, two up. 40psi in the front tire (Avon trike tire) and 24 in the rears (Goodyears)

 

[rap47]

On my 2011 Tri Glide I run 35 lbs in the air shocks riding two up 90% of the time, when traveling I up the pressure to 45 lbs.
Front tire pressure at 36 lbs and rear tires at 26 lbs.
The first set of rear tires I got 69,000 miles and the second set I got 61,000 miles. Over 10,000 miles on the third set and they look almost new.
Front tires have averaged just over 25,000 miles on the first five, sixth tire has a little over 10,000 miles and also looks good.

Wow Larry, How many miles do you have on that thing?

 

[Larry Sobczak]

Wow Larry, How many miles do you have on that thing?

Just turned 140,217 miles coming from the Mid America Gathering.

 

[MikeyTX]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but 'underinflated' is what's recommended on the TG. 22-26 lbs of air is all that is usually run, depending on who you are and if you are running one or two-up.

The tires are pretty much car tires, and they don't carry near the load they normally would if they were used on a car. Being underinflated won't hurt them nearly as bad as if they were on a car. Most people get quite a lot of miles out of them. I'm talking 25,000+ from what I've read here on the forum.

Now, I'm not sure if there's any rotation or not. Of course the only type that could be done is swap sides, which would be running them in reverse. Some tires can't be run that way. Don't know if the TG tires are those kind or not. Hmmm...now I'm gonna have to do a little research.

And YES, I've just managed to derail the thread...sorry OP.

I read through the entire section on tire pressure in the '16 owner's manual. Nowhere did I find anything in print by H-D indicating less than 26 psi for the rear tires nor 36 psi for the front. I would truly like to see hard copy from H-D stating that less is fine.

 

[cdculbertson]

I read through the entire section on tire pressure in the '16 owner's manual. Nowhere did I find anything in print by H-D indicating less than 26 psi for the rear tires nor 36 psi for the front. I would truly like to see hard copy from H-D stating that less is fine.

I don't have access to my OM right now but every time that I take my TG in for any kind of service, it comes back with 27# in the rear tires. The ride home from the dealership is always noticeably rougher, so I take it back down to 24# for two up riding, and it's always more comfortable that way.

We ride with 22# in the shocks, as that seems to be the sweet spot for us, with a total weight of around 320# with the two of us with no luggage. I do play around with the pressure in the shocks from time to time, but 22# seems to always do it for us.

 

[MikeyTX]

Being in the trucking business, I can attest to the heating issue in tires from running under inflated. Especially in the summer and under load. That is what causes the majority of blowouts and thusly, the "alligators" on the highways we have to dodge while riding. Adjusting the shock air pressure is by far and away the better way to soften or firm up the ride. That is the main reason we have air adjustable shocks.

 

[TG Bob]

Since the Tri-Glide is basically a Lehman trike, if you go to the Lehman trike web site you will find their take on rear tire pressure. After testing they found 22 PSI was best for all load conditions. They found that tire manufacturers would not specify any pressures lower than 26 PSI for anything so that is why you see 26 PSI in your owners manual. The Dunlop tires are rated for 1400 lbs at 44 PSI (each) so in theory at 22 PSI they would carry 700 lbs (50%) but I doubt it really works that way. Anyway, 2 tires rated to carry 700 lbs would give you a load capacity of 1400 lbs which is more than the actual weight of the trike. As for tire rotation, I didn't see any directional arrows on the tires so you could swap them side to side but I doubt that would help very much. As a side note, when I took delivery of our trike and got it home I went over it to check shock and tire pressures and found 22 PSI in the rear tires. Since the manual calls for 26 PSI, I aired them up thinking the service dept didn't check it right. Then I saw what Lehman recommended so maybe the service dept knew something after all.

 

[Yanko]

DK comfort lift

I guess I didn't explain myself very good. Those of you with the DK comfort lift, do you use less air pressure in the rear air suspension. When I got the bike from the dealer after the install of the comfort lift, it had 8# and rode great. Being 250#, I inflated to 20#. Really rides harsh. "Do you need less air with a DK comfort lift."

 

[MikeyTX]

I would say less. I know I reduced mine by several lbs after the install. Much smoother ride