How much did your MPG drop after the CSC conversion?

[Papa Zook]

Yes you might save a little gas with the PSI at 50 because the tire contacting the surface will be less.

But the tires will not grip the road as well and would be subject to hydroplaning quicker because of the less contact with the road.

The centers will wear out first and can you imagine the destruction if the tire had a blowout with 50 psi in it.

From a safety stand point I don't think it's worth the little bit of gas saved.

JMHO

I'm in agreement with you Ted. I doubt there would be any appreciable difference in mpg and even if there was a slight gain, there are more downsides besides safety and extended tire life IMHO. I can tell you for sure the ride quality would be better at 24 or 25 psi than at 50 or 51 psi, especially for the passenger.

Anyone else who wants to join in the conversation and post up your Goldwing trike conversion chosen tire pressures, feel free to do so, as it's still a personal choice.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Get on some concrete and either wet your rear tires or drive through a water puddle, then drive the trike on the concrete to show your tread pattern. Keep adjusting your pressure to get the maximum tire coverage on the concrete.

From there you can adjust for your best ride.

 

[Papa Zook]

Lehman Trikes Article Regarding Air Pressure

WHAT IS THE CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE FOR MY TRIKE?

There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation out there when it comes to tire pressures for trike riders. Most all trikes have a motorcycle tire up front and automotive tires in the rear. The motorcycle compliance label has a recommend pressure for both the front and the rear tires. Now that your motorcycle is a trike are these still the pressures to use? Since we are trying to clear up the confusion and misinformation… the answer is yes and no! Let me explain more fully.

We, Lehman Trikes, have always recommended that you maintain the same pressure the motorcycle manufacturer lists on the compliance label for the front wheel. There is no reason to change this pressure. That’s the “yes”. The “no” is a bit more involved. First of all, the two automotive tires like those installed on the rear of your trike area completely different design than the single motorcycle tire they replace.

Now for some history. Lehman Trikes has been building and riding trikes for 25 years. Our founder, John Lehman, and many of the dedicated trike riders that work here have experimented for years trying to find what air pressure in the rear tires gives you the best ride, handling and tire life. What they found and recommended for years was an air pressure in the 20 to 22 psi range worked best. So why, if you look at a current Lehman Trikes Owner’s Manual or the Owner’s Manual for a H-D Tri Glide, do you see a 26 psi recommendation for the rear tires?

When I came to Lehman Trikes several years ago one of the things I was asked to do was to confirm with the manufacturer of our tires that they would support our recommendation of 20 to22 psi air pressures for our application. What I learned is that NO Tire Manufacturer will recommend anything less than 26 psi for standard automotive tires.

LEHMAN TRIKES: Where the 26 psi number came from is an interesting and somewhat involved story. There is a regulatory organization called the Tire and Rim Association (T&RA) which, of course, standardizes specifications for all different applications for tires and wheels (rims). One of the things that they provide is a load carrying capacity for each tire size at different air pressures. In their old reference books they listed load carrying capacities for tire pressures all the way down to 20 psi. I don’t know what year they changed, but in 1999 they still listed load carrying capacities down to 20 psi.

Do any of you remember the big public fight that went on between Firestone and Ford Motor Co a few years ago? As I recall, people were rolling over in their Ford Explorer’s and Ford and Firestone were vigorously pointing the finger at each other. The final outcome was that it was determined that people were reducing the air pressure in their tires to improve ride quality. That would not have been a problem, but they failed to increase the pressure when the vehicle was more heavily loaded. As a result, the T&RA elected to eliminate the lower pressure ratings from their reference books.

In support of the T&RA, the tire manufacturers will not support running their tires at anything less than 26 psi. So how much difference does it make? Why not just run them at a higher pressure? Running the rear tires on your trike at a higher tire pressure has a dramatic impact on how the trike rides and handles. For each additional psi of air pressure you increase the rigidity of the sidewall. At maximum pressure the sidewalls of your tires are quite rigid. Rigid sidewalls will increase the occurrence of the low speed “head shake” inherent in all three wheeled vehicles. They will also transmit more of the bumps in the road to you and your passenger. As you reduce the tire pressure it allows the sidewall to provide additional “cushioning” when riding over irregularities in the road surface. Certainly you do not want to reduce the air pressure too far because that will adversely affect the handling of the trike.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER TIRE PRESSURE (CONT) TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

The “cushioning” effect of the sidewalls is, of course, reduced if you are using a tire that has very little sidewall. For example, those 18 or 20 inch rims that look so cool on the back of your trike do all the wrong things for ride comfort and low speed head shake. A standard 15 or 16 inch rim with a properly sized, properly inflated tire will give you the best ride quality and the least amount of head shake.The most commonly used tire on the rear axle of a Lehman Trike is the P205/70R15. As a point of interest, in the 1999 T&RA reference book it lists a load carrying capacity of 1146 lbs for a standard P205/70R15 tire with 20 psi of air.

 

[NJMike]

Papa Zook, that is one of the best posts I have ever seen on a forum. Thanks! BrokenBackJack, I like your idea…

1. start with 51psi,

2. Ride through water

3. look at the tread pattern

4. reduce psi by 5 lbs

5. repeat steps 2-4

6. stop when the pattern shows full contact with the surface

 

[Ironhorse54]

Great conversation, Guys. Thanks for the input and information.

 

[Ironhorse54]

Did my test ride today at 50 PSI. 110 miles at various speeds from interstate to back roads to in town etc. etc. MPG was 35.5. Really surprised at that. Will go back to 28 psi as recommended by CSC.

I agree with all you guys about safety. Thanks again for the info and input.

 

[NJMike]

As soon as my surgery recovery is over I’m gonna do the water test, suggested by BrokenBackJack and outlined above.

 

[Papa Zook]

Did my test ride today at 50 PSI. 110 miles at various speeds from interstate to back roads to in town etc. etc. MPG was 35.5. Really surprised at that. Will go back to 28 psi as recommended by CSC.

I agree with all you guys about safety. Thanks again for the info and input.

Interesting Eddie. So at 28 psi you were getting 37 mpg and at 50 psi it dropped to 35.5?

 

[Ironhorse54]

Yep, I don’t understand it? Went out today for a 42 mile ride at 45 mph or less and got right at 37 in the Econ mode. I did notice that it does in fact have a little bit more vibration and bumpiness at 50 psi. Don’t see any point in going any further on testing. Might as well drop back to 28 PSI.

 

[brianl]

I know that I don’t have one of the newer bikes, mine is a 2017, but I have had experience riding with overinflated rear tires. I run 22 psi in the left tire and 24 in the right. I run higher in the right to help level the bike because the roads tilt to the right for drainage. I brought my trike to a dealer that apparently wasn’t as familiar with trikes as they thought they were.

They took it upon themselves to increase the pressure on the rear tires to 35psi thinking that’s what they should be because they’re car tires. I didn’t realize they did that until I read the work order when I got home. I rode the interstate home at 65-70 mph. I literally thought I was going to bounce right off the road. Worst ride of my life. Not enough tire surface on the road. If someone can ride at 51psi good for them but I’ll stick with the trike manufacturers recommendation.

 

[Papa Zook]

Yep, I don’t understand it? Went out today for a 42 mile ride at 45 mph or less and got right at 37 in the Econ mode. I did notice that it does in fact have a little bit more vibration and bumpiness at 50 psi. Don’t see any point in going any further on testing. Might as well drop back to 28 PSI.

What many new trike owners do not understand is that the only reason the trike manufacturers reccomend 26-28 psi is that keeps them covered liability-wise and in these times that is a major concern. What they (the trike kit manufacturers) know and all us long time trike owners know is that the Lehman article is dead on 100% correct. 22-24 psi is the sweet spot for rear tire pressure. You can believe me or not, but that is a fact. I've had this conversation many times with pretty much everyone of note in the trike conversion manufacturing industry and ridden a lot of miles on 22 psi rear tires.

 

[Ironhorse54]

Thanks for the insight and response. And I agree. Just lowered my tires back down to 28 psi that is what CSC recommends.

 

[NJMike]

So here’s my question (or comment):

1 - isn’t it true that you get better tire wear at the max rated psi?

2 - isn’t it true that VEHICLE (and trike kit) manufacturers recommend a lower psi for comfort so their buyers will have positive perceptions of their vehicles (or kits)?

3 - if #1 is true, and while I understand that the more psi you put in will result in a “harder” ride, wouldn’t a compromise be the highest psi that results in full contact with the road surface?

I know everyone has their own opinion and there’s nothing wrong with that. But at a given psi, wouldn’t the ride feel (opinion) differently for a 300 lb rider vs a 150 lb rider? I prefer “hard data”. So I will try BBJ’s (BrokenBackJack) idea with the water test…LOOK at the tread pattern, COUNT the treads, REPEAT test. When I SEE full contact then I will go for a test ride and check the fuel mileage (data) and comfort (opinion). I will make a decision after that.

Eddie (my brother, ironhorse54), maybe our thinking is wrong…maybe we’ll get better mileage by reducing the psi to 22?

 

[BrokenBackJack]

You might be getting a much better ride.

With all my neck and back surgeries, I run right around 24. 22-24 is what feels best for me.

Others might disagree and that is fine.

 

[BigMick]

2023 DCT Tour CSC Encore.........

24 - 25 PSI...........tire contact patch below, this is how it should look.

 

[Papa Zook]

So here’s my question (or comment):

1 - isn’t it true that you get better tire wear at the max rated psi?

Papa Zook: Yes and No. If you are running max air pressure on a tire made for the vehicle the tire is mounted to, then probably yes. If you are running max air pressure for an automobile tire, but that tire is mounted to a trike which weighs less than 1/3 of the vehicle is was designed to run on, then no. You will have have more wear to the center of the tire patch

2 - isn’t it true that VEHICLE (and trike kit) manufacturers recommend a lower psi for comfort so their buyers will have positive perceptions of their vehicles (or kits)?

Papa Zook: Yes that is true because they absolutely will experiance a better ride, but that recomendation is not made at the expense of safety and common sense, but based on many years of building, riding and testing their product and getting feedback from owners of their product.

Eddie (my brother, ironhorse54), maybe our thinking is wrong…maybe we’ll get better mileage by reducing the psi to 22?

I suggest tht you search the forum for "tire pressure" and read what some of the most experianced and knowlegable members have to say on this subject. Lee H Mann is one person in particular who you might want to check out.

 

[Ironhorse54]

I agree with you completely that running max PSI under the circumstances will wear out the center of the tire much quicker. Have you noticed any exceptional wear on the edges of the tire by running 22–24 psi. I know that under inflated tires will cause this to happen.

 

[NJMike]

Nice pic, BigMick. And nice trike too. What tire pressure produced those tracks? Papa Zoom, thanks for those replies. I will check out that guy.

 

[cScjhb]

My experience is with older 1800 Goldwings. Two wheelers got 40-42 if I was not pushing it. Trike got right at 34, also not pushing it. So, MPG loss of about 15%. I always ran 42 PSI, F&R on 2 wheelers. 42 front and 22 rear on trikes.

 

[Papa Zook]

I agree with you completely that running max PSI under the circumstances will wear out the center of the tire much quicker. Have you noticed any exceptional wear on the edges of the tire by running 22–24 psi. I know that under inflated tires will cause this to happen.

No, because it is not underinflated for the vehicle it is carrying.