Correct Tire Pressure on K1200LT

[sailheli]

Hello
I have a 2002 K1200LT with 12K miles. Just purchased this and need help on tire pressure . Seems the book says 36 front and 46 rear. Yet the dealer is telling me 40 front 46 rear, and one dealer told me 42 front and 50 rear.
I have noticed when I run more air in front it vibrates more and feels less forgiving in the steering.
Does anyone have any idea of the best pressures to run , also I tried 3 different tire gauges and they all had different readings.............. any ideas on a good true air gauge............

[gpolakow]

Hello
I have a 2002 K1200LT with 12K miles. Just purchased this and need help on tire pressure . Seems the book says 36 front and 46 rear. Yet the dealer is telling me 40 front 46 rear, and one dealer told me 42 front and 50 rear.
I have noticed when I run more air in front it vibrates more and feels less forgiving in the steering.
Does anyone have any idea of the best pressures to run , also I tried 3 different tire gauges and they all had different readings.............. any ideas on a good true air gauge............ A tire engineer at CCR last year suggested 42 front, 48 rear. That's what I run and the bike handles beautifully.

[ibbones]

+1 on the 42/48

Tire gauge? I think they are all different. Roadgear and Sears both have one as well as Radio Shack that will talk.

[412driver]

+2 on 42/48 :wave

[Voyager]

Hello
I have a 2002 K1200LT with 12K miles. Just purchased this and need help on tire pressure . Seems the book says 36 front and 46 rear. Yet the dealer is telling me 40 front 46 rear, and one dealer told me 42 front and 50 rear.
I have noticed when I run more air in front it vibrates more and feels less forgiving in the steering.
Does anyone have any idea of the best pressures to run , also I tried 3 different tire gauges and they all had different readings.............. any ideas on a good true air gauge............

I run 42/48 and seems to work fairly well. The ride is on the harsh side, but it seems to provide crisp handling and minimizes cupping.

I've had good luck with both Victor and AccuTire gauges and even a "non name" gauge from, I believe, Wally world. I found a picture of it on the net and it is from a Chinese company.

Unless your gauges differ by more than 2 psi, I wouldn't worry too much. Every gauge has some error and 1 psi isn't unusual.

[Dick]

I run 42/48 and seems to work fairly well. The ride is on the harsh side, but it seems to provide crisp handling and minimizes cupping.

I've had good luck with both Victor and AccuTire gauges and even a "non name" gauge from, I believe, Wally world. I found a picture of it on the net and it is from a Chinese company.

Unless your gauges differ by more than 2 psi, I wouldn't worry too much. Every gauge has some error and 1 psi isn't unusual.
I've been using an Accugauge unit for several years, and carry one on ole Toad all the time. At CCR Breckenridge, I purchased a couple of Mansoors gauges, such as this one (http://www.shop.nickplenzickenterprises.com/product.sc?categoryId=40&productId=86), that Rick Plenzick sells for Roadgear. Check it out on Rick's webpage in our vendor's section. I like the fact that this gauge has the tire tread depth-measuring feature, and it's accuracy is quite good. They also make great 'joy gifts' for those occasions when I can't think of somethang else.

Also, while I'm at it, you might enjoy taking a look at the SmarTire TPS (Tire Pressure Sensor) units. I think you can still find 'em on the eBay site, and a search should turn up the website of the current seller (Vulcan Tire? Maybe). Several folks are using this system and give it good marks - I know I do. Good luck.

[hallzee]

Another vote for 42/48.

My first set of tires died at an early age for following BMW specs. I religiously follwed their guidlines for 1 or 2 up with/without luggage, and had very early cupping problems.

[tvolk]

A note on tire gauges:

There are many acceptable tire gauges available for a wide range of costs. The most important thing about setting and frequently checking your tire pressures (besides actually doing it!) is to use the same gauge each time.

I own Racer Parts Wholesale (forum sponsor), and I ride an LT. Personally--42F 48R is what I run on my LT. RPW makes our own tire gauges and we check each one for 'accuracy' on the same test fixture we have used for the last 10 years. We have thousands of gauges in use-and each one will read +-1-2 lbs of the others.

We ran a top professional road race team (auto racing endurance--think Daytona 24 hour race) for many years and we learned to only use one gauge to set tire pressures. We found that nobody could agree on the one 'master' gauge (we mostly ran Goodyear tires but for a few years ran other brands )--but everybody agreed that consistantly using one gauge was the only was to really know that you are, at least, consistant in your pressures---and if you make a change you will know that it was, in fact, a change.

I use the same thinking for my street cars and my motorcycles. Probably a bit over the top for day to day use--but it makes me happy.

So , my advise is to pick a good gauge and stick with it over time.


Tom Volk

[bowlesj]

Just to muddy the waters, I'm doing a one set pressure/mileage study on this current set of tires. My first set of tires lasted 18k/13.5k with heavy cupping and noise. Since then been at 42/48 and average 13.5k/7k per set with zero cupping and still some noise.

Going back to the BMW 36/42-46 to see what happens these days. There are lots of variables such as roadway aggregate, average ambient temps, and production variations on the tires themselves. Will report back next year with the results:)

If the mileage increases and the cupping is back, I'll take it.

[johkar]

I run 36/42 with no problems and good feel through the front.

[dandiver]

Like many, I try to keep them at 42/48 and I rely on the Smarttire monitor, one of the best investments I've made for this bike. Occasionally it doesn't read the pressure of the rear so I simply stop, turn off the ignition and restart. Nice to know, ALWAYS, the tire pressure. I know immediately if it is off a pound or two and top it off at the next stop.

[rkimmel2]

42/48

[mwnahas]

Me 880s 42 front 48 rear.

[RealWing]

ME 880's were on my bike when I bought it new and always kept pressures at 40/48 (ie 2 psi less than sidewall rating). Changed tires this summer with 24671 Km (15,400 miles) before the trip to CCR. The tires still had tread left with some minor cupping on the front.

[walilisseu]

If you know the 'actual' load(s) on your tires you can go to the tire manufacturer's web site and get the 'exact' pressure(s) you will need in your tire. However, most of us don't know those figures, so as was noted above at the 2007 CCR TJ Tennant, the Bridgestone motorcycle tire engineer gave a couple of seminars. Rule of thumb is to look at the pressures embossed on the sidewall of your tire, these are the max pressures for max loads ... if you are riding 2-up, inflate your tires to those pressures, if you are 1-up, subtract 2 psi for each tire ... 'most' of the pressures given above are the max for the Bridgestone (and the Metzeler) tires.

[MattKas]

I tend to agree with you. I am uncomfortable running the front tire at the maximum pressure rating of 42 psi. I would rather keep at 40 psi at the front and 48 psi at the rear.

I think when most people switched from 36 psi (BMW recommended) to 42 psi, the main reason was the premature front tire life. But, with 42 psi my front tire lasts longer than my rear tire. So, I started questioning why running the front at 42 psi neednessly. In addition front tire's minimum tire tread is 2 mm as opposed minimum tread of 3 mm for rear. (You can run down front more)

By running 40/48 psi I am thinking that both rear and front tire life would be more balanced and I would see better handling (less ball bouncy effect, little bit closer to the ground)




ME 880's were on my bike when I bought it new and always kept pressures at 40/48 (ie 2 psi less than sidewall rating). Changed tires this summer with 24671 Km (15,400 miles) before the trip to CCR. The tires still had tread left with some minor cupping on the front.