Rear Shock air pressure

MikeyTX said:

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.

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I agree with you. Adjust the suspension to get through ride you want and let the tires be at the correct pressure to avoid overheating. Lowering tire pressure generates undesired heat which Will result in blowouts .

The difference is that the rear tires on these trikes are designed for passenger vehicles that weigh 3 to 4 times what a trike weighs. I agree that running an under inflated rear tire on a vehicle is a recipe for disaster. Yes, they will heat up while rolling at highway speeds. On trikes, it is customary to run lower pressures and heat really isn't a factor. Although I don't have a Tri Glide, my CSC is using very similar tires and I would guess similar in weight. I use FOBO tire pressure monitoring sensors that allow me to monitor not only the current tire pressure but also the temperature. I am usually close to around 22psi on the rear tires. For me that gives me a great ride. I may bump it up 2psi if I'm going to be running a lot of twisty or more technical roads. Using 22psi for normal driving, it may increase by 1 or 2psi and there is no dramatic rise in temperature. If I was to run the pressure up around 35 (pretty standard for passenger vehicles) or at the max cold pressure, I would experience a very aggravating rough ride.

Even Lehman Trikes put out a technical manual and one chapter is devoted to the myth of running higher pressures on rear trike wheels. The higher psi recommendations that have been put out are because of liability reasons and not real world use. There is nothing wrong if you chose to run at higher tire pressures, that's your perogative. But you can also safely run lower pressures such as I do with no negative results.

Woody754 said:

I agree with you. Adjust the suspension to get through ride you want and let the tires be at the correct pressure to avoid overheating. Lowering tire pressure generates undesired heat which Will result in blowouts .

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I replaced the stock air shocks on my ‘16 CVO FLHT due to constant air leaks and went to the then new mechanical adjustable shocks. On my ‘25 TG, it has a similar mechanical preload adjustment. Based on the OEM manual, I run 26# in the rear, 36# in the front and have the preload set at 4 clicks (185# rider). This thread has me questioning my set up. Anyone have guidance for setting up the ‘25 model?

Right now I just have the stock suspension, so no skin in the game. But if and when I can obtain an improved suspension, my thought would be to:

1) Adjust the shocks incrementally as per DK's note above, until I found the best setting - might want to do that solo and with passenger and baggage as well.
2) After finding the suspension happy spot, I would tweak the tire pressure (within limits) to find the best point.

Suspect the best improvement is the suspension set up and the tire pressure may be a slight added benefit. The addition of an IRS set up if such a thing exists & still allow one the ability to afford groceries, might be the best overall modification.

On my old 2010 FLH ultra classic, I ran HD recommended tire pressures. The front suspension dive really drove me nuts and the el cheapo solution that worked for me was to put the screeching eagle heavy fork oil in. The stock rear air shocks I just ignored the HD recommendations and pumped them up to the highest pressure permitted. The resulting ride was firm, controlled and not harsh. Not being a super superior rider I did not feel the added cost of a custom suspension would be worth it.

On my 21 trike I have the stock suspension and again I ignored the HD manual and run the shocks on the zero or near zero setting. It rides okay without bottoming out. Running factory pressure on the front and 22 in the rears. I'm about 190 w/o gear on and wife is about 150. So kind of medium weight and still generally in good shape for near 72.

I see a lot of the new style shocks for sale . for the price I just may try a set. I dont remember what I set the air shocks on my 15 FW at and I was going to check them today when I swapped the trans lube out to shockproof heavy and forgot. Since were out for a picnic and camping this weekend I will check them next week while were in the UP of Michigan. I will have my HF battery operateed compressor along so I can make changes if needed.
Dave .