air pressure in tires

[captdanwh]

just purchased the wife a 2007 sportster 1200L with a new CSC trike kit with IRS on it and takes bumps like a tank. t talked with the dealer and he told me that the front tire is supposed to have 40lbs. in it and the rears are to have 32lbs. pressure. in my opinion this is way to much and is the reason the bike rides so hard. the front tire says on it the maximum inflation is 30lbs. , not 40, but the dealer says the tire will wear out too fast if there is only 30lbs in it and i do not think that is correct, what do you members think? if any of you have a sportster trike ,let me know what you run for tire pressure or if any of you have any sound suggestions i am all ears. the front tire is a stock 19" tire with 10,500 miles on it.

 

[Geezzer Glide]

I don't have a Sportster but on my 11 Tri Glide I run 36 PSI in the font tire and 26 PSI in the rears. That's what the factory calls for on it and it seams to work good for me and the Tri Glide is considerably heaver the Sportster with a CSC kit.
I changed my front tire at about 16,500 miles and it still had a bit to go before it would have needed to be changed.
You will find that the front tire on a trike will wear out a little faster than the same tire would on a two wheel bike.
Just a guess on my part here but I agree with you that the pressures you are talking about do sound a bit high to me. You state that "the front tire says on it the maximum inflation is 30lbs".
I've never run any tire on any vehicle over what the manufactures maximum rating is and I don't think it's a good idea to do so.
Hopefully someone with a Sportster Trike will jump in here with some answers for you.
Dan

 

[Pegasus1300]

I don't care who tells you, the tire manufacturer has stated the max pressure on the tire side wall and that is the most you should run in it. As for the rear tires you can experiment to see what works for you. I run 40Lbs in my front but the manufacturer has a max of 45. I run 22 in the rear because that is where they are comfortable and still put a flat tread on the road.

 

[0pini0nated]

On my 2009 XL1200C Lehman Raider, I run my 21" front tire @ 36~38 lbs PSI (so the chrome steel front wheel doesn't get bent in a pothole / curb / whatever)

Also, I posted this info on 7/30/13 >

I'm riding a Lehman Raider (relatively light) trike with a curb weight of 833 lbs. I'm 230 lbs, for a total of 1,060 lbs. My rear tires are 205 / 60 R 15" (R = radial). Mine came with extended control mini-floor boards, which moved my weight distribution directly into my backbone. The Harley Sundowner™ Seat was soft, and wider than stock, but that didn't help on bumps and asphalt patches.

I always ride alone. After changing my (OEM) shock absorbers to soft, I changed my rear tubeless tire pressure to 16 lbs. After riding it around the neighborhood (to make sure I didn't get a flat tire by under-inflating the side walls) a found it was a little too soft ~ my Sportster front end wandered / wobbled a little on the turnpike.

I changed it to 18 lbs, that seemed about *right*. I have a 1 - 20 PSI pencil gauge I keep on the trike. I've been riding for a few months (again, 1-up riding) and it seems to be the best compromise.

The front tire pressure is 38 lbs, which has little impact on the ride performance.

 

[Lakeman]

I have an Ultra/lehman and I run 36-37 front and 22 rear. If I run much more in either the ride gets harsh.