Be Carefull

[Old Road Dog]

Im seeing a trend on here and other trike sites with owners droping tire pressure in order to get a better ride. From what I see and know on a daily basis this is just asking for trouble.See those alligators out on the interstate?Those dont always come from retreads. New tires can come apart also.It comes from being underinflated, which builds up heat and then the trouble starts.Theres a thing thats called "run flat" where a tire has deflated to a point, then reinflated thereby ruining its integrity. Tire manufactures spend a fortune testing tires in all kinds of conditions and loads.They put the tire pressure right on side of the tire.

 

[rhino 2]

Im seeing a trend on here and other trike sites with owners droping tire pressure in order to get a better ride. From what I see and know on a daily basis this is just asking for trouble.See those alligators out on the interstate?Those dont always come from retreads. New tires can come apart also.It comes from being underinflated, which builds up heat and then the trouble starts.Theres a thing thats called "run flat" where a tire has deflated to a point, then reinflated thereby ruining its integrity. Tire manufactures spend a fortune testing tires in all kinds of conditions and loads.They put the tire pressure right on side of the tire.

The tire pressure # on the side is the Maximum recommend by the tire manufacture...

The Vehicle manufacture will in their manual recommend the safe PSI that the tire should be at.. ... But not to exceed the Maximum ......And they do warn about under inflated tires....

 

[MDO]

Run flat tires are tires that are designed to run with "0" psi for so many miles & are made by several manufacturers.

With the HD trikes, you have car tires on a trike.

That tire on a car would normally be inflated to 32-35 psi, to handle the weight of a car.

HD recommends 26 psi in the rear. I run mine at 24 without issue. A car tire, under a car's load & being severly underinflated, could be a problem , but not on our HD trikes, not being a few pounds below the recommended psi.

 

[1dn5up]

With my 22# after a long run , mine are not even warm. Your talkin about 400# weight per tire, compaired to 800-900# on a car. Every tire has the weight rating on it. On the trike you’re not even close to the max. Don’t worry, be happy

 

[Ozarkryder]

Champion recommends 20 - 25 psi on our 2006 straight axle. Max PSI as on the sidewall will most likely result in the tire riding on the middle of the tread making for faster wear and less of a contact patch making for less traction, notably in the wet.

I was taught a few ways to air up tires that seems to work on any tire, especially when not using them as they were originally designed, such as car tires on a trike:

Air up cold, after they warm up the pressure should be about 10% higher than the cold fill.This seems to be a constant for most street tires - on my RAM truck the TPMS reads right around 10% higher when the tires are warm. If the tires are more than 10% the rubber was flexing too much, meaning they are under inflated.

Draw a chalk line or a line of paint (Let it dry) across the tread and take a bit of a ride. The line should be worn off evenly. Just worn in the middle? Too much air. Worn on the sides but not in the middle? Needs more PSI.

On a dry road run through a puddle or wet down a tire and drive a couple of yards. The wet tread mark should be even and distinct.

 

[Zammy]

Michael, here's an informative article about tire pressures on trikes, government testing, etc. The first couple of sections is what I'm referring to.

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/assets/docs/uploads/Manuals/techbook-master.pdf

 

[MDO]

Michael, here's an informative article about tire pressures on trikes, government testing, etc. The first couple of sections is what I'm referring to.

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/assets/docs/uploads/Manuals/techbook-master.pdf

Thanks Zammy, good article & it pretty much clears the rear tire psi question up.

 

[Sunman]

I run 21 psi in my 2015 FW rear tires when riding solo. Riding 2 up and luggage I run 23 - 24. Still have original OEM tires (26,000 miles) and lots of tread left. Tires are wearing evenly, no issues.

Sunman

 

[Old Road Dog]

Michael, here's an informative article about tire pressures on trikes, government testing, etc. The first couple of sections is what I'm referring to.

Travel in Style - Lehmantrikes.com

Well Lehman should know. Sounds like from the article its still up in the air.How many times I've rolled past Lehman's facility (looks like a warehouse)In Spearfish I can't count. Never had time to stop in.I can only legally drive 11 hours a day so that works out to 650-700 miles/day with all the safety checks,scales,fueling etc.Time=Miles=$.

 

[Ray55]

Lehman, the company went belly-up a few years back and was bought out by the same investment group that owns Champion. John Lehman passed away 4 or 5 years ago in Phoenix, AZ.