How much air to carry in the tires?

GUS

Member
Nov 20, 1999
7
0
What air pressure do you guys carry in the tires? I want to cut it back because we will be in alot of muddy conditions(Spring) this weekend and I was wondering if anyone could lend me some suggestions. I was going to go with 16 pounds in front and rear. Any suggestions will be apprieated, thanks. GUS

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'92 KDX 200
'99 Polaris 500 Sportsman
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I MEANT to do that!!!
 

kevinkdx

Member
Mar 25, 2001
481
0
I use 11 pounds front and rear because i live in sandy conditions so i woudl say for mud probably around 11 or 12 shoudl work good for you. After the mud is gone i woudl go back up to 14

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GUS

Member
Nov 20, 1999
7
0
Thanks, Ill go with 14 pounds. That should be good because it will be cold out decreasing the presure even more.

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'92 KDX 200
'99 Polaris 500 Sportsman
______________________________
I MEANT to do that!!!
 

bud

Member
Jun 29, 1999
433
0
I rode with some medium fast guys in very slick mud and none of them had over 10 psi in their tires. I was the only one with 14psi, and I crashed constantly until I dropped the pressure in my tires too. That may be partly due to the fact I haven't ridden mud for several months; takes a while to get the mud feet on :).
 

fishhead

die you sycophant !
LIFETIME SPONSOR
May 22, 2000
966
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Over here on the wet side of the state most of the guys I ride with run about 10lbs in wet conditions. one guy runs about 7 but he is 130lbs and really finesses his bike over stuff. I tried 13 once and regretted it. A lot depends on the terrain and speed. The more speed you can carry the higher you can run your pressures but for nasty rooty snotty technical stuff you want as much compliance in you tires as possible without getting a pinch flat.
 

Luv2Ride

Member
Nov 21, 2000
32
0
What a good topic. This does depend on the riding conditions and speed. I ride primarily very technical and tight terrain. I rarely go above 10 psi. I guess I could say that I run between 8-10 psi in the front and rear. The amount of traction that you get is phenominal even with stock tires. However, nothing can help the stock tires in the mud. I occasionally blast down fire roads for short periods and don't have any problems. I weigh about 195 lbs and my rims are still as true as the day I bought the bike five months ago. All of my riding buddies are sub 10 psi riders too. That is the only way to go with the nasty stuff that we ride it. Running such a low pressure does make you a little more cautious when approaching bigger rocks and roots at speeds.

I hope this helps.

Aloha.

Scot

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'01 KDX220r
Ride it Hard and Fast!
 

NDRO

Member
Jan 6, 2001
128
0
I know how you feel.

In my area, it's pretty soft, loamy soil with loads of roots and loose rocks. But the big problem is fallen trees.. They're everywhere and we're not quite smart enought to go around them... :confused:

Because of the constant logs, some up to 2' across, and the normal riding speeds, a pinched tube is always possible.

I may try to drop down to 11 or 12 this weekend, but if I get a flat, someone here will owe me a beer at the Spodefest....

[This message has been edited by NDRO (edited 03-27-2001).]
 

fishhead

die you sycophant !
LIFETIME SPONSOR
May 22, 2000
966
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You might want to consider heavy tubes if you dont have them yet. I run 9lbs and I'm 185 and have never had a pinch flat.
 

BloodEclipse

Member
Oct 1, 2000
10
0
I ride a wide variety of terrian and I never go over 12psi. With a good heavy tube and good tires 10psi seems to work best for most conditions. But air is cheap so experiment through different sections till you find what works best for you.

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BloodEclipse
00' KDX220 Mine
00' TT-R125L Son
94 XR200 Wife
 

canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
This is along the lines of 'to each his own'.

I recently set front/back to 16lbs just cuz a vet rider said that was best..he always ran that, never had a flat, worked great etc etc.

That lasted for about 5 minutes..then I went back to 11-12. I would have spent more time IN the dirt than ON the dirt with 16. Traction for diddle..backend slipping all over the place.

...didn't get a flat, though! Ha!



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  • OLD member
    'oh-oh' KDX 200
    '86 Nighthawk 700 SC
    (a motorcyle even if it doesn't have a chain!)
 

dirt bike dave

Sponsoring Member
May 3, 2000
5,348
3
I use 10-11 in back, 11-12 in front. I've tried raising pressure to 15 for dual spor rides and HATE the way the bike works in the dirt. I'll take reduced tire life for better handling any day.

For flat protection, run heavy duty thick tubes. Well worth the $.
 

GREENBEAN

Member
Jan 8, 2000
179
0
I like this topic. Experimentation is key but I alway seem to never run more than 11. in sand I dropped to 9 or 10. 12 seemed to Bounce off wet roots/logs too much for me. I always experiment with new tire brands but I seem to like 10 or 11 psi the best. I start with like 13 and keep letting it out till it feels right.
 

yamaha1

Member
Feb 2, 2001
26
0
Any preference on what tubes to use? I understand the need for heavy duty tubes, but what brand? I have seen a big difference in price between different brands tubes (all claiming to be heavy duty) and am just wondering if you get what you pay for.
 

bud

Member
Jun 29, 1999
433
0
Yama, My husky came stock with metzler HD tubes. The bike is 10 months old, has been thru several sets of tires, and I'm still on the stock tubes. I used some other brand of HD tubes (dunlop maybe?) in my old kdx and had a couple valve stems rip out. That was more related to the crap rimlock I was using than the tube, I think.
 
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