Tire pressure

I have 2 new 4.10x19 K81's. The bike shop said to run 41psi as that is what the tires say.
I did that and it is such a rigid ride. The tech section here says to run 26 psi in both tires.
What should I be running in these tires?
I like to ride the twisties kinda aggressively.

26 psi is the mark. You can play with this but not much more than +or- 2 psi. That 's a good excuse, as if we needed one, to go for a ride.

A few years ago I spoke with the Dunlop rep regarding Commando tire pressures.

He said tire construction and quality has improved considerably from the past and so pressure should so reflect this.

He said 32 front, 34 rear

been working fine for me

Each tire change and each rider and bike on each surface require dialing in just like throttle or lean for best effect.
In these size and type tires - on everything on/off road I like 28 rr and 26 fr. If only on decent pavement I like 30r/28 fr. If loaded to camp long distance maybe 32-34 rr and two-3 PSI less in front. Play with best ride and lean sense on rear PSI then play with front difference till least effort to steer off center. While at it highly recommend to learn 1st hints of blow out and how it will fell to save it , if you know its a tire and not wind gusts. Play a bit on each tire aired low=ish then both and never ever forget what those few 100 yrd zig zag praction play feels like. If ya can ride a flat out while having to lean some then ya got what it takes to lean to race recover too.

No matter the quality of the tire or what it says on the tire, I look inside the car door to see what it should be inflated to. Quality and construction has nothing to do with it. This equaly pertains to motorcycles.

Not that you have this issue but one of the top 3 reasons for the Norton speed wobble is over inflated Dunlop K81's. A balance between Iso adjustment, wheel alignment and tire pressure will keep you riding straight and true.

If you decide to run high tire pressure, you may need to tighten the iso's too. Let's go racin, boys!

the 42 PSI is for MAX LOAD. one way to find what YOU need for pressure under the conditions you ride is you should see a 10% increase in pressure from cold to hot.

Unless you have loaded bike to the max by cargo or racing around its not likely to get hot enough to go by 10% hot method. A hot tire is very uncomfortable to keep a hand on by most, like nearly 150'F ok. Go by feel and security and ease only then measure to know what to set em too to start with in future. Going to max PSI is a good way to feel what iso's are doing and to feel like ice skates on nice pavement strafing.

Like ALL tires, the MAXIMUM inflation is listed on the sidewall. The bikeshop was wrong to tell you to run that much air. ALWAYS default to the vehicle makers specs as a starting point for air pressures for any vehicle.

Matt Rambow at CNW recommended 28-30 front, 30-32 rear (I believe - it's been a while) when I asked him this question about the BT-45s he also recommended.

I gradually have gone back to my "default" settings of 32F, 34R - those have always felt best to me, on almost any bike. I get great handling, great stick, AND great wear at those settings.

A week ago I went for a ride and experienced some wobble that I hadn't seen for a long time. I stopped and checked my air pressures and the front was 27psi. I took it up to 35psi and the wobble disappeared. Even though I'd ridden 25 miles, the air temp was in the high 40's and the tires were barely warm, so the pressures could probably be taken as cold readings. Wobble issues aside, I personally prefer the way the bike 'handles' with higher pressures. It all boils down to what you like.

The frequency of low speed wobble is partly a function of tire stiffness. Air pressure will have an effect on tire stiffness. You may be able to move the natural harmonic frequency either up or down and take it out of play with air pressure adjustments. That might explain why raising or lowering the pressure can make the wobble go away.

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