What is the ideal tyre pressure for 160/60/17

[JohnE1000]

I am installing my new Stradas this weekend. The rear tyre is 160/60/70.
What would be the ideal tyre pressure?

[Junior]

It states the ideal pressure on the side of the tire.

Personally, I run 2lbs LESS than what is recommended...front and back.

[skasner]

my second strata rear should be arriving tomorrow... i run the stock size though (150/70/17?). i think i run mine around 36/38 or so and i am at about 145lbs on the scale at home.

i love the tires... the rear i'm replacing is still practically new (around 3k on it) but it got a nail in it. ARRGHHH!

[The CyberPoet]

It states the ideal pressure on the side of the tire.

No it doesn't. It simply states maximum safe pressure.

JohnE, how much do you weigh? It factors into what the ideal tire pressure is for your bike...

Generally 36 front, 38 rear should be good for anyone 150 - 180 lbs. Add 1/2 psi front and 1 psi rear for 185 - 215 lbs. The idea is to keep the deflection the same with you on the bike as the tires would have at 34 psi front, 36 psi rear with nothing on the bike.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[DooD]

With my 160/60 and 120/70 combo (Metz Z6) I generally ran about 31 front, 33 rear.....However, we're a wee bit colder up here in Canada; the main reason for dropping the pressure was to keep things a little hotter. I wasn't too concerned about tire wear at that point, and I really can't say/don't know if it would be ideal for someone else. Nights get cold REAL quick up here, and I found the rear end scrambling for traction a lot if I ran much higher.

[The CyberPoet]

...I found the rear end scrambling for traction a lot if I ran much higher.

Gee, could this possibly be the reason:
Holeshot 1216 big bore, which would be running 10.8:1 compression and pumping out an estimated 115 to 117 HP and around 90 lb-ft of torque...

DooD, honestly, if your Kat is pumping out that kind of power (esp torque), you really ought to be riding on a 180 or 190 section rear tire to keep the rear end from getting wiggley on you under throttle, especially coming out of turns (just like any bike pumping out that level of power). I suggest you track down Walteri and see what he says about how to graft an appropriate rear rim onto the Kat to support that tire size... It's not just the temp -- it's the power of the bike overwhelming the contact patch size, even with the extra weight of a Kat.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[stevnmd]

I would think CyperPoet's recommended pressures are fine for leisurely rides. I would not ride with pressures that high if I was heading to the twisties. Generally I run 33 front 35 rear.

[WildKat]

37 in the rear for me, 34 in the front right now. Works great for everyday riding, but it can feel alittle skiddish in the twisties so just drop a few psi in each and you'll notice a big difference.