front tire pressure

[indygoldwing05]

I have read some post that suggest 40 psi in the front tire. my 2005 calls for 36 will 40 in the front and 42 rear work better?

[Old Legend]

I run mine at 41 psi in the front. I run darkside so the rear tire is at 38 psi.

[TravelinLite]

I have read some post that suggest 40 psi in the front tire. my 2005 calls for 36 will 40 in the front and 42 rear work better?

Many folks run 40psi in the front. I run no more than 36. I don't run a motorcycle tire on the rear so can't comment on that.

[Tony in AZ]

What brand tyre are we talking?

[clayusmcret]

I run 39/41 front/rear. Bridgestones. Got over 20K on the last front tire. I seem to remember 12K on the back pulling a trailer.

[530ktm]

I run 39/41 front/rear. Bridgestones. Got over 20K on the last front tire. I seem to remember 12K on the back pulling a trailer.

That is some impressive mileage for bike tires. I just replaced mine around 9,000 and probably could have gone another 1,000 but I was leaving for a long ride.

[Dougbug]

I usually run 36-38 and get about 1k miles from the stone 709

[530ktm]

I usually run 36-38 and get about 1k miles from the stone 709

I hope that is a typo. :o

[Dougbug]

I hope that is a typo. :o

I ride real hard and need to diet.:p



Your right Dave, that would be 10K

[MMR]

In 2003....I did test riding for Dunlop....riding more than 100,000 miles in that one year...and testing tires that were sent directly from the factory in England, to my home, as I had my own Snap On tire equipment. After all the tests were done, we found that Mother Honda...in all her stupidity...neglected to update the tire pressures for the GL1800 bikes, and that the labels on the bikes suggesting a front tire pressure of 36 psi, where from the older GLs.

We also found that a front tire pressure of 40 psi was the best, for overall performance, and for longer tire life. We found that 42 psi on the rear tire was the best for those same critieria.

Over the years since then, I have consistently achieved an average of 20,000 + miles from my front tires. The rear tire mileage always varys, dependent on load, speed, road temps, etc. The rear tire is more sensitive to those conditions than the front tire is. I have made it a habit...albeit a bad habit....of walking around at rallies and looking at other peoples tires, more specifically the front tires, and I can usually guess their tire pressure within 2 psi, based on the wear pattern of the tire. So far...I have been right 93.14159 % of the time.

The suggested tire pressures that Honda gives the GL1800 riders, is WAY too low. Honda is wrong....and experienced riders have found this out.

Personally, on my 2013 F6B...I run a solid 40 psi in the front tire. When I was running a MT on the rear, I also ran 40 psi on the rear tire. F6B is lighter than a GL1800 Wing.
For a Full sized Wing...I recommend running 40 psi on the front, and 42 psi on the rear...if using MTs front and rear.

Obviously...your experiences may vary, and you can run whatever pressures you want to...because it is your bike.

Bridgestone had my original front tire on display at this years Wing Ding, as it had been on my bike when I was hit by lightning last September. They wanted my tires to test them. The tire they had on display...had 20,270 miles on it, was worn perfectly across the entire face of the tread, and was only taken off the bike at that mileage because they wanted my tires.

My current Bridgestone front tire has over 14,000 miles on it, and it looks great. I expect to get a full 20K miles out of it too.

[Macwingrider]

Yes and No....Honda will never be Stupid.The written pressures are accurate but depending on Distance, load, time of year, speed, all these factors go in to your choices of air pressures for the Wing.I have worked for Honda for a very long time.They have classes for Mechanics that are over a week long on Tire pressures alone and Tubeless Tire Technology. The Tire listing on the Goldwings now and previous up to 2014+) is correct and gives the most comfortable ride.ADJUSTMENTS CAN BE MADE by you for the best wear(not the best ride ) at any time and depending on distance, ETC.I hope you understand and that having a good undrerstanding of GVW and temp,all are factors.Best wear to you!

[Hammer]

Running 38 front and 42 rear on E3s at 9000 miles back tire looks good front tire shows cupping to the point it effects low speed handling and should be replaced

[TravelinLite]

In 2003....I did test riding for Dunlop....riding more than 100,000 miles in that one year...and testing tires that were sent directly from the factory in England, to my home, as I had my own Snap On tire equipment. After all the tests were done, we found that Mother Honda...in all her stupidity...neglected to update the tire pressures for the GL1800 bikes, and that the labels on the bikes suggesting a front tire pressure of 36 psi, where from the older GLs.

We also found that a front tire pressure of 40 psi was the best, for overall performance, and for longer tire life. We found that 42 psi on the rear tire was the best for those same critieria.

Over the years since then, I have consistently achieved an average of 20,000 + miles from my front tires. The rear tire mileage always varys, dependent on load, speed, road temps, etc. The rear tire is more sensitive to those conditions than the front tire is. I have made it a habit...albeit a bad habit....of walking around at rallies and looking at other peoples tires, more specifically the front tires, and I can usually guess their tire pressure within 2 psi, based on the wear pattern of the tire. So far...I have been right 93.14159 % of the time.

The suggested tire pressures that Honda gives the GL1800 riders, is WAY too low. Honda is wrong....and experienced riders have found this out.

Personally, on my 2013 F6B...I run a solid 40 psi in the front tire. When I was running a MT on the rear, I also ran 40 psi on the rear tire. F6B is lighter than a GL1800 Wing.
For a Full sized Wing...I recommend running 40 psi on the front, and 42 psi on the rear...if using MTs front and rear.

Obviously...your experiences may vary, and you can run whatever pressures you want to...because it is your bike.

Bridgestone had my original front tire on display at this years Wing Ding, as it had been on my bike when I was hit by lightning last September. They wanted my tires to test them. The tire they had on display...had 20,270 miles on it, was worn perfectly across the entire face of the tread, and was only taken off the bike at that mileage because they wanted my tires.

My current Bridgestone front tire has over 14,000 miles on it, and it looks great. I expect to get a full 20K miles out of it too.

MMR, very interesting discussion I would like to hear more about. The scenario you provide is eerily similar to the Firestone - Ford Explorer fiasco of years past, where Ford ignored Firestone's warnings to increase the recommended air pressure level. A couple of things I'd like your perspective on.
1) If I call Dunlop or Bridgestone and ask the proper tire pressure (front or rear), they tell me to follow the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations. This of course is an easy way for them to pass the (liability) buck.
2) Tire manufacturers, Honda and a few of their dealers have been named in a few law suits already (so I have read on the Internet) due to GL1800 tires failing for one reason or another. It seems to me that if Honda was still recommending tire pressures that were too low (based on tire expert data) that such evidence would come out in court. Particularly since Honda appears to have neglected to update a 3 cent sticker. Do you know if current model GL1800s (say 2010 and newer) still have the same 36-front / 41-rear pressures listed in the trunk and the owner's manual?

This topic is quite important to a number of us who beat the snot out of these tires. For the way we ride, even tire wear across the tire surface is not an accurate gauge for determining proper pressure.

TIA.

[CAC]

I run E3's at 36/41. It used to be that my front would out last my rear by about 3000 miles but for the past 3 or 4 years they've been about dead even. I get 14 to 15 thousand front and rear with no cupping (lately).

[530ktm]

Do you know if current model GL1800s (say 2010 and newer) still have the same 36-front / 41-rear pressures listed in the trunk and the owner's manual

Yes, the same sticker is on my bike at least.

[MMR]

MMR, very interesting discussion I would like to hear more about.

This topic is quite important to a number of us who beat the snot out of these tires. For the way we ride, even tire wear across the tire surface is not an accurate gauge for determining proper pressure.

TIA.

TravelinLite, excellent points...and I applaud your thinking. This is the usual case of right hand vs. left hand. There are many things that Mother Honda does, that cannot be explained by us....buyers/comsumers. At the 2004 Honda Homecoming in Marysville, Ohio...at the GL factory location, Dunlop was present, and hosted a seminar about tires. The air conditioned room was packed...because it was very hot outside, and people wanted to escape the heat. During that seminar, riders in the audience would stand up and complain to the Dunlop rep that the mileage they were getting from their tires was 1/2 of what they used to get from their tires on a GL1500 Wing. After listening to 10 or more riders complain, the Dunlop rep stopped the audience for a moment...asked if "I" was present in the room, and when I showed my hand....he asked me to tell all these riders what air pressure they "should" be putting into their tires. And....to explain why !

I did so, told them they should be using 40 psi on the front, and 42 psi on the rear, and...of course there were the few that stood up and called B.S. on my findings...because...Mother Honda had them convinced that Mother Honda could do no wrong, and that the 3 cent sticker on their bikes must be correct. I then told this audience that I can consistently pull 20K + miles from a front tire, and again they did not believe me. Fortunately for me, I was immediately surrounded by a group of riders from my own neck-o-the-woods...and this group of about 12 riders know me, know how I ride, and confirmed that they all now use the same tire pressures I do, and they all get much higher mileage, and better handling bikes, because of that.

BTW, I have no doubt that some of you ride the heck out of your bikes, and like to tell others that you only get 1000 miles out of a set of tires because of how fast you ride, or how well you corner a bike. If that is how you want to ride your GL-1800 Wing, that is cool. It is your bike...not mine. However, those that know me, know I am usually the fastest bike out there...meaning I ride fast. I own several current riding records for time/distance, and have set several other previous records for time/distance that have now been beat by other IBA riders, such as...2156 miles in under 24 hours. I have run through the Dragon's Tail last year, 2013...right at 12 minutes, and felt good about my runs through there. I do not have the cornering skills of Yellow Wolf, but that is his backyard, his personal road, so I would not expect anyone to be as good as he is, on his own personal road.

I ride hard...harder than I should be riding, and again, those that know me, usually do not want to play with me on the road, because I am competitive. But I make sure my bike(s) are in perfect mechanical condition, and my tires are properly inflated, so that I can ride that way. I "never" use my bikes for light parades, toy runs, poker runs...etc, as I went through all that stuff 30+ years ago. My bike(s) are built and maintained to run..hard and fast...at a moment notice. They are kept as light as possible, with nothing cluttering up the bike, or in my way, that is not "functional" to the purpose of extreme long distance/endurance riding.

I have no doubt that someone here can out corner me, or....do a longer burn out that I can...because that is not my thing. But if it is your thing, or you like to replace tires every 1000 miles, then cool, I would love to watch you ride, as I am sure it would be entertaining.

Back to TravelinLite.....again, great comments on your part. I wish that Honda would listen to some of us more than they do. I used to have a very small voive within the Honda ranks, but that has passed, and I am afraid that Honda listens to their non-riding engineers more than they do their riding consumers.

[Yellowbird]

Run 42 Front Bt 45 rear 36 RF Car tire.

[jmohme]

I agree that Honda's recommended pressures are too low but I don't think that it was an oversite. In think the low pressures were to soften the ride from the Wing's stiff suspension. Auto makers do this too.

[Westdc]

Gl1800's I've Owned -,2002-2008- 2012 - No matter What MC tires installed on the Front - I've always Run 41 ∧ 0n the rear MC tire -41 -YMMV

[JeffP]

My 2013 F6B has the same sticker but on the advice of you folks getting better life on the tires I have been going 40/front and 42/rear. Stock Bridgestone Excedras.

[MMR]

JeffP, my personal experience has been that with an F6B...which is lighter than a full Wing...and much quicker (ha ha ha)...I have found that 40/40 is the best pressures for MTs on the front and rear. The rear tire only being 40 psi is because of the less weight of the F6B. If the 42 works great for you, I like that, and would love to hear what kind of mileage you are getting from the 'stone rear tire.

Currently I am running a Michelin Primacy Alpin 3, run-flat on the rear, and running it at 35 psi.

I am very happy with the 'stone front tire, in conjunction with the CT I have on the back, but I may actually try the 'stone BT45 on the front next time...just to try it out.