Tires pressures on and off road

[the cyclops]

I have an 06 with the original Anakees on there (5000 miles and gettin a little thin).  I run the 42/36 for road and have never really tried anything else.  I have just started testing it on the dirt (just had it a month) after getting over the inital "no way in He** you can ride this in dirt" and was wondering about pressures.  I dropped them down to about 20 and they did pretty well.  Is this too low?  I don't want to break my sidewalls down or whatever.   I don't think I will be riding it really hard in the dirt, I still have a tagged XR650R for that.  I guess what I am getting at is "how low can you go".  Gravel and dirt roads, modest pace.

[fano]

I run mine about 22 front and 24 rear. Mine are tubed and spoked wheels though. If it is too rocky, you may want to go a little higher in the front.

[oldrider]

I have an 06 and I never change my tyre pressures from the 36/42lbs combination but I have no idea what people overseas consider to be "dirt"!  John.

[the cyclops]

I have an 06 and I never change my tyre pressures from the 36/42lbs combination but I have no idea what people overseas consider to be "dirt"!  John.

We people overseas call dirt that stuff you ride on that makes it much more fun!  Soft and squishy :D , your bike wants to slip and slide all over the place!

[HappyMan]

On my 06 I run 25/27 when on gravel and dirt most of the day.  If I'm on the tarmac I run 38/40 but I'm rarely on the tarmac if I can avoid it.  I carry a 12V Slime pump with me to change out pressures when needed.  There is a noticeable difference when on gravel if I'm still running the higher pressure.

[JetdocX]

I find airing down increases my enjoyment (control) on loosey roads.

I usually drop to 25 and 22, but that's just ballpark.  I also carry a slime pump to herd the air back into the tires once pavement rears it's ugly head.

[Mudhen]

I used to air up/air down when I was going to be riding a lot of dirt...then I got lazy and just left 25lbs in all the time (TKCs).  I've checked the pressure and it only goes up a couple pounds on the street...so I figure I'm ok.  I rarely do any twisties, though...just slab to/from work.

When I'm running my dirt wheels with D606s or MT21s on them I do still air up/down, though.  20lbs in the dirt and 30-35 for the street.  20lbs on the highway causes a huge jump in pressures on those - 8-10lbs worth.  :shock: