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.
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.
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.
Quote from: "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.
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!
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.
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. :wink:
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: