KAWASAKI ZX-14R 2012 MODEL TYRE PRESSURE

[BIG T]

Hi Everyone,Just some ideas on tyre pressures front and rear would be great.You hear so many different stories so hopefully can narrow it down here lol.The tyres on it are standard issue.

[StevieD]

The book says 42

[StevieD]

for both

[tazdevil1964]

Thats what I run in mine...42 front and rear and the tyres are the standard bridgestones.

[Fred]

Running 38 Front 40 Rear in mine, Rear is stuffed at just over 5K's



Fred

[Gosling1]

Running 38 Front 40 Rear in mine, Rear is stuffed at just over 5K's



Fred

maybe it would have lasted longer if you had run recommended pressures ? maybe not, maybe you are just hard on the the throttle. Smooth throttle work can add thousands of k's to tyre life with almost nil difference in trip times.

Big T - run what the book says. They are *recommended* pressures for a reason. Everyone has an opinion about pressures, just as everyone has different riding styles. Stick with what the book says until you either have a reason to change (different construction tyre?) or a track day or something like that.

Whatever you do - don't run tyres on big bikes like a 14, down at 34/36 or anything like that. Big fast heavy bikes need high pressure.

[sillywilly]

38 f 40 r pilot powers for me but 42 42 will be fine depends on where u are riding your style just as gosling said u will soon b able to tell if u need bit more grip with sports touring tyres i usually run them a touch lower psi for a bit more grip just try a few diff psi u will soon no how u like them.hope that helps

[tazdevil1964]

38 seems low for this model bike.....i thought because of the heavy front end that 42 was like the least you could go

[Gosling1]

different tyres with different constructions need different pressures - not vastly different - but they need to be *right* for that tyre on that bike. The pressures that work well with OEM Bridgies may be a tad too high for really sticky tyres that heat up quickly......there are so many variables with tyre pressure you just can't say with any authority that, say, "40f 42r" is the perfect combo for every type of tyre and every type of rider for one specific bike. It just ain't so.

best bet - is to use recommended pressures as per the book on the OEM tyres. Once you move onto something else, talk to your tyre fitter, these guys generally have a better handle on what will be the *right* pressure for your riding style, the type of tyre you are using and the type of bike you ride.

[tazdevil1964]

oh ok...i am putting on pirelli angel st on next week......bridgies have had it from the 2500km trip from townsville to sydney......to many straight roads and now have a ridge on them....

[sillywilly]

u should consider pilot road 2 awesome tyres for the 14 enough grip for knee down action and last a while great tyres

[Smitty]

..............

Whatever you do - don't run tyres on big bikes like a 14, down at 34/36 or anything like that. Big fast heavy bikes need high pressure.

and that comment also applies to ZX12R, ZZR1200s etc... I run the 12R at 40psi... F&R
grip is good and tyre life acceptable

oh and btw ...I would play with suspension settings before playing with tyre pressures