GVWR vs Tires Question

[Ventureless]

Ok my wife and I got rid of the kids last Friday for the evening and I told her we were going to dinner, but she had to ride the bike. She does not ride at all. Last time she went for a very very short ride was on my sport tourer 4 years ago. She agreed and after the first couple miles she started warming up to it. By the time we got back, she was hooked. So now I am worried about the load on the bike. I am right at 300 and she is 170. So we are about 50-100 pounds or so over the weight limit at about 1344 pounds total weight including the bike. The bike had plenty of power, but I worry about a tire blowout. I know there will be people that say don't go over the limit at all.

 

So my question is about my tires. Right now I have almost new Pirellis. The rear is rated at about 825 pounds at about 41 PSI. I have read that to figure out the weight on the rear, you take the total load and use 60% of that. So I am looking at 1344/60%. About 807 pounds. So I should be ok on the rear tire right? When it is time for new tires, I will go back to the E3 for the higher load limit (even though I do really like the Pirellis).

Edited September 22, 2013 by Ventureless

[Prairiehammer]

Though the wear longevity may not be as much as others, I think with the safety factor that is presumably built in to the tires, that your load is OK for that Pirelli. But you won't be able to pack much more on the bike than just the passenger. I don't know what the safety factor is for any tire, but I would (like) to think that it is at least fifty percent.

[Peder_y2k]

That tire load rating is for the maximum speed stated in the tire speed rating code. Slower than maximum speed increases load capacity. Over maximum speed reduces load capacity. If your tires are rated at 130mph, then you easily can exceed the load stated as long as you stay at or below the posted road speed limit.

But if you run your bike up to 160mph with your described load, catastrophic results will happen quickly.

Now you know more than you did before.........

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA

[MikeWa]

If the tire is rated at 825 lbs it can safely handle 825 lbs. Watch your air pressure. Keep it up to the cold max. You should be just fine. But as Peter said stay below the 135 mph speed cap when riding two up.

 

Mike

[Ventureless]

Thanks guys. I feel a little better now. And in the meantime while waiting to wear out the Pirellis and replace with E3s again, there will be some dieting going on. I have diabetes pretty bad and you would think that would give me incentive to drop some weight. Nope, but my wife finally falling into the motorcycle trap with me makes me want to drop pounds so I can have as much fun with her and keep her as safe as possible while doing it.