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[Fgauthier]

For dirt riding , what tire pressure do you inflate at? For Sand? For very rocky condition? For wet dirt? Thanks for your input.

Also, when ridding with only one battery (to reduce weight), where do you place your battery. In the front or the back of the bike.

Thanks for your input

[trikester]

Most of my dirt riding is SoCal desert and Utah desert. I weigh 230 lbs. I am using the Kenda K270 tires and have changed the rear wheel rim to accommodate a 5.1" tire. For general riding on mostly hard pack with some sand I use 15 lbs front and rear. If I know I will encounter stretches of deep sand washes I will drop the front to 10 lbs and sometimes to 8 lbs, leaving the rear at 15 lbs or taking it down to 12 lbs.

Because I do encounter a lot of sand I would put the single battery in the rear slot to take more weight off the front. I have not ridden with one battery yet, but I intend to do so if only to find out what it's like.

The stock tires Zero uses on DS and FX are for a greater percentage pavement riding than dirt. The Kenda K270's are 50% /50% dirt / pavement as I remember. I'd have to look it up again to be sure. This is a very popular tire for riding the dirt and pavement compromise. Some loss in pavement mileage but not as high as a pure dirt knobby, which wouldn't be legal on pavement anyway. For pavement riding the K270 mileage is not bad if they are run at 30 lbs each but don't take it into soft dirt at that pressure! I have actually carried a small lithium battery powered tire pump (Ryobi) when I had a lot of pavement to ride going to and from the dirt ride, just to get more mileage. Of course a hand pump works also, but you have to spend a lot of time beside the road, burning calories.

Trikester

[LiveandLetDrive]

Hi,

I'm a pretty inexperienced dirt rider so I can't say too much.  I'm running full dirt tires (Bridgestone 403/404) on stock rims and have been using 15psi F&R as a start (used on dry hard pack, rocks, and mud, no sand).  If you're on the stock dual-sport tires that's another matter but you'll probably be in a similar range.  I recommend talking to ICE-riding dirt bikers as the tires don't care much what the powertrain is and the FX weighs similar to many dirt bikes.

What I really need to do is soften up the suspension from the stock settings, it's too stiff for the street, much less when the rear gets kicked into the air by small jumps off road.  Once I get that dialed in I'll start fiddling with tire pressure.  Just got my second set of batteries yesterday, looking forward to doing a whole weekend in the wilderness with no charging!



Also, I've always ridden with both batteries in (need it for commuting and just haven't tried it yet offroad), but talking to some folks who ride dirt at the factory yesterday while getting my recall done there was a split between front and rear for one battery.  The one who rode with it in the front did serious big-air motorcross and liked that it helped keep the front tire down.  I'm more likely to try it in the rearward position as I prefer single track and moderate speed trails with only the occasional tentative foray into the air and I think that will keep it closer to the CG for better response and balance.

[Marshm]

15 psi is a safe number to prevent pinch flats in rocky stuff.  I usually do around 13-14 psi for everything.  One ride might have both soft and rocky terrain, so it is difficult to set it specifically for one thing, unless I am in sand dunes.  Some people go lower but I am concerned about flats and rim damage so I stay on the safe side.  I don't like going below 12 psi even though I have done it when my tube had a slow leak. 

[Fgauthier]

Thanks. That is helpful

[odedmaz]

Reviving an old thread.

The 2014 Fx manual indicate tire air pressure of 29 front and 27 Psi rear (stock tires).
I see here people suggest much lower values (around 15). Isn't the gap between the manufacturer and real life values a bit too large (even for off road riding)?

[rayivers]

I think Zero's '14 FX recommended tire pressures aim to maximize range per charge, and minimize the chance of flats and underinflation mishaps.  I'm running 20 psi front & rear in the OEM IRC tires on my FX (F battery).

Here are the pressures that worked best for my riding (80% dirt / 20% street) in the R-battery 'MX':

Dunlop MX-31       16 psi Front, 14 psi Rear
Michelin S-12 XC   18F, 12R

Other tires on other bikes, also 80/20:

Kenda K270        16F, 14R
Dunlop D-606      17F, 14R
Bridgestone 40x   16F,  14R
Bridgestone 60x   18F, 15R

I want to try Bridgestone 20x's, and the Motoz Terrapactor S/T.

Ray

[BenS]

The 2014 Fx manual indicate tire air pressure of 29 front and 27 Psi rear (stock tires).
I see here people suggest much lower values (around 15). Isn't the gap between the manufacturer and real life values a bit too large (even for off road riding)?

The air pressure that people have suggested are quite common for off-road, the ones in the manual might be suggested for a mix of road and off-road. I usually use mousse tubes on my trail bikes now, but for tubes in off-road tyres, I usually run fairly common pressures. Sand: F 10-12, R 8-10, Dirt: F 13-14, R 12-13, Rocks: F 15-18, R 14-17. I try to use enough pressure to avoid pinch-flats and dented rims. The higher pressures are more for if I'll be hitting whoops, square edges and rocks, hard and fast. Some tyres have soft side-walls, and might need more air than usual.