Image: Chris Birch
Motorcycle tire pressure settings are critical and for adventure motorcycles heading into the dirt it could make the difference between a fun ride or steady frustration, but does the perfect setting exist? Can we look at the chart, match our terrain and riding style to our payload and suspension, and then adjust our pressure to the recommended setting? Well not quite, but it may be a little easier than you think and to walk us through this we turned to two rider trainers with slightly different approaches. Bill Dragoo, although very technical minded, likes to keep it simple and has some great ideas he has developed for setting tire pressures he can live with. Chris Birch comes from a high level racing background and is very in touch with his tire pressures and how subtle changes make a difference in the way the bike feels. Both are top level rider trainers that will help put us on the straight and narrow for setting our off-road tire pressure on our adventure motorcycle.
Chris Birch - Say No to Slow
Chris Birch is a life-long motorcyclist and has been an off-road riding instructor in New Zealand since 2007. He first started out as a trials rider and moved on to enduro riding in his teens. He’s an eight times national enduro champion in New Zealand, and is New Zealand’s most successful Dakar Rally competitor finishing 27th and 2nd in the rookies class in 2012. He’s now one of KTM’s highest profile Adventure Ambassadors. Chris has a background as a mechanical engineer which gives him a unique perspective on the physics of motorcycle riding and the techniques. He now runs his coaching business full time and spends most of the year travelling around the world running coaching clinics and going to adventure bike events.
Website: saynotoslow.nz
Bill Dragoo - Dragoo Adventure Rider Training (DART)
Bill Dragoo is a moto-journalist, a certified BMW factory-trained off-road instructor, and a certified Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Coach. He’s also a certified flight instructor, a sky diver and scuba diver. He’s competed and won in motocross, cross-country mountain biking, sailboat racing and adventure riding. Bill is the founder of DART (Dragoo Adventure Riding Training) in Norman, Oklahoma. At DART, Bill offers off-road riding courses at three different levels for all brands of motorcycles.
DISCLAIMER: This segment is not intended as a substitute for taking a rider training course. We recommend that you work with a professional trainer before trying any of the techniques discussed, or do so at your own risk. Canoe West Media, Adventure Rider Radio, DART, Bill Dragoo, Chris Birch and Say No To Slow do not assume any responsibilities for injury and damages, including and not limited to, yourself, another person, motorcycle, etc.