TIRE PRESSURE
I have a big beef with KAWASAKI Manuals...not being more specific with specifications. Just like your car/truck tire pressure depends upon several factors. Weight being one of them, performance being one of them, and surface being yet another... IF you are going long distance you blow your vehicle tires up on your car to max for the greatest fuel economy, yet on the track/autocross you want to adjust them for no scuffing/skipping so that you have all the tire surface on the ground. With weight in the car say two large people in the back seat and a trunk load of gear you need more presure or you will blow the tires because they wil be underinflated and get hot and eventually fail...Stock cars get to a point like oin NASCAR where less than a pound of pressure makes a difference in racing...same holds true when you have postage size contact patches on your bike tires. Are you heavy, light, carry lots of gear, ride with a passenger...are you riding high-speed, or slow speed around town, are the roads wet...how much tread do you have on yor tires, are they stock tires from the factory or are they crusier tires or a softer compound or perhaps a sport racing tire, softer? Myabe I'm not answering your question to the fullest, but you can understand the difficulty in trying to answer your question without all of the answers. Do you ride in sand, loose soil, gravel/clay/sand roads...What bike are you riding, and what are you using it for. If you weigh 180 and you have no gear other than riding gear, it would depend upon what bike you were riding and the tire compound and speeds that were common. Drawing several chalk marks across the entire tread front and rear will get you into a ball-park figure once the tires are warmed up. then find the cold pressure reading and use it. Depending upon where you live humidity (moisture in the air makes a lot of difference in tire pressure/expansion when the tire gets hot. Serious racers use Nitrogen in their tires to prevent such extremes in pressure changes as it is dry and is not affected by temperature changes as much as cheaper air from an air pump. Aircraft use nitrogen just for this reason. I hope that you find this interesting and not a lecture...understanding what you are riding and why it is so important is knowledge that can save your life...and the tires will last longer because ther isn't as much heat build up with Nitrogen...You must have an airport nearby an you must have some racing guru's that will tell you about how minor changes in tire pressure makes a big difference in racing. Wet weather on the highways you use a higher pressure to evacuate water from the tires...in the sand you may wish to reduce the pressure for a better grip in mud and snow or even rock climbing...) Tire pressure is VERY important when you have just such little between you and the road. Optimizing it is a must for your safety...knowledge of what/how to adjust it is necessary for a variety of conditions which Kawasaki dosen't feel necessary to convey in their manuals. I love Kawasaki products. I think that they have a slight edge in the market, but their documentation fo rthe consumer is severly lacking. You want to make matters worse...check your manual for weight to adjust your stock suspension...this is a point/area that is very out of date and needs proper attention. Adjustments like this, are rediculous, and I cannot see how Kawasaki can continue to do business without changing its recommendations, or face legal consequences, and costly court battles with messy class action settlements. I AM NOT an attorney...only an avid Kawasaki fan that loves and believes in a seperior product, that happens to be behind in its documentation...PLEASE excuse my long winded response. I am very concerned for my hobby, and the only Japanese company that still produces a 250 class bike, that is worth every penny asked for it.