Tire inflation.

Maximum gas mileage and safe tire pressure are mutually exclusive.

For a safe maximum, use the maximum pressure on the tire sidewall for your cold inflation pressure. You might decide you want to use a bit less because of the ride,

 

The pressure on the sidewall includes a BIG safety margin, but if you are that worried you should stick with the owners manual recommendation.

 

I run 39 front, 38 rear in mine, watching wear patterns, but only have 2000 miles on my v2.
Hey, XS650, do you still have one?(XS650, I mean)

 

Nope, got rid of my last one 10 years ago when I quit riding.

 

I run all at 40 psi on my v. I think it's a great balance between ride and Gas mileage..

 

You're more likely to have a blowout due to under inflation than overinflation. Lower pressure creates more tire flex which creates more heat and causes blow outs.

 

Do you folks use standard air in your tires or go to a tire shop to up pressure with nitrogen?

 

Same here, both on our 2009 and our vee. I go to Discount Tire once each month and ask them to fill to 41 all the way around. They set their machine to 41 and, invariably, it fills the tires to 40 psi.

 

I used a blend with 78% nitrogen.

Yeah, standard air. It's not worth my time to find a place with so-called 100% nitrogen since it is difficult to get all of the oxygen and other trace molecules (argon, carbon dioxide etc.) out of the tire when refilling. Nitrogen filling is not a bad thing. It's fine if you don't have to waste money or effort to obtain it.

 

I believe that the main benefit of using N2 is that it's dry. No moisture buildup in the tire. I've had ice in the valve but it's not a big problem.