Tyre pressure converter

PSI, bar, kPa and kg/cm² converted both ways, so the number on your bike's swingarm sticker matches whatever the pump's gauge shows.

The units and how they relate

Indian petrol pumps mostly show psi, European bikes print bar on the swingarm sticker, and some gauges and manuals use kPa or kg/cm². They all measure the same thing. The exact relations are

1 bar = 100 kPa
1 psi = 6.894757 kPa
1 kg/cm² = 98.0665 kPa

so 1 bar is 14.50 psi, and 1 kg/cm² is 0.98 bar, close enough to bar that older manuals treat them as the same. The table below is the same conversion at the pressures two-wheelers and cars commonly use.

Worked example

A swingarm sticker says 2.0 bar front. The pump gauge is in psi: 2.0 × 100 = 200 kPa, and 200 ÷ 6.894757 = 29.0 psi. Going the other way, a car door placard says 32 psi: 32 × 6.894757 = 220.6 kPa, which is 2.21 bar or 2.25 kg/cm².

Getting the pressure right, not just the units

• Check cold, meaning before riding or after the bike has stood for a few hours. Tyres warm up on the road and read a few psi higher; if you must check warm, add about 10% to the placard figure rather than bleeding air out.
• Use the vehicle's number, from the sticker on the swingarm, chain guard, fuel flap or door jamb, or the manual. The "max press" moulded on the tyre wall is the tyre's limit, not the setting.
• Front and rear usually differ, and most manuals give a higher rear figure for a pillion or luggage. Set each one.
• Pump gauges drift. A small dial or digital gauge of your own, checked once against a new one, is worth carrying.
• Under-inflation wears the tyre's shoulders, makes the steering heavy and costs fuel; over-inflation wears the centre and skips over bumps. A few psi either way is felt on a bike more than in a car.

Updated 2026-09-16. The right pressure is the one on your vehicle's placard or manual, not the maximum printed on the tyre wall.