diff --git a/config/core/configmaps/default-pingsource.yaml b/config/core/configmaps/default-pingsource.yaml
index ef294239927..8c25e4fbb1e 100644
--- a/config/core/configmaps/default-pingsource.yaml
+++ b/config/core/configmaps/default-pingsource.yaml
@@ -15,13 +15,29 @@
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: ConfigMap
 metadata:
-  name: config-ping-webhook
+  name: config-ping-defaults
   namespace: knative-eventing
   labels:
     eventing.knative.dev/release: devel
   annotations:
-    knative.dev/example-checksum: "6eaeecba"
+    knative.dev/example-checksum: "01b3f6e0"
 data:
-  ping-config: |
-    # dataMaxSize: 10  # Max number of bytes allowed to be sent for message excluding any base64 decoding.
-                       # Default is no limit set for data
+  _example: |
+    ################################
+    #                              #
+    #    EXAMPLE CONFIGURATION     #
+    #                              #
+    ################################
+
+    # This block is not actually functional configuration,
+    # but serves to illustrate the available configuration
+    # options and document them in a way that is accessible
+    # to users that `kubectl edit` this config map.
+    #
+    # These sample configuration options may be copied out of
+    # this example block and unindented to be in the data block
+    # to actually change the configuration.
+
+    # Max number of bytes allowed to be sent for message excluding any
+    # base64 decoding. Default is no limit set for data
+    dataMaxSize: -1
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults.go b/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults.go
index 77aa40ca87f..e3a1fff15eb 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults.go
@@ -17,48 +17,39 @@ limitations under the License.
 package config
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 )
 
 const (
 	// PingDefaultsConfigName is the name of config map for the default
 	// configs that pings should use.
-	PingDefaultsConfigName = "config-ping-webhook"
+	PingDefaultsConfigName = "config-ping-defaults"
 
-	// PingDefaulterKey is the key in the ConfigMap to get the name of the default
-	// Ping CRD.
-	PingDefaulterKey = "ping-config"
+	DataMaxSizeKey = "dataMaxSize"
 
-	PingDataMaxSize = -1
+	DefaultDataMaxSize = -1
 )
 
 // NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap creates a Defaults from the supplied Map
 func NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap(data map[string]string) (*PingDefaults, error) {
-	nc := &PingDefaults{DataMaxSize: PingDataMaxSize}
+	nc := &PingDefaults{DataMaxSize: DefaultDataMaxSize}
 
-	// Parse out the Broker Configuration Cluster default section
-	value, present := data[PingDefaulterKey]
+	// Parse out the MaxSizeKey
+	value, present := data[DataMaxSizeKey]
 	if !present || value == "" {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("ConfigMap is missing (or empty) key: %q : %v", PingDefaulterKey, data)
+		return nc, nil
 	}
-	if err := parseEntry(value, nc); err != nil {
+	int64Value, err := strconv.ParseInt(value, 0, 64)
+	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to parse the entry: %s", err)
 	}
+	nc.DataMaxSize = int64Value
 	return nc, nil
 }
 
-func parseEntry(entry string, out interface{}) error {
-	j, err := yaml.YAMLToJSON([]byte(entry))
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("ConfigMap's value could not be converted to JSON: %s : %v", err, entry)
-	}
-	return json.Unmarshal(j, &out)
-}
-
 // NewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap creates a PingDefaults from the supplied configMap
 func NewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap(config *corev1.ConfigMap) (*PingDefaults, error) {
 	return NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap(config.Data)
@@ -66,12 +57,12 @@ func NewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap(config *corev1.ConfigMap) (*PingDefaults
 
 // PingDefaults includes the default values to be populated by the webhook.
 type PingDefaults struct {
-	DataMaxSize int `json:"dataMaxSize"`
+	DataMaxSize int64 `json:"dataMaxSize"`
 }
 
 func (d *PingDefaults) GetPingConfig() *PingDefaults {
 	if d.DataMaxSize < 0 {
-		d.DataMaxSize = PingDataMaxSize
+		d.DataMaxSize = DefaultDataMaxSize
 	}
 	return d
 
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults_test.go b/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..424c647d66b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/config/ping_defaults_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Knative Authors
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package config
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+
+	. "knative.dev/pkg/configmap/testing"
+	"knative.dev/pkg/system"
+	_ "knative.dev/pkg/system/testing"
+)
+
+func TestNewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap(t *testing.T) {
+	_, example := ConfigMapsFromTestFile(t, PingDefaultsConfigName)
+	if _, err := NewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap(example); err != nil {
+		t.Error("NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap(example) =", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPingDefaultsConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name        string
+		wantErr     bool
+		wantDefault int64
+		config      *corev1.ConfigMap
+	}{{
+		name:        "default config",
+		wantErr:     false,
+		wantDefault: DefaultDataMaxSize,
+		config: &corev1.ConfigMap{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Namespace: system.Namespace(),
+				Name:      PingDefaultsConfigName,
+			},
+			Data: map[string]string{},
+		},
+	}, {
+		name:        "example text",
+		wantErr:     false,
+		wantDefault: DefaultDataMaxSize,
+		config: &corev1.ConfigMap{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Namespace: system.Namespace(),
+				Name:      PingDefaultsConfigName,
+			},
+			Data: map[string]string{
+				"_example": `
+    ################################
+    #                              #
+    #    EXAMPLE CONFIGURATION     #
+    #                              #
+    ################################
+
+    # Max number of bytes allowed to be sent for message excluding any
+    # base64 decoding.  Default is no limit set for data
+    dataMaxSize: 4096
+`,
+			},
+		},
+	}, {
+		name:        "specific dataMaxSize",
+		wantErr:     false,
+		wantDefault: 1337,
+		config: &corev1.ConfigMap{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Namespace: system.Namespace(),
+				Name:      PingDefaultsConfigName,
+			},
+			Data: map[string]string{
+				"dataMaxSize": "1337",
+			},
+		},
+	}, {
+		name:        "dangling key/value pair",
+		wantErr:     true,
+		wantDefault: DefaultDataMaxSize,
+		config: &corev1.ConfigMap{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Namespace: system.Namespace(),
+				Name:      PingDefaultsConfigName,
+			},
+			Data: map[string]string{
+				"dataMaxSize": "#nothing to see here",
+			},
+		},
+	}}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			actualDefault, err := NewPingDefaultsConfigFromConfigMap(tc.config)
+
+			if (err != nil) != tc.wantErr {
+				t.Fatalf("Test: %q: NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap() error = %v, wantErr %v", tc.name, err, tc.wantErr)
+			}
+			if !tc.wantErr {
+				if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.wantDefault, actualDefault.DataMaxSize); diff != "" {
+					t.Error("unexpected value (-want, +got)", diff)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/config/store.go b/pkg/apis/sources/config/store.go
index 3b5a567d6c9..ceab865de48 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/sources/config/store.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/config/store.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func FromContextOrDefaults(ctx context.Context) *Config {
 	}
 	pingDefaults, err := NewPingDefaultsConfigFromMap(map[string]string{})
 	if err != nil || pingDefaults == nil {
-		pingDefaults = &PingDefaults{DataMaxSize: PingDataMaxSize}
+		pingDefaults = &PingDefaults{DataMaxSize: DefaultDataMaxSize}
 		pingDefaults.GetPingConfig()
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/config/testdata/config-ping-defaults.yaml b/pkg/apis/sources/config/testdata/config-ping-defaults.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c63675b9136
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/config/testdata/config-ping-defaults.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Copyright 2020 The Knative Authors
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: config-ping-defaults
+  namespace: knative-eventing
+  labels:
+    eventing.knative.dev/release: devel
+data:
+  _example: |
+    ################################
+    #                              #
+    #    EXAMPLE CONFIGURATION     #
+    #                              #
+    ################################
+
+    # This block is not actually functional configuration,
+    # but serves to illustrate the available configuration
+    # options and document them in a way that is accessible
+    # to users that `kubectl edit` this config map.
+    #
+    # These sample configuration options may be copied out of
+    # this example block and unindented to be in the data block
+    # to actually change the configuration.
+
+    # Max number of bytes allowed to be sent for message excluding any
+    # base64 decoding.  Default is no limit set for data
+    dataMaxSize: 4096
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/v1alpha2/ping_validation.go b/pkg/apis/sources/v1alpha2/ping_validation.go
index 8d048949461..84a01f3ae90 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/sources/v1alpha2/ping_validation.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/v1alpha2/ping_validation.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func (cs *PingSourceSpec) Validate(ctx context.Context) *apis.FieldError {
 	pingConfig := config.FromContextOrDefaults(ctx)
 	pingDefaults := pingConfig.PingDefaults.GetPingConfig()
 
-	if bsize := len(cs.JsonData); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
+	if bsize := int64(len(cs.JsonData)); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
 		fe := apis.ErrInvalidValue(fmt.Sprintf("the jsonData length of %d bytes exceeds limit set at %d.", bsize, pingDefaults.DataMaxSize), "jsonData")
 		errs = errs.Also(fe)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta1/ping_validation.go b/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta1/ping_validation.go
index df07d799b46..b4ca07f4b27 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta1/ping_validation.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta1/ping_validation.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func (cs *PingSourceSpec) Validate(ctx context.Context) *apis.FieldError {
 
 	pingDefaults := pingConfig.PingDefaults.GetPingConfig()
 
-	if bsize := len(cs.JsonData); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
+	if bsize := int64(len(cs.JsonData)); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
 		fe := apis.ErrInvalidValue(fmt.Sprintf("the jsonData length of %d bytes exceeds limit set at %d.", bsize, pingDefaults.DataMaxSize), "jsonData")
 		errs = errs.Also(fe)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta2/ping_validation.go b/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta2/ping_validation.go
index 189a38ccbdb..5bbd2d7f0ef 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta2/ping_validation.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/sources/v1beta2/ping_validation.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func (cs *PingSourceSpec) Validate(ctx context.Context) *apis.FieldError {
 	if cs.Data != "" && cs.DataBase64 != "" {
 		errs = errs.Also(apis.ErrMultipleOneOf("data", "dataBase64"))
 	} else if cs.DataBase64 != "" {
-		if bsize := len(cs.DataBase64); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
+		if bsize := int64(len(cs.DataBase64)); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
 			fe := apis.ErrInvalidValue(fmt.Sprintf("the dataBase64 length of %d bytes exceeds limit set at %d.", bsize, pingDefaults.DataMaxSize), "dataBase64")
 			errs = errs.Also(fe)
 		}
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func (cs *PingSourceSpec) Validate(ctx context.Context) *apis.FieldError {
 			}
 		}
 	} else if cs.Data != "" {
-		if bsize := len(cs.Data); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
+		if bsize := int64(len(cs.Data)); pingDefaults.DataMaxSize > -1 && bsize > pingDefaults.DataMaxSize {
 			fe := apis.ErrInvalidValue(fmt.Sprintf("the data length of %d bytes exceeds limit set at %d.", bsize, pingDefaults.DataMaxSize), "data")
 			errs = errs.Also(fe)
 		}