The importance of tire pressure

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Invisibleanomaly
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The importance of tire pressure

Post by Invisibleanomaly »

I've put 2,300 miles on my scooter since I started riding in March, and I thought that I had gotten pretty good at sorting out this basic check-up thing. Think again, self! I slacked off on checking the air pressure in the tires, hit a pothole in the road, and wound up with a tire wandering off of the rim. Also, my office doesn't generally have that amount of scooter in it. I pushed it the mile or so back to work and shimmied it into the lobby. They look so tiny outside, but inside, they become huge! I borrowed a truck the next day and got it down to the shop. It turns out that they're nice, honest people who helped me get it all sorted and didn't come up with any extra charges for refilling a perfectly good tire. My local shop are the people who run ScooterWest.
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ucandoit
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Post by ucandoit »

Wow! I'm glad you're okay and that all the tire needed was air. How fast were you going? I thought it would be damaged. It really is a lesson learned.
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Invisibleanomaly
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Post by Invisibleanomaly »

I was going about 40, and felt the back end go sort of mushy. Then the fishtailing started and I was all over the lane in the middle of rush hour traffic. But I didn't lose it, and when I got out of the way at the light everything was ok! The tire was even on the rim enough to push it the mile or so back to work, but being 101 outside, that wasn't the best part of my day.
I plan to get a more accurate tire pressure gauge, and I think that I'm going to become somewhat fanatical about it after this. There's so much construction happening around this area that I was avoiding a larger hole by hitting a smaller one, but I must have hit it just right. I've absolutely learned my lesson now.
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DeeDee
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Post by DeeDee »

You bring up a good point. A 10" tire can be 10lbs low and still look fine. Low tire pressure is dangerous. It reduces your mpg, mph and tire life.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

Motorsport is my favorite shop; I only wish they were closer. Or that I was. Even so, they've helped me out on many occasions.

For some reason, tires are one of the most-neglected thing despite being so vital to safety, handling, and performance. I know some high-mileage riders who neglect the heck out of their tires and ride them underinflated until the tread is gone.

But we all lapse… I put an old tire (with decent tread) on my Helix as a temporary runner while waiting for a new set. When we pulled the temporary tire off a few hundred miles later, it looked like this. So, uh… looks can be deceiving.
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Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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charlie55
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Post by charlie55 »

I think that the "laziness" is a 4-wheel carry-over. Think about it - other than being damaged by a physical road hazard - modern car tires can rack up tens of thousands of miles with virtually no attention paid to them. So we all, myself included, get really complacent about things like pressure, tread depth, etc. But go back to the days of tubed tires on cars, and tire maintenance was not so lightly dismissed. Pressure checks were even a normal part of gas station stops. Whenever I watch "Christmas Story" and Ralphie's dad's struggles with incessant flats, I'm reminded of my father's constant battles with the tires on his 40's Dodge. Basically, we's spoiled.
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New2Scoots
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Post by New2Scoots »

I've been venturing out further lately & started thinking about getting stranded & what I would do. I keep a compact little foot pump in the tail bag of my motorcycle. Cheap little Walmart thing but it works & takes up little space. I need to get another & put it in the pet carrier. I'll put tire sealant in the scoot tires soon. Been using Slime in bicycle tires for 25 years & never had a flat. Used Ride-On for the motorcycle for 6 years & no flats. Haven't decided which to use for the Buddy. Anyway back to the topic. I hadn't checked my tires in awhile since they weren't losing much pressure. Then the weather got weird & it got hot & cold a few weeks so I checked Saturday & got 14 psi! Dang. Put both back to 28.
2014 Genuine Buddy 170i
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PeteH
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Post by PeteH »

I keep a very compact bicycle pump in my tool bag in the Buddy's pet carrier. It's a Topeak Pocket Rocket. Only about 7 or 8 inches long, and I've brought a tire back from almost full deflation with it.

For punctures, I have an old-school plugging kit - the kind with the reamer and hook to thread a gooey-string through the hole and back, then cut off the excess with a razor blade. I had a hard-to-find puncture not too long ago (which necessitated my real-life use of the Topeak), and the shop guy used a Stop-n-Go mushroom-style plug. So far, so good.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

PeteH wrote:I keep a very compact bicycle pump in my tool bag in the Buddy's pet carrier. It's a Topeak Pocket Rocket. Only about 7 or 8 inches long, and I've brought a tire back from almost full deflation with it.

For punctures, I have an old-school plugging kit - the kind with the reamer and hook to thread a gooey-string through the hole and back, then cut off the excess with a razor blade. I had a hard-to-find puncture not too long ago (which necessitated my real-life use of the Topeak), and the shop guy used a Stop-n-Go mushroom-style plug. So far, so good.
I had a small foot pump that was great for topping off but complete crap for completely inflating a fully deflated (and plugged) tire. I finally opted for C)2 cartridges after finding them on sale.

I like the mushroom plugs but they're a bit pricey. Much easier than old-school ones. But I've had the old school ones last years in car tires, so they can do the job!
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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PeteH
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Post by PeteH »

My shop guy said he had to do the Stop 'n' Go mushroom plug a couple of times, the second time added rubber cement. Apparently scooter tires (and most Moto tires) don't have the steel cording like passenger car tires, which makes it harder for the plug to grip on to. A good glop of cement helped: it's holding pressure now.
Feel da rhythm! Feel da rhyme! Get on up! It's Buddy Time!
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