[SSR] Please, please check your tire pressure
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- charlie55
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[SSR] Please, please check your tire pressure
After 8 months of knuckle-busting and another week of the administrative hassle of insuring, registering, and plating the CB, I couldn't wait to take it out on the road for a shakedown cruise. In my madass rush to get going, I neglected to check the tire pressure.
After a couple of rounds of aggressive acceleration, I was happily cruising along at 40 when the back end started to fishtail and the bike started to weave from one side of the lane to the other in an almost uncontrollable manner. After a few seconds of butt-puckering terror, I was able to get it safely stopped on the shoulder. Looked down, and the back tire was flat as a plank.
After a one mile walk-of-shame, I got it home and pulled the wheel off. The combination of under-inflation and hard acceleration had caused the tire and tube to slip around the rim, severing the valve stem completely from the tube:
So, whether you're running with tubed or tubeless tires, please don't make the same dumbass mistake that I did. Checking your tire pressure regularly is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to add to your safety cushion.
After a couple of rounds of aggressive acceleration, I was happily cruising along at 40 when the back end started to fishtail and the bike started to weave from one side of the lane to the other in an almost uncontrollable manner. After a few seconds of butt-puckering terror, I was able to get it safely stopped on the shoulder. Looked down, and the back tire was flat as a plank.
After a one mile walk-of-shame, I got it home and pulled the wheel off. The combination of under-inflation and hard acceleration had caused the tire and tube to slip around the rim, severing the valve stem completely from the tube:
So, whether you're running with tubed or tubeless tires, please don't make the same dumbass mistake that I did. Checking your tire pressure regularly is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to add to your safety cushion.
- skully93
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- avonpirate
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- rsrider
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I check tire pressure once a week, on everything. The scooter almost always needs air. Just a couple of lbs. or so, but it makes a difference. I have a compressor at home and an air tank, and like 5 different gauges...........If riding MC's my whole life has taught me one thing, proper tire pressure is a must for two wheeled vehicles.
Using the internet for evil since 1994.
- BeefSupreme
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- Cheshire
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- JAEGER
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Yikes. Nice save, and good on ya for not eating shit; the Walk of Shame is better than the Ride of Pain in that funny white-red truck with the lights on top.
--Jaeger
--Jaeger
"Exterminate all rational thought. That is the conclusion I have come to." -- Bill Lee, Naked Lunch
<<NEUTIQUAM ERRO>>
2003 Triumph Speedmaster 904 // 2013 Genuine Buddy 125
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<<NEUTIQUAM ERRO>>
2003 Triumph Speedmaster 904 // 2013 Genuine Buddy 125
www.blackletter.org
Yeah, a regular bicycle pump is plenty for repressuring a scooter tire. The volume's large, but the pressure is lower. Heck, I've even used mine to pump up a tire on my car... it just requires a bit more stamina and patience.Cheshire wrote:If dealing with an air compressor is a hassle (I hate noisy powertools), a bicycle floor pump works wonderfully and is cheap. Mine's lived outside for 4 years now and still works just fine. No reason not to check air pressure.
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Avoid using a stem extender that stays on the valve.....same applies to any valve cap that is heavier than the stock plastic or metal cap.avonpirate wrote:Glad you are ok and I had a huge education reading tire pressure threads this summer. I use a bike pump to inflate mine and check pressure but those stems are a challenge. I saw some 'Stem extenders' on line. Anyone have experience or opinion on same?????
Centrifical (Or centrifugal, depends on view) force at speed will overstress the valve stem at its base and it will shear off.
Bad Ju-Ju!
I saw a lot of these failures a few years ago when it seemed everybody was putting on valve stems that had a flashing light built in.
Rob
- az_slynch
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Yikes! I feel for ya, man...I was riding on the old Riva last Sunday and the old FujiLocks on the rear hub unlocked at 55mph! Amazing how quickly a docile old scoot can turn into a buckin' bronco! I got it hauled down and over to the shoulder in time; the wheel had lost one nut and washer and the other two were spun out to the end of the bolts.
Good thing I was en-route to meet some friends for an evening ride; they were able to get to an AutoZone and get me some fasteners and blue Loctite to wrench the wheel back together. It worries me, since I'd just installed a new tire and re-torqued the rim bolts the night before and already put a hundred miles on the back tire.
Good thing I was en-route to meet some friends for an evening ride; they were able to get to an AutoZone and get me some fasteners and blue Loctite to wrench the wheel back together. It worries me, since I'd just installed a new tire and re-torqued the rim bolts the night before and already put a hundred miles on the back tire.
Last edited by az_slynch on Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
At what point does a hobby become an addiction? I'm uncertain, but after the twelfth scooter, it sorta feels like the latter...
Seriously...I've lost count...
Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
Seriously...I've lost count...
Seven mopeds ...that's still manageable...
- anthony
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This gizmo makes tire pressure maintenance much easier, plus eliminates any strain on the valve when maneuvering the gauge or pump onto the valve.avonpirate wrote:Glad you are ok and I had a huge education reading tire pressure threads this summer. I use a bike pump to inflate mine and check pressure but those stems are a challenge. I saw some 'Stem extenders' on line. Anyone have experience or opinion on same?????
http://www.getagauge.com/accessories.cfm
Other ride--- Lifted '08 Suzuki SX4 AWD
"Quotes on the Internet cannot always be considered as factual" ------- Abraham Lincoln
"Quotes on the Internet cannot always be considered as factual" ------- Abraham Lincoln
- Rob
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Good post. I made my wife read it. This summer when I was out of town for 3 weeks, I came home to find both scoot tire pressures very low with my wife cruising around town blissfully unaware (even though we'd discussed this before).
I keep one of the portable Slime compressors in the pet carrier. It's such a simple process to check and maintain tire pressure, I don't know why it's so often overlooked.
Rob
I keep one of the portable Slime compressors in the pet carrier. It's such a simple process to check and maintain tire pressure, I don't know why it's so often overlooked.
Rob
"Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen."
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- Steven Wright
- skully93
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Don't even get me started, Rob!
My wife hasn't maintained her truck at all, and it's held out nicely. however the MPG is way low because she won't go fill it up, and who knows when the battery was done. Also, I bug her about the oil changes, but she's not very diligent about those either .
if we have kids, I'm going to make them do such things themselves, or at least keep track of service intervals. Not being mechanically inclined myself, often I pay for service, but doing on time is the owner's responsibility.
My wife hasn't maintained her truck at all, and it's held out nicely. however the MPG is way low because she won't go fill it up, and who knows when the battery was done. Also, I bug her about the oil changes, but she's not very diligent about those either .
if we have kids, I'm going to make them do such things themselves, or at least keep track of service intervals. Not being mechanically inclined myself, often I pay for service, but doing on time is the owner's responsibility.