Weird flat tire

ohiotj · Post by **ohiotj** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 9:53 pm

I've been sick for a while and its affected my balance, so I haven't been riding my Buddy. I was finally feeling better, so Thursday night, I went out, did a quick check, including tire pressure. Rear tire was at 27 psi, not ideal, but close enough. Bike was on the side stand. Went inside and went to bed.

Friday moring, I went out to the garage, went to roll the socooter out, and it was taking way too much effort. Looked down, and the rear tire was flat. Had to park it, and take the car to work. When I got home, I put the Buddy up on the center stand, and aired the tire up. So far, a day later, its still holding pressure just fine.

Any idea what happened? The tire is still in decent shape, no obvious punctures. I'm kind of wondering if the valve stem is damaged, or if the valve core somehow stayed open a bit after I checked tire pressure Thursday night. I'm beginning to get paranoid, and think changing the valve stem out would be a good idea, but just in case, thought I'd see if anyone else had any ideas?

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:08 pm

Put air in it. Put some dish soap + water in a spray bottle and soak it. Look for bubbles. Proceed from there. No way of telling whats wrong until you identify the leak.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 11:46 pm

I had a Buddy tire that always held pressure. Was going on a group ride, checked the pressure and during the ride it went soft. Pumped it back up with the tire pump I carry and it was fine. When I got home I dismounted the tire to check everything out, remounnted and it was fine. My final guess was that the rubber seal inside the valve cap went catywampus and partially depressed the stem. I don't use those valve caps anymore and have had no further problems.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:49 am

A hypothesis: When internal pressure gets below a certain point, a tubeless tire starts to leak air where it seals with the rim, which further loosens the seal, in a self-perpetuating cycle. If that's what happened, reinflating to spec would have restored the seal, and it'd hold pressure for some time. So you might a very slow leak that brought you down to 27psi while it was parked, checking the pressure lowered it a touch more, and that might have been the threshold where deflation took off.

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:16 am

'Nother hypothesis: When pressure was checked, movement of air inside of tire allowed dust/dirt/particle onto valve stem seal or stem, and/or seal/stem did not seat perfectly after pressure check, but result was the same either way - just enough imperfection in the system to create a slow leak which allowed for the overnight deflation. Inflation blew the problem creator back off of the seal/stem, or allowed a proper re-seating, so that valve then functioned properly again.

Like Tazio, I have seen this happen before. Keep an eye on it, but I'd wager you even odds that it won't happen again for a long time, if ever, so long as the stem/seal is not damaged.

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:12 pm

I have these installed on my girlfriends Buddy and my Like. They're set to show red under 27psi. I always check pressure before a ride, but once the tires heat up they show green. They saved my ass one time I was out filling up during a ride and I saw my rear tire was in the red, I ended up having a nail in the tire and having to get it replaced. I highly recommend them. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-22-5-00705 ... lve+cap+32

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:25 pm

If your valve stem is old(er), it could be brittle, cracked, weathered etc.
When you checked the pressure in the tire, it's possible you could have caused a crack to go all the way through the rubber and then you would have lost the air in the tire. There's a lot of threads on MB about valve stem failure leading to flats; I know cuz it happened to me.

I change my valve stem every-other rear tire change depending on how it looks. I put a lot of miles on my scooter so mine don't usually have time to get old. And, I use Honda valve stems from Japan. No cheap China junk. The 90 degree valve stems you get at Honda fit the Buddy; same stem as a Goldwing! $7 well spent.

ohiotj · Post by **ohiotj** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:12 am

A few days on, and it hasn't deflated. I'll probably take it for a spin in the next day or so. I have some thigns going on that will prevent me from commuting on it for a bit, but as long as it doesn't give me any trouble, I'll start riding to work again.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:52 am

Hey, one more thing to check. I left work and walked out to my scooter one time and the rear tire was flat. Couldn't get access to air anywhere at work since all the Facilities dudes were gone for the day.
Called the wife and she brought my son and my truck. We loaded up the scoot and took it home.

Came to find out the brass valve inside the stem had worked itself out enough to lose air in the tire. All I had to do was use a valve stem tool (or the back end of an appropriately-equipped valve stem cap) and tighten up the internal valve mechanism.

Keep us posted.

rick71454 · Post by **rick71454** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:53 pm

Hello BuddyLand:

The way I check my Buddy 125 for leak in the tires was to put the scooter on the center stand, and slip a pan of water underneath the wheel. Make sure the pan is such that the entire rubber tire and valve stem is under water. To check the front tire, you will need to tilt the scooter on the back tire.

This is how I found a tiny pin hole square in the middle of the tire where it
contacts the road. I put tire inflator into the tire and it held for months. Not a recommended idea to go so long with out a proper repair or tire replacement, but it worked in my case.

Rick71454

Dean F · Post by **Dean F** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:37 pm

BeefSupreme wrote: have these installed on my girlfriends Buddy and my Like. They're set to show red under 27psi. I always check pressure before a ride, but once the tires heat up they show green. They saved my ass one time I was out filling up during a ride and I saw my rear tire was in the red, I ended up having a nail in the tire and having to get it replaced. I highly recommend them. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-22-5-00705 ... lve+cap+32

No, not on a Buddy! The air valves are at an angle and at high speed they will rip away from the wheel from the extra weight. Do a search. Several threads about this! It happened to me!

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:42 pm

Dean F wrote:
BeefSupreme wrote: have these installed on my girlfriends Buddy and my Like. They're set to show red under 27psi. I always check pressure before a ride, but once the tires heat up they show green. They saved my ass one time I was out filling up during a ride and I saw my rear tire was in the red, I ended up having a nail in the tire and having to get it replaced. I highly recommend them. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-22-5-00705 ... lve+cap+32
No, not on a Buddy! The air valves are at an angle and at high speed they will rip away from the wheel from the extra weight. Do a search. Several threads about this! It happened to me!

Well you learn something new everyday! My Like is fine being as my stems are straight, and it has saved my butt a few times. After searching about using them on the Buddy I found this on ScooterWest's website, i'll be taking them off the Buddy. http://www.scooterwest.com/picks/?popup ... em_id=2466

Thanks for the heads up. Even though the ones we have installed are plastic and probably not as heavy as the metal ones in the links above I'll still not risk it.