Valve stems

Am I the only one that is having difficulty putting air in the tires? I don’t have large or fat hands just a bit over average. I try to check/put air into the tires every couple of weeks for better tire wear, safety and MPG. I have to lay on my stomach and before I am through I am sweating like a painter painting a white line down the middle of the free way during rush hour. Who ever designed that part of the Swing had a sick since of humor or is still upset about August 1945. I purchased some valve stem extenders both straight and 90 degrees and that helped some.

Be careful with the valve stem extenders. At speed the extra weight on the valve stem can cause stress due to the centrifugal (actually centripetal) force of the spinning wheel. Not to mention they are heavy enough to need to rebalance the wheel with them on.
I do agree with you about the tires being a bother, Personally I think the front one is worse and should have been a 90 degree stem. These things are a good argument for a pressure sensing valve cap or electronic pressure senders as some bikes are now using.
Like these: http://www.intellivalve.com/index.html

My mistake, I should have mentioned that I only use the extensions when I put air in the tires.

exavid wrote:

. These things are a good argument for a pressure sensing valve cap or electronic pressure senders as some bikes are now using.
Like these: http://www.intellivalve.com/index.html

Unfortunately, the electronic pressure senders don't negate the need to do the 'Curly Shuffle' on the tarmac when it comes time top off the air pressure.

The pressure senders are a great idea though

Tim

Nope, they don't completely negate the time spend on old arthritic knees but would help. One of the handiest things in my garage is my creeper and a hunk of sponge rubber I can kneel on.

I notice it says, "Motorcycle applications coming soon."
This will be a very interesting system to watch.

Dan

I have my own compressor and I put a long inflator on it so the back is much easier for me. I also bought an electronic air gauge that can go straight into the valve stem. They could have made it easier though. When I used to use the inexpensive type of air gauge, the one with the white stem that pops out to tell you how much air you have, it was a real pain in the butt. You might want to just buy a cheap compressor, they only cost about 30-40 dollars.