New tyre fitted last week at 12k service.

Ever since i have had to regularly top up the air to the point on a couple of occassions there has been less than 5 psi!!! On one occassion the steering was so sluggish and heavy I was struggling to control the bike.

Looked for any signs of a puncture - none!

Checked the top of the valve for any air escaping - none!

Checked again today - flat!!! Few swear words at this point, feel free to add your own at this stage!!

Looked at the base of the valve, where it meets the wheel. drop of spittle around the joint.

Guess what? Yes, air bubbling out. So it will be phone calls to the garage tomorrow and have them recover the 'Wing', repair and return my beast.

Now I have to use the car for a day or so. Not happy!!

Tyre fitters! Don't they QA anything they do?

gald u found the problem before it caused problems.

Waspie, I have the same problem on my MuZ. If you have EVER used that "slimey" type stuff it may have damaged the rim(Some of them attack alloys) If some of this stuff gets between the valve stem and the grommet it will slowly deteriorate the alloy allowing air to escape at the valve. Thats where mine started, so in ignorance I put in more slime and turned the wheel with the valve at the top in order for it to drip onto the valve stem. Over the years my rim is so badly eroded and pitted especially on the bead seats I now have to run with tubes.
Always check to see if this stuff is suitable for alloys. It may be in the fine print.

Although your bike appears to not have high mileage----valves stems need to be replaced from time to time----you might try deflating tire, squirt a little WD 40 around base of valve, move it around a little to re-seat. But if it is fancy after market valve, I have no answer----problem as I recall on installing new valve you start from inside of wheel----means as least breaking bead if not removing wheel from scooter.

In spite of it being a pain in rear, I prefer doing own tire work.

The only flat tire I have ever experienced on a bike (knock on wood) was due to the same leaky tire stem that Waspie describes. This was on a two year old GoldWing. The steering started to get really heavy, so I stopped and had a look. I was close to a local Honda dealer, so I aired it up at the local gas station and rode it over. An hour later I was on my way. However, since then I have always specified that the valve stem be replaced whenever the tire is changed.

Waspie I told you. DO not trust anyone else with your bike. When i took my wheel in for tyre change i watched carefully. Tyre taken off correctly.Rim cleaned. New valve fitted. New tyre correctly fitted and wheel balanced and pressure set to my order. Your life depends on all things on your bike working correctly,I know its under warranty but, does the dealer care about your safety or, a quick turn around in his workshop?

Thanks for your responses guys.

Regards the valve stems. In my naivety I really thought the stem was changed as a matter of course. All the dedicated tyre fitters I use do so. This was a Honda agent this time as I tied in the service and tyre change for convenience.

They collected the bike tonight and gave my wife a sob story about no mechanics, one walked, one's wife is having a baby and the last one is sick - Aren't we all, sick of poor maintenance standards. Don't much care about there problems, I am a paying customer and want what I paid for - a serviceable Honda.

Old Limey I know what you mean about doing the work your self. However I am tied into having the 'Wing' serviced by Honda as I took out the extended warranty.

Hopefully back on two serviceable wheels shortly!

Doug,

I don't know what to tell you but when you find an answer please tell me. My wife's car tire has been doing this since the last time we put a new tire on. They keep saying nothing is wrong.

There's only 2 reasons for a newly mounted tire to leak:
a) bead not seated properly
2) valve not installed properly

Installer should have checked the inflated tire in a tank before mounting or returning to customer.

"Waspie",
Won't your extended warranty still be valid if you show proper paper work from other maintenance business houses, or even performed by yourself if proper materials were used and documented?? I "think" that's the way it is over 'here'. (as from my own extended warranty experience from Ford Motor Company)

I've got an extended warranty on my Swing as well. Nowhere in any of the documentation is there an expectation that any or all maintenance work must be done by an authorized Honda dealer in order to fulfill the extended warranty requirements. I stay as far away from a Honda dealer as possible for maintenance.

JeffR, I am with BigBird on your tire problem. Working at an auto dealership and we have seen a lot of tires leak around the rim. Sometimes those little nubs get pinched right at the rim. Might be best to remove tire and lay it down. Get a little water all around the rim and look for the bubbles. Best guess....hope you find the problem. J.R.

Terry & J.R.,

Thanks for the advice. I'm glad that her car has one of those fancy indicators that tell us when the tire is low. It is supposed to have 36 psi and it seems when the light comes on it is down to 24 psi. We have taken it to the shop 2 times and they say all is well. I will take it in this weekend to have the tire reseated and a new valve put in. It happens about every 2 weeks now and my wife only drives about 200 miles a week. Thanks.