Flat tyres

Been busy getting a car repaired and through its annual test, so maintenance on silver hsa been limited and I know I need to do an oil and filter, brakes strip etc. Recently its been nice and dry and a bit of bend swinging has been the order of the day, started scraping the the wire loop on the side stand so noticed that the weld had failed, took it off and had it welded. Put it back on and continued riding, this weekend thought i'll do the usual checks, front tyre pressure fine, rear tyre didnt even register on the gauge!

Inflated the tyre and noticed that the offside edge tread was worn away completely, looks like a new tyre shortly. Thing is ive never ridden a bike with a flat tyre that I didnt instantly know it was flat, even the gold wing would let you know if the pressure dropped below 30 psi. Side walls on these tyres must be made of titanium, I dont hang about and never noticed any problems.

Had this bike 4 years and never had a problem with the rear not holding pressure, front use to be a problem but had to replace that rim due to a bearing going live.

How often do you check your tyre pressure? I have the FOBO TPMS system which will alarm me when the tyre pressure is outside the range that I set. A louder alarm sounds if the pressure goes to zero. It will also indicate which tyre is low.

rarely

phils a winger wrote:

rarely

More often in the future.

Easyrider, how reliable has the FOBO TPMS system been?

I have the Steelmate TPM for keeping an eye on my back tyre where I often have a puncture. I do highway riding and our highways are full of nails. The Steelmate has been fitted for a couple of years and always works perfectly. Before that I would ride the bike with flat tyre 2kms to the nearest garage - wheel rims and tyres have always been OK afterwards.

Riding a short distance is one thing on a flat. The longer you ride the more heat builds up and damages the tire. A rear flat is more forgiving might not notice right away a front you will know something is very wrong . TPMS is a good idea.

One can usually notice a low tire if you've been riding the scooter long enough to get used to its characteristics. The steering gets heavier and it takes more pressure on the handlebars to make turns. I noticed it on my second SW when it lost ten PSI on the rear tire due to a leak at the tire bead.
Now both my cars and my GT all have TPMS. I used to think that was totally unnecessary but it's nice to have the pressure reading to look at when the bike feels different on the road due to differences in road surface or when you run over a pebble that makes a noise shooting out from under the tire. The TPMS reassures one that no flat tire is imminent.

Personally I'd rather regularly check tyre pressures on my Silver Wing with a gauge than have TPMS. That way when I'm down there I can visually check tyre condition, and remove any stone chips stuck in the tread etc. In fact it was checking the rear tyre and tyre pressure that I spotted a delimitation blister on the Bridgestone Hoop.

Reassurance is having Puncturesafe or similar in your tyres.

Max Q wrote:

Easyrider,  how reliable has the FOBO TPMmS system been?

It is very reliable. My tyre pressure is 29 front and 33 rear. For the front my range is 26-35 and the rear it is 30-39. The pressure range handles cold nights and when the tyre heats up during a ride. It has alerted me several times when the pressure was low. When checking a low pressure with a gauge, it is usually within a pound of my TPMS system. On the average, I get a warning about once every two months. The range for me has been about 50 feet. I get warning even when in my home. With the phone app, you can check the date and time of the last pressure check which includes the individual tyre temperature, and battery status.

Meldrew wrote:

Personally I'd rather regularly check tyre pressures on my Silver Wing with a gauge than have TPMS. That way when I'm down there I can visually check tyre condition, and remove any stone chips stuck in the tread etc. In fact it was checking the rear tyre and tyre pressure that I spotted a delimitation blister on the Bridgestone Hoop.

Reassurance is having Puncturesafe or similar in your tyres.

I agree. I still use a tire gauge periodically but I do like having the TPMS. I set the tire pressure by gauge and then use the TPMS to see any changes in pressure, especially what the difference between the two tires shows. Most TPMS aren't as accurate as a good quality gauge but after setting the pressure with the gauge I use the TPMS to monitor any change in pressure. TPMS aren't as accurate but they usually make the same error in front and rear, caused mostly by temperature changes and altitude. So I just keep an eye on the difference (36F 42R PSI) in my bike. It's the six PSI difference I keep an eye on with the TPMS.

Can anyone recommend an accurate pressure gauge which is convenient to carry? The few that I've tried never seem to agree on the pressure in my tires.

Tim

It depends on what you class as accurate, it isn't as if anyone occasionally calibrates their off the shelf tyre pressure gauge once they've bought it. I'd have thought any tyre pressure gauge is easy to carry whether it's digital, analogue, or the simple pencil type I generally use.

I carry one in the same type of cheapo plastic pouch the OE tool kit is in, along with a tread measurement gauge, a valve removal tool, an airline extension, a couple of spare tyre valves and valve caps, and a couple of Metric hexagon keys.

Agree with Meldrew, back when we had Safety Sundays a ( ASTM ) verified testing unit was there, no one gage was the best and the pencil gages did quite well on accuracy.

Having your own guage does ensure consistency which is the main thing. I use the pencil type, and use it regularly.
And as Meldrew say while your down there you might spot something else that amiss.