Lesson on regular checking of tire air pressure...

[DaSpyda]

Sometimes I get lackadaisical regarding normal maintenance and checking of the bike...call it stupidity.

Last time I rode to work, the bike seemed a little squirrelly...

Checked tonight and my tire pressures were down 10 PSI front and back.

Lesson learned...glad it didn't involve a more drastic reminder - like an accident.

The tires will leak air...guaranteed! Air molecules are smaller than rubber molecules.

Ride safely,

Don

 

[Spridal]

I installed the Doran tire pressure monitor and that part of my regular "before ride" check is taken care of.

 

[dcarver]

Hey, you have a great name!

Some folks have actually laughed at me while I pre-flight check my FJR.

Tire pressure sat? Check. (I can tell by thumping or squeezing if I'm OK or really low, this is a go-no/go test)

Brake light sat? Yep. (I have a really small bungee to hold the front brake lever)

Fluids under the bike? (Visual)

Turn signals? (yes I check)

Rider attitude? (I've actually waited at work to calm down before riding home, I know me pretty good..)

ATGATT? (I try)

Do I do this every time I ride? YES. (for every ride when the bike has been out of my sight for ~2 hours or more..

Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe not. Look at my siggie for my perspective...

oh, and always take one look back from where you are parked.. You'll be very surprised at what you've left behind...

 

[biknflyfisher]

Checking air pressure in your tires should be just like checking oil, brake lights, etc. Do it prior to every ride.

Correct pressure good - tire failure bad.

Cheers!

 

[Firedog]

Like I always say, a little paranoia isn't a bad thing. Especially when your riding on two wheels with your hair on fire.

Hey, you have a great name!Some folks have actually laughed at me while I pre-flight check my FJR.

Tire pressure sat? Check. (I can tell by thumping or squeezing if I'm OK or really low, this is a go-no/go test)

Brake light sat? Yep. (I have a really small bungee to hold the front brake lever)

Fluids under the bike? (Visual)

Turn signals? (yes I check)

Rider attitude? (I've actually waited at work to calm down before riding home, I know me pretty good..)

ATGATT? (I try)

Do I do this every time I ride? YES. (for every ride when the bike has been out of my sight for ~2 hours or more..

Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe not. Look at my siggie for my perspective...

oh, and always take one look back from where you are parked.. You'll be very surprised at what you've left behind...

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Sometimes I just kick the tires. I can tell if I am 3-5 lbs down just by the feel. But i do check them often enough.

 

[BrunDog]

Two words: Tire Watch!

It works nicely when the tires are low and you need to fill up a bit.

-BD

 

[cougar8000]

WOW 10psi in each tire. how long have your bike been parked? I have never had a tire loose that much pressure. I wonder how long you have been riding like this.

Story of tire pressure from last weekend during my MSF class. We had bunch of riders stop by and one on the nicely blacked out V-Rod had a passenger. Looking at his rear and front tire I decided to let him know about low pressure. He later on stop by and told me that it was below 20 and that was his first time with the passenger. Implying that the problem was all because of the girl on the back. I simply agreed and moved one.

I had no desire telling him that she is not that BIG and that tire pressure should not change just because you put a passenger on.

 

[feejer222]

I check mine with a gague every time I use the bike without fail. I also spin the wheels and check for foriegn bodies. My 2 biggest accidents were both down to tyres, although neither because of wrong pressure. I am paranoid about it now.

I recently bought 2 angled valve stems which screw onto the existing ones to make it easier but the first time I came to re-check the front it had lost 8lbs, so off they came.

If I were able to give a new rider just one piece of advice it would be, "become obsessive about your tyres, condition and pressure are critical to staying alive".

Tire pressure sat? Check. (I can tell by thumping or squeezing if I'm OK or really low, this is a go-no/go test)

Brake light sat? Yep. (I have a really small bungee to hold the front brake lever)

Fluids under the bike? (Visual)

Turn signals? (yes I check)

Rider attitude? (I've actually waited at work to calm down before riding home, I know me pretty good..)

ATGATT? (I try)

Thats a good habit Don, but you missed one...tyre condition. I have to admit I neglect the light checks myself sometimes. I will try and remember if you promise to check tyre condition.

 

[CigarGuy]

Great advice all. I checked my tires and they too were about 6 lbs low. Wow. it did feel strange riding as well. This truly is very important to keep up on. Thanks for the "back to basics" reminder fellas!

 

[dcarver]

Feejer222 - I simply forgot to add it to this list. I'm the guy who watches the rear tire slowly rotate at idle in neutral, looking for glass shards and other tire imperfections. I do need to improve my inspection of the most important front tire. I get lazy sometimes and don't manually rotate it through for inspection.

 

[Thug]

Yep tyre pressure check every time I start up for the ride of the day! No exceptions....

 

[DaSpyda]

WOW 10psi in each tire. how long have your bike been parked? I have never had a tire loose that much pressure. I wonder how long you have been riding like this.

That's just it...it's not parked that long. I ride 23 miles to work one way (46 miles) a couple times a week, and Sunday to church.

It's been about 5 months since I got Strada's and that's the last time I checked them.

As I said, most important lesson learned...

 

[Powerman]

I check my pressures before I go out. One time I checked my GSXR tires and took off for a ride, something felt bad after about ten minutes. Stopped by the dealer on the way to the twisties to ask the tech to check my suspension. He walked out and said, hey slick there's a sheet metal screw in your rear tire. Wasn't ten minutes earlier because I spun it around on the rear stand. Boy I felt like a dumb ***.

Never amazes me how my wife can drive cars low on pressure. I leave the driveway, go to the stop sign and turn around. Right fronts low, how can you tell? How can you not tell? I guess it goes down gradually so I don't notice it. 17psi

Other car, leave the driveway and turn around. Left rears low, remove nail, put in plug.

Ahh.. woman you think this low tire pressure light on the monitoring system was a clue?

On another note, there's the check engine light. Engine lights on, take it to the shop.

Is that bad? No, it's not going to blow up, it just needs to be checked. That's why it's called a check engine light. Three months later I get in it, still on. For Christs sake it's a company car, it doesn't cost anything. WTF?