Rear tire leak

[Bionicpork]

Spraying a soap solution on the tire is a better indicator than submersion. You will get visible foam after several seconds at the site of a slow leak where you might miss it with part of the tire submerged.

Dish soap works well, but bubble bath is amazing. The suds from modern bubble bath mixes last for days making it much easier to spot the leak

 

[GPRIDER]

Tried a concentrated amount of dish washing soap this morning and didn't see any bubbles. Still losing air. Rats! Been riding for 50 years and never had a leak like this one. Maybe it's a bicentennial thing.

 

[BigOgre]

I might have missed it but have you ridden the bike since this all started? Sometimes a good heat cycle will be enough to seal the rubber to the rim. Have had it happen to me (slow leak after a change, wheel cleaned and prepped well) and have heard of similar experiences from others.

 

[GPRIDER]

I took it for a ride after I reinstalled it. Don't remember how far it was. But still leaking. I may have to try a different tire on the back. Don't think you can get any storm rears now, but they still have the Avon Spirit rears. Just no fronts. From what I'm hearing, Avon was bought out and they are permanently closing.

 

[frenchie]

I have a leak in my rear tire. After very close inspection by my and a tech at a dealership neither of us could find anything in the tread. We both used soapy water all over the tire and no bubbles. I brought it home and submerged it in the sink up over the rim with 28 lbs of pressure and then with 50 lbs of pressure slowly rotating it around. No bubbles. Checked and double checked the valve stem and core. Seem to be good to go. So after I did all that, I put 40 lbs in it and let it set for 17 hours and checked it this morning. Lost 10 lbs. Went from 40 to 30 in 17 hours. Any ideas?

GP

I have seen a rear tire leak where the two rubber compounds meet. Severe torque from a Valkyrie.

 

[RossKean]

Severe torque from a Valkyrie.

Assuming you are referring to Honda Valkyrie (not Aston Martin) - 102 ft-lb of torque and 100 HP doesn't seem all that severe...
FJR is only a couple ft-lb less torque and 40 HP more.
(The Rune and re-introduced Valkyrie (2014-15) claimed another 20 Ft-lb and HP over the original...)
I would suspect that it was more defective tire lamination as opposed to anything especially associated with engine power. I wonder what effective torque would be applied to a tire under emergency braking conditions on a clean, dry, warm asphalt surface.

 

[Whooshka]

Tried a concentrated amount of dish washing soap this morning and didn't see any bubbles. Still losing air. Rats! Been riding for 50 years and never had a leak like this one. Maybe it's a bicentennial thing.

So dish soap out of the bottle may not bubble, it needs to be mixed with water.

Did you ever resolve the leak?

 

[GPRIDER]

I took it back to the shop to see if they could figure anything else out with it. The kept it for several days and called me to come get it. They said it was holding air. ??? Got it and mounted it back on the bike. If it's leaking it's very little now. Holding air again. Imaculate tire healing???

GP

 

[Whooshka]

They didn't tell you what they did to it?

 

[Bionicpork]

Maybe you are just expecting too much from the tire; it can't handle the pressure. Does the shop have a tirepest on staff? Let it rest on the couch for a couple days?

Tip your waiters folks