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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 17, 2014 23:33:06 GMT -5
Through all my misery in trying to paint a whitewall on my old Kymco Grandvista, I got VERY interested in carefully maintaining tire pressure. The FRONT tire is not difficult to check and "air-up" but the REAR is a different story.
HERE is a MARVELOUS tool I came across on eBay!
It is not meant to be left on the valve-stem. It simply screws onto the stem to check, and inflate the tire. The right-angle filler allows various gas-station and home compressor fittings to be used. On MY scooter, the disk-brake and caliper get in the way of ANY air-hose fittings EXCEPT for the slightly angled SMALL ones... and THOSE are nearly EXTINCT around MY hood. THIS solves the problem.
It is a "zero-loss" high-quality doo-dad, made for the bicycle industry. The part that screws onto the stem turns, so you don't have to turn the entire unit to tighten it onto the valve-stem. That would not work, as it would hit the brake assembly.
Once filled, you remove the piece and put the valve-cap back on. It removes without losing even one pound of air-pressure. VERY handy!
I've found with my old Kymco, she's EXTREMELY sensitive to air-pressure, with only a few pounds low (say, 25 to 28 pounds) causing sluggish handling, poor acceleration and even a few mph knocked off top-speed! So it is IMPORTANT to keep the tires "spot-on". I was happy running them at 31 pounds, but have found 34 pounds to be the best all-round pressure for the mixed riding I do. Just me...
Anyone running SMALL wheels with BIG brakes... (Heads-up, VESPA guys, mini-bike riders, etc.) will find this thing a MUST-HAVE. It's not cheap, at $12 but it's well worth it for the misery it eliminates (not to mention the flexing of the valve-stem you have to do to check and air-up those pesky little tires). Not good for the stems!
Hope this may help some of my fellow scooter-jockeys!
Ride safe, and ride on properly-filled tires!
Leo in Texas
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Post by scooter on Oct 17, 2014 23:54:41 GMT -5
Through all my misery in trying to paint a whitewall on my old Kymco Grandvista, I got VERY interested in carefully maintaining tire pressure. The FRONT tire is not difficult to check and "air-up" but the REAR is a different story.
I was so frustrated when I went to fill up my tires for the first time. I don't know why someone pointed the valve stem toward the disk side in the rear!  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 18, 2014 14:49:02 GMT -5
Scooter,
YOUR problem IS a real "stinker"... If the RIM actually POINTS the valve-stem toward the disk, you'll need to get pretty creative, if this toy won't fit on it... If the hole in the rim is "centered" in the rim, you can change the stem to one that will point to the side, where you can get at it. There ARE flat, extreme-right-angle metal stems that can solve that problem.
If you have TUBELESS tires, you can change-out valve-stems WITHOUT removing the wheel, or removing the tire. Deflate the tire, then squeeze the tire using a BIG "C-clamp" while protecting the sidewalls with pieces of wood. That allows access to the valve-stem.
You may need access to high-pressure air to get the tire seated back on the rim after installing the new valve-stem. I bought an air-reservoir canister for $20 at an auto-parts store and get it filled to 120 PSI at a local gas station. It's perfect for topping-off my scooter and bicycle tires.
I don't know WHY manufacturers do such things... LOL! It's just as easy to aim the stem where you can get at it...
Ride safe,
Leo in Texas |
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Post by urbanmadness on Oct 19, 2014 15:10:46 GMT -5
That is not just for the small whell scooter guys.... My gold wing has Old School Comstar wheels on her. These wheels are a pain to get air into, and nearly impossible at a gas station. With my compact compressor, I actually have to weave the hose thru the wheel, between the "spokes", with the air chuck in the clamped position, then open it, then carefully get it on the valve temp then clamp it down... It is a real pain in the back...  as you will have to be laying down beside the bike with it on the center-stand to do this. Just try to get a 700 pound bike on the center-stand with a low tire.... Not real easy. This would at least make it possible to do it at a gas station. I will look for one of those and put it in the fairing compartment... |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 20, 2014 11:43:37 GMT -5
That is not just for the small whell scooter guys.... My gold wing has Old School Comstar wheels on her. These wheels are a pain to get air into, and nearly impossible at a gas station. With my compact compressor, I actually have to weave the hose thru the wheel, between the "spokes", with the air chuck in the clamped position, then open it, then carefully get it on the valve temp then clamp it down... It is a real pain in the back... as you will have to be laying down beside the bike with it on the center-stand to do this. Just try to get a 700 pound bike on the center-stand with a low tire.... Not real easy. This would at least make it possible to do it at a gas station. I will look for one of those and put it in the fairing compartment... Urbanmadness,
I remember those Honda Comstar wheels! They had a great "modern" look, when most all bikes had wires... and supposedly they somehow absorbed a little of the road-bump before it reached the suspension. Must have worked OK, I never heard any complaints.
Definitely, some wheels just defy easy-filling. I don't know WHY a front-line maker like Honda would engineer anything that way, but it happens... They must assemble bikes with the tires aired-up and never notice the valves being inaccessible.
This tool may be good for your bike. If not, you might be able to use a right-angle screw-on extension for RV's with dual-wheels. I tried that, but with my small wheels, no "useful" valve-stem will clear the big brake-caliper. Wheel too small, brake too big... LOL! Kymco put the valve-stem pointing out at an angle in the rim, and actually did about all that could be done to make it accessible, but it still sucks... There's only a finger-width between the short stem, and the brake-caliper. The caliper just plain fills the inside of the rim. The front stem is centered on the rim, and is not too bad to access.
Ride safe!
Leo
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