Low rear tire pressure - help finding cause??
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 715
Likes: 114
From: Texas Hill Country
All good answers to the missing air mystery [smile] after the soapy water trick if it aint found get you some Ride-on and forget it, or do like I did take the dunlops off and throw them in the trash, get you some Michelin 2's
Best/joe
Best/joe
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,062
Likes: 191
From: Boise, Idaho
You are correct sir. The valve needs to be pushed in in order to put air in or take air out of the tire. since the valve stem is mounted facing the wheel hub centrifugal force would tend to open it.
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 84
From: Southern Maine / Seacoast NH
As for checking the tire carcass and sidewalls, it's not precise, and much harder from the outside.
inflate the tire and get the bike up so you can rotate the wheel.
Look closely along the sidewalls for signs of excessive flexing and heat buildup. Funny looking rubber, flaking, checking, shiny band, etc. anything that looks like an odd band around the tire.
Run your hand along the sides. Does it feel consistent, or does it feel bulged or wavy in places? When you rotate the wheel does the tire look consistent, or do you see bulges or runout.
if it passes all those tests, you're probably ok. The stock Harley tire has a very beefy sidewall. Others, not nearly so.
how wimpy can a tire be? Wife pulled out of our driveway and could tell a tire was flat. Turned around and came home. Total drive distance of about 100 yards. Tire was destroyed. Now that was a very thin sidewall mind you.
inflate the tire and get the bike up so you can rotate the wheel.
Look closely along the sidewalls for signs of excessive flexing and heat buildup. Funny looking rubber, flaking, checking, shiny band, etc. anything that looks like an odd band around the tire.
Run your hand along the sides. Does it feel consistent, or does it feel bulged or wavy in places? When you rotate the wheel does the tire look consistent, or do you see bulges or runout.
if it passes all those tests, you're probably ok. The stock Harley tire has a very beefy sidewall. Others, not nearly so.
how wimpy can a tire be? Wife pulled out of our driveway and could tell a tire was flat. Turned around and came home. Total drive distance of about 100 yards. Tire was destroyed. Now that was a very thin sidewall mind you.
As of now, I haven't had the chance to do the spray bottle test, but checked pressure again tonight. I definitely have an issue, as it's down 5 psi since my saturday mid-day brief test ride. Been locked in the shed the whole time, so no neighbor or co-worker shenanigans involved.
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 84
From: Southern Maine / Seacoast NH
I did take a further look into Ride-On, and there's now 2 bottles of it in my amazon shopping cart, along with a valve core tool and replacement cores. Gonna be at least one more day before I have time to do more with it anyway, so why chase around town after something everyone's out of anyway. Let FedEx bring it to me.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,626
Likes: 4,080
From: Virginia
+1 It will happen again if you cant figure out what caused it and fix it.
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 84
From: Southern Maine / Seacoast NH
As far as the physics goes, isn't centrifugal force really inertia acting at a tangent to the circular rotation of the wheel? If so, it's going to pull the little pin (someone called it a poppet I think?) sideways against the side of the valve stem, rather than either outboard towards the tire (opening the valve and causing deflation) or inboard toward the hub (increasing sealing force)? 
I think taking physics seriously is important. Or maybe fluid dynamics (at least as they apply to carbonated beverages and ingestion rates) is more important
I think taking physics seriously is important. Or maybe fluid dynamics (at least as they apply to carbonated beverages and ingestion rates) is more important
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 690
Likes: 24
From: Canada, baby!
Check the rim itself
The wife had a slow leak on her 2011 street glide
Got a new rim under warranty and it leaked too
Was told the rims had a bad run and were too pourous
The wife had a slow leak on her 2011 street glide
Got a new rim under warranty and it leaked too
Was told the rims had a bad run and were too pourous
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