Ok.. so in Atlanta this past weekend, it was WONDERFUL.. just like most of the country hopefully. Low 70s both Saturday and Sunday. GREAT riding day.

So here is the story.. Got up Saturday morning ... washed the bike, and headed out for my day of riding. The bike is a 2007 Road King Classic - 3 weeks old (to me) and I've got 680 miles on it so far. About 20 miles down the road I start feeling a shimmy feeling in the back tire. It started to get bad coming to a light so I pulled off to take a look at the back tire. Turns out it was flat.. So no 'huge' deal, but I was, of course, pissed off to be in the situation.. Finally got the tow back to the stealership and it was a drywall screw.. Ok. fine.. So they replaced the tube and remounted the tire and I head back out to 'salvage' part of the day.

As I'm headed out of the dealership..... I get about 15 - 25 miles down the road and notice I'm enjoying the ride more than usual and the bike 'feels' and is performing MUCH different (good way).

While I"ve only been riding bikes for about a year, I tend to stay around 50-55 in the 45 mph areas..and found myself up in the mid 60s without a second thought. I honestly thought the spedometer was wrong, but it truly was either the tire pressure was 'correct' and made the riding that much better, or I was going nuts.

ok - I know.. get to the question... The QUESTION is... How much should I tire 'loose' in air pressure over 3 weeks? The bike was new.. so I naturally assumed (yes its the mother of all evil I know), but none the less its a new bike and I can only assume the tires would stay 'inflated' for some kind ofa period of time. The reason for asking the question is I did notice some change in the back wheel (mental or something maybe) but it just felt SO much better and I was more confident with the bike after the tire was changed. Can the daily fluctuation cause that kind of performace difference?

Sorry for the 'random' thoughts, but... I wanted this post to be as accurate (as my thoughts were on this subject) and I wanted to put all the 'thoughts into it'. After the tire was replaced, something in my head with "AIR PRESSURE".... AHHH!!! So I'm just curious.. About the handling of the bike with rear air changes... what are the changes in air pressure in the tire over time that are 'normal'?

Thanks everyone!!! KEEP RIDING!!

 

Only takes a minute to check tire pressure...good habit to get into!

 

check presures regularly. They can change with the time and also weather conditions. They tend to lose air pressure when they are cold and gain when conditions get hot. Summer and Winter. Check when cold to mfg specs. A little diff. can make a bike feel different.

 

IN WINTER TIRES CAN LOOSE 4-5 POUNDS IN A WEEK.

 

Definitly a good idead to take a look at the tires on a REGULAR basis. Make a habit out of doing some of the checks and remember never take two whells for granted!

 

Holy Crap.. 4-5 lbs of pressure would 'feel' a little loose then wouldn't it?

 

I check my tires every morning when riding ... and yes, it makes a huge difference. Your skin relies on your bikes skins. Much better your back tire went flat and not your front, could have ended in worse way.

 

fyi tire can look ok and still need air. get a good gauge like the kind that screw on and once on tite for a constant reading. also digital ones suck. took backup (883 sprster) bike for a ride to shake dust off it and going from classic felt like I was riding a milk truck.how could this be? well pressure was 10 lb off on each tire. now it had not been checked in well uh got the bike in 03 well,,ya 03!. so it take 3 years before you need air I think?

 

I did maint. on my buds bike,,, checked rear Press. it was like 18 lbs!
I kinda bitched him out (buddy style)
when he got home ,he called and said he could not bieleve how much better it felt!
moral,, neglect is a bad thing

 

while you are checking presures dont forget the shocks. there are 2 ways you start to notice those are low go over a serious bump the noises alone will get your attention and my favorite eye opener is going through a sweeping curve when the back end squats on you..................