Modern Vespa

Got my PsiClops in today. In case some of y'all didn't read the thread this is a precision air pressure gauge with two hoses that fills two tires exactly the same. The PsiClops has a heavy duty cast housing for the gauge and the housing is sculpted to fit in your hand comfortably. One hose is about 3 feet long and the other is about 14 feet long. The hoses are high quality cloth wrapped hose. The chucks on the end surprised me - I thought they were the lever clamp type but instead they are the much nicer spring clamps. The difference is lever clamps are open by default and the lever closes to clamp the valve stem - sometimes this can be a tricky process that loses a lot of air. The spring release clamps are closed with a spring by default - the lever is pressed to release the clamp to attach to the valve stem. In practice the spring release clamps are much easier and have a positive action allowing you to attach with very little leakage. They are not too long and I had no issue attaching them to the front tires of my 500. I have a precision digital gauge and the dial gauge on the PsiClops read very close to the digital. There is a release valve on the rear of the gauge housing in case you need to bleed air off. It works very smooth and proportional so that you can bleed air very precisely. Probably the fastest I've ever filled two tires. It comes in a plastic case that is scuplted to hold the hoses and the gauge. My only complaint is the length of the second hose - but I realize this was designed for all sorts of vehicles so I won't let it bother me. Since the gauge husing is cast I wouldn't drop it on hard concrete - it's liable to break. Generally it isn't a good idea to drop precision gauges in the first place
All in all pretty happy with the performance - I'd recommend this unit to anyone who wants a fast foolproof way to fill both front tires *exactly* the same.

Hi Bubba,

We must have ordered at the same time because I received mine today. Haven't had the opportunity to use it yet but your description is "spot on" and I'm looking forward to happy motoring.

Thanks for the review. I just placed my order after reading your post.

spartan:

When you get yours, can you give an idea of how well it works with the back tire? There is precious little space for filling the back tire and I wonder how well/easily it clamps to the rear valve stem.

Hi Keith,

Well I received the Psiclops and it worked well with all of the tires...was easier to use on the front tires, but as you mentioned, it was a little more involved with the rear tire. I had to roll the scoot until the valve stem was on the bottom and then "slighty hold" the stem to the side while I attached one of the Psiclops chucks. From then on, it was easy...highly recommend this product.

Excellent. Thanks a bunch!

You are very welcome...let me know how it works for you.

So for how much and where did you order it??

Hi smrf, I purchased mine from Tire Rack and it cost me around $50.00 (including shipping). The website is: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/detail.jsp?ID=56

Although I don't have an MP3 yet, I did order the Psiclops in preparation for my purchase. I was able to check tire pressure and make adjustments on 3 cars in less than 15 minutes. On my previous scooter it was a pain to check the pressure on the back tire. But more than that was the dance of applying air with the air chuck. Take that off check the pressure with my little tire pressure gauge. Apply more air, check again. etc. It would take me 15 minutes just to get that one back tire aired up properly. And that is 15 minutes down on my knees, bent over, sweating and cursing.

With the Psiclops, you reach down and attach the chuck. Stand up, look at the large dial, add air or bleed off as necessary, then reach down and release the chuck.

Is it a necessary tool? Nah! Is it overkill? Maybe, but it does make the job easy.

A friend of mine was once discussing with his wife the need to get some particular tools in order to build the pantry that she wanted. She was questioning whether these new tools were "necessary". He responded "No, not necessary. I could build it with just a flat rock and a sharp rock, but the tools will make it easier." She relented and he got the tools. Of course I was there and heard this, so when his birthday came around he got a heavy box from me, containing a sharp rock and a flat rock (and a Home Depot gift card).

Thanks for the info. Mine is on order.

I have a PsiClops too and it is great, very little leakage when connecting the hoses as mentioned, easy to read guage, plenty of length to the hoses, stores nicely in its own case.

PsiClops is getting some sales from this Forum and there product is apparently well made, easy to use and works as advertised. It does seem to me like overkill to be so exact in both front tires having the same pressure. Can anyone feel any difference in riding the bike?

Just used the PsiClops for the first time. Very handy little tool!

I modified mine with some common pneumatic fittings so I could add air from my compressor or portable tank with trigger metering. Also cut the long hose so it's not unwieldy on the MP3 front wheels but I can still use the long piece to do both front or rear tires on my car.

Components:


Set up for action:


One could put together the whole system from parts, starting with something like this http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98287,
but the cost of components comes to more than Tire Rack's sale price for the PsiClops.

OK. I have my PsiClops, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to work. How do I make both tires the same tire pressure? When I connect one, I read 24 PSI (for example). When I connect the other one (having two connected) I read 25 PSI.

How do I get them both to be 25 PSI? In other words, if the two tires are not already the same tire pressure, how do I get them both to be the same tire pressure?

As soon as you connect the second hose they equal out. You don't have to "do" anything. Then just add air till at the proper pressure.

Wayne B

Thanks, Wayne. That's kiiiinda what I thought, but I wanted to make sure.

I want one so bad but have to wait till Christmas to get it

Wayne B

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much. With a decent inline gauge you can do the same thing. You just have to do it one wheel at a time. According to the gauge on the PsiClops, it only gets within 1/2 PSI of being equal. It doesn't get the pressure exactly equal.

Using a 12V compressor with auto shut-off gets a bit closer - they claim to within 0.025 bar (say 0.4 psi).

But no-one except a racer on the track would notice 0.5 psi, and I bet most couldn't notice a 2 psi difference in pressure in an MP3s front wheels.

I have to say that I'm really unimpressed with the PsiClops. I'm using it for both my wife's MP3 and my TMAX. I use it to fill up one tire at a time on the TMAX (obviously). When I check the pressure on the rear tire, the gauge on the PsiClops reads 35 PSI. Give it some air (to get up to the 36 PSI recommended tire pressure), and it shows 36 PSI (eventually). Then, I remove the PsiClops. Press the button to release pressure from the PsiClops, then put the PsiClops back onto the rear tire. Does it read 36 PSI? Nope. It reads 35 PSI.

It doesn't make any sense at all. I think I would've been better off with one of the inline gauges shown on one of the other threads.

Am I doing something wrong?

1 psi is within the error range of the gauge. OTOH you could lose that much with the little pffft that happens when you remove the chuck. You could fill it to 37 and assume it will end up as 36.

I tried going up to 38. It wound up reading...35. I'm wondering if air is even getting passed through the gauge to the tire. Using a different gauge shows around 35 as well, even after inflating to 38.

Are you sure you're pressing down far enough with the chuck?

Positive. I can't go any further and there's no air leaking from the stem/chuck. Maybe the connection from the compressor to the PsiClops needs to be checked? I'll do that in a few minutes.

Although it might not be as accurate as other guages, there is something geeky and satisfying about being able to fill up the two front tires to be exactly equal, even if they are equally imprecise.

Not if it doesn't actually fill up the tires. I think the chuck that attaches to the air compressor is broken. With the chuck unattached to the air compressor, it shouldn't let air out of the tires, right? I should be able to use it as a pressure gauge.

I've sent them an email asking them how I return it. I'm going to opt for one of the less expensive inline pressure gauges. Probably this one:




It's half as much and I'm confident that I can get within 1/2 PSI of getting the two front tires on my wife's MP3 equalized...which is the best I was able to get with the PsiClops.

Don't know how much you want to spend, but this looks pretty handy:

It needs a fitting for either a standard pneumatic nipple or a Schrader valve.

You might want to substitute that long chuck with a locking one, but they have those too.

I think that's way more than what I need. I'm not even sure if that would work with my little 12 V air compressor.

Here's another, needs nothing.



BTW I don't work for Harbor Freight, I just buy stuff from them!

Hmm...I kinda like that one.

Actually now that I look at the photo it appears to have a 1/4" NPT fitting, so you'd need a female coupling (available at any hardware store) and an adapter like this: