Modern Vespa

Does anybody else have bad time putting air in the rear tir?
I find checkin g the pressure and puttinmg air in the tire problematic.
NO, scratch that a pain in the ass. Is their anybody who has found a solution to this problem?
I would appreciate pic if applicable.

stupid suggestion, but putting your bike on the centre stand does help a little.

+1 - not that big a deal if the stem is in position.

Gauge with a 90º (or close) chuck.

Just two examples:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92955
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90610

I have no problem if I use these two tools and work from the drivers side with the tire valve at four to five o'clock.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46788
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92142

When you have the tire replaced have them install a right angle fill valve.

I put the stem at the 6 O'clock position and use the gauge pictured in the thread below..It's so much easier, because of the hammer like head and handle shaft to hold on to....I get an accurate reading and it's the easiest to use. It cost $19.95+ I bought it at the BMW/Triumph shop in the 10000 block of N. Lamar in Austin... Check locally where you are, I bet you can find it at motorcycle or autoparts places...PEP Boys and Walmart do not carry it.

A picture of it is at the bottom of the thread: Tire Leaks...Boy, I need Help

www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic36228

cheers...jacquie

90 Degree Valve Extension:


I owned a Majesty 400 that used a 90 Degree Valve to make pressure line connection easier in the congested space about its rear wheel.

Tyre Valves

The 90 Degree Tubeless Valve Stem is another option.

have yet to check the tire pressure, 2.2k miles and they still feel good on this 500! I know that if I try to check the pressure, I'll lose significant air fumbling around with the valve and air hose. I'll leave the checking of air and oil to the more mechanically skilled. 8)

Good point, Vortexau, though I wonder if the extension would noticeably affect balance. And why don't they just use 90° stems in the first place?

So you don't check the air in your tires frequently...Hmmmm...well good luck with that.

Personally, I check it alot and compensate to get close to accurate...but that's just me...I like to know and follow the guidelines for my safety and pocket book... Even the smallest amount of underpressure can cause increased tire wear.. While tires are not the biggest expense I will have on this scoot, the time and inconvenience of tire changing is more important to me.

A $20 good gauge is a valuable asset. Cheers...jacquie

Wow. You should be checking the air pressure in your tires every time before you go out. You could pick up a small leak or something like that and your tire will not be able to hold you in a turn. My tire guage I got has a right angle spigot on it so it is easy to check the front and rear tires with. (The front on my BV500 is the pain because of the dual disc brakes).

You should be checking air pressure before each ride. The air in the 12" tires goes down quickly. There's very little air in them, so losing even a small bit amounts to a large PSI decrease.

For you MSF graduates, remember T-CLOCS?

Tucsonrider, your find looks like a great answer to several problems.
1. The quick connect should easily attach to the valve stem.
2. The pass through allows hooking up a gas station chuck to it and most of the gas station chucks won't get on the rear tire valve stem.
3. While filling at a gas station you can see the pressure.

Have you bought one of these and does it work as advertised?

I didn't put 2.2k miles by not riding the bike, or riding with flat or nearly flat tires! I try to pick up on the bike's feedback, i.e. how the front tires hold in corners, how the tires are wearing, etc. Probably because I don't check the air, I may be a might more attuned to how the bike performs.

Fuzzy,

I use it everytime. Works great and makes it very convenient to check the tire pressure. I give it two thumbs up! Hey for $20.00 what if it works?

Best,

Tucsonrider

I just got one of these. It works great!

You don't lose pressure every time you check it (check, fill, check, bleed, check...) It clips on to the stem, gives you a continuous reading, and you fill and bleed the tire through the gauge itself. Then you just unclip it.

Brilliant.

http://www.getagauge.com/

OK, will take a chance on that gauge, it may work for my fumble-fingers,
Thanks! 8) 8) 8)

are you serious checked my air yesterday but before I checked this thread to see the difficulty in it, then went down the street to shell, and hoped it wouldn't be a problem like some of you guys or girls mentioned and low and behold it was a simple as putting air in like putti g air in my tire in my car no special adapter no special stem, come on guys what's the big deal,, I don't understand the reason for this thread....????

are you serious checked my air yesterday,, but before I checked this thread to see the difficulty in it, then went down the street to shell, and hoped it wouldn't be a problem like some of you guys or girls mentioned and low and behold it was a simple as putting air in like putting air in my tire in my car no special adapter no special stem, come on guys what's the big deal,, I don't understand the reason for this thread....????

The reason you don't understand this thread is because its directed at people who have the mp3 250, not the 500s. The 250s have a 12" rear tire while your bike has a 14" rear tire. It is very tricky to get to the stem on the 12" tires because they're so close to the mechanics of the bike and to the hub. On the 14" tire, no special adaptor is needed.

thanks luthor for clarifying that to me, sorry guys didn't mean it that way, but by thhe way oh nevermind I'll start a new topic .... Talk to you in a minute guys....

umm I hate the rear tire stem grrrrrrrr
I think I let more air out trying to check it then I put in it

so what is the best solution for us 250 riders?

Losing a lb. or two of air pressure montly, can be considered normal. At least on bigger wheels. Should check at least bi-weekly, or before a long trip.

Look above for a couple posts to MPFrank's. That gage is a good solution. It clips easily to the stem and you pump air through it. When you stop pumping the gage tells pressure so you can add more if needed without disconnecting. If too much it has a button to release some.

I was totally frustrated on my 250 rear tire until I got one. Only other thing that worked was a bicycle pump.

T = TIRES & WHEELS
C = CONTROLS
L = LIGHTS
O = OIL
C = CHASSIS
S = STANDS

And just to weigh-in on the frequency with which one checks their tire pressures...*for me* it is once a week, on Sunday night, before the work week starts. 8)

Every time before I go out?
I'm not going to check my tire pressure every morning at 6:30 before my 30 mile commute
I check it once or twice a month and it is never far off

Over time I have stopped using my gauge to check the tire pressure but I still push on the tire with my boot to make sure it has air. I think it is still important to check them more than once or twice a month. A blowout on a bike is much worse than a blow out in a car.

All it takes is one small nail or brad in your tire and one morning you could have half your air. (For what it's worth I also leave every morning at 6:00 on my commute and I think it is worth my life to take the 1 or 2 minutes extra to check my tires.)

On another note: I recently got new tires and my old front tire had this nasty gash in it I didn't even see until we removed the tire. I should take photos of it. I think an extra millimeter of whatever slashed my tire and I would have had a major wreck.

You need to use a gauge. I had a nail in my rear tire, backed out of the garage and noticed it was harder to push it back, so I got off and kicked the tire, IT SEEMED fine. Got up to the first turn I do at speed and almost lost it as the tail end came around. Don't trust kicking or pushing on the tire. It can seem fine and be low enough to make you wreck.
If I hadn't had lots of experience on the dirt doing lots of power sliding, I may have laid it down, but my dirt bike skills automatically kicked in and saved me.

Wayne B

It was more like this at a much lower speed.

www.metacafe.com/watch/77657/garry_mccoy_powerslide/

Wayne B