Modern Vespa

Okay so this morning I was checking the tire pressure on my scoot. I do this every morning. Anyway why don't bikes have the ability to automatically check tire pressure like all car's are required to do?

Especially bikes with digital computerized dashes like the GTS could have two numeric read outs that tell you your current tire pressure.

Call me lazy.

My wife's car just tells you that the tires are low but my coworker's Acura TSX shows all four tires and how much pressure is in each tire.

All cars? Since when?

I just check the pressure every day I ride.

I check air pressure every time I clean a bike. Might be weeks in between checks...

There are tyre pressure caps that will indicate if the pressure has dropped by the tip turning a different colour. Don't know how they work but they are available.
However if you check the pressures every morning then why bother with a digital read out????

Since 2009 model year.

Personally, the more complex, heavy and expensive to maintain a vehicle is, the less I like it. I can check my tire pressure easily enough.

PS--on a tire that runs such low pressure, and has such small volume, you're losing more pressure by checking them EVERY FREAKIN' DAY!!! than you could be losing any other way. Once every week or two should be plenty.

P.

On the tire pressure indicating caps: there have been reports on this forum that they melt on the back wheels of Vespas because of the close proximity to the exhaust.

So beware of a rapid loss of air on the back wheel if you do decided to go with those...

I was meaning that if the bike had a digital tire pressure read out then I wouldn't have to check every morning I could just look at the digital read out

I thought T-CLOCS should be done every time before you ride? Am I incorrect on this?

I check mine with a gauge, roughly once every week or so.
What I do before every ride is to FEEL (squeeze) the tires (tyres). You soon get to know what a low tire (tyre) feels like.
If it FEELS low, I check for a cause.

That's for those who only ride for leisure purposes, maybe once a fortnight.

If a bike is used every day by the same person, they'll very soon notice even a slight drop in pressure just from the ride quality.

I ride my bikes maybe 5 or six times a day - I'm NOT going to do a full check on every detail each time. If there's no drip of oil, coolant or brake fluid underneath then it hasn't lost any. Pad wear and tyre pressures are checked when I wash the bikes, every few weeks, maybe more often in winter.

I'm with Jim here. I guess from a legal liability standpoint it makes sense for the maker to encourage overly exhuberant checks, but in the real world, common sense rules.

P.

Why cant my GTS be like my H1 Hummer. Central tire inflation system. When my tires are low, I hit a button. If they are flat, I turn on the system and they stay filled untill I turn off the system or fix the flat.

But I guess since my GTS cost the same as 20 fuel fill ups on the hummer, I will live with its inadequacies.

G

Interesting coincidence - Two days ago I spent an hour with the vendor on just this topic:

http://www.tyrecheckers.com.au/carproducts.html

Background (rear wheel problem - front wheel OK):

1. Three caps "popped" after 1-2 days - no loss of air because the TC valve pops with the cap - OEM Exhaust. I also "guessed" the heat softened the caps.
2. Cap fitted after LV install - LV sits WAY out from the wheel - lasted 5 days, but on the ride to the vendor I lost it
3. Vendor provided a new cap (different batch). Lost it AND the metal base on the way home

Vendor is convinced that during riding "something" hits the cap - on the center stand it touches nothing (?)

Vendor is going to approach a Vespa dealer to try to determine the cause.

VERY frustrating - these things are great!

http://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=6

I have checked my tires once with a gauge in 16 months and 1,000 miles. Still hard to the kick.

A couple of MV'ers have SmarTire units on bikes..... You could buy and loose about 50 analog tire pressure gauges...

The caps that tell you that your pressure is low? what happens when they become loose - oh yeah, they let the air out of your tire....

I'm going to remain a bit anal-retentive/obsessive-compulsive about checking my tire pressure. It only takes a minute, maybe because I do it so often.

Maybe it's because my commute is long and often takes me on roads that I wouldn't want to pull over on. I know, there are no guarantees that something won't ever go wrong. But like I said, it only takes a minute.

So, I usually do a pre-flight check of the tires and motor oil level before I head out each day.

Of course, it doesn't do me any good if I find and ignore a potential problem...like that time I noticed my back tire needed topped of by "just a bit" every day or so. Hey, it was only a little bit, right? Just pump that sucker up and ride on. Ignoring that one eventually helped me get acquainted with my new AAA RV/Motorcycle roadside service.

Thanks that is exactly what I was imagining. Now all Piaggio has to do is integrate those two numbers into the display on most of their bikes.

I check mine daily. It's one of those idiot things I do to get myself in the riding mindset.
I lose more air from checking them than from any other reason.



Regards
Harvey

Are you sure about that?




Regards
Harvey

There's a few different systems that cars can use.

The cheapest, and probably most common factory system monitors the suspension - if the suspension on one corner of the car seems out of whack with the rest, it chalks it up to low tire pressure and flashes a warning light on the dash. Fill the tire up and it take a while for the computer to reset.

This type of system couldn't work on a two wheeler, as you've only got two wheels.

The best would include a sensor inside each tire, usually a band around the rim that sends the pressure signal to a receiver.

Air your tires up to their proper pressure. Get a "Thumping Tool", such as a 12" piece of 1/2" pipe, to thump the tires. You will soon learn the sound of a properly inflated unit. It's real quick and easy. Try to always use the same tool.

Oh and that would come in handy too when my daughter reaches dating age!

LMAO!

Great Idea.

Two things I always have in my scoot: Digital Tire gauge and a mini hand-held bike pump.

I already carry a analog gauge with me but don't have the mini pump that is a good idea thanks! I got a nice gauge with a right angle connector so I loose less air when checking.

This is an important topic.

It might be worth noting how ride quality (and safety) is compromised, as well as fuel economy, when the scooter is ridden with incorrect tire pressures.

I check mine every now and then and hadn't ridden much on the freeway until yesterday, when I noticed the rear was more squirrely than usual.

Since I do mostly city riding now, it turns out I had lost some pressure in the back wheel. Pumped it back up to 1.8 bar in front and 2.0 in back and the ride was much steadier.

Ride safe!

I check my tires before every ride - especially during the spring and fall when temperatures vary considerably between daytime and night.

I would consider obtaining a wireless tire pressure monitoring system if only to spare the need to practically lay on the ground to check the rear pressure.

That's very dangerous, Jim..!
Tire pressure changes (which can occur quite frequently with weather fluctuations) can cause unexpected and sloppy handling, especially at those times when you might least want it!

Keeping appropriate PSI in scooter and motorcycle tires is crucial to good (and safe!) handling!

Common sense? -Balony, IMO!
While I wouldn't check my scoot's tires 5 or 6 times daily, IMO 'common sense' would most surely dictate that one checks tire pressures on a two-wheeled vehicle once each day before starting out..!

And as far as noticing drops in tire pressures only by the poor way the scooter handles, I'd rather not, thank you! -Not when it only takes a few minutes each day to check and adjust them (if needed) with your average bicycle pump!

Mr. Safety has spoken

The last time I checked my tire pressure it was waaay too high according to my cheap analog tire pressure gage, but I had just recently filled with a portable tire filler that has it's own pressure gauge. Now I trust neither. Do I spend more for a fancy gauge that probably is no more accurate? Perhaps hitting the tire with a pipe is still the best test? Please advise.

My experience is that the cheap analog tire pressure gauge would be more trustworthy that the gauge on the portable tire filler.

The gauge on my (cheap) electric tire pump that I carry in my car is off by more than 7PSI.

Amazing that so many people are lackadaisical about checking their tyre pressures.
I check mine the day of the ride. What happens if you picked up a nail the last time you went for a ride and have a slow leak?

Seriously people, checking your presures takes maybe 15 seconds. You'd prefer to risk a wreck over saving that time?

Tyre pressures are actually much more important on a bike with small tyres (scooters) than motos with 'full' size tyres. Why? Because they spin at far higher revolutions to maintain the same speed. Remember, many of these scoots can exceed 70mph!

About the valve stem pressure indicators. Do not use them. MCN (USA version http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/) tested them and found that the centrifigal forces caused them to stretch the valve stem and cause air leaks. This was especially pronounced with bikes that use flexible rubber valve stems. Which is what our Vespas use.

Now and then is good for me. I have yet to filler up but about once a year.

Paul

PS JimC Thats a good one for me

Two parts to this post...first the OP and then on checking tire pressure.

My brother has BMW motorcycle and so does my neighbor...their bikes have a sensor that indicates tire pressure....the on board computer does this as well as a lot of other stuff. You'd think it would have an autopilot feature...

Both seem to have a common gnawing concern...if something goes wrong with the computer chip things can get messed up. According to my brother it could ultimately result in having the Dealer reprogram the chip...did'nt get into that much detail on when it would necessitate Dealer intervention.

Hence, if any manufacturer were to provide such a feature on their product perhaps the cost / benefit ratio would be too high to make it a viable / sellable feature.

Regarding checking tire pressure. I check my tire pressure before setting out on a ride with a analog tire pressure gauge and I have a simple bicycle pump to pump up if necessary. I was getting a little complacent for awhile until on morning (wife rides her Honda Metro and checks her tire pressure routinely) my wife asked, "Aren't you going to check your tire pressure?" When I did the rear tire pressure was in the really low...nail punture.

Hence, am checking it routinely...I'm not advocating what I do as being the Best Demonstrated Practice...I'm just sharing why I do what I do...

I don't think this question is too far off topic: what, exactly, constitutes a GOOD tire gauge? It seems I've had countless tire gauges through the years that aren't worth the cheap plastic they're stamped from. I'd like to find a nice, heavy-duty, solid tire pressure gauge but am not satisfied with the offerings the standard Pep Boys/Kragen shops have to offer. Any ideas?

I use & like this one:



http://www.bestrestproducts.com/p-44-ez-air-gauge.aspx
http://www.getagauge.com/

A good tyre gauge is one that agrees with other known good ones. My ancient Dunlop pencil gauge agrees with my cheaper 12V pump with digital readout - so both are 'good' for me.