Gas Station Tyre Pressure Gauges

[FzerozeroT]

We all 'know' that they're crap and innacurate, here's the proof. The gauge at Caltex on the way out of hami towards raglan reads low by 2psi, i.e. you put too much air in. Resulting in a front wheel side if you have to stop in a hurry .

Does anyone know of an accurate gas station in hami, I don't think i can rock around to Quasi's twice a week just to check tyre pressures.

[Motu]

Go to Repco and buy an Acugauge - be in control of your own tyre presures.

[Quasievil]

We all 'know' that they're crap and innacurate, here's the proof. The gauge at Caltex on the way out of hami towards raglan reads low by 2psi, i.e. you put too much air in. Resulting in a front wheel side if you have to stop in a hurry .

Does anyone know of an accurate gas station in hami, I don't think i can rock around to Quasi's twice a week just to check tyre pressures.

Yeah ya can, and then we go for a ride. I can tell the wife we are off to test our trye pressures

[Firefight]

We all 'know' that they're crap and innacurate, here's the proof. The gauge at Caltex on the way out of hami towards raglan reads low by 2psi, i.e. you put too much air in. Resulting in a front wheel side if you have to stop in a hurry .

Does anyone know of an accurate gas station in hami, I don't think i can rock around to Quasi's twice a week just to check tyre pressures.

Why don't you do what others do, and buy your own gauge ?


hardly rocket science

F/F

[NordieBoy]

Push bike track pump and dick smith digital gauge.

Although I think the track pump may be overkill.
I don't really need a pump that will put 200psi in there.

[Cajun]

I always carry my digital tire gage on me, never know when i will need it

When i live at home i also have a nice air compressor there,.

[FROSTY:Me]

they aint accurate--ohh my god no
actually seriously i thought those digital ones were accurate ish
What I used to do was after a ride -like 500 odd yards from home -over inflate my tyres by 10psi
at home before the next ride i'd lower the pressure to what seemed right for the day

[Paul in NZ]

On the road

On a road bike

Are you SERIOUSLY telling me that a air guage that is 2 psi out will contribute to an accident?



What pressure do you use? The one in the handbook??

[Kickaha]

they aint accurate--ohh my god no
actually seriously i thought those digital ones were accurate ish
What I used to do was after a ride -like 500 odd yards from home -over inflate my tyres by 10psi
at home before the next ride i'd lower the pressure to what seemed right for the day

Everyone seems to think that because they are digital that the guages are more accurate,my question is why?

The guage is only as accurate as the guy who calibrated it when it was built and if had a hard night on the piss it might not be any better than one thats been hanging off the service staion wall for the last ten years.

Everyone I know that races or is serious about stuff like pressures uses a quality dial guage and a good one isn't cheap.

[FROSTY:Me]

my logic is that the digital ones A are newer- ie havent been around for 15 years and B because of the desighn -the gauge is static there is no way they can get abused and smacked around -the bane of any measuring equipment.

[Motu]

The Acugauge is one of the most acurate,American quality at a bloody cheap price at Repco,many styles to choose from - I have high and low pressure gauges.

[Cajun]

I know the dial gages(the flasher ones are alot better than digital), but i wouldn't want to be carrying on of those around in an accident might heard more than a little bit of plastic.

also digital take up less room over all, and nice quick and easy, yes they might not be very accutiure, but if you use all the time you know what pressures to use even it reads wrong, i found on my old gsxr1100 a few psi down it would handle a whole lot worse, so was handy when not at home to use the digital to get it to a pressure i knew i like riding it with

[Coldkiwi]

digital schmidgital... its all about how the spring coils under pressure or how the strain guage moves underthe pressure... both are mechanical items that rely on consistent manufacture of the spring or plate/electronics. I'm sure either version gives reliable answers if its a quality item.

I bought a $45 dial from Mt eden because I knew the gas stations were dodgy but didn't realise just how bad some of them were till I started double checking with my dial. some up to 10psi out!

as for 2psi making a difference, it can sure root a tyre out in a hurry if its being pushed hard on a warm roads and it will definitely make it hotter and possibly encourage it to slide if the tyre is already fairly highyl pressurised.

good point about the manufacturers settings. I think the suzuki sticker typist was smoking some serious herbs when he put 36psi front and rear on my gsxr 'recommended pressures' sticker!

[Two Smoker]

2 PSI makes a huge difference too my bike, at 30 psi it feels very skiterish and im just waiting for it to lowside but 28 PSI feels mint and i can push it as hard as i want and not worry about the tyre......

[Paul in NZ]

Not the point I was really making...

EVERY bike will work best with certain tyres at a certain pressure which will vary greatly depending upon how hot the day is and how hard you are riding, there is also a HOT pressure and a cold pressure. Measure your tyre pressure tonight and then go for a hard flog, it will go up as the tyres warm.

With high profile tyres like on '70's bikes used to run lower pressures. It allows the tyre to deform more under load increasing the contact patch area when leaned over.

My gut feeling is that 32 front and 35 rear is about right as long for an old munter like my LM2 as the road temperature is not extreme and/or protracted high speed flogging is not being done with a 2 to 4 psi increase in both for load or temperature.

Higher recommended pressures may have more to do with trying to allay owners fears if they talk to mates with more modern machines than the real needs of the older tyres, you can imagine the conversation.

" 'Ere, Boris, wot pressure you run in your back tyre?" Asks Colin of the Mk 2 lemon.

" 'Bout, firty-ate," replies Boris who owns a YZF 750. " Like wot it sez in da book."

" Reckon I'll try that." sez Colin who blows his hoops up to 38 psi cold, rattles off and falls off on the first bend.

I'm quite happy to be told I'm a complete twat who hasn't a clue what he's squalking about but my reasoning seems logical and my experience seems to indicate that this is the way things work.

NOW! There can often be a difference between what the tyre manufacturer recomends to make the tyre last ages and what the bike maker recommends to make his bike seem nice (oh alas alack, what to do)

Well I tried this and it works... (for me but then I'm a fat idiot on a munted old dunga)

Reading Guzziology during a wet day, I happened to read the section on tyres. It didn't all stick in my mind, but there was some advice about setting the tyre pressures by trial and fang and measure.

It went something like this:

Think of a number between 25 and 50. Put that in your tyres cold and go for a (short) fang.

Measure the pressure with the tyres hot.

If it HASE NOT risen by 10% (I think, check the book) then drop the pressure by 10% and go for another fang.

If it has risen by MORE than 10% then increase the pressure by 10% and go for another fang.

Repeat until busted for fanging around the shopping centre carpark or tyre pressure changes by 10%.

It made sense at the time...

What you are aiming for is an increase in hot pressure of 10% from cold. That means your tyre is heating up about right! Unless its a special race tyre sold with a free set of knee sliders to demon racer types.

Paul in NZ

ps. Make ALL the measurement on the same gauge. Who cares what the pressure REALLY is, as long as you always use the same gauge?

PPS. For gods sake. I'm a fat old twat that knows shit all about anything. Don't for gawds sake take this as gospel and go kill yourself. Gentle experimentation is what works.