Check your tyre pressures!

[misterO]

Mine was 36F/42R this morning: spot on. Thanks for asking. Good to keep on top of simple things like this, y'know...

[DR650gary]

I bought a few sets of these in various pressures. We have 2 bikes in the house plus another 4 with my son's so it was easy to mix and match to get enough to do the job. A quick glance is all that is needed, and learning to do it

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SAFETY-TI...#ht_500wt_1156

[Corse1]

A few years ago I rode my mates T595. It handled like shit. 6 months later I made him check his tyre pressures and his front only had 11 psi in it. he has enjoyed riding and checking his tyre pressure regularly since then.

I check mine before every ride or every fuel up before a ride. I don't use em for commuting but if I did I would check them once a week.

[otter]

But on track days you let your tires down right? For more grip, and to make them heat up faster I assume? Am I correct in doing this?

[hayd3n]

But on track days you let your tires down right? For more grip, and to make them heat up faster I assume? Am I correct in doing this?

Track riders like to run on lower pressures, but from what I see, they have to hang off, getting their knee down, just to keep the bike on the track, which they don't always manage and run off. But as I never do track days, what do I know!

[caspernz]

I bought a few sets of these in various pressures. We have 2 bikes in the house plus another 4 with my son's so it was easy to mix and match to get enough to do the job. A quick glance is all that is needed, and learning to do it

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SAFETY-TI...#ht_500wt_1156

These things are great aren't they? The method by which they operate they gradually let the air out of your tyres....but you'll know that once you've used them long enough. No substitute for a good quality pressure gauge.

[caspernz]

But on track days you let your tires down right? For more grip, and to make them heat up faster I assume? Am I correct in doing this?

If you're on a VTR250 don't bother lowering tyre pressures, you haven't got the power to generate enough heat....

It's normally the rear tyre pressure that you lower on track days, to compensate for the heat generated by putting lots of power thru it. A powerful bike will heat its rear tyre up to, and above, road pressures in a matter of a few laps.

[JustNick]

These things are great aren't they? The method by which they operate they gradually let the air out of your tyres....but you'll know that once you've used them long enough. No substitute for a good quality pressure gauge.

How do they indicate when the tyre pressure is low??

[caspernz]

How do they indicate when the tyre pressure is low??

Three coloured rings in a plastic tube thingee that screws onto valve stem. You buy them in indicator ranges, ie red is below 25 psi, orange is 25 to 30, green is 30 or more. As the tyre goes thru the heat ranges and modulates the indicator it lets air out, which you have to put back in at some point, ie a useless invention....

[JustNick]

Three coloured rings in a plastic tube thingee that screws onto valve stem. You buy them in indicator ranges, ie red is below 25 psi, orange is 25 to 30, green is 30 or more. As the tyre goes thru the heat ranges and modulates the indicator it lets air out, which you have to put back in at some point, ie a useless invention....

Oh righto. Cheers!

[DR650gary]

These things are great aren't they? The method by which they operate they gradually let the air out of your tyres....but you'll know that once you've used them long enough. No substitute for a good quality pressure gauge.

Well, you may know more than I do about these, but I don't agree. The ones we have are just pressure indicators. When the pressure drops, they start to change from Green to Orange to Red. These do not release air to my knowledge.

These are on two of our current bikes and neither colour has changed in 6 months, still green.

Your comments bothered me so I whipped them off and checked but all four tyres are still ok.

I did not expect these to replace a gauge check, but they do allow a quick peek to see that the tyres are rideable.

If you are willing to check your tyres with a guage each time you ride, then good for you, but these provide a quick safety check for us.

Cheers

[otter]

If you're on a VTR250 don't bother lowering tyre pressures, you haven't got the power to generate enough heat....

It's normally the rear tyre pressure that you lower on track days, to compensate for the heat generated by putting lots of power thru it. A powerful bike will heat its rear tyre up to, and above, road pressures in a matter of a few laps.

Awesome thanks, that makes sense.

[Banditbandit]

Hey guys,

was just in the shop getting my sprockets changed and the nice guy also checked my tyres for me. The air that went in lifted my bike about 1-1.5cm!!!

This is just a quick shoutout to all those that are like me and often dont check theses things (waits to get burned). Also the colder weather will make the air that you put in back in summer start to lose pressure. So everyone check your tires, you never know what your missing out on (my bike is A LOT more controllable).

basic leasson in riding .. Always have correct tyre pressure ... I'm still stunned at how many people don't know this ... It makes so much difference to the bike ...

And over-inflated is just as bad as under .. over inflated makes the front end feel hard and skippy - the bike will not grip as well in corners and skide out easier ... under inflated means the tyre is moving in relation to the rim .. makes the back end very wishy washy in a sideways manner ... and the front end is uncontrolable as the movement agffects the whole bike ...

[george formby]

Holy thread resurrection Batman!!