rear tire valve stem >:-/ - any ideas how to actually add air!?

First of all I'd like to congratulate the genius who decided to put the rear tire valve stem on the same side as the pulley for the belt drive. Right away, you could tell this was a college educated person, who had no idea what he was doing.! Does anyone else have the problem of checking the air pressure in your rear tire because of the valve stem position. I'm losing more air out of the tire trying to put air into the tire because of the position of that valve stem. I do not understand why that valve stem was not put on the other side of the rim, which would not be in the way of anything. Anybody have any ideas on how to check the air tire and put air in the tire. The only thing I could come up with was an 8 inch braided valve stem extender, and I'm not sure that will work.
Any ideas please let me know. Thank you

:roflblack: no sir, you must be the only one here who's ever mentioned it being awkward, or, difficult.

Kidding of course. :thumbup:

Here's how I do it and I'm sure there will be lots of others chime in with their special way.

I'm kinda tall so this works for me.

First, roll the spyder one way or the other until the stem is somewhere between the three and five o'clock position when facing the valve side of the rim. Have your pressure gauge and airing source in hand when you lay down on the ground to check and or add air(unless you're under 3' tall - then perhaps you can bend down and see things).

Don't fight it, it's one of the idiosyncrasies of the spyder. Unless or until you mod it.

I use a regular tire guage and small air tank. Have no problem. Air pressure in a tire isn't rocket science accurate.

And why the stem where it is? Can you imagine how many burns would have accured trying to use the stem on the muffler side?

I use a double headed air nozzle. If you pull it onto the valve stem from the opposite side it works very well. I do have the gauge built in. These are available at harbor freight...wheel was probably designed without the knowledge of the size of the sprocket...!! :dontknow:

:thumbup:

From Deep in the Hart of Texas!

Rear tire valve stem tread, And the beat gos on.....
:rolleyes:

When the rear tire needed replacing I had the shop put another valve stem installed with access from the other side, cost of $5. Several people have had this done.

One of the glitches we have learned to live with. It does make one not want to check the air pressure as often as they should though.

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Originally Posted by Rpo62

First of all I'd like to congratulate the genius who decided to put the rear tire valve stem on the same side as the pulley for the belt drive. Right away, you could tell this was a college educated person, who had no idea what he was doing.! Does anyone else have the problem of checking the air pressure in your rear tire because of the valve stem position. I'm losing more air out of the tire trying to put air into the tire because of the position of that valve stem. I do not understand why that valve stem was not put on the other side of the rim, which would not be in the way of anything. Anybody have any ideas on how to check the air tire and put air in the tire. The only thing I could come up with was an 8 inch braided valve stem extender, and I'm not sure that will work.
Any ideas please let me know. Thank you

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First of all, :welcome:
Second,

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Originally Posted by Rpo62

...I'd like to congratulate the genius who decided to put the rear tire valve stem on the same side as the pulley for the belt drive.

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You should... that "genius" probably makes more money than some of us put together.:roflblack::roflblack:

Its a bit awkward but not that bad. They may have wanted to keep it on the side farthest from the exhaust to prevent burns from the muffler (I know you are not suppose to check a warm tire but some times is a must if its already low)

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Originally Posted by JCSMOKE

When the rear tire needed replacing I had the shop put another valve stem installed with access from the other side, cost of $5. Several people have had this done.

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Thats cool, I guess I missed that discussion. Is this something most tire shops would do ? Im OCD with my tire pressure and tired of laying on the garage floor.

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Originally Posted by C3517C

Thats cool, I guess I missed that discussion. Is this something most tire shops would do ? Im OCD with my tire pressure and tired of laying on the garage floor.

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It's easy enough to do. Any competent tire shop can get it done quickly.

http://kurveygirl.com/shop/product_i...products_id=72

I use a pressure gauge that clips on the valve stem. Makes it much easier to check the pressure. http://www.ghmeiser.com/

I see this is an old thread, but I’m having the same problem on my 2020 RTL. At a hotel one morning I was laying on the parking lot checking my rear tire pressure when a guy came and asked if I was ok����. I see Amazon has all different length valve stem extensions, has anyone used these?

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Originally Posted by Dudley

I use a regular tire guage and small air tank. Have no problem. Air pressure in a tire isn't rocket science accurate.

And why the stem where it is? Can you imagine how many burns would have accured trying to use the stem on the muffler side?

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Well that's where mine is .... and since 2014 I haven't burned myself yet ...... I was the first person here to make the switch ..... Mike :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by gunner

I see this is an old post, but I’m having the same problem on my 2020 RTL. At a hotel one morning I was laying on the parking lot checking my rear tire pressure when a guy came and ask if I was ok����. I see Amazon has all different length valve stem extensions, has anyone used these?

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I think most folks here have discovered using a long Valve stem works best .... Mike :thumbup:

Yes, it's a Harley product but it works just fine.
https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/e...on;sp_cs=UTF-8

I too had same issues, solved by experimenting with different valve extensions. Settled on 90* extension. Works great, from Amazon.

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Originally Posted by can-am sam

I use a pressure gauge that clips on the valve stem. Makes it much easier to check the pressure. http://www.ghmeiser.com/

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I use a clip on for the valve stem and a 2 foot piece of hose, going back to a dial type pressure gauge and lever handle to trigger the air. Set it exactly where you want it, un-clip it from the valve stem, and screw the cap back on. No lost pressure checking and same pressure every time.

If you put too much air in, there is a button on the handle to let the pressure back down while you watch the gauge.

Picture shows gauge going to 18 PSI. You can get higher pressure gauges. Mine goes to 30 PSI.

Just the right angle, inexpensive, and easy to use. As with any air tool make sure you have the correct connector. There are 3 types of which 2 are the most common. I carry one of these chucks and 2 connectors in my spyder should I need to air up while away from home.

https://www.harborfreight.com/extend...SABEgKo7_D_BwE

A few months back my dealer installed a new tire. When they remounted the wheel to the bike, they aligned it such that the tire valve was directly behind one of the drive pulley's spokes. Totally inaccessible.

They remounted the wheel for free.

I have an air pump with a pressure gauge. Just screw it on and push a button. Air loss on unscrewing is miniscule. Most of the time I can get the hose on where it sits, but occasionally I need to move the trike a bit to get to the stem. The hardest part for me is getting down, then back up from the garage floor.

I bought an extension hose(actually they are sold in pairs) from Amazon. It is still kind of a pain in the a....s but a lot better than trying to get the air chuck on the valve. I keep one at home and one in my tool bag for the road.

You friendly neighborhood Harley dealer has an extension hose they use on ElectraGlide Ultras. Last I looked it $10 to $12 dollars. Makes it easier to check. Also I find it is easier to have the wheel at about 1:00 or 2:00 O'clock. I can get down easily but getting back up is another story.