-
Active Member
Don't get paranoid about trying to match tire pressures to tenths of a PSI between tires. You are not riding/driving a Formula One or NASCAR racing machine at the extreme limits of it's performance curve trying to squeak out the last one-hundredth of a second lap time on your commute to work or even an extended road trip. You will drive yourself crazy, raise your blood pressure, and die earlier than necessary from the stress involved in trying to do that. If I check my tire pressures and one of them dropped 2/10ths of a PSI from the "preferred" pressures, I'm getting on the bike and riding it. I won't get killed because the tires failed because of that. And if one-half of a PSI difference in the tire pressures are "causing riding problems" for you, it has nothing to do with the tire pressures. Something else is wrong.
Just make sure you aren't getting on your Spyder with 12 PSI instead of 18 (or whatever you decide to use) in any of the tires and you'll be fine. I rode to a rally years ago and another rider that arrived said his MC was handling strange. I took out my tire gauge and his 32 PSI recommended radial tire had 14 pounds in it. He had just ridden 700 miles to get to the rally. He had no business owning a MC to begin with.
We aren't the Ferrari or Hendrick's Motorsports racing team drivers riding our Spyders trying to get the maximum one extra tenth of a second performance out of them. Or at least we shouldn't be.
2018 Spyder RT Limited
-
Very Active Member
I just got a gauge from cycle gear. If you use the same gauge all the time it doesn't matter if it's off a little. Mine reads 1 pound low.
2016 F3 Limited
2019 Ryker Rally
2014 Suzuki V Strom 650
2020 CSC TT 250
-
Thanks to Chupaca for the initial suggestion and to Jerry for helping find the source of the dual fill gauge and filler hose setup. Jerry's link was a good start but the main store link he provided doesn't work due to a technical issues. Here is a good working link to the specific product I bought: http://spyderstore.com/index.php?rou...&product_id=55
Service from this company seems to be very good, I ordered it last night and it's already being shipped. I'm pretty excited about this (well, as excited as you can get about a pressure gauge and fill lines) because it will be useful not only for the Spyder but also for filling the tires of all three of our other cars. I guess I could have made my own dual-fill line device but I really didn't need an additional project to work on. And sometimes you can spend more time and money gathering all the stuff you need than you would just buying an off-the-shelf product.
I do wish this company would make up their mind(s) about the proper name: Sometimes it's JT, sometimes it's CnC, and the web site is "spyderstore" but the main link doesn't work.
-
Originally Posted by JayBros
I bought the Accu-Gage in the picture when I bought my Spyder. The right angle chuck makes it very easy to check the rear tire. I have compared it to a digital gage with a chuck that won't allow me to check the rear tire but pressure-wise they agree within a quarter pound of each other.
I've been using the same gauge for many years now. I'm very happy with it.
With tire pressure gauges, the key is to find one that is consistent. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate. You can use 5 different gauges, and get 5 different readings...the key is to find one and use only that one. If you check you pressure at home, then meet at a friends and use his gauge to recheck, and it reads different....it doesn't necessarily mean that your gauge is wrong.
-
I bought this on amazon 3 years ago for the Spyder, but I love it so much, I use it on everything - tractors, hay equipment, truck, quad, you name it. It's easy to use and has a great case for keeping the gauge clean in the field. I do see its price has gone up, though. I paid $65.
https://www.amazon.com/Longacre-52-5...8&sr=8-1-fkmr2
2015 Sypder RT-S SE6
2016 Polaris Sportsman 570 ATV
2003 F250 SuperDuty
American Saddlebred Horses
-
Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie
Originally Posted by ATC
.........snip.....With tire pressure gauges, the key is to find one that is consistent. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate. You can use 5 different gauges, and get 5 different readings...the key is to find one and use only that one. If you check you pressure at home, then meet at a friends and use his gauge to recheck, and it reads different....it doesn't necessarily mean that your gauge is wrong.
For amost all 'non-professional' motor vehicle users & even for a whole lot of the 'professional' motor vehicle users out there, the underlined bits above are the most important bits - regularly using a CONSISTENT tire pressure gauge is more important than ever using an exactly accurate tire pressure gauge - even discounting who's definition of 'how accurate is deemed to be close enough to exact', we simply don't drive to the nth degree anywhere near enough to need to be exactly accurate with our tire pressures, largely because there are so many variables that we have absolutely no control over built into the vehicle & the way, the when, & on what we use those vehicles that will each have a fairly significant impact on the EXACT pressure our tires start out at or the pressures they reach during use!
Getting your cold start tire pressures into the right zone & then getting fairly close to the appropriate pressure increase after ryding (an increase that reflects the tire reaching or at least getting close to its optimum operating temp without exceeding it too much) is all that we realistically need, just like it is for 99% of pnuematic tire users!! Hey, you can change your EXACT (& short term) tire pressure just by cornering harder or braking harder during the mile or so immediately before you stop & read the tire pressure (or read it off your TPMS) - for that matter, you can change the EXACT tire pressure you read off any gauge just by waiting 1 or 2 minutes after stopping instead of checking your tire pressures immediately upon stopping, but that small variation won't be enough to have significantly changed your overall pressure increase from cold by a 'reasonably measurable' amount on most gauges that are small enough &/or robust enough for you to reasonably be expected to carry one with you! Really accurate air pressure gauges really don't like being moved &/or jostled a heap, and they also tend to take a bit to set up properly & use correctly too!!
So don't worry too much about the absolute accuracy of any tire pressure gauge you buy or use on your Spyder (or pretty much any other motor vehicle either!) a tire pressure gauge that's robust enough to handle the knocks & bounces it will get if we carry it on or in our Spyders or motor vehicles and yet still remain consistent is more than capable of meeting your tire pressure checking needs!
Ride More, Worry Less!!
2013 RT Ltd Pearl White
Ryde More, Worry Less!
-
Very Active Member
http://spyderstore.com/index.php?rou...&product_id=54 I do apologize was short on time and did not have the link handy..
Gene and Ilana De Laney
Mt. Helix, California
2012 RS sm5
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
-
Digital gauge by Slime, similar to the OEM gauge. Bought at Walmart in July '13 for $9.60. Measures to .5 lbs only... good enough to get front tires equally "fluffed up." Works fine on rear wheel, too.
NEW - 2015 RT Limited SE6 Intense Red Pearl - 07/21/15
Retained the old mirrors with TricLed Signals
General Altimax RT43 rear tire (at...17,000 miles) Ran for 36,500 miles
Michelin Defender.......rear tire (at...53,500 miles) Ran for 60,700 miles
Riken Raptor HR.........rear tire (at 114,200 miles)
Vredestein Quatrac 5 front tires (at 70,500 miles, first new fronts!)
Gear Brake Decelerometer Module
OLD - 2012 RT Limited SE5 Pearl White - 01/31/13 - Traded in at 32,600 miles.
BajaRon Anti-sway Bar
Kumho ECSTA AST rear tire (at 14,200 miles)
TricLed Turn Signals in Mirrors
-
Member
Tire pressure guage I'm using
I bought this from Amazon. OK price and good angle for reading the rear tire.
Tire Guage.jpg
-
Very Active Member
It would be difficult to tell if you got a really accurate pressure gauge or not without something to test it on. The main thing you want in the pressure gauge is for it to be consistent. If you can check the pressure 5 or 6 times (without releasing a lot of air) and get the same readings, then you have a consistent gauge.
-
Member
Good point. Worth a test. Here are three pressure checks on the rear tire. I decided to try it with the valve towards the top (I usually roll the Spyder to get the valve on the bottom.) IMG_0981.jpgIMG_0982.jpgIMG_0983.jpgIMG_0984.jpg
-
Active Member
Here is the one that I use on quite a few things. http://www.longacreracing.com/produc...Gauge-0-60-psi
And the story behind it is when I bought it about 4 years ago, I was doing a lot of motorcycle track days and running Michelin race tires. Tire temperatures can, do, and should sometimes reach into the 210 degree F range and tire pressures are extremely critical for tire wear and the ability to stick in a corner. The rear tire I was running would work great, unless you got it over 25 psi (hot temperatures right off of the track, checked with a stick type pyrometer. .2 or .3 psi could be the difference between a $200+ tire lasting all weekend or only one day.
The Longacre tire gauge that I linked to, is guaranteed to be accurate to within 1/2 of 1%. 30 psi for example.....1% of that amount is .3 psi. 1/2 of that 1% is .15 psi. Just to make sure I was getting what I paid for, I took the gauge to work with me one day and we have a metrology lab there with a machine that costs well over $100,000 and is Federally certified each and every year for accuracy to within 1/1000 psi. I had the operator run it from 20 psi up to the limit of 60 psi with 2 psi increments.....20, 22, 24...and so on. Every single incremented stop was within the 1/2 of 1% accuracy...all the way to 60 psi. Of course my need for that type of pressure gauge for what I do now is non existent, but hey, I've got it already and I use it for anything that doesn't go over 60 psi. And as far as the probe pyrometer, that is actually stuck into the tire to get the reading so that you are not reading tire surface temperatures.
-
what tire gauge are you all using
any recommendations on tire gauge the ones I see are not that accurate
thanks
-
I been using this for a while now
https://www.miltonindustries.com/gau...head-air-chuck
Amazon has them cheaper than link shown.
Makes it easier to get to the rear tire stem.
-
Using the FOBO2 TPMS system saves me from having to use a gauge to check the pressure. I like the way my Spyder handles with about 2 psi higher than the recommended pressures, i.e. 20 in front and 30 in the rear. And I hate having to lie down on the ground to get to the rear tire. So typically about twice a year I have to add a few pounds of pressure. The TPMS system tells me about the slight loss of air pressure over time and after several months I have to add some air to all three tires, hence the twice a year routine. I use a decent stick tire gauge that has an angled head, making it easy to use. Then I hook up my digital electric air pump and compare the pressure indicated. This cheap air pump typically reads about 2 pounds over the reading on the stick gauge, so to get 30 in the rear tire, I normally set the pump to stop at 32. Then I check it again with the stick gauge. Its all a bit of a pain but doing this once each Fall and once each Spring is tolerable. FWIW, I can't imagine spending $100 on a tire pressure gauge.
2021 Spyder RT
2023 Royal Enfield Hunter 350
Retired U.S. Army
Life Member, NRA
-
Very Active Member
vito1943 I agree with the concept, but we do not actually know just how accurate the FOBO2 is, and that doesn't matter one iota.....just so the values stay consistent and the 2 fronts are the same. jmho
Tri-Axis Chrome Handlebars
Sena SM10 BT Dongle
Double USB Port/Volt meter
LaMonster Magic Mirrors
BajaRon Swaybar
HALO Skid Plate
Spyder Pops Rear Running Lights Turn Signals/Brake Light
Spyder Pops Mirror Running Lights/Turn Signals
Shorty Antenna
LaMonster Cat Delete
Akrapovic Muffler
FOBO2 TPMS
Rear Trunk Rack
Bruce Erickson
Chilliwack, BC
Canada
You know when a politician is Lying. It's when his lips are moving!
2014 RTS-SE6 - Cognac
intro to m/c 1949 Royal Enfield 500cc thumper
-
Very Active Member
I use this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Low pressure to the tenth. I also run the FOBO 2's but I admit I don't look at the app all that often. I won't say what pressures I run because the tire police will be all over me.
2022 Petrol Metallic RT Limited / 'PYDER'
Peter Pan has struck again!
-
Originally Posted by P.W.
My thoughts: Be a Cold Day in Hell before I spend over a hundred dollars for a tire pressure gauge. Sorry, but you asked!
2020 RTL Chrome, Marsala Red "Non-Directional Tires, Centramatic Balancers"
Front- Kumho KH-16 175/55r15 @17psi, Rear-General Altimax RT-45 215/60r15 @20psi
BaJa Ron Ultra 3 pcs sway bar kit
7jurock 25" tinted windscreen w/flip
Frogman Dave's "Signal Button"
If in Doubt, Don't Do It!
" Pros: Excellent Bug Killer, Cons: Pizz Poor Pothole Dodger"
-
Wow! And I thought oil and tire threads were bad.
-
Very Active Member
I ordered this off Amazon. Should be here in 2 days.
gauge.jpg
Greg Kamer
"It's better to be not riding and wishing you were than be riding and wishing you weren't."
USAF, 20 years, retired
Sheriff's Office, 23 years, retired
2018 Can Am Spyder RT-Limited
-
Active Member
Originally Posted by Knizar
My thoughts: Be a Cold Day in Hell before I spend over a hundred dollars for a tire pressure gauge. Sorry, but you asked!
I agree 100%. It’s a motorcycle not the space shuttle.
2021 Spyder RT Limited Asphalt Gray Chrome Edition
2022 Spyder RT Limited Hyper Silver Chrome Edition
Spyderco Paramilitary 2
Vanquest Gen 2 7x10 First Aid Trauma Pack
Garage Door Opener
iPass
DJI Action 2
Tackform Anti-Vibe Phone Cradle
UltraGard Full Covers
Show Chrome rear trunk lid lift strut
Noco Genius 1
Noco GBX Booster X
Show Chrome Platinum Grande Adjustable Padded Driver Backrest with Storage Pouch
Baseus Cordless Inflator
-
Very Active Member
Originally Posted by gkamer
I ordered this off Amazon. Should be here in 2 days.
gauge.jpg
I also have that one and it works great! I use it on all of my vehicles and equipment.
I also have a Slime LED gauge that I carry on the bike for on the road inflation if needed.
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 09-07-2022 at 11:57 AM.
Reason: Caps
-
Very Active Member
I am currently using Slime Digital Tire Gauge, says on package 5-150 PSI comfort pistol grip can be used for Cars, Campers, lawn mowers, trailers, motorcycles.
Tire sensor safe.
The above is very accurate.
Deanna
Current Spyder - 2023 F3 LTD Special Mineral Blue
Red LED NANO Saddlebag Marker Lights with Full Illumination
Sequential Fender LED'S (Amber/Red) with Safety Reflector
Dual Power Plate (12 V & USB ports)
Gremlin Bell
Rear Trunk Organizer (4 holders, 2 Elastic Holders)
Lamonster "Top Cuff" with adjustable drink Holder
SpyderPops Missing Guard Belt
Console Accent Trim (Carbon Fiber Domed Black)
Ultimate F3 Floorboards
Front Fairing Service Access Door Covers (Carbon Fiber Doomed Black)
Sway Bar with Links
Rolo Laser Alignment
Half Cover
A-Arm Daytime Dual Color LED Running Lights with Blinker Module
Hi-Viz DRL and Sequential Mirrors lights
Former Spyder - 2014 RTS SE6 Cognac SOLD
-
I must be a tight wad I use the free one I got from discount tire. every time I by new tires there I get one given to me.
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 09-14-2022 at 07:05 PM.
Reason: fiven - given :-)
-
Active Member
I use this one with my portable air compressor https://a.co/d/2ny5F6R. I also use kilopascals (kPa) instead of PSI because it is much more granular and provides much more accurate and consistent pressures.
For example, my motorcycle rear tire is inflated to 250 kPa (36.259 psi) if I am accidentally off at 249 kPa (36.114 psi), I am still at 36 psi +/- .15 psi.
Works for me.
2022 Spyder Sea to Sky Mystery Blue
2009 Suzuki Boulevard M50 SE
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules
|