I temporally screw on a 2" extension to check and fill.
Ours is a red, black and chrome 2017 F3 Limited. Bought new in 2/2019. The avatar is my first bike back in 1952, a Simplex Servi-Cycle. Photo taken at the Barber Museum.
Is there any way to install another add on to make getting air in the rear tire easier?
When it comes time to replace your rear tire .... before the new one is mounted .... add an Angled steel Mtc. stem from " Kurveygirl " , about $10.00 ... I have done this on every Spyder I have owned. .... The first one I removed the old valve and patched the hole .... then I just left the Oem valve, and put the new one opposite it..... The new one should be put on the other side of the rim,( the disc side )and away from the raised part of the wheel so tire machines won't hit it ..... Mike
When it comes time to replace your rear tire .... before the new one is mounted .... add an Angled steel Mtc. stem from " Kurveygirl " , about $10.00 ... I have done this on every Spyder I have owned. .... The first one I removed the old valve and patched the hole .... then I just left the Oem valve, and put the new one opposite it..... The new one should be put on the other side of the rim,( the disc side )and away from the raised part of the wheel so tire machines won't hit it ..... Mike
For the time being, you can use an air chuck used for airing up dual tires on a truck. It's the right length and has the correct angle to easily access the rear tire valve stem. The best thing about it is that you don't have to get down on your knee to air up your rear tire.
Is there any way to install another add on to make getting air in the rear tire easier?
Thanks for asking this question. Every time I have to get on my knees to fill air in that rear tire...I wonder...am I doing this right? It shouldn't be that difficult.
2017 Spyder RT Limited - Champagne Metallic Chrome
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I have wondered if it would be possible to fit a valve into the side of one of the spokes, pointing directly outward. This is done on BMW machines and would make inflation much easier.
I have wondered if it would be possible to fit a valve into the side of one of the spokes, pointing directly outward. This is done on BMW machines and would make inflation much easier.
Good idea, but there's no easy way of making that work on our existing rims! At least, not without drilling into/modifying the rim itself & potentially compromising the strength of that spoke.... and since the rim wasn't designed with that in mind from the get go, probably making it a little more difficult to achieve a good wheel balance too!
Following this thread for a good answer if there is one. Surely BRM could have done a better job on this one. If you are one of those 'old' seniors, try airing up that tire a time or two, it will sure test your religion. I mean, come on, proper air pressure is a safety thing, why make it so difficult? They could have angled the valve or something!
...you can use an air chuck used for airing up dual tires on a truck.
That's what I use.
My issue isn't so much airing it up but getting the valve stem in the small area where you can actually access it. This is one of the reasons why I got the FOBO 2. I don't want to have to move the bike forward inch by inch (releasing and resetting the parking brake, running around to the other side of the bike, repeating the process, etc) before every ride. I check the FOBO and call it good.
For the rear I use one end of a dual fill hose with clamp-on chuck. Not that much of a problem to slip the chuck on and off unless you have gorilla size fingers.
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Until you can get your air valve moved or if your somewhere without the right sizes chuck, gonto the Harley store and get a stem extender as used foyr an Ultra. Harley has the same problem and have 6" flexable extention. Costs about $10.00. I keep it on the Spyder with my air gauge.
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Until you can get your air valve moved or if your somewhere without the right sizes chuck, gonto the Harley store and get a stem extender as used for an Ultra. Harley has the same problem and have 6" flexible extension. Costs about $10.00. I keep it on the Spyder with my air gauge.
Here's a link to the extension: https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/e...-8;sp_staged=0. I bought one as soon as I bought my Spyder and shortly after I bought a Harley emergency compressor that has an identical extension with it.
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This is one way to cure the problem like others have said.
That would be it!
As MONK mentioned, I also run FOBO's, and therefore I know at any time what my tire pressures are. If you have any experience with FOBO's you know that these spyder front tires have very little air in them, volume-wise. Merely the act of checking their pressure can allow enough air to escape and drop the pressure by a pound or more if you're not careful. In reality, a pound or so is not extremely critical. Because of simple ambient influence, your front tires can change one or two pounds all on their own while riding your spyder. But if you are like some of us who are overly anal, a two-pound difference can be worrisome. The rear tire can heat up to as much as four pounds from cold to hot after a half hour or so of operation. So, if you pre-check your tire pressures to what BK911 has mentioned here numerous times, you should be good for any environment. And the tool that Bensonoid pictured is about the easiest and least expensive way I know of to air up my tires. I keep one in the frunk at all times.
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 01-11-2021 at 03:27 PM.
Reason: Fixed quote display
My issue isn't so much airing it up but getting the valve stem in the small area where you can actually access it. This is one of the reasons why I got the FOBO 2. I don't want to have to move the bike forward inch by inch (releasing and resetting the parking brake, running around to the other side of the bike, repeating the process, etc) before every ride. I check the FOBO and call it good.
Yep, yep, yep...... you and me both, Monk.... and for exactly the same reason
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Goodyear Duragrip 165/60 fronts (18psi) - provides extra 1/2 ground clearance.
Kenda Kanine rear.
2021 RT Limited , Brake pedal rubber removed for ease of accessing pedal with size 15 boots. Red
Yeah, along the lines of Jaybros amd others, I bought Lamont’s portable compressor which comes with a short, flexible hose, and you can preset a pressure. When FOBO tells me rear pressure is low, I can set the required pressure and screw on the flexible hose without even getting down on my knees (I sit on a low stool). It’s a bloody long way down to the floor for me ..... works a treat. But there is still the pain of getting that valve stem in just the right place
HeliBars Handlebars
Brake rubber removed to lower pedal for easier long leg/Size 15 EEEEW boot access.
Ikon (Aussie) shocks all round.
Russell Daylong seat 2 taller than stock (in Sunbrella for Aussie heat & water resistance)
Goodyear Duragrip 165/60 fronts (18psi) - provides extra 1/2 ground clearance.
Kenda Kanine rear.
2021 RT Limited , Brake pedal rubber removed for ease of accessing pedal with size 15 boots. Red
On a side note, I was riding yesterday in 45* weather and my FOBO alarm went off. I keep my rear tire (still a Kenda ) @ 26#. FOBO was screaming at me that it got to 31.2#. Not sure why it was so upset although that did seem to be quite a bit of increase considering the ambient temp. I was less concerned with that than I would have been had the pressure dropped. According to FOBO, it's now back down to 26.5#. I love this FOBO app.
On a side note, I was riding yesterday in 45* weather and my FOBO alarm went off. I keep my rear tire (still a Kenda ) @ 26#. FOBO was screaming at me that it got to 31.2#. Not sure why it was so upset although that did seem to be quite a bit of increase considering the ambient temp. I was less concerned with that than I would have been had the pressure dropped. According to FOBO, it's now back down to 26.5#. I love this FOBO app.
An 'over-pressure alarm' like that will occur because too much pressure increase may be an indication that the tire is under-inflated for the ambient temps &/OR for the riding you're doing, and the pressure in your tire has risen too much from it's cold start/base setting.
Depending on the system, these 'too much increase' alarms can be triggered by the actual pressure increase, or by the temperature increase that effectively causes the pressure increase in the first place - either serving to warn you that a rise like that might be due to a slow leak in the tire lowering the volume of air inside it sufficiently to be a risk (obviously not the case here, or it would now show a lower pressure!); or that the material/layers the tire is made of are at risk of 'de-construction' due to the increase in the tire's temperature.... albeit, you're probably not quite at that stage with just an 'almost 6 psi' increase from cold - but then again, if it increased that much fairly quickly, maybe so?!
But you also need to consider what you were doing in the 20-30 minutes of riding immediately beforehand - if you were riding 'somewhat more spiritedly' than usual, that temp increase & the consequent increased risk to your tire might simply be due to that 'over-exuberance', and if you slow down & the alarm stops as the tire's pressure/temp returns to its normal range rather than showing a lower than normal pressure, then that's probably what it was, altho.... if you were here in Oz, you'd also need to consider if you were riding on a hotter road surface, or if that tire was more exposed to sunlight, but considering where you are/the ambient temps you report, there's probably not too much of a risk of either of those.... there again, it could be that your FOBO was responding to a temp/pressure increase that was largely in the valve stem itself, and not actually in the tire?!? As I've mentioned before, it does sometimes happen with these end of valve stem sensors - warnings or pressure changes being reported that other devices can't detect any reason for, and that (sometimes) seemingly 'self correct'....could've been due to quite a few things, and unless you can identify anything that was clearly different in the conditions or what you were doing/how you were riding at the time....
That said, it's been a while, but I thought the FOBO system allowed you to set an upper & lower pressure or temp limit for the alarms, altho most systems do generally have default limits - often about 4psi....
If you lose air when checking tires, as I did, Slime puts out a digital "no air loss" tire gauge. I have one and it works great.
Ours is a red, black and chrome 2017 F3 Limited. Bought new in 2/2019. The avatar is my first bike back in 1952, a Simplex Servi-Cycle. Photo taken at the Barber Museum.
Yeah, I was kind of thinking if you're losing a couple psi when checking the front tires, or rear tire, then either your gauge or your
technique need some serious work. Those front tires aren't that small.
But I also agree that the Slime digital gauges are first rate. I have three of them, and they all work a treat.
TireTek has a very similar tool to attach to an air compressor. It uses a flip lever to lock onto the valve stem and allows you to both add and release air pressure without removing the tool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AO1ZBLW..._sio.Fb0Y4BN4M
Yes, I do usually have to kneel, front or rear. Generally I can see enough of the rear wheel to guesstimate where the valve is and find it easiest to reach when it is between 3 and 6 on the clock.
I've had both of these tools for more than 3 years and no problems with either one.
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