Can't reach your Rear Tire Valve Stem?? DO NOT DO THIS!!
OK, I know you all might be sick of me carrying on about tires and tire pressures, but when this rear tire rolled up my drive a little while ago, I decided that now, I REALLY HAVE seen it all when it comes to dodgy tire jobs!!
The background (short-ish version ) to it all goes like this - a newbie with tire problems was sent to me to see if I could help - turns out, this newbie has a 2023 RT that he purchased new less than 12 months ago. The issue he was concerned about was the AWFUL vibration issues he'd had with his Spyder ever since it had its first service done; vibrations that the tech/s who'd done the job claimed they couldn't replicate, find, &/or fix. (Yeah, right!! ) So this relative newbie to Spyders asked me to look at his Spyder & its tires to see if I could sort the vibration....
He's not a young guy (like so many of us.. ) and he found it very difficult to check the air pressure in his rear tire, which he mentioned when he took his Spyder back for its first service.... He also mentioned that he'd read on this Forum (he reads the threads, but he's not a member - yet! ) that some members here had drilled a hole into the opposite side of the rim to the OEM valve & installed another valve stem that was easier to get at, so he asked if maybe they'd do that for him while they had his bike - and the pic below shows what they did (taken some time after I'd removed the tire & cut it up to check out some other damage it had & what caused the bulge in the upper left where the tread joins the sidewall... ) Anyhow, I reckon that this has gotta mean that I now truly have seen it all when it comes to dodgy tire jobs!!
I've seen all sorts of dodgy things: like tires held together & onto the rim with fencing wire; punctured tires stuffed with sand &/or grass to 'inflate' them enough to ride out to safety on; I've seen tec-screws drilled into the tread to act as 'studs' when riding in snow, on ice, or in mud; and now I've seen a bloody valve put directly into the sidewall of a tire!! . Surely this is the be all & end all of dodgy tire jobs... SURELY??
Check it out... Only please, DO NOT DO THIS to your tires!
What makes this even more of a facepalm is that a tech in a dealership did this and no one else at the dealership noticed this as it was being done or returned to the customer. You think it would raise some eyebrows even with the request to drill it before it was performed.
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I don't plan on doing this to my rear tire, but I share the frustration with getting to the stem on the rear tire. I installed a TPMS system so that I don't have to check the tire pressure manually, but I still have to get to it at least once a year to add air and to replace the battery in the TPMS valve. I'm 80 and have damaged shoulders. I have to lie down on the ground and reach the stem with great difficulty. This is one of the few things about my Spyder that I am unhappy about, but I guess I can live with it.
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with Peter ...... let me add that I started putting an 87 / 90 degree metal motorcycle valve stem on the DISK brake side of the rear wheel over a decade ago ( done three so far ) to avoid this issue .... all have worked out fine ...... I wouldn't bother doing it until a normal rear tire change .... I bought mine from KurveyKurl on-line .....Mike
Last edited by BLUEKNIGHT911; 01-28-2024 at 01:32 AM.
I don't plan on doing this to my rear tire, but I share the frustration with getting to the stem on the rear tire. I installed a TPMS system so that I don't have to check the tire pressure manually, but I still have to get to it at least once a year to add air and to replace the battery in the TPMS valve. I'm 80 and have damaged shoulders. I have to lie down on the ground and reach the stem with great difficulty. This is one of the few things about my Spyder that I am unhappy about, but I guess I can live with it.
Vito, you might be able to get away with not getting down on the ground. I, too, have difficulty doing that.
I find that if you release the handbrake, you can roll the Spyder until the rear valve is at around 3 o’clock. If you sit on a mechanics stool beside the rear wheel, you can get both left and right hand onto the FOBO and unscrew it, then pop your preset battery operated pump onto the valve for correct pressure, then use both hands to screw FOBO back on. Works for me, but as we are all different it may not work for you.
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2021 RT Limited , Brake pedal rubber removed for ease of accessing pedal with size 15 boots. Red
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
I assume this was a South Australian dealer, Peter?
Pete
I can't say Pete - I've been asked by the owner not to say anything about the dealer, so I'm not sayin' nuffin'!
Mind you, apparently it's been posted online in one of those 'Customer States - mechanical nightmare' or 'mechanical fails' or similar u-tube short videos, but I can't find it and haven't been sent a link...
Last edited by Peter Aawen; 01-28-2024 at 03:19 AM.
Hello Pete, I am assuming the tech had his lights on, but nobody was home. Yeah, I have seen dodgy things that the situation demands while in the services but never anything like that.
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I Should mention the Boss has a 900 Ryker Ralli next to my bike
Can't reach your Rear Tire Valve Stem?? DO NOT DO THIS!!
) to it all goes like this - a newbie with tire problems was sent to me to see if I could help - turns out, this newbie has a 2023 RT that he purchased new less than 12 months ago. The issue he was concerned about was the AWFUL vibration issues he'd had with his Spyder ever since it had its first service done; vibrations that the tech/s who'd done the job claimed they couldn't replicate, find, &/or fix. (Yeah, right!!
) So this relative newbie to Spyders asked me to look at his Spyder & its tires to see if I could sort the vibration....
) that some members here had drilled a hole into the opposite side of the rim to the OEM valve & installed another valve stem that was easier to get at, so he asked if maybe they'd do that for him while they had his bike - and the pic below shows what they did (taken some time after I'd removed the tire & cut it up to check out some other damage it had & what caused the bulge in the upper left where the tread joins the sidewall...
. Surely this is the be all & end all of dodgy tire jobs... SURELY??
This thing was holding air?
Baloo is my name. Spyders are my game. Well, it's a doo-bah-dee-doo, yes, it's a doo-bah-dee-doo, I mean a doo-bee, doo-bee, doo-bee, doo-bee, doo-bee-dee-doo. And, well, now. Ha ha! What have we here?
with Peter ...... let me add that I started putting an 87 / 90 degree metal motorcycle valve stem on the DISK brake side of the rear wheel over a decade ago ( done three so far ) to avoid this issue .... all have worked out fine ...... I wouldn't bother doing it until a normal rear tire change .... I bought mine from KurveyKurl on-line .....Mike 
Originally Posted by old Timer
