[mjustice5898]

Just checked the pressure on my tires after 300 miles of riding and the rear was down to 20#. The last time I inflated, I put 30# in the rear, so I am wondering if this amount of loss seems reasonable? I inflated to 36# which is the 2-up specification since I am a big girl. Put the bike on the center stand and rotated the rear tire to inspect it but did not see any tears/rips, embedded objects or other damage, so I plan to keep a close eye on it to see if there is a pattern. Just wondering if this is anything of concern at this point. TIA!

 

[mjustice5898]

Thanks man, I will check it asap!

 

[mjustice5898]

I just did the soapy water at the valve stem with no bubbles. Is it okay to spray window cleaner on the tire? I was afraid that would make the tire slick. I will try spraying the entire tire tomorrow. Hopefully we will have some sun to help me see better in the garage - it was raining big time this evening so visibility was not optimal.

 

[mjustice5898]

Mikey, good thought for peace of mind. I have one of the 12v DC compressors, so will start storing it onboard. When I had my 05 400, I bought one of those slime compressor kits - need to see if it made the move last summer or ended up being sold in the yard sale.

Alloo, does 42 in the rear allow enough room for expansion when the tire heats up? I thought I read someplace on the forum that a max of 36 should be used in the rear regardless of riding solo or 2-up. I put 30 in the front last night even though the underseat sticker and manual lists a lower max pressure. I might bump it up to 32 and see what impact it has on handling. Most of reading indicates it is worse to have underinflated tires than overinflated ones, but do want to make sure not to compromise grip.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[mjustice5898]

Still no luck locating a slow leak. I think I am going to go with 30 front and 36 in the rear to see if traction seems good. Of course, plan to check at least weekly to see if the level drops more than 1 psi. If a leak exists and persists, off to the shop to have it checked out.

 

[mjustice5898]

I will anxiously await your review of that TPMS. It certainly sounds impressive!

 

[mjustice5898]

Well guys, I think we have moved beyond a "slow leak" to a serious problem. I inflated the rear tire to 36 psi yesterday evening. When I checked it this morning around 10 before going out for a ride, it was down to 25.5 psi. I topped it off (back to 36) and decided to take a short ride. Hil rode her Yamaha 950 with me just to make certain I was not stuck alone on the side of the road. I also had my slime 12v inflater in the trunk just in case. We did a fairly big circle around the surrounding area totaling 50 miles in just over an hour. While I had the bike up to 70 indicated, she never felt unstable. Of course, we were mostly on a 4 lane divided highway with few serious curves, although I did lean her over pretty good on a couple of big curves. It was also fairly optimum riding conditions - dry, nice roads and a warm, sunny day. Probably would have been a different outcome in different conditions but then I also would not have ridden as hard or perhaps at all given the tire issue.

Anyway, after we got home, I knew better than to check the pressure with the tires warm - did not want to get a false high reading. I let the bike cool for around 4 hours while I did some chores and ran some errands in the cage. Went out of check a few minutes ago. I knew I was in trouble when I attached the chuck to the valve stem and heard no hissing sound of air escaping. :angry7: Before connecting the chuck, I turned on my new inflater with a digital readout and set it for 36 psi. Once I started it, the tire initially registered 0 and then slowly climbed as the inflater hummed along. Since I have not been able to locate a puncture or other source of air loss, it seems like something more than a slow leak is happening. Not sure if I need a new tire, there is an issue with the bead or perhaps something with the valve. I guess I am going to wave the white flag, cry uncle, and take it to the local shop to have it checked out. Wondering if I should order a new replacement someplace online like Motorcycle Superstore to avoid longer down time if the shop does not have the right tire in stock? That might be premature since I am not sure yet that a replacement is needed. Needless to say, I am seriously pi$$ed. After all the rain we had for 3 weeks, the sun has finally started shining again just in time for me to need work on the bike.

 

[mjustice5898]

Nothing seems to "bubble" per se. The soapy water solution is foamy (I only had liquid soap to use), but nothing occurs that looks like bubble being blown outward from the tire. Of course, since it has no air in it at all right now, there would be no air to seep out. I will refill the tire this evening and try the bubble test again. Even if I find the leak, if it is at the bead, I will have to take the shop repair it anyway. If the valve stem is the problem, would I be able to replace that with the tire on the bike? I do not have a good area for pulling the tire off at home, so this might be a shop issue too. They are closed Sundays and Mondays, so I will give them a call in the morning to describe the issue and see what they suggest.

 

[mjustice5898]

After a week of trying to isolate the issue with my rear tire, I finally raised the white flag this morning and dropped my bike off at the local Kawasaki dealer. They are a good group of folks who actually provide excellent service. Had them mount a pair of tires on my S50 a couple years back for a decent price. Being Saturday, they could not get to me today (no surprise) so I just left the bike there figuring if was not going to be ridden whether in my garage or at the shop. Considering the massive air loss I have been experiencing, am very grateful to have made the 24 mile ride safely. I expect to hear something from them Monday or Tuesday.

Just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate all the assistance. Will let you know what the issue turns out to be - hoping for something relatively minor.

 

[mjustice5898]

Update

Finally heard from the shop - a hole in the tire but no object imbedded. Not sure how I missed the hole when using the soapy water solution, but at least the issue has been confirmed and it was not the wheel. The bad news is that he ordered the tire today and does not expect it to arrive until Tuesday. This means I will not get my bike back until Wednesday at the earliest and the weather is supposed to be picture-perfect here the rest of this week and the weekend. I hate to lose the riding time, but it can't be helped. Just grateful to have gotten the bike to the shop without incident.

 

[mjustice5898]

Just heard from the shop that my bike is ready to pick up this evening. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 weeks to get a new rear tire mounted. Oh well, better late than never. On the plus side, it is going to be $156.60 total which is about 1/2 of what I expected. Figured they would put a big mark-up on the tire (I found it online for just under $100) plus another $100 for labor.

 

[mjustice5898]

Got it! The hole is in the sidewall about 1/4" diameter (best guess). I will take it over to Dave @ Dave's Cycle Werks to see if he can plug it for me.