Slow Puncture Vespa ET4
jwhitt...@gmail.com
itself is in good condition and it takes around 2 days to go down so I
am reluctant to get a new tire but does anybody know if there is
anything I can do to permanently fix it? I have put washing up liquid
around the rim and I can see where the air is escaping (small bubbles
on one side) but can this be fixed at home without having to go to a
garage?
Thanks.
paul c
It's not clear to me whether you have a puncture or a leak at the rim.
Personally, the only place I would plug is on the centre of the rear
tire (away from the shoulders) and I wouldn't plug a front at all. When
it comes to having to throw out an almost new tire, that's life but the
pain from an tire accident on the move could be far worse. Tire
condition on a two-wheeler is critical for safety, right up there with
brakes and steering, whereas a motor problem usually isn't going to risk
your life.
Also, the only plug I would use is the mushroom kind which is applied
from the inside of the tire which means the tire has to come off anyway.
In some places, it's illegal to use anything else. At one time I was
intimidated about changing tires myself but after some practice found
it's quite easy although you need a few tools, but the investment will
pay for itself after one or two tire changes.
If you haven't already, I suggest you take a close look at that rim.
The flange may be bent or possibly the tire bead was damaged after
hitting an obstacle, this is more probably if the tire was under-inflated.
It's possible the leak might be fixed by re-positioning the tire using
lots of soap, either dish soap or tire soap, but I'd guess it still
needs to come off. I've had some tires that took a month to lose half
their pressure and I didn't worry about them, but if it's going flat in
two days it's going through a lot of stress while you ride and will only
get worse which could be dangerous.
(First thing to check in general is always the valve, but I guess you
already did that. Even if you don't want to change the tire yourself,
it will likely be cheaper if you remove the wheel yourself and take it
to a shop. Of course, you'd still want a torque wrench to put the axle
nut(s) on correctly as well as muffler fasteners and so forth and unless
you have a great deal of mechanical experience you'd want a shop manual
too.)
Bike guy Joe
If you have the means, remove the wheel, break the tire bead and clean
the rim/tire bead and put it back together.
It's worth a try before you spend a small fortune to have a shop do
the same thing.
Crazy Fred
or you can try Slime.
Bike guy Joe
>
> - Show quoted text -
Slime is pretty good for off road, but it cause balance issues.
Especially when it's cold.