Hi folks,

I'm losing some air from the front tyre. Goes from 2.2 to 1.5 bar overnight. There's no puncture, the valve core has been replaced so it looks like air is escaping from the rim.

My plan is to put the bike on the centre stand and get the front wheel in the air, by jacking beneath the engine with a trolley jack and wooden block and then defalte the front tyre completely. i'm hoping I can then push the tryre back enough from the rim to use a Dremmel to polish the inside of the alloy. This avoids removing the front wheel which looks like a fair bit of extra work.

Anyone tried doing this before? What sort of wheel should I use to polish - is a mild abrasive OK on the three spoke alloys?

Best regards
Dave

gee dave its only about 5 bolts ....4 to be loosened and the through bolt to be undone ...might take you all of less than a minute and nickle antisieze is your friend .
just take note of the position of all the spacers etc as you undo the assembly ...it really isnt hard at all


i wouldnt be using any abrasive at all ...maybe some thinners or similar on a cloth to clean up gunk around the bead sealing area .

if you know a good tyre professional .....take it to him for some pointers maybe ?



how old are the tyres ? some times they have a date code on them

+1, indeed.

+2 just take the wheel out, remove the tyre and wire brush the inside of the rim.

Thanks Gents,

I live a long way from any tyre pro's unfortunately!

Sounds simple enough, I've just never tried it.

Dave

Dave, I've done it a few times and I am no mechanical genius. If you haven't got the workshop manual, go to the download section and find the Clymer manual first, it has easy step by step instructions. You will need a torque wrench to tighten the bolts back up properly.
Good luck mate
Bob

Dave also check the rim for round mine had to be trued had slight oval that you could not see or feel but the tyre kept loosing pressure . Its got a tube in also at the moment and I just haven't had the inclination ( read lazy ) to take it out

Dave, as the guy's have suggested it is better with the wheel removed and once cleaned you can see if there is any bad pitting on the rim, even a local National tyre centre do bike tyres and carry the correct sealing compound to seal rim to tyre if its deamed that a sealant is required.

BIG D

Have you thought about overinflating it slightly and then spraying the tire in stages with a soapy mixture? You should identify the leaking area that way. Or once you've removed the front wheel, dipping it in a tank of water?

Thanks for the suggestions Guys, much appreciated. When I find the energy I'll have another look, Clymer manuial in hand. As its showing -6 celsius in the unheated garage, that won't be tonight!
Best
Dave

To close this one out; I overinfalted the tyre on the bike (but within the max pressure limit of the tyre), left it for 10 mins, pushed the bike backwards and forwards a few times in the garage and then let some air out to normal pressure and hey presto - it holds pressure .

Best regards
Dave

good result dave ......i would have used club c' s suggestion with a little soapy water round the bead , to wet up the sealing surfaces ...then dry out with a good seal ...a top suggestion

Congratulations with a new avatar Charlie, it looks like Felix is hiding in a dark corner
(maybe because of the strange disease).

Inge K.

Ok had em in the bath after finding it's leaking again and it needs a new valve body.
Thanks
Best
Dave

great find dave ....

I hope you took the wheel off before putting it in the bath !!

Cheers Guys!

I tell you one thing I am a past master at making simple jobs complicated

Next time I'll drive it through a river crossing wearing an aqualung.

so its ok to bath with your bike but what about sleeping with it

too funny

only whilst camping on long trips col ....giggles