Tire woes

Hey guys.

As it turns out, my rear tire went flat. So flat, that I'm having trouble inflating it.

Im hooking up an air line to the stem and pumping, but its not inflating because air is escaping out the bead. Any tricks to remedy this? Thanks!

John

 

Either try lifting some of the weight off the rear wheel, or use a CO2 system to fill it up.

The CO2 fills so much faster than air systems, so all the air that goes into it does not escape through the hole.

Good luck!

 

Removing the valve stem will let the air get in faster.

Tightening a ratchet strap around the circumference of the tire can help get the beads to seal.

I just remounted my front tire and had to do both. I also applied some profanity.

Remember to apply a bit of soapy water to the beads to help them seat.

 

You probably need to dismount the tire and burnish the inside of the rim with a ScotchBrite Pad to get rid of Alumi-oxidation build-up preventing an air-tight seal

I have a home-made tool for this. Yogurt Cup sized circles of ScotchBrite Pad mounted on a Buffing Wheel gig for a Drill Bit.

I just Scotchbrite the inside of the rim where the Bead of the Tire presses and take the oxidation right off down to where the Rim is shining again.

That treatment will bring back the air-tight surface you need to combat slow leaks ... otherwise ... "It's Tube Time!!

http://autos.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ ... w/49bc?b=1
Before

http://autos.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ ... =2&m=s&o=0
After

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

I fiddled with it for HOURS. I got a ratchet strap and it did a great job of sealing the bead, but, still no inflation. I finally just decided (with lots of teeth grinding) to take the rear wheel off and bring it to a shop.

As expected, they wouldn't put on my old tire, so I bought a new one (Meh, why not.) Upon getting it back, they said the problem was that there was no tube, and its a tube-type wheel. I thought I read in the manual somewhere that you could use either for the Seca 550 wheels. Guess not?

Oh well. Fresh meats on both front and back, wont complain with that.

 

You were correct.

Don't go back to that shop. They're either crooked or don't know what they are doing.

 

Guess they didn't want to take the time to scrub-off that rim; either!

That's all you had to do to go tubeless. Clean-up the inside so the Bead makes firm contact all the way 'round on both surfaces.

 

Rick's right, and it's a common problem with both bikes AND cars with aluminum wheels. There's nothing more frustrating than blowing $500 on a new set of skids, to find out that most if not all leak, due to a lazy tire jockey who preferred not to clean off the wheel beforehand.

 

A lot of early cast wheels weren't tubeless although people fitted tubeless tyres to them, if it isn't marked tubeless on the wheel then it isn't

Also tubeless wheels normally have a "safety hump" where the bead seats to make it harder for the tyres to pop of the rim if they deflate

I've checked my factory manual and it makes no mention of being tubeless and the wheels aren't marked tubeless either, although we have different wheels than the US market model

 

Agree with Kickaha, here in the uk we have tubed version at least on the 650 and it will have the safety hump if its tubeless. Also if you have a good look at the wheel it should be stamped Tubed or Tubeless.