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Old November 11th, 2010, 10:55 PM   #1
devmasa
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Rear tire losing air....any suggestions?

The rear tire on my 07 ninja is losing pressure.I filled it up to ~30 psi a week ago and today it was soft enough that I could press the tire in with my hands.
I inspected the tire but did not find any nails etc.I did however find a small cut in the rubber but it didn't seem to go deep enough to cause a puncture.
Any suggestions to find/fix the leak? or am I better off buying a new rear tire for a little more?

Edit:..I should also mention that I was riding the motorcycle for the whole week (~50 miles each day)
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Old November 11th, 2010, 11:37 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by devmasa View Post
The rear tire on my 07 ninja is losing pressure.I filled it up to ~30 psi a week ago and today it was soft enough that I could press the tire in with my hands.
I inspected the tire but did not find any nails etc.I did however find a small cut in the rubber but it didn't seem to go deep enough to cause a puncture.
Any suggestions to find/fix the leak? or am I better off buying a new rear tire for a little more?
Perhaps the valve is bad?
How about taking the wheel (or the bike) to the shop and letting them check/fix it? It takes so very little time to do so and costs almost nothing (compared to new tire).
And when you know whats happening, and depending on the overall state of the tire (how spent, how old) decide if you want to patch it or change it.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 12:14 AM   #3
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The tire is pretty much new with only 1200 miles on it.No wear on the tire at all.
I suspect it might be a leaky valve stem.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 12:17 AM   #4
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Soapy water...

Test the suspected leak site with soapy water. If you see bubble formation, you've found the leak.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 12:46 AM   #5
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Just tested the valve stem area with soap water...no new air bubbles.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 01:04 AM   #6
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then spray down the tire, a section at a time, and look for the leak.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 01:06 AM   #7
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then spray down the tire, a section at a time, and look for the leak.
Should the bike be on the center stand or sidestand ?
Do I need to apply any pressure to the tire if its on center stand?
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Old November 12th, 2010, 02:20 AM   #8
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I would fill the tire with air to about 30 psi, put the bike on the center stand and spray portions with the soapy solution. if you don't find the leak in one section, rotate the wheel a bit and spray the next section and continue until you find bubbles.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 07:25 AM   #9
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Also keep in mind that tire pressure can drop with temp changes. It is not uncommon for tire pressure to be higher when it is warm outside and low when it is cooler. The rule of thumb is for every 10° Fahrenheit change in air temperature, your tire's inflation pressure will change by about 1 psi. The difference between cold nighttime temperatures and hot daytime temperatures in most parts of the country is about 20° Fahrenheit. So depending on when you check your tire pressure and the temp, it could be between 2 and 5 psi low the following morning.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 07:31 AM   #10
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Ditto on soapy water. Why waste time trying to think where the leak is when you can just spray it and see?
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Old November 12th, 2010, 08:53 AM   #11
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Heh, I had 3? nails/screws in my rear tire and it held pressure (I was stupid riding around in a relatively new neighborhood that my buddy moved into. good luck finding that leak!
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Old November 12th, 2010, 10:28 AM   #12
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I will spray the sections of the tire as kkim suggested ...but still the leak is going to be pretty hard to detect since the tire is losing air very slowly.
I had filled the tire back to ~30-32 psi yesterday and this morning,it still isl pretty firm.
The tire will lose all pressure around 4-5 days from now.
Do you still think that the soap water test can detect such a tiny leak ?
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Old November 12th, 2010, 10:35 AM   #13
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If it's losing > 10 psi over 3 or 4 days, you can definitely find the leak with soapy water. What it comes down to is you don't have much of a choice, you gotta find it or you gotta replace the tire. Pick 1.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 10:39 AM   #14
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If it's losing > 10 psi over 3 or 4 days, you can definitely find the leak with soapy water. What it comes down to is you don't have much of a choice, you gotta find it or you gotta replace the tire. Pick 1.
True

...so how do I plug the leak when (or if) I find it ?
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Old November 12th, 2010, 10:43 AM   #15
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Depends on what you find. If it turns out to be a small nail or screw in an area that can be plugged safely, perhaps that's the right way to go. If it is the valve, replace that. If it's a small crack in the tire that is leaking for an unknown reason and can't be plugged/patched easily, it's unfortunately time for a new tire.
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Old November 12th, 2010, 03:28 PM   #16
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Quote:
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True

...so how do I plug the leak when (or if) I find it ?
Most tire manufacturers recommend only permanent repairs to be performed from the inside of the tire, using a combination patch/plug method. Repairs from the outside are considered temporary and should be repaired from the inside as soon as possible. The Tech Uni-Seal® Repair Kit has also been marketed by Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha with their own part numbers.
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Old November 13th, 2010, 04:28 AM   #17
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The problem can be the rim itself if you can't find any defects with the tire. The slightest crack or bend in the rim can cause air to leak. Check the rim especially where the tire meets the rim. Use soapy water if you must.
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Old November 13th, 2010, 05:24 PM   #18
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When you checked the valve core, did you check the valve core? Comon source for slow leeks.
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