Wilsons Sandbox

I have found that the fittings for putting the air into the schraeder valve (air chuck?) do not compress the valve enough to allow free flow. This is often the case when the tube/tire is very low on air pressure and not providing enough resistance to compress the valve. Putting a small pair if vice grips on the valve stem to hold it in position to keep it from sinking into the tire provides sufficient support to put pressure on the valve. If you have good air flow using different fittings, it could be bad air chucks. Don. Mike McC wrote: Though this is somewhat off topic I blame this group for this particular problem I m having. You all have convinced me to change my own tires and be more self sufficient in all aspects of keeping my 05 KLR running right, so I m hoping you might have some answers. It s the least you can do after all the trouble I've gone through adjusting valves, changing oil, breaking down tires. In addition to the HF tire changer, I bought a Sears electric compressor. It s a small one (15310) that s has 1.5 HP,pressure of 125lbs, with a 3 gallon tank. It barely inflates the tires. I thought it might be the inflator chuck so I got another one from Kragen Auto and it didn t help. The compressor seems to work fine when I use the blower chuck, it goes to 120lbs, shuts off, and will turn back on as it get down below 80 lbs. There also seems to be plenty of air pressure with the blower, the regulator regulates the amount of air from a weak stream to a much stronger stream, but it takes forever to inflate a tire. It does this on all four of my motorcycle tires (the KLR and the HD), three with metal valves and one with rubber. It does this with either of the inflator chucks. The air barely goes into the tire (you can hear a weak hiss) and sometimes it completely stops. No amount of jiggling or adjusting the chuck has any effect. Have I bought an anemic compressor, am I doing something wrong, or is it defective? Any ideas would be appreciated. TAI, Mike PS I'm on digest mode so I may not respond immediately. The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. Mike McCourt Fremont, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Don, It kinda sounds like what you are describing about the Schrader valve core not being compressed enough, though it has this "problem" on either air chuck I use. I did have some time to fool around with it today. I Let the air out of one of the tires and it seems to work OK filling the tire back up. I'm guessing my expectation was a big whoosh of air like you get at a gas station and the tire adding 3 or 4 lbs in a couple of seconds. It seems to be working although slowly and quietly. Mike --- Don S wrote:

> I have found that the fittings for putting the air > into the schraeder valve (air chuck?) do not > compress the valve enough to allow free flow. This > is often the case when the tube/tire is very low on > air pressure and not providing enough resistance to > compress the valve. Putting a small pair if vice > grips on the valve stem to hold it in position to > keep it from sinking into the tire provides > sufficient support to put pressure on the valve. If > you have good air flow using different fittings, it > could be bad air chucks. > > Don. >

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. Mike McCourt Fremont, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

>Re: NKLR tire compressor >Posted by: "ggranger" ggranger@... >mrsixtysix >Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:44 am (PST) >As Jeff said make sure the second gauge (reglated >pressure) is at least 100 >psi when the tank guage is 125psi. I set mine to be >tank pressure unless I >need it lower for some reason. Even with the >compressor off, 3 gallons of >air at 125 psi should blow up any bike tire rather

quickly.

>You may also want to go up a size on the hose they >supply, usuallly the smallest possible hose is >provided. This will get you more volume of air. >Gary

I think the hose idea might help. All indications are that the compressor itself is working ok but the air chuck to fill the tire seems to be the problem. A bigger hose might help and I'll definitely keep the pressure to the maximum on the regulator. Maybe I was expecting a more $250 compressor performance from a $100 compressor. Though that expectation sure works for the KLR! Mike The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. Mike McCourt Fremont, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

It sounds like it might be what you are describing about the Schrader valve core not being compressed enough,though it has this "problem" on either air chuck I use. I did have some time to fool around with it today. I Let the air out of one of the tires and it seems to work OK filling the tire back up. I'm guessing my expectation was a big whoosh of air like you get at a gas station and the tire adding 3 or 4 lbs in a couple of seconds. It seems to be working although slowly and quietly. Mike --- Don S wrote:

> I have found that the fittings for putting the air > into the schraeder valve (air chuck?) do not > compress the valve enough to allow free flow. This > is often the case when the tube/tire is very low on > air pressure and not providing enough resistance to > compress the valve. Putting a small pair if vice > grips on the valve stem to hold it in position to > keep it from sinking into the tire provides > sufficient support to put pressure on the valve. If > you have good air flow using different fittings, it > could be bad air chucks. > > Don

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. Mike McCourt Fremont, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

I hope this gets to the group alright. I'm having some trouble figuring how to reply to individual posts when they are embedded in a digest.

>Re: NKLR tire compressor >Posted by: "ggranger" ggranger@... >mrsixtysix >Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:44 am (PST) >As Jeff said make sure the second gauge (reglated >pressure) is at least 100 >psi when the tank guage is 125psi. I set mine to be >tank pressure unless I >need it lower for some reason. Even with the >compressor off, 3 gallons of >air at 125 psi should blow up any bike tire rather

quickly.

>You may also want to go up a size on the hose they >supply, usuallly the smallest possible hose is >provided. This will get you more volume of air. >Gary

I think the getting a bigger hose idea might help. All indications are that the compressor itself is working ok but the air chuck to fill the tire seems to be the problem. A bigger hose might help and I'll definitely keep the pressure to the maximum on the regulator. Maybe I was expecting a more $250 compressor performance from a $100 compressor. Though that expectation sure works for the KLR! Mike The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. Mike McCourt Fremont, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

On 7/16/06 2:19 AM, "Carlos A Sanchez" wrote:

> After a fall, the front wheel ended up facing about 15 degrees to the > left when the handle bars are straight. Otherwise, the bike rides > fine. No wheel wobble or anything. > Can anybody help me correct this? I am new to the bike and don't want > to mess something up. > Thanks >

Not elegant but has worked for me every time: Grab the handlebars and kick the wheel in the direction you want it to go till it's where you want it to be. Bogdan