Front tire losing pressue

[God]

Is it normal to lose 5-6 psi in tire pressure in about 3 rides? My tire chatter is back after the the at GP said he could not reproduce the chatter. My tire was 6psi low when it went it. That was my fault, but now it seems to be losing air. I have Dunlop 220's on front and rear.


:edit:: time frame on this is 1 week.

[QA767]

5 to 6 psi in a week is excessive

To check for leaks you can do it two ways. Mix some liquid dish soap with water and brush it all over the rim bead area, tire, valve stem, don't forget the valve stem hole. The valve core could be leaking. If there is a leak you should see bubbles comming from the leak. You can also take the wheel off of the bike and with the wheel in a vertical position, dunk it into a bathtub filled with water. Rotate the wheel slowly with a section of the wheel submerged. If there is a leak you will see a stream of bubbles from the leak.

[wsmc831]

might try replacing the valve.

[ST Guy]

The problem with leaks that are that slow, they're difficult to pick up using the bubble technique. Usually, the air leaks out so slowly that you have to watch for a long time before a bubble that's forming is big enough to break away and go to the surface. To help, put more air pressure in the tire than you usually would. 50 psi is usually OK. (Don't ride with that much, though.)

Replacing the valve core is not a bad idea. Or simply make sure the existing one is properly tightened.

Also, if you have rubber valve stems, try pushing the valve stem to one side or the other. In other words deflect it from it's normal position. Try doing this under water or with soapy water on the stem. Sometimes the stems themselves can crack, get old or become damaged and will still hold air fairly well until you bend them a bit and widen up any cracks that might be there.

Good luck! And don't ride the bike until you've found the problem. Any problem that's there could suddenly get worse and result in rapid tire deflation. Not something you want to happen at any time on a ride, especially on the freeway with tons of 4 wheelers on your tail.