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Does a tire leak more if you ride on it, or if it's stationary?

The way I read the Op it seems the question is about tires losing pressure naturally overtime, not from punctures. I don't know the answer, but it happens too slowly to matter either way it's like asking do you age faster walking or sitting down. :dunno
 
Let me clarify, if u have a small bead leak, a small puncture, or if u patched a leak but the patch is losing its luster.... like 1 to 2 psi a day sitting still.
Will the tire leak an equal amount staionary vs in motion, or more one way or the other?

It doesn't matter, in my head why it has a slow leak, the outcome would be the same if the leak was in the same location, on the tire. I mean the variables would be the location of the puncture, size of the puncture, rate of the leak and temperature, of the tire and the general weather.

Why do I ask? I have often wondered, but I had a screw in a car tire, did a quick rope patch and kept an eye on it, over say 5k miles it started to leak again, who knows why for sure.

Thot dah BARF hive mind would know.

I almost want to do an experiment now.
 
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Moto-gremlins abound.

Mystery air leaks from tires.
Battery declination.
One-sided tire wear.
R/R failures.
Chain kinks.
Engine death.
Coolant dissipation.
Turn signal rapid fire.


I swear, if it weren't for the sexual attractant of motorcycling I'd give up riding because of the effort.
 
My tires with tubes in them seem to always be losing air. When I had the KTM 990, before the current 1090R (tubeless tires), I was always having to check air pressure. The XR, of course, also has tubes. I was adding air at least once a week to one or more of my bikes.

This all helped me form the habit of regularly checking air pressure, which is a good thing. I have multiple air compressors in my garage, so it's pretty easy to top off the air pressure.

When I had motorcycles that "never lost air pressure" I was more likely to ride when the pressures were too low. Every motorcycle tire seems to lose a little bit over time. At least I've been forced to make it a habit to check tire pressures regularly. :cool
 
I had a front tube leak on the TW over the winter, I thought that my neighbors was letting air out. It would hold pressure for a week or be flat next day. I swapped out the valve core twice, but with such random leaking, nothing made sense, other than pranking.
I had to replace the tube to fix, no holes found.
 
With a screw in a car tire I have plugged that as well. But then my wife went to the tire shop to get it patched. They always suggest to get a proper patch, and they even did it for free.
 
sprorchid said:
Why do I ask? I have often wondered, but I had a screw in a car tire, did a quick rope patch and kept an eye on it, over say 5k miles it started to leak again, who knows why for sure.

Thot dah BARF hive mind would know.

I almost want to do an experiment now.
Click to expand...

I've had rope plugs hold for the rest of the life of the tire and others that got spat out after a while. It seems that if the hole is off center, on a part of the tire that receives lateral load under cornering, the carcass can deform enough to start to compromise the plug.

Last year, I tried these: https://www.stopngo.com/pocket-tire-plugger-for-all-tubeless-tires/

This is a mushroom plug that can be inserted from outside the tire. The applicator extrudes the mushroom through a small tube and when it gets inside the tire, the mushroom tip expands to its original shape and creates a mechanical stop to keep the plug from coming out. I have a tire now that was plugged last November and doesn't leak.
 
sprorchid said:
Let me clarify, if u have a small bead leak, a small puncture, or if u patched a leak but the patch is losing its luster.... like 1 to 2 psi a day sitting still.
Will the tire leak an equal amount staionary vs in motion, or more one way or the other?
Click to expand...

A moving tire leaks more than stationary because it heats up due to friction against roadway. Heated air expands increasing internal pressure. Higher pressure increases leak rate. ;)
 
RVFRick said:
A moving tire leaks more than stationary because it heats up due to friction against roadway. Heated air expands increasing internal pressure. Higher pressure increases leak rate. ;)
Click to expand...

Darn it....why didn't I think of that? I'm sure you're correct.
 
If it's a small leak, and the rubber heats up, isn't it possible it would occlude the leak, and leak less air when the tire is hot?
 
I've had tires that leaked a bit, but sealed up after I got them nice and hot.
 
Junkie said:
I've had tires that leaked a bit, but sealed up after I got them nice and hot.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this makes sense, too. Since rubber softens when warmed it would seal better against a rim improving the bead seal.

Also, rubber is an odd material in that it expands when cooled and contracts when warmed*. :orly Really! Both behaviors argue for a better bead seal when warmed. For a puncture I'm not so sure now :laughing

So can we agree that it depends on the type of leak: bead, puncture, patch?

My final answer to OP is "it depends" and "just fix it" :x

*https://youtu.be/dBXL93984cQ
 
I was at a trackday. Checked my tires before going out, rear was low. Aired it up. Went out for an easy session. Checked it, was low. Aired it up. Went out for a faster session. Repeat... and it stopped leaking, forever.

Not just a better seal when hot.
 
To add to my earlier comment, I've had a certain slow, very slow leak. But when I'd stop with the puncture downward against pavement I would hear it hiss and deflate itself pretty quickly. Upward it would barely leak.
 
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