Emergency Motorcycle Tire Inflation Methods Compared | The Shop Manual
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There are plenty of tried-and-true options for plugging a punctured tire or patching a tube, but what about filling the tire with air after the repair? Which roadside tire-inflation method is the best? In this episode of The Shop Manual, Ari assesses the price, speed, and convenience of options like CO2, a motorized inflator, bicycle pump, and more.
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Got the idea from HSLS didn't you?
You should consider stocking 45g / 1.6oz co2 cartridges.
@@Paradox1A9B2w7CO2 cartridge is steel, genius... But still recyclable.
@@1zanglang @Paradox1A9B2w7 Yes, the cartridges are recycleable, plus they are very infrequently used, so not so much waste.
Good on ya for including the obvious real life solution, the hand pump.
Seen a ton of these comparisons and most leave it out but they include a bunch of weird gizmos that can run out of battery/cartridges. If I run out of arms I've got bigger problems than a flat
My arms don't exactly look like Ari's arms, but can I buy those at Revzilla?
If you run out of 12V on your bike you're not going very far very fast either. You realize you use that pump with the motor on...riiiight?
@@aluisious Hand pump is more about reliability and ruggedness of the tool. On a BDR, that's what I like to rely on, but I understand the appeal of a small 12V pump too.
@@aluisious If I run out of 12V on the bike I can bump start it.
@@SoybeanAK And if you can bump start it then you can run the pump
Another tool that sometimes gets missed for dealing with punctures is needle nose pliers. If you need to extract a nail or sunken screw or other piece of debris, they’re invaluable to get the debris out so you can plug the tire, but not often included in a basic manufacturers tool roll.
Great comment! Needle noses or the long-nosed vise grips are very useful in a roadside tool kit!!
I just carry a leatherman multitool which has plilers
There a kit on Amazon that comes with pliers co2 cartridges and plugs saved my rear tire twice 😀
The dynaplug inflator is hands down my favorite. I carry it with some basic tools and rope plugs under my gsxr rear seat. And I’m always the friend who can keep everyone’s ride going. Thanks Ari for inspiring me to be “that fix it guy”!
I patched and inflated one dude's tire at a popular roadstop for bikes. If you ever want to see someone really, really happy, fix their tire.
How long do they last without use/standby? Thanks
@@nabahmadi5012 the lithium battery ones? months generally, as long as your not freezing them. While they'll gradually lose charge, you're more looking at losing like 10% per month, and a half charged one can still get a usable amount of power. Also, if you've got a USB port on your bike (they're so easy to get, either directly wired or the ones you pop into a 12v socket/SAE plug) then you can charge them on the roadside if you've forgotten about it for a year+ or need to inflate a wheel many times (say you lack supplies to patch it perfectly)
I don't need to bring anything to fix my bike, I just need to ride with that dude that brings everything :D
I've carried a Lithium jump-starter in my car for years. It's gotten me un-stranded twice. It's also rescued two friends, a neighbor, and a couple of strangers. It's a nice feeling to be able to help someone out when they really need it.
Then there was my co-worker who kept it and used it daily for two weeks, because he was too cheap to buy a damned battery. No, not poor (software engineer)-just a cheap bastard who significantly undervalued his own time. Eventually he succumbed to the mockery of his peers and replaced the battery. 😆
I'm ancient enough to remember a pump that you screwed into the cylinder head, replacing one of the spark plugs, and you cranked the engine to pump the air. And no, you didn't get combustion gasses in your tire; it indirectly did the pumping. There were horror stories of the steel ball that hammered up and down in the fitting dropping into the combustion chamber though.
The last thing you need after a flat. Sounds wicked though!
Bacon strip plus hand pump is a must. Fancy as battery operated ones are, sometimes they stop working the very moment you need them the most.
True, hand pump is the OG.
Ari, some 40 years ago, my father and I took a 5,000 cross country trip - he on a Gold Wing 1000 and me on a CX500 - he picked up a piece of safety chain that was ground down to a "J" shape which put a sizable hole in his rear tire. After removing the piece of chain and plugging the tire, he used a device that would screw into one of the spark plug holes (as you know, easily accessed on a Gold Wing) and ran the engine on 3 cylinders until the tire was inflated. Not sure what it was called, and while it only will work with engines with exposed heads, but it sure was slick.
It's worth noting that they do 25g co2 cartridges (which i noticed that you have on your your link). They are common and can be found at most bicycle shops. You would need less cartridges, although they cost slightly more. There are also 38g cartridges, but they aren't that common.
It's also worth noting that with bicycle pumps, they come in 2 types - high volume or high pressure. Make sure that you buy a high volume pump. They are designed for mountain bike tyres that have bigger volume but need lower pressure. The high pressure pumps are for road bikes that run up around 100psi but much lower volume of air, so they have skinnier barrels to allow higher compression but move less air. The time it takes to pump up a big tyre with the 2 different pumps is noticeably different. Oh and some pumps also have the ability to act as a co2 inflator as well.
You can get them with even more volume, i.e. for Lifevests, with up to 60g (or more), although you then need to check if you dont get too much pressure
Also, if you go with CO2, the freezing issue isn't as bad if you dump it in as liquid, so with the threaded part facing down.
Do you know a good high volume air pump? One that can be held with your food while pumping would be awesome
My favorite mini hand pump for moto and bicycle is the Topeak turbo morph digital. It has a small hose, digital readout, and foot pad for pumping standing up. I find it much easier to pump than a regular mini pump.
The foot stand thing is great. Before we had CO2 for road bicycles you would allays be looking for the rider with one of those Topeaks - much easier and quicker than the micro pumps - and that was 120psi 23mm tyres at the time. Definitely need the higher volume MTB pump for motorcycle tyres
For me it's either the 12V or the handpump, and leaning mostly towards the hand pump. You can set it and forget it, but when you need it it'll be there and it will get the job done. The 12v is a great alternative, especially for group trips where you only need to carry one for the whole group, and can also be useful for use with a car or camping equipment etc.
I’ve got that same Lexin, can’t recommend it enough. It’s bullet proof, portable, low maintenance and works like a charm every time.
Would be good is they could combine the Lexin with those portable jump starters then you'll have a very useful backup tool.
OK, it's not cheap, but I went through a bunch of cheap mini-compressors for several years until I decided NO MORE.
Bought a CyclePump from Best Rest products and I've never needed anything else. Thing has lasted me over 20 years now and has been used many many times. Usually to pump up another rider's tire after I fixed it. It packs fairly small in the included pouch - smaller than my tool roll. While it comes with a lifetime warranty, I doubt I'll ever need it because it's just built like a tank. All metal and high quality parts.
One of the best modifications I made to my bike was to install a 15amp rated SAE pigtail to the battery. Not only does this allow me to quickly attach my BatteryMinder maintainer for winter storage, but my heated gear connects to this and my CyclePump.
Yes, this is expensive at $160. But how many things do you buy for your motorcycle that cost far more than that and don't last? Tires, Helmet, etc... This is the LAST pump you'll ever buy. It just works.
+1 Motorcycle trips are expensive too. It would suck to scrap one over a flat tire and a failed compressor.
I carry a 12V inflator. It has no battery to deteriorate over time or catch fire and is dead simple. And my current one is 30 years old and still going strong. It is the way to go for me on a large touring bike with big tires that would take a lot of CO2 cartridges or 10-15 minutes with a bike pump.
Yet another awesome video from Revzilla and The Shop manual; you guys never disappoint. A Fanttik lithium powered inflator and a Dynaplug plug kit saved my ass when I found the front tire on my R3 flat at work one day. I was able to plug it, fill it, and limp back home to switch bikes during my lunch break. Tubed tires are cool, but if you commute just about everyday on a bike I feel that tubeless is the way to go for this ^^ very reason. My new bike is a V-Strom 650- tubeless tires, but still capable of taking the embankment if the zombies come during your commute. 😙
Brilliant video, was happy to see the old school hand bicycle pump!
Thank you so much for sharing this xo
I have experience with battery pumps, and that exact type of hand pump. The handpump lives in my sidebag, and is my emergency option. If i'm going on a long trip, with a lot of miles planned, I'll toss the battery pump in a sidebag, because the likelihood that i'll have leak that i'll need to top off the tire repeatedly goes up, and the battery pump is nice to have.
The scavenger hose is a cool idea, you could get someone to help you and you could scavenge air out of their spare tire for example. That way you don't drop the pressure from one of their running tires, and they can re-inflate their spare later. It does require the assistance of someone else though, because stealing air out of the non flat moto tire makes it dangerously low as well, not helping your situation.
Your content is why I keep watching, so I think you are doing everything right and want to see future episodes
What a complete and helpful video, man! Thanks!
12v compressor for the win
Thanks for all the Great content
All we need is more shop manual and more On Two Wheels or whatever it's called now. More Zack and Ari shenanigans, and if ur taking requests. Bring back the dreads!? Hahaha NO, but more On two wheels!
I carry a CO2 inflator and at least three 16g cartridges inside of my plug kit. The plug kit came in a very convenient zippered pouch, and there is just enough extra space under the seat of my Versys to have it in there behind the OEM tool kit. That way, on the side of the road I always have a small set of tools, and a way to plug and fill my tires.
You should follow up with methods of reseating the tire in the field, as that is by far the bigger challenge. The thing I don't like about the Lexin is that you cannot replace the batteries easily.
How is your tire coming unseated on the road?
This! My bike runs on tubed tires, so to replace a flat you have to remove the whole tire from the rim. I chose a 12V inflator for that reason, repeatable inflation in case I need a few attempts to reseat the bead.
@@aluisiousIf you get a flat and loose air pressure, it's not entirely unlikely that it'll pop off of the bead.
My favorite show from the channel
Great video thanks guys. I'd be interested to know what options are capable of seating 180/55/17 tubed tyre.
I prefer to carry 2-3 CO2 canisters (w/ mini-inflator) and a mini bike pump. It's a small package and provides redundancy in the unlikely event that I get a flat (have never had one in 40,000 kms of on and off road riding). One tip - look for some of the higher end bicycle CO2 inflators and pumps - a little more pricey but very compact and lightweight.
I'm using a leg powered bicycle pump. Yeah it's a little bigger but I only need gravity instead muscles.
Great video! For years, I carried a foot pump. It was cheap ($10-20), available at any major retail store, and works way better than a hand pump. Plus they always have a gauge. It was obviously a little bulkier than a hand pump, but it was way faster and easier. Last year, I switched to the battery-operated inflator because of the speed and multi-use options. I keep it along with some basic tools in a small bag that I switch from the bike to the car with relative ease.
I have a bike pump under the seat and It is a Lezyne mini pump. There are usually two types of pumps, high volume or high pressure. I purchased the high volume model to make it a bit quicker to fill.
REI sells the Cannondale mini hand pump that can also take CO2 cartridges for anyone interested. If you're going to carry a hand pump why not throw in a few tanks and have both methods in one
Thanks
I wonder if the compressor from that lexin battery thing can be found separately. Looks like that way you’ll get a quieter pump, as well as possibly in a smaller package too.
There are now High Volume hand pumps made for mountain fat bikes and I use one of those for the completely manual backup method.
I just picked up a battery powered inflator like that, but its dual powered and it was only $39. The one I got is a 3 cell with 12v input for when the battery is kaput. It looks very similar to the unit you have. I tried it out and it took my front tire from 18psi to 33psi in a minute or 2, and my rear tire from 33 to 36psi in 20 or 30s. It took about 30min to recharge to full after that.
I like the lexin. When not in the bike, it rides in my truck. It takes a lil time but still has no problem topping off my truck tires when needed.
Lexin for me. Thx for the awesome advice. Ordering on Amazon immediately and pretending to be surprised on Christmas morning
I have the hand pump always with me (at least on the GS)... plus the 12v one in the proper flat tire kit (which i have extensively modified) and i have used it once just to top up the front tire... but as always... when i was on the Kawasaki with nothing of the before mentioned things with me... i got a leaking front tire valve... obviously....
Ari always comes with the best advices.
I'm leaning towards the 12v. The LiPack version is cool, but the price tag seems like a luxury rather than a "must have".
Big fan of the battery powered pump. I carry one in my saddlebags and have used it to not only top off my bike but fully inflate a heavy duty truck tire from flat. I also used it to inflate all 4 tires on a late model mustang when we pulled it out of storage. The light and phone charger is a bonus. I also like the fact it inflates to the pressure you set so I can top off a tire while checking fluids and I don't have to babysit it.
The Lexin would be my choice for a long trip or long day ride, LOL I also have the dyna plug pump I like their plug system so I go the whole kit, and I carry co2 cartridges on my bicycle and I keep a small hand pump in my backpack.
I use the Fanttik portable pump which is USB rechargeable, has a screen to tell you your current psi, easy to adjust and is quick
I got a Xiaomi self contained compressor brick in my tankbag with my road tools and being a cheap douche, i haven't replaced my leaky front tyre yet. Its been used every day for this season and honestly? It runs great. I set it to pump while i get the locks off and strap in, and it usually finished when i am done prepping.
Exactly what I was looking for. Planning to tour and need to make a small travel kit
Right on, I hope you find the video helpful!
Dynaplug plugs are also great for MC use if you have tubeless tires.
I carry the same hand pump on my trail bike but off road pressures aren't as big an issue than on the road bike, for that my puncture repair kit has CO2 cannisters and if I'm close to home, I call my wife to come out in the car which has a 12v air pump. Keeping my options open.
The scavenge hose is great for filling from a passer by's pickup truck; it's only a drop in the bucket with such a big volume of tire.
Interesting timing, just bought the Lexin early this week. After watching this video I'm still confident I chose the right pick.
I use a battery style pump for my bike and it has worked very well. I have a charging plug on my bike so I can charge the pump if needed.
Aftermore than one instance on the road where CO2 cartridges werenot sufficient, I went to 12V inflater...specifically one that plugs into the SAE connector I installon all my bikes.
It has gotten a workout but by the inverse of Murphy's Law, never on my motorcycle in about 50K miles since I made the switch. Has helped three other motorcycles get back on the road and one stranded motorist (4 gummi plugs to get that tire plugged enough to get to a town...or even cell service).
I got a square AA pump with a gauge and light on it. It's only like 12cm by 12cm, half the size of the puncture kit. Works amazing. Tried to inflate the tyre to 42psi and it melted, so I wouldn't go over low 30ish.
Thanks so much Ari, another great one! Quick question, I suppose all these are good for tubed tyres, what about TL? eg when the bead was "broken"?
I carry a slime brand inflator on street trips. On dual sport or dirt rides I think the co2 option will be my go to.
I’ve had to use mine
I bought a kit with 5 CO2 cartridges plugs and pliers and everything you need to plug a tire and it saved my rear tire twice. 4k miles and still holding
Love it !
Rocky Creek for me for years. I'm stranded anyway if I don't have 12V, and it's easy to wire a port for the pump.
I'm glad I have the #1 choice I paid $55 for mine from an electric bike company. It's a really nice, custom red colored one Efficient.
The Lexin moto p5 pump is a life saver!!!
I have the Bosch and the Xiaomi battery pump! the Xiaomi is like 30usd and its the best i had to test
I love my dynaplug but I'd love it even MORE to have a second set but it's been unavailable for over a year everywhere😿‼️
Matched with MICRO-START SPORT! My preferred selection plus I can help someone out with a air or a jump.
I've been on bicycles for about 20 years, and I'm partial to the hand pump; followed by a trip to a gas station for a speedy top off/pressure correction.
Nowadays there are plenty of tyre compressors that both have a rechargeable battery and can be connected to a 12V supply on the bike. I took one with me on a tour of Ireland from my Zero DSR (which has a bigger battery than most ICE bikes). It goes by the name of AUTDER by ICARMAINT but there are plenty of similar mini compressors fitted in to small tubes.
I use a Topeak Mountain Morph hand pump, which has a little foot pedestal and pushes a bit more volume than the pump in the video. Not a fan of disposable cartridges or depending on any battery power in an emergency situation.
I use the MicroStart Inflator. Has worked perfectly for the past 1.5 years to re-inflate our tires, after airing down for off-roading.
always have to send out the Stompump reminder for non-electric options . . . way way more realistic than a hand pump for the larger volume of motorcycle tires
I carry a Stop & Go RCP Mini-Air Compressor 12V DC inflator (4" x 6" x 2"). It was about the smallest I could find, definitely an emergency use item, not for general inflation. It only costs ~$25, includes case, and plugs into either a 12v cigarette lighter outlet, a Battery Tender SAE quick-disconnect if you have one wired to your battery, or directly to your battery via a pair of alligator clips. I carry it in a small bag with a bacon-strip type patch kit (with added razor blade for cutting away the excess) and a kickstand pad.
It's not for "general inflation" but have you actually tested that it works?
Well I learnt it the hard way.
Did all the checks the night before my ride and started early the next morning.
Within half an hour of my ride my rear tyre was flat.
It was too early and no shops were open.
Looks like when i filled my tyre last night the valve somehow got loose and it ended up draining the air and there was no puncture.
If I had a small compressor I would have continued I stead of waiting for 2 hrs for the shop to open.
In my experience, if you go co2 its best to bring a scavenge hose too. Just because while co2 is great *usually*, if anything goes wrong (oops, you had two holes, or you didnt plug well enough) and the first fill is lost, you're screwed. The wcavenge hose adds no appreciable bulk or weight, so between the two you know you can reseat a bead or grab air from other riders or a car in a pinch
I have definitely patched a tire just to realize oops, it needed another rope. Fortunately I had the 12V inflator and inflated it twice. I carry the CO2 canisters as a last ditch method under my bike seat if I leave my top box o stuff home but they are not preferred.
I keep a scavenge hose under the seat anyways because you never know when you need to siphon some gas.
I use a 12v Taiwan brand Coido that I bring anywhere. The lifepo4 inflator is the most popular for those riders in the Philippines traveling long distances.
Hand pump is the bet way to go on long trip ! Never runs out of power...
The scavenge hose never demonstrated getting the flat up to 30 psi.
I'm thinking some kind of scavenge hose/hand pump hybrid might be the way to go. Most of what makes a hand pump a pain in the ass is the contortions and awkward ergonomics you that you have to put yourself in to operate it. Having a length of stand-off hose could help a lot. If that same hose could be used to jump off of another tire, that would be a very useful combo to have.
Ari. I love the Baja simulator. You should pad it a little so it's more like a real ride
I've had a 12V inflator blow out on me (thankfully in my driveway and not on the trail.) I think I'll take the hose as a backup.
I carry a Bosch easy-pump. Never let me down. Although it’s a bit bulky.
A bit? That is way bulky, my friend. Looks great if you have room for it.
Will they all work for seating the bead?
Go for the hand pump!
I bought a battery powered inflator like the lexin but looks more like a speed gun 😂 off of TEMU! Had it for about 7 months now and its all i use, my old 12v one never gets used because the battery powered one is so much more convenient and blows my tyres up in less than 30 secs (admittedly not from flat), but couldnt reccomend them enough! Especially for the 20 of so quid it cost me 👍
I look forward with anticipation to seeing more of your rigorously scientific long-term damage proxy quick-test method 😁
Bought a CyclePump 12V inflator in 2010 and still use it till this day. Not cheap but worth every penny...
I made one that looks a lot like that, about 20 years ago. It had room to store plugs and tools inside. I don't know what ever happened to it.
I bought trh xiaomi battery and it's far better for quiet efficiency and multiple refills versus say the canister or hand pump or bleed tube. Yeah it's chunky heavy but being able to fill deflate and refill for softer tires off road is a big plus.
Did y'all do a plug in pump comparison, maybe comparing it with that battery pack. I carried one for years and only used it once. Last year I finally upgraded to newer technology. Same with the plugs. I had the mushroom plugs & gun first. When it was new, it was awesome BUT the mushrooms seemed to degrade quickly. I've since switched to the worms with heavy duty tools.
These prices are crazy though
I have an electric inflator similar to the Lexin that cost me the equivalent of about 50$ and bicycle hand pump should cost no more than 10$
Also, the co2 might be cheap, but one uses add up. I'd rather go for something with multiple uses.
Are there any combo jump-starter/tire-inflator units that are a reasonable size & weight to carry on a bike? I have one for my car and it's fantastic. On the bike I carry a jump-starter and a Dynaplug inflator, but would be nifty to combine the two. Ideally I'd be able to charge or run it off the bike, too. Anyone know of such a product?
Been using CO2 cartridges on mountain bikes, gravel bikes and road bike - in fact, used two on a gravel bike puncture this morning. They are great, but if your bacon strip repair fails (yes, there is a very petite bacon strip tool kit for bicycles) and you have wasted a CO2 canister then you might lack the CO2 to get moving. They are more reliable when you are putting a new tube in to the tyre - in the case of my bicycles, a tube in to a tubeless tyre - it that will probably not be the solution for road motorbikes. So while my current approach is a bacon strip kit and C02 canisters (always carry a couple of extras), seems to me the better approach is a decent high volume mini pump- there are a few out there that work like a mini track pump so you pump using more than your arms.
I’ve got a Rechargeable inflator and it doesn’t get much easier.
Also means I can check and keep my tyres at the right pressure every week
I got the older Lexin for $30. Works fine.
Long ago (late 80's? '90s latest), I had bought a cheap Campbell Hausfeld plug in the cig lighter as an edc for my car.
Then after years of non-use, I opened the case, pulled the motor and air pump out (it had no gauge) and put the works into a cobbled together box with the head and hose out of the case, the switch mounted in an added bit of a same mil-spec case, with the hose and wires just wrapped around the works. Fits nicely under the seat of my ST1100, and has seen more use for others, than it has for me, though I have had need for it (repairing a tire in Ranger Texas one hot August Sunday, especially) and considering I never got around to giving the motor cooling holes in the case, has worked a lot and long years. The last big use was inflating a spacesaver spare for an old couple who had a blowout, and when I got their spare on it was low too. Took a bit, but got them on their way to the VA for his appointment.
Last year, the plug broke, so I wired in the twin plug the battery maintainer uses.
I made one of those too. I saw it on a forum in the early aughts.
Im running a motopressor smart pump mini for most trips and if I do anything massive I'll take an old motopressor 12v pocket pump.
I think something worth noting is that the size of the tire matters. On a scooter I used CO2 cartridges because it takes way less of them to fill the small tires.
The problem not addressed in the video with the scavenger tube or CO2 cartridges is a plugged tire that still leaks. It's more common than most of us think and if you're only running 12 pounds in your plugged tire you have an even better chance of working that plug out. With the hand or electric pumps, you can continue to top up your tire until you can get home or to the shop. Once you've used the CO2 cartridges or scavenger setup, you're done...
Also, a flat tire is the single most debilitating yet roadside fixable problem one could have... If you're not carrying a kit, you're asking for a tow home.
Lithium battery operated tyre inflators like the lexin pump used here is very useful till the battery is dead. I used a similar Xiomi/Mi pump for 2 years and had to throw it away just because there is no after sales support. No battery replacement either. every other component was okay. But in the end, its pretty much useless. Hence invest wisely after checking with the manufacturer for after sales service/support
Can the c02 set the bid of the tyre ?
i grabbed a cheap 12v compressor from autopart store, peel off the plastics and added a carabiner to hold it when working, and voila! cheaper than a hand pump, survive 5 years so far and still works fine.
Ari is awesome.
How about one that will work on air valves with small clearances, like on rear tires of shaft-driven bikes?
Hi ! Would like to suggest make a maintenance check for bent fork tubes and repair if one to experience it. I recently brought a bike from Yamaha Dealer a small 150cc scooter (Nmax) and not even a year after skidded due to rain with it's stock tyres somehow my mechanic showed that i have a bent fork and was suggested to fix it with fork pressing. Basically just straighten the bent fork. Love to hear anyone feedback on this or if experienced same issue like me 😅
A note on bike pumps. They come in high volume and high pressure models. The high pressure models are designed to put over 100 psi into very skinny road tires and the high volume are designed to move a lot of air into fatter mountain bike tires. You 100% want a high volume pump for your motorcycle tires.
I have a bicycle pump that does both options. It has 2 pistons that fit inside each other and you can lock the bigger one to get high pressure low volume