Hello guys I have equiped my BMW R1100 Gs 1994 with Mitas E-08 110-80-19 and 150-70-17. This happened 4 months ago, since then both tires loose pressure. Has this ever happened to you with Mitas? Its my first time with this brand, so far so good, but they are loosing a lot of pressure. In 48 h they lost from 2.3 front 2.7 back down to 1.9 front and 2.2 back, with bike in garage. Even my mechanic doesnt know what to do. He said there was no perfuration on the tires, i have heard about some faulty tires loosing pressure from the sides, i wonder if the mounting wasnt the best... Thank you
Hi I suggest you try one small bottle of Stan's tire sealant in each tire. This is stuff used by mountain bike riders in their no tubes setup ... Also used by a lot of Moto riders using the tubliss system. It should quickly seal you slow leak. Good luck Scott
That is the only idea going trough my mind at this point Thank you Scott. Thing is, when i change tires again, if i choose Mitas i guess i should buy another bottle of tire sealant XD. I would not make the same mistake twice, never Mitas again
I didnt. Why do you say that? What do you recommend? I have seen some suggestions of using it in this tires here in the foruns actually
Why on earth would you say that? Please share what exactly happens when you use dish detergent to lube a tire mount.
Soap causes white corrosion growing between the tire and wheel and will commonly cause leaks, and the leaks start after 4 months or so. Not every time on every wheel obviously, but still probably the #1 cause of slow air leaks on relatively new tires.
So what do you suggest me to do? remove both tires, clean it properly and put them back in place with other lubricant? what can i use instead of dish soap?
It is probably not the tires, but likely is slowly leaking around the bead seal at the rim. If this is where the leak is, it may be slow and diffuse enough to be difficult to find (with soapy water etc.). I suggest you remove both tires, inspect the rims, clean them well, remove any corrosion etc., and re-mount the tires using tire lube. I had a similar problem with my front tire and never could locate the leak but did this and after I remounted the tire I never had any further air loss.
That is worthy of consideration! I read elsewhere that spray silicone lube is more slippery than dish soap and has no downside to either rubber or alloy. I have a can and will use it next time I have to change a tire.
I bought a small jar of tire installation wax - it smells and feels like a soft carnauba wax. I apply it to the wheel, the tire, and the tools. It has made tire changes much easier. I’ve not had any tire slippage on the wheels, and no unexplained pressure loss (ambient temperature changes account for pressure changes).
Nomar tire sells a great lube that actually aids in sealing the tire bead to the wheel. That's what I use and never have leaks.
As already mentioned up-thread: the No Mar stuff is first rate. https://www.nomartirechanger.com/Tire_Lube_Paste_1_Pint_Jar_p/sp-lube-pint.htm For removal, you put two tablespoon into a pump spray bottle with water. Spray around the tire to lube things up before wrestling the tire off. For reinstallation, you wipe some of it on the rim face and the inside of the bead surface. What's nice about using it both ways is you can hand-apply it exactly where you want it on installation, without overspraying the whole wheel and inside of the tire.
Back when I always had a shop install tires, I thought a similar rate of pressure loss was just normal. When I started changing tires myself, I always took the time to clean the wheels and make sure the bead seating surfaces were clean and smooth. And so my motorcycle tires lose pressure far more slowly. Time is money, and shops NEVER take the time to clean the wheels properly. Or worse, they use something destructive like a wire brush in a drill. And as noted above, dish detergent is highly corrosive, and can cause pitting in aluminum and rust in steel. Proper tire mounting lubricants are usually simple soap solutions, not detergents, with anti-corrosion ingredients.
FWIW I worked in a car dealership a few years back. A customer bought a set of chromed wheels for his Porsche, and the dealer installed his tires on the new chromed wheels. The "technician" that swapped the tires on the wheels used silicone spray to mount the tires. A few days later the customer came back with a vibration, traced to tires out of balance. re-balanced the tires and sent him off... he returned a few days later with the same problem. After a bit more investigation it was discovered the tires were spinning on the rims under hard braking due to the silicone lubricant used to mount the tires. After everything was cleaned up and the proper lubricant was used the customer had no more problems with tire balance. Now this may never occur on a motorcycle, but depending on rim construction and finish is it worth taking a chance ?
Good to know! FWIW, have changed tires several times with disg detergent and have seen no corrosion on the rims...
