Reminder: Don't forget to check your tire pressures!

[ZMC888]

I'm sure like me you sometimes check your tire pressures, although recently I've discovered I've actually been neglecting my tires.

All tires lose pressure over time, some slowly others quicker depending on age and state of repair, professional race mechanics say they have seen up to 30% pressure loss even overnight.

I was previously checking my tire pressures once a week at most and once a month more often. I've found checking my tires before EVERY country ride improves handling massively. I mistakenly thought that you could feel if they were too low by kicking or squeezing them, but with most of the Cheng-Shin, Sakura and Kenda tires we mostly use on Chinese bikes the carcase is just too hard to be able to tell the difference when squeezing them between 15-32 psi.

So by regularly checking your pressures your bike has less rolling resistance so less fuel costs, you'll get a faster top speed and acceleration and much more reliable safer, and more enjoyable handling. As well as reduced wear and better wear characteristics for longer tire life.

AM-61-01.jpg

I use the above Airace cycle pump with a gauge, the Giant ones have digital gauges. They look too small for a motorcycle but they pump pretty well. Really worth 100 yuan outlay and the 3 minutes of your time before a ride. Although the gauges on handheld and floor pumps are known to be inaccurate so I might invest in a high quality gauge for increased reading accuracy.