Tire Question

#1
Since putting the new tires on my Doodle Bug, the rear tire keeps going flat on me. I can't figure out why, so am thinking about putting some tire sealant in it. Question is do you guys recommend using tire sealant on a mini bike? Valve stem is tight, nothing in the tire and the beads LOOK good. I can't figure it out. BTW, I took the Generac off because I couldn't solve the throttle issue and put the 3hp back on it. It runs great and pulls my 200 pounds around the hood fast enough. If I burn out the clutch, I'll put a new one on it.
 
#2
I don't like/use tire sealant. One reason being that it eats wheels (both steel and aluminum), another being the mess when you need to remove the tire.

Put water and a bit of dish soap in a spray bottle, shake to mix. Inflate the tire and spray with the soap solution, watch for bubbles. Spray the valve stem, bead area, everywhere. You may only need a new valve stem, it happens. You may have a small puncture. You may have a bead leak.

I have a HF hand truck and every time I needed to use it, the tires would be flat. The tire beads were such a loose fit on the wheels that it wasn't difficult to figure out that was the problem. Without removing the tires, I applied RTV silicone to the bead area of the wheels as quickly as I could then inflated the tires. I pushed the tire to one side to access the wheel, did one side, repeated on the other side. The tires have held air ever since. I used the black, oil resistant, Permatex RTV because it's what I had on hand but any RTV silicone probably would have done the job. I've also used RTV to seal the beads on lawn tractor tires in the past.
 
#4
Thanks, Charles. Great idea. I have a barely used tube of black Prematex RTV on my work bench. I'll try that. I don't have the money for tubes, massacre. I spent it all traveling last week for my Minister's meeting in Wismer, Louisiana. Spent a week there in meetings and working on our church auditorium. They love the way I paint.
 
#5
Being it's a DB, I assumed they're tubeless tires. I would use a tube only as a last, desperate, resort. That's because I hate tubes. The only thing(s) I have tube-type tires on are bicycles, only because going tubeless on a bicycle requires special (expensive) rims and tires. I don''t have a vintage minibike so I don't have any two-piece wheels that would require tubes (if I did, I'd probably replace them :eek:) My motorcycle, minibikes, lawn tractor, even the hand truck, are all tubeless.

So, why do I hate tubes? The main reason is that a tubeless tire will likely leak down in a situation where a tube-type would likely blow out. A hiss is much better than a bang. With most vehicles, you can feel a tire getting soft before the tire is flat, allowing you to slow/stop before it is flat. If you have a blowout, you obviously have no warning. Of course, a tube-type can leak down, and a tubeless can blow out. I'm just saying that a tubeless tire is much less likely to blow out. I also hate tubes because they are a PITA in general.
 
#6
Thanks, Charles. Great idea. I have a barely used tube of black Prematex RTV on my work bench. I'll try that. I don't have the money for tubes, massacre. I spent it all traveling last week for my Minister's meeting in Wismer, Louisiana. Spent a week there in meetings and working on our church auditorium. They love the way I paint.
Do the soap test first, no sense using the RTV if you don't have a bead leak. ;)
 
#8
I'll do that in the morning. My wife had hand surgery a couple of weeks ago and we're at doctor's office now waiting for the stitches to be removed. Probably be dark by the time I get home. Too many mosquitoes to be working at night. And I agree 100% about the tubes. DB is tubeless.
 
#13
I have found that some Chinese tires leak air at the Brand location. (Where the manufacturers' name is indented into the tire). Don't just look for bead leaks, check the sidewall too. Apparently the sidewall is just too thin. You can either install a tube, or look for a higher quality tire.
 
#18
No more leaks for some reason. I just bounced the hell out of while rotating it and then aired it up. Been over 2 weeks now with no loss of air. Maybe that and riding it every couple of days did the trick? IDK, just having fun with it now.
 
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