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Post by venusscoot on Dec 2, 2014 12:04:10 GMT -5
So, 60 kms in my Taotao Venus 50 scooter and I somehow lost all the air. I did not realize it until I was trying to ride it the next morning. The tire is completely flat and off the rim. I tried compressing air in, but that simply would not work. I do not know if there is a puncture in the tire, but I cannot know since it is completely flat and the tire is entirely off the bead, all the way though. I bought some Slime, just in case it is punctured. But right not I cannot get the tire to seal in the rim.
Do I need to take the tire out completely to try to seal it? Have you guys faced something like this? Please let me know of a solution that would work best. Thanks.
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Post by birdman on Dec 2, 2014 12:12:57 GMT -5
Sounds sketchy I would just get a new tire... A good tire. At least a kenda
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Post by Fox on Dec 2, 2014 12:49:47 GMT -5
You gotta take the rim off and then you can lay it on a table and wrap a ratchet strap around the circumference directly in the center of the tread. Put a little soapy water on both sides of the bead and begin to cinch the strap down some to squeeze the tire. That will force the tire bead outward on both sides so it will seal enough to get air in it. You may need to bounce the tire a little if it's being stubborn in one spot. Compressed air with the valve guts removed works best but you may not need to remove the guts. Once it starts to inflate, remove the strap, inflate the tire all the way to about 32-34 PSI and then you should have a tub of water ready and dunk it in the water and look for bubbles. Mark the tire where you see bubbles with a crayon or simply scratch a mark with a pointy object. If it's a puncture in the tread area you can remove the tire from the rim and patch it on the inside or you can try the slime. I'm lucky to have found a mom-and-pop tire shop that was close by that will do a scooter tire on their machine so I always patched them.
You can try the strap trick with the tire on the scooter and use a rubber hammer to simulate bouncing the wheel. Then instead of dunking the wheel you either listen for the leak and/or put soapy water all over the tire with a paint brush or whatever to see the bubbles. Never tried it with the wheel on a scooter myself but it might work.
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Post by Mrx2002 on Dec 2, 2014 12:55:29 GMT -5
You gotta take the rim off and then you can lay it on a table and wrap a ratchet strap around the circumference directly in the center of the tread. Put a little soapy water on both sides of the bead and begin to cinch the strap down some to squeeze the tire. That will force the tire bead outward on both sides so it will seal enough to get air in it. You may need to bounce the tire a little if it's being stubborn in one spot. Compressed air with the valve guts removed works best but you may not need to remove the guts. Once it starts to inflate, remove the strap, inflate the tire all the way to about 32-24 PSI and then you should have a tub of water ready and dunk it in the water and look for bubbles. Mark the tire where you see bubbles with a crayon or simply scratch a mark with a pointy object. If it's a puncture in the tread area you can remove the tire and have it patched on the inside or you can try the slime. I'm lucky to have found a mom-and-pop tire shop that was close by that will do a scooter tire on their machine so I always patched them. You can try the strap trick with the tire on the scooter and use a rubber hammer to simulate bouncing the wheel. Then instead of dunking the wheel you either listen for the leak and/or put soapy water all over the tire with a paint brush or whatever to see the bubbles. Never tried it with the wheel on a scooter myself but it might work. Thats the same thing i do to get lawnmower tires back on the rim. |
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Post by jhobe6678 on Dec 2, 2014 13:02:40 GMT -5
You gotta take the rim off and then you can lay it on a table and wrap a ratchet strap around the circumference directly in the center of the tread. Put a little soapy water on both sides of the bead and begin to cinch the strap down some to squeeze the tire. That will force the tire bead outward on both sides so it will seal enough to get air in it. You may need to bounce the tire a little if it's being stubborn in one spot. Compressed air with the valve guts removed works best but you may not need to remove the guts. Once it starts to inflate, remove the strap, inflate the tire all the way to about 32-24 PSI and then you should have a tub of water ready and dunk it in the water and look for bubbles. Mark the tire where you see bubbles with a crayon or simply scratch a mark with a pointy object. If it's a puncture in the tread area you can remove the tire and have it patched on the inside or you can try the slime. I'm lucky to have found a mom-and-pop tire shop that was close by that will do a scooter tire on their machine so I always patched them. You can try the strap trick with the tire on the scooter and use a rubber hammer to simulate bouncing the wheel. Then instead of dunking the wheel you either listen for the leak and/or put soapy water all over the tire with a paint brush or whatever to see the bubbles. Never tried it with the wheel on a scooter myself but it might work. Thats the same thing i do to get lawnmower tires back on the rim. That's how I put my pants on.  All kidding aside, this is awesome advice. This should be put in the tech section! Hey 90GTVert let's throw this in there! Minus my pants joke, of course. |
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Post by Fox on Dec 2, 2014 13:07:06 GMT -5
I think it would be better if Brent knocked a tire bead off a rim and then video'd himself doing it.
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Post by jhobe6678 on Dec 2, 2014 13:10:08 GMT -5
I think it would be better if Brent knocked a tire bead off a rim and then video'd himself doing it. Why, he just happens to have a flat one to work with...  |
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Post by 90GTVert on Dec 2, 2014 13:38:24 GMT -5
It's cold out there. I'm not sure if I'm motivated enough to both fix it and move lights and a camera around.
You need to be sure you have a strong source of air for best results. Some heavy duty compressors may work, but I've always used a compressor with a tank so there's lots of pressure for very rapid inflation. Even then it can be a struggle without a ratchet strap as Fox mentioned or at least bouncing/tapping it to try and get the tire/bead sort of evened out around the edges before you start putting in air.
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Post by jhobe6678 on Dec 2, 2014 14:02:11 GMT -5
It's cold out there. I'm not sure if I'm motivated enough to both fix it and move lights and a camera around. You need to be sure you have a strong source of air for best results. Some heavy duty compressors may work, but I've always used a compressor with a tank so there's lots of pressure for very rapid inflation. Even then it can be a struggle without a ratchet strap as Fox mentioned or at least bouncing/tapping it to try and get the tire/bead sort of evened out around the edges before you start putting in air. It is worth a shot though. I have a small hand truck that has one tire that ran out of air. I can't get the tire to sit on the rim right to save my life but now this gives me an idea to try out. The tire is small enough that I may even be able to use a strap wrench. I say go for it. One day your videos will probably be put into some digital Chilton Scooter manual I bet lol |
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Post by niz76 on Dec 2, 2014 16:10:04 GMT -5
I've used a jug of freon and my A/C gauges to re-seat a tire before! Kinda expensive at the cost of (R22) freon- but it worked! lol
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Post by katastroff on Dec 2, 2014 16:40:16 GMT -5
Or you could do it redneck style.
put a bit of gasoline inside the tire, shake it a bit and lite it up. BABOOM!!! tire is seated. I use that trick whenever i need to change a tire.
WARNING: IT MIGHT BE DANGEROUS TO DO THAT IN THE KITCHEN OR LIVING ROOM. ONLY ATTEMP THIS OUTSIDE!!!
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Post by jhobe6678 on Dec 2, 2014 17:01:00 GMT -5
What's the spanish equivalent of Bajos? Because I think I just heard em...  |
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Post by Fox on Dec 2, 2014 17:19:26 GMT -5
That's a cool trick but I don't think it's a good idea to have gas fumes in a tire. They outlawed flammable Fix-a flat because of the danger. That was awesome though. The one with the tractor tire was even better.
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Post by 90GTVert on Dec 2, 2014 19:15:02 GMT -5
Done in a hurry, but here's a vid showing seating the tire (skip to 5min26sec for seating) and also plugging the tire.
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Post by oldgeek on Dec 2, 2014 19:52:07 GMT -5
See? Just ask and you will receive! Great Video, I have never seen a plug kit like that. I just ordered one of them stop and go plug kits from bike bandit along with a few small parts. Got me over the $49.00 free shipping hump.  |
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