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Need some advice on best emergency tire inflators

brownie0486

brownie0486

Well-known member
Getting gear ready on a check list for the June multi-state trip.

I have a foot pump and patch kit on the bike now. Is there a better system to travel with? I've seen the co2 inflators and there's reviews all over the place on them. Seen the slime inflators, are they something my two pin connected to batt could use in a "get to the nearest station" scenario while in the middle of nowhere?

I know you guys have the experience on what's the easiest lightest packable system that WORKS. Please, opinions will all be welcomed. Or is my foot pump and plug kit already enough "in case" insurance?

Thanks in advance

Brownie
 
You can check the panel below for some good info.
Some swear by a basic "Slime" 12V pump, some the Best Rest Products 12V pump.......I have both. There is no doubt that the BRP pump is better- all the way around and it's the one I have on the ATV.....More trouble with beads and such. With the 12V pumps, they really need to go direct to the battery, perhaps through a Battery Tender Pig-tail.
As far as a foot pump.....That would be on my better than nothing list.
And....of course, some of this has to do with tube and tubeless tires for actual repairs.

Once this gets going, I'll probably send this thread over to the gear section.
Good luck.
Gary
 
Omega Man said:
You can check the panel below for some good info.
Some swear by a basic "Slime" 12V pump, some the Best Rest Products 12V pump.......I have both. There is no doubt that the BRP pump is better- all the way around and it's the one I have on the ATV.....More trouble with beads and such. With the 12V pumps, they really need to go direct to the battery, perhaps through a Battery Tender Pig-tail.
As far as a foot pump.....That would be on my better than nothing list.
And....of course, some of this has to do with tube and tubeless tires for actual repairs.

Once this gets going, I'll probably send this thread over to the gear section.
Good luck.
Gary
Click to expand...

Thanks, I looked at all the links below and bookmarked them. I see you're from Mansfield, my old stomping grounds :thumb
 
Compact 12V Elec

Get a compact 12v electric air pump. Lots of them on Ebay or Amazon for about $15 that have gauges and on/off switches. You might have to splice the power cord with an SAE connector (some have this already, some do not) to connect to your SAE battery charging cable ("Battery Tender") pigtail and/or buy a longer air hose extension.

The nice thing about the motorized pumps is that you won't run out of air, can use it for your other vehicles, etc., whereas the gas cylinders are one shot items.
 
jkjohnson said:
Get a compact 12v electric air pump. Lots of them on Ebay or Amazon for about $15 that have gauges and on/off switches. You might have to splice the power cord with an SAE connector (some have this already, some do not) to connect to your SAE battery charging cable ("Battery Tender") pigtail and/or buy a longer air hose extension.

The nice thing about the motorized pumps is that you won't run out of air, can use it for your other vehicles, etc., whereas the gas cylinders are one shot items.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I decided no on the co2's and will get the 12v electric pump after doing so reading. Still keep the foot pump as backup in the right bag. Best advice on one that comes with the sae connector already or as an option? I'm not much of a repair man/splicing.

Thanks
 
The Battery Tenders come with a ring terminal set-up that has the very common 2-pin SAE connector on the other end-

The two pin connector looks like half a 4- pin flat trailer connector.

081-0069-6-Fused-Ring-Terminals-clean.jpg


Along with being a good charge point, with the appropriate fuse, it runs the 12V inflator easily. Running the inflator off a cigaret lighter or "din" plug for any length of time usually shuts down the circuit.

The ringed pig-tails are readily available, sometimes in a container on the parts counter at most motorsports locations.
OM
 
+1 on the compact pump and tubeless tire patch kit, with a fused SAE connector direct to the battery.

Also, keep an eye on your battery when inflating the tire. It is often advisable to keep the bike running so you don't drain your battery past the point of re-starting. I've heard of folks getting very upset with themsleves after fixing a tire but not being able to go anywhere because of a dead battery.
 
AlanColes said:
+1 on the compact pump and tubeless tire patch kit, with a fused SAE connector direct to the battery.

Also, keep an eye on your battery when inflating the tire. It is often advisable to keep the bike running so you don't drain your battery past the point of re-starting. I've heard of folks getting very upset with themsleves after fixing a tire but not being able to go anywhere because of a dead battery.
Click to expand...

Yes sir, I had thought about that and planned on keeping the bike running. Am I correct in assuming my tires are tubeless and people talking tube tires are speaking to dirt bike/atvs or something?
 
brownie0486 said:
Yes sir, I had thought about that and planned on keeping the bike running. Am I correct in assuming my tires are tubeless and people talking tube tires are speaking to dirt bike/atvs or something?
Click to expand...
What is your bike?

I know BMW has been offering cross-spoked rims on the GS since at least the 1987 R100GS IIRC. In BMW parlance "cross-spoked" refers to the spokes running from one side of the hub to the opposite side of the rim (vs the standard ones going to the center of the rim). In this configuration the spoke ends are accessible from the rim edge outside the tire. This provides many advantages including being able to run tubeless tires and to change spokes without removing the tire, etc.

This should not be confused with the "cross lacing" of spokes referred to when lacing up a spoke wheel. That refers to how many spokes each one crosses on it's route from the hub to the rim, typically 2-3 for disc-brake wheels.
 
AlanColes said:
What is your bike?

I know BMW has been offering cross-spoked rims on the GS since at least the 1987 R100GS IIRC. In BMW parlance "cross-spoked" refers to the spokes running from one side of the hub to the opposite side of the rim (vs the standard ones going to the center of the rim). In this configuration the spoke ends are accessible from the rim edge outside the tire. This provides many advantages including being able to run tubeless tires and to change spokes without removing the tire, etc.

This should not be confused with the "cross lacing" of spokes referred to when lacing up a spoke wheel. That refers to how many spokes each one crosses on it's route from the hub to the rim, typically 2-3 for disc-brake wheels.
Click to expand...

2007 k1200gt. In every other bike [ goldwings/vulcan nomad/harleys ] I was under the impression they were all tubeless tires. Was I mistaken? If my bike is tubed, I need to rethink patch kits and not being able to just get off the road with an inflator and plug kit?

Hmmm

On another note, I looked at the slime small air pump at O Reilly's this morning and want to know if that's a product I should consider or not for reliability. It needs an adapter from cig lighter to sae which I've found on Amazon for 7.00. Before I order that and get the pump I'd like more input from those who've used the slime small pump

Thanks in advance, this site has been very helpful to this old man just getting back into riding and back on a BMW. Years ago I had a K100rs that was a dream to ride and swore one day I'd get back on another one. Bucket list of National Park visits in Utah, Colorado, NM coming up in June. Just trying to get all my ducks in a row
 
If you are tubeless, I would recommend a good plug kit. I like to carry the rope kind and the mushroom kind.
 
junkjohn said:
If you are tubeless, I would recommend a good plug kit. I like to carry the rope kind and the mushroom kind.
Click to expand...

I have a good plug kit already on the bike and a foot pump, but looking to make that pump the spare/backup to an electric pump. :thumb
 
AlanColes said:
+1 on the compact pump and tubeless tire patch kit, with a fused SAE connector direct to the battery.

Also, keep an eye on your battery when inflating the tire. It is often advisable to keep the bike running so you don't drain your battery past the point of re-starting. I've heard of folks getting very upset with themsleves after fixing a tire but not being able to go anywhere because of a dead battery.
Click to expand...

I carry one of those lithium ion booster battery packs for this and other battery jumping applications. Better than jumper cables because I don't need a second vehicle - even though usually Voni and I are riding together. I have only used it once - to jump start my V8 equipped Ford Explorer - so expect it to do OK with my bike.
 
Sorry the confusion Brownie, my bad, I didn't know what year your bike was and had been doing something with my old R100GS earlier so it came readily to mind.

Most all alloy rims (mag-type) wheels since the mid-70's are tubeless. It is just spoked wheels (lace-up spokes) that usually require tubes unless they are the cross-spoked ones I referred to earlier.

As far as pumps go. I'm not familiar with the Slime pump, but OM has one and hasn't had any issues. Like he says, the best ones (though more expensive) would be ones like the:

CyclePump by BestRest Adventures: https://bestrestproducts.com/shop/cyclepump-ez-gauge/cyclepump-expedition-tire-inflator/cyclepump-expedition-tire-inflator/

or the

Stop & Go: https://www.stopngo.com/mini-air-compressor-for-motorcycles-scooters-atvs-only/
MiniAirCompressor__18158.1410380785.500.750.jpg
 
PGlaves said:
I carry one of those lithium ion booster battery packs for this and other battery jumping applications. Better than jumper cables because I don't need a second vehicle - even though usually Voni and I are riding together. I have only used it once - to jump start my V8 equipped Ford Explorer - so expect it to do OK with my bike.
Click to expand...
Me too Paul. Years ago I bought one of the original Anti-Gravity ones, at a Rally in NC I think. Never had to use it, but that's the best part of insurance, safety-nets, first-aid kits, etc.

They even make a battery adaptor cable thick enough to handle the jump-start (wire gauge is very important) without needing to remove the seat, side-panel, etc. It has an SAE adaptor as well so it can do double duty. Just be careful, I've lost the small SAE adaptor before so I now take it off when not in use.
antigravity_micro_start_battery_harness_kt_750x750.jpg

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/antigravity-micro-start-battery-harness-kit

There are different ones for the original AG models vs their newer products so make sure you get the proper one.
 
Thanks for the reply and heads up/information on inflators. I don't want to cheap out so i take the suggestions here from people more knowledgeable than I on this.

Thanks again
 
brownie0486 said:
On another note, I looked at the slime small air pump at O Reilly's this morning and want to know if that's a product I should consider or not for reliability. It needs an adapter from cig lighter to sae which I've found on Amazon for 7.00. Before I order that and get the pump I'd like more input from those who've used the slime small pump
Click to expand...

I have a Slime pump I purchased at ORielly's and it works good.
It's the pump on the left in my picture.
Slime & AirShot MotoPump (2).jpg

A cigarette lighter plug will not fit the power outlet on your GT, it needs to be a DIN style plug.
Powerlet makes a male Din to SAE adapter that will work, but the power outlet on your bike may not handle the load of a pump or heated jacket liners.
It's best to use the pigtail provided with the Slime pump or other brand and attach it direct to the battery.

battery-tender-lead-12v-motorcycle-trickle-charger-union-garage_1.jpg
 
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