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Compressed air cylinders - how many?

GeorgeR1200RT

New member
I have been carrying a tire repair kit with compressed air cylinders for more than 11 years. Fortunately never had to use it...tubeless tires seem to be built better than older tube styles.:thumb

Two questions regarding the little cylinders

1. Do these things have a shelf life?

2. How many are needed to pump up a plugged flat?

Always carried a spare tube with my airheads...had more than 6 flats over the years on those bikes.
 
I used 3 cylinders to get the rear tire up high enough to make it to a gas station on my CLC. Those are the big BMW's with the huge rear tire. I believe the cannisters are only for getting you to a better air supply so you can bring it up to snuff. 'Don't know about shelf life.
 
yes, three will inflate your tire.

Better solution is to carry a 12v. mini-air compressor.
you can get from just about any auto supply store made by Slime which is about $40.
Really handy for blowing up air matresses too!

Ken
 
Two questions regarding the little cylinders

1. Do these things have a shelf life?

2. How many are needed to pump up a plugged flat?

1. Probably not but if in doubt, replace them. Guaranteed you'll need them the day after all the compressed air leaks out.

2. Three

I've also bought on of those compact air pumps I can plug into my accessory socket. Has helped me be the Good Samaritan twice!
 
The little pumps are handy. On some of them you can remove the plastic housings to make them a little smaller to pack. I have a Slime, but I expect most of them are adequate. I carry the cylinders as a backup to the pump.
 
Thanks

Thanks to all for the info about the air cylinders.

For a lot of local riding, I prefer not to use the hard bags on the K1200RS. My tire repair kit fits nicely under the seat. My kit is Plug and Go mushrooms, sticky rope repair, BMW plugs and air cylinders...I like redundancy.

I've had enough flats in 35+ years of riding and they almost always happen in the worst possible places.

All this takes up about the same amount of space that a spare tube and tire irons formerly consumed.

When the bags are on, a 12 volt air pump is in the saddlebag along with extra gloves and foul weather gear.

I will pick up some fresh air cylinders just to make sure I have enough to do the job.

Thanks again:bikes
 
I'm going to recommend the little 12v pumps.
The hand jobs are insane. Figure about 1200 pumps to get to about 30 pounds.
The cylinders of CO2 I don't trust at all.
The last post, just this week that I saw about it said 11 cylinders, to get to 20 pounds.
dc
 
Funny you ask, as I was wondering the same thing. I tested mine just a few days ago. Completely empty (removed and replaced valve stem) 100/90 front tire. One canister, from 1985, gave it 19psi. Took about 2 seconds to empty the cannister! I guess a guy could limp along on 19psi until he found an air source. I carry 6 cans with me. I have the 'BMW' hose thingy fill tube and just bought a "Moose" brand filler/adapter. THe Moose brand worked perfectly!
 
I'm going to recommend the little 12v pumps.
The hand jobs are insane. Figure about 1200 pumps to get to about 30 pounds.
The cylinders of CO2 I don't trust at all.
The last post, just this week that I saw about it said 11 cylinders, to get to 20 pounds.
dc

frankly, the guy that used 11 cartridges was incompetent at that job. it should not take more than 3.
with that said, i carry an electric pump.
 
I carry a pump on most bikes, but a few are C02 kits. Not much room on the naked S's.

I went to the local bicycle shop and got a better adapter than the BMW hose. They have a small unit that screws on threaded cartridges or a larger one that takes either threaded or non-threaded . Both styles have a push button or a lever to only gas when you are ready...a big plus!

With that set up you can get it all done with 3...at least enough to get you to a real pump!

On shelf life, they seem to last a L-O-N-G time...I had several from an old Benjamin air projectile emitter about fifteen years old...still OK
 
Shoulda coulda woulda take only 3.
Why bother when the pump is $10. If it works 2 or 3 times, it was worth it.
dc
 
Oh yeh, wear gloves! The cylinder turned frost bite cold as soon as the gas was released! YOW!
 
Frost bite cold? Well, what's that, reason number 14 or 16 to not use those?
I could see if electricity had not yet been invented.
Where does it say "Put gas in your tires?"
I thought it was supposed to be air.
What next? Nitrogen?
dc
 
Shoulda coulda woulda take only 3.
Why bother when the pump is $10. If it works 2 or 3 times, it was worth it.
dc

No room for a pump as I mentioned on a couple of bikes:scratch...the GS has a tire repair center on it as does the K when it has cases attached.

C02 is in the air you breathe and the fizzy drinks you might enjoy...


And yes. wearing gloves unless you have one of the holders I described is suggested.
 
I bought the $10 Slime pump at Walmart and carry it in my side case all the time along with a bottle of slime for dirt bikes. I have a Dakar with tubes, so the plug kits won't work.

I am hoping the slime will seal well enough to get me to the next BMW dealer. I have heard that slime gunks up the wheel, but I would think that the tube would eliminate that problem. The $15 tube is going to be thrown away anyway, so I would guess there would be no mess.

I hear that the rear tire is a beast to try to change with tire irons, so I hope the slime and pump combination will do the job in a pinch.

Has anyone had any actual experience with slime for a temporary tire repair?
 
Has anyone had any actual experience with slime for a temporary tire repair?

depends on how big a puncture...works OK on most small holes . And yes, you will be throwing that tube away...at least I do.

If you are travelling, it sure helps to learn how to break the tire down and have a spare tube. Flats don't always happen within driving distance to help...just sayin':whistle

If you practice at the house a few times, it goes so much easier in the rain/dark/cold or combo of all. New tires are stiff, but,they do loosen up some after riding.
 
If you are travelling, it sure helps to learn how to break the tire down and have a spare tube. Flats don't always happen within driving distance to help...just sayin':whistle

If you practice at the house a few times, it goes so much easier in the rain/dark/cold or combo of all. New tires are stiff, but,they do loosen up some after riding.

I would like to know how to replace tires and tubes myself. I just replaced both tires last year at a BMW dealer. They were doing a 12K maintenance at the same time and I asked them to come and get me when they started working on the tires so I could at least watch someone else replace them, but they "forgot" to come and get me. This would be a good topic for a YouTube video. This is timely because my wife just popped the rear tire on her electric scooter; new tire and tube are on the way. I am going to give it a try and see if I can get the new tire and tube on. Someone has a YouTube video in 2 parts, about 20 minutes, showing a guy replacing a scooter tire. I assume he has done it many times and it did not look like a walk in the park for him.

One thought I had was to hope for a sunny day and leave the tire in the sun a while to warm it up. Any other tips to make it easier to get the new tire on without pinching the tube?
 
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