Air pumps . . . what do you carry?

[the Ferret]

My 1981 BMW R100 came with a manual air pump that clipped on the frame under the seat.

I remember those. Also with a cool little handle n the rear shocks for adjusting preload didn't it? And a center stand that allowed you to take off either the front wheel or the rear wheel? BMW had some great features in the 70's.

 

[dduelin]

I remember those. Also with a cool little handle n the rear shocks for adjusting preload didn't it? And a center stand that allowed you to take off either the front wheel or the rear wheel? BMW had some great features in the 70's.

I think it was the factory accessorized 100/T that had those lever-arm shocks. Mine was the plain Jane R100. At any rate mine had been replaced by a set of Koni shocks by the time I acquired it. The center stand was nicely placed at the balance point but BMW made really crappy center stands in that era. It wasn't unusual for the lever arm you step on to break off and the pivot bolts would work loose and break off if not constantly tightened.

 

[melensdad]

The Stop & Go pump arrived today. Unboxed it but did not have a chance to go test it. Got a photo. It is very compact. I'm hoping the pressure gauge is close to accurate. It is very compact, packs in a small case. Comes with 2 extra accessory cords, one with a cigarette lighter plug and one with small alligator clips. Also comes with accessories to fill up a beach ball or a football. All packed in a nice little compact case.

There is an instruction sheet and also an included notecard that clearly states this pump is NOT for car/truck tires. I suspect it would overheat trying to pump enough volume into a car/truck tire to fill it to pressure. It states it is designed for motorcycles, ATVs, etc.

I'm going to test it and compare the pressure gauge to a couple other gauges I have. I'll still carry the compressed CO2 canisters too, but if this little pump proves to be reliable then it is likely that if I use the C02 canisters I probably won't replace them.

 

[melensdad]

OK so test is complete.

What I found is that the pump works. It also is not obnoxiously loud.

It has a little flashlight on one side of the pump, the light is OPPOSITE of the side where the hose comes out. So while the light is probably very useful, it cannot be used to illuminate the hose end while you try to connect it to your tire.

I compared the pump's gauge to a simple pencil gauge and also to a dial gauge. Both the dial and the pencil gauges were reading identically throughout the testing, so I don't know if they are accurate but they are consistent and match each other. I would note that both of those gauges match the electronic TPMS. The pump's gauge consistently reported a few pounds higher pressures than the TPMS or either the dial or pencil gauge starting at about 40#.

The gauge seems to be "optimistic" in its read out as the pressures goes up the accuracy seems to trail off. Let some air out, starting with 34# of pressure in the tire on the manual gauges, the pump also was reading 34#. As pressure builds it seems like the pump reads a few pounds higher than the manual gauges.

Ultimately I pumped the tire up to 45# of pressure (per the pump's gauge) which equalled roughly 40# of pressure on the TPMS. Realistically I bled off a bit of air removing the screw on connection. Bled off a bit more as I tested the air pressure on the manual gauges. Bled off a bit more as I reinstalled the TPMS.

For $36, including taxes & shipping, I'm very happy with the purchase.

 

[Wheels]

I don't know , every time I needed the air pump it would blow the fuse (max 10 amp). Heck, even blew the
accessory fuse in my car when I was testing. BMW 60/6 now that had a TOOL kit, you could almost take
the bike apart on the road. Reynolds ride-off stand fixed the center stand issue, altho the infamous
spring snap back side stand was horrible.

 

[670cc]

I don't know , every time I needed the air pump it would blow the fuse (max 10 amp). Heck, even blew the
accessory fuse in my car when I was testing. BMW 60/6 now that had a TOOL kit, you could almost take
the bike apart on the road. Reynolds ride-off stand fixed the center stand issue, altho the infamous
spring snap back side stand was horrible.

Choose an air pump with a current draw appropriate for your power source’s capability. That, or increase the current capacity of the power source with larger wire, properly rated connectors, and appropriate fusing.