Tire pressure guages

[paulcibulka]

I'm a new owner of a K12LT. I need to purchase a tire pressure guage. What do you suggest?

[TexanRT]

http://www.getagauge.com/DialTireGauges.cfm

I've used this accu-gauge dial for a few years. It has brass parts and can be ordered with a swivel chuck and rubber case. It includes a bleed valve for convenient pressure adjustments and it holds the current pressure reading until you open the bleed valve.

[mistercindy]

For your tank bag or your garage?

For my tank bag I just have an old fashioned "pen" version. I also have a cool digital one which cost $20 and was great, but then the battery died in the middle of nowhere and I decided "never again." That, and the pen variety costs less than $5 so, even though I've used the same one now for years, if it gets lost on the road its no big deal.

For my garage I have a nice analogue gauge made by Accu-Gage. It has a connector that allows for easy and difficult to reach valves, a fairly long (12"?) hose between the gauge and the connector, and an air release valve. The air release valve is darn handy: fill it to a bit more than you need then bleed it down while you watch the gauge. Makes life very easy. You should be able to buy its equivalent at any auto parts store for $25 or less.

[MOTOR31]

Go to the parts store of your choice. Pick out 2 and buy them. You might want to go to a tire store and ask to check them against their "master" gage. Use the more accurate one and toss the other.

[108625]

Don't forget you'll get a fancy digital one in that silly "BMW owners kit" later on.
(I would wait that long to check, though.)

[geobeemer]

I never got a "BMW owners kit". When did that start?

[108625]

I never got a "BMW owners kit". When did that start?

I don't know. They sent my wife one for buying her "leftover" '07 F800ST this year.
It's a heavy package that shows up at your doorstep weeks or months after purchase, with a nicely boxed set of mostly useless bookshelf knick knacks, and the tire pressure guage.

[RJM2096]

I would like to say I am smart enough to just kick my tire or look for a bulge, but I am not. I have both a dial and several pencil guages. I have not seen any real difference in accuracy. What I do that is different is that I keep the tire to the maximum pressure as stamped on the side of every tire.

[Noyooper]

+1 on the "pen" type, any time I see a review, either in MCN or Consumer reports, they are typically at the top of the ratings... Keep the K.I.S.S. principle in mind.

[greenwald]

Go to www.bestrestproducts.com and buy the Cycle Pump Gauge.

[BMWBAGBY]

Here's another option...

http://www.roadgear.com/index.php?pa...w=tire%20gauge

[bikerfish1100]

I would like to say I am smart enough to just kick my tire or look for a bulge, but I am not. I have both a dial and several pencil guages. I have not seen any real difference in accuracy. What I do that is different is that I keep the tire to the maximum pressure as stamped on the side of every tire.

you are certainly free to do that Rob, BUT that number on the side is considered to be the maximum the tire can handle, not the amount you should ride with! Unless you always ride 2up, saddlebags fully loaded, tankbag maxed, & kitchen sink strapped to the back (basically, riding at or beyond the GVWR_.. you are not doing yourself any favors. The ride is harsher, handling suffers, grip/traction (that thing that keeps us attached to the road) is severely compromised, and tire longevity actually decreases when you do so.
proceed at your own risk- but speaking as a "safety professional" (MSF RiderCoach), you really should not promote this practice to others. im(not so)ho, of course.

[greenwald]

you are certainly free to do that Rob, BUT that number on the side is considered to be the maximum the tire can handle, not the amount you should ride with! Unless you always ride 2up, saddlebags fully loaded, tankbag maxed, & kitchen sink strapped to the back (basically, riding at or beyond the GVWR_.. you are not doing yourself any favors. The ride is harsher, handling suffers, grip/traction (that thing that keeps us attached to the road) is severely compromised, and tire longevity actually decreases when you do so.
proceed at your own risk- but speaking as a "safety professional" (MSF RiderCoach), you really should not promote this practice to others. im(not so)ho, of course.

DITTO!

[dancogan]

MCN tested a bunch of gauges a while back and they found the diigital one sold by Radio Shack was quite accurate. I like the fact that it not only shows the tire pressure, it also speaks it!

[PGlaves]

Go to www.bestrestproducts.com and buy the Cycle Pump Gauge.

I agree! It's called the "EZ Air" and I carry one in each bike. I got the first one I bought for Voni, after she had an exercise she calls "changing the air in her tires" at a truck stop with one of those long stemmed truck chucks. With the EZ air you clip the hose end to the valve stem and add air about a foot away at the gauge. Air bleed button too. No more wrestling matches with awkward air chucks on stiff hoses, trying to find a way to get past the brake disk and still align the thing with the valve stem.