Do tubeless motorcycle tires needs air? Everything you need to know

do tubeless motorcycle tires need air
do tubeless motorcycle tires need air

The tubeless tire has increased the safety of the riders and provides better handling and riding experience. But, when it comes to the function of the motorcycle tubeless tires then most of the riders seem to be confused and don’t understand it’s working. So, let’s answer the most basic question for tubeless tires.   

So, Do tubeless motorcycle tires need air? Tubeless Motorcycle tires need air similar to tube tires. The only difference in tubeless tires is, it doesn’t need any mediator (tube) to hold the air. In tubeless tires, the air is filled between the airtight rims and the tire.

If you don’t fill the air in tubeless tires then it will become flat and you will not be able to ride. Although, the tubeless tires are manufactured differently than the tube tires still it does need air.

The only difference with these tube tires is that it doesn’t contain any tubes or intermediate to hold the air. Tubeless tires are fitted on special rims that are air-tight sealed and provide the tires its a shape. We will try to understand the topic more in the upcoming questions.

Should you drive on a punctured tubeless motorcycle tire?

How to fill the air in tubeless motorcycle tires?

Filling air in tubeless motorcycles tires is the same as tube tires. There are many ways to do so. I will discuss three ways to fill the air in the tubeless motorcycle tires.

  • Floor-pump
  • Portable electric-air compressor
  • CO2 cartridges (requires special inflator)

You have to use an air compressor to fill the air in a tubeless tire that can be easily found at the mechanic shops. But, you can also use an electric compressor to fill the air in tubeless motorcycle tires.

These electric compressors are small, light-weight can be carried and stored with the motorcycle everywhere. Thus, with an electric air- compressor it is very easy to fill the air in a tubeless motorcycle tire even on the way as you ride. With an electric air compressor here are the steps to inflate your tires:-

  • Take out the air-compressor and plug the power connector into the motorcycle battery
  • Connect the air-nozzle of the air-compressor tightly with the motorcycle tire valve to avoid leakage of air while inflating.
  • Now, press the ON button to start inflating or filling the air to the tubeless tire.
  • Make sure to turn off the machine when the desired pressure has been reached in the tires.
  • Disconnect the air hose nozzle from the tire valve and disconnect the power plug from the motorcycle battery.

You can stop somewhere on the roadside and connect the air compressor with your motorcycle and follow the above procedure to fill the tubeless tire with an electric air compressor.

Apart from this in an emergency situation, one can also make use of the CO2 cartridges to fill the air in the tubeless tire. But with the CO2 cartridges, you will need a special inflator head to fill the air in the tire.

So, these are the ways to fill the air in tubeless motorcycle tires to maintain proper tire balance resulting in a better ride and traction on the road.

How long do motorcycle tubeless tires hold air? 

Tubeless tires can hold air for 6 months of storage if not used or ridden. These tires are sealed with an air-tight rim thus there is a very low air leak from the motorcycle tire that is unnoticeable. 

But, if you ride your motorcycle every day without filling the air then there is a chance that your tubeless tire will lose enough air to making it flat in 2 months.

And, over time if you don’t inflate the tire then the pressure will go considerably low in the upcoming months leaving you with a flat tubeless tire.

If there is no problem or leakage with the tubeless tire reams or valve then there is very little chance that these tire pressures will lose air more often.

The air molecules will escape slowly; a few psi per week thus make sure to check the tire’s air pressure before every ride or once a week.

How often should you fill air in tubeless tires?

If the tire is filled with high-compressed air then you should refill the tires every 1-2 months. While with nitrogen-filled gas in the tubeless tire, you can expect to refill the tires every 2-3 months. The nitrogen gas durability is bigger in tires due to its molecule size.

Nitrogen gas molecule size is bigger than the general high-compressed air thus nitrogen-filled tires remain inflated for long.

Generally, the space between molecules of rubber in tires is bigger than the nitrogen gas and air. Thus over time, the molecules of air and nitrogen gas escape from the tire at different paces leading to a decrement in the pressure in tires.

As the size of the nitrogen gas molecule is a little bigger thus it escapes slowly from the tires than air molecules. So, even if you don’t ride, the tires will lose air and become flat over time.

Note: Molecules size is measured in picometers, which is a atomic scale. So, even though we say nitrogen molecules are bigger the exact measurement can only be done at molecular level.

Because nitrogen gas molecules are bigger than air molecules, so it provides some extra time. Thus, It doesn’t matter if you drive your motorcycle or not, the tires will be deflating over time. So, make sure to refill the air or nitrogen gas to maintain your tire pressure.

If you fill the nitrogen gas inside the tubeless tire then the pressure will be maintained in all-weather situations either it is cold or warm. It helps to maintain the pressure but you may need to pay some money to fill it in your tires.

What PSI should my tubeless tires be?

The pressure in the tubeless tire must be balanced, neither underinflated nor overinflated. Most people don’t know about the required pressure that their motorcycle tire needs. The correct pressure data for your motorcycle can be found in the service manual.

Because every motorcycle company and every model requires different amounts of pressure on both tires. So, it would be a dumb thing for me to provide you with common air pressure for every motorcycle model. That’s why I am providing you with a detailed data sheet for popular motorcycle companies and their models. The required pressure for both tires is different.

Your service manual is the only place that will provide you with correct information regarding the right amount of pressure to be filled or maintained in the motorcycle tires. Thus, follow the service manual to know about this.

Here I am providing you a list of top motorcycle lists with the required tires pressure details beside them. All the data has been taken from a youtube channel Mechanical tech Hindi.

BMW motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure chart
BMW motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure chart
Kawasaki motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Kawasaki motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Vespa and yamaha motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Vespa and Yamaha motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Triumph motorcycle tubeless tire air pressure char
Triumph motorcycle tubeless tire air pressure char
Harley-Davidson motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Harley-Davidson motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Ducati motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data
Ducati motorcycle tubeless tire air-pressure data

Tubeless tires air pressure for Motorcycle

Tubeless tire air pressure is an important aspect to talk about. You must check the pressure regularly in the tire. Because it is the thing that plays a significant role in riding the motorcycle.

A tire is the only component that connects the motorcycle with the road and enables us to ride. But if the tire pressure is not correct, which means the air pressure is less in the tire then it may affect things like comfort, stability, handling, traction, as well as tread wear.

Thus, make sure to check the motorcycle tire pressure every once or twice a week using a quality tire gauge. And if you put some extra air (hight-pressure) in the tire then it may result in overinflation.

High pressure in tires can result in less grip or contact with the road resulting in less traction and a rough ride. Thus, it’s very important to fill the correct tire pressure in both our motorcycle tires.

The best place to get information regarding the tire pressure for your motorcycle is the service manual. Apart from this, I have also provided some pressure data from several motorcycle models and companies above.

Wrapping up

Tubeless tires do need air to be in shape just like the tube tire so that you can able to drive safely and comfortably. It is the tire that connects the motorcycle with the road, so the tire pressure also affects things that can be experienced while on the ride like traction, grip on the road, etc.

After reading this post you have got your most fundamental question answered. I hope that you have got to know more about the tubeless tire from this post. If you have any other questions regarding tubeless tires then you can visit my other articles written on tubeless tires from the below link. I have tried to answer most of the searched questions about tubeless tiers. If you want to know about the topic then you can shoot me an email from the contact page.

FAQs

Do tubeless tires need special pump to fill air?

Air can be filled in the tubeless tires with the help of any ordinary pump we have used to inflate tube tires. So, tubeless tires don’t need any special pump to fill the air except if you want to fill the air with CO2 cartridges. CO2 cartridges require a special pump to fill the air in the tubeless tires. While CO2 cartridges are small and the gas is filled in a small cylinder thus we need a mediator special pump that can suck the air from the CO2 cylinder and fill it to the tire.

Thus, with tubeless tires also there is no need for a special pump to fill air except with the case with CO2 cartridges.

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