Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Stupid noob question...

Do you keep your owners manual on the bike at all times?

When I picked up my Speedmaster from the PO he didn't keep the manual with the bike, just filed it away in his house. I haven't bothered to put it back under the seat and was wondering if it would wise to do so. I just don't want it to get ruined by the elements over time...

My next noob question will probably be along the lines of what brand of air do you put in your tires.

I don't keep my manual with my bike (America).


Air?
Not a stoopid question at all, just remember you have to ask for the bike-specific air when filling up at gas stations etc.
Different chemical make-up to the stuff used in cars.

I keep my manual on the bike because I'd probably forget where I put it if it was somewhere else.

To piggyback on your thread, and perhaps demonstrate my level of ignorance: I got my car tires rotated a few days ago, and noticed on the invoice "We use Nitrogen to refill tires." I'm not a chemist. Is there a reason for this (less temperature-related variances or something)??

Will

I'm a cheap SOB...I don't fill my tires with air...saves me some money.

Off topic: My Speedmaster seems really sluggish and squirlly when I ride her.

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what brand of air do you put in your tires.

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It doesn't matter really, as long as you change the air every spring. Old air seem to take off a couple of hp...

Nitrogen in tires will lose pressure at a slower rate than with air but it's not a huge difference.

I don't use the back seat on my bike and that's where the owners manual is stored on the America. So, I keep it in a drawer.

Nitrogen is nearly innert, so it is a little less destructive to rubber and metal than regular air made up of nitrogen, oxygen, traces of ozone, nitric oxides, water vapor, etc.

I keep my owners manual in a pocket just over my heart ...like a bible. If I should face combat action at any time during the ride the manual/bible may stop the slug that would otherwise end my life.

Between that and a helmet (when I wear one ) I figure I am indeed "bulletproof"

Its a potential story to recite to my Grandchildren years from now.....

I know that F1 use Nitrogen in the tyres, I think because the tyre pressure remains more constant with temperature changes. compressed air expands and contracts more.
I found more info here http://www.sunliner.com/nitrogen/index.html

You wont need to polish the inside of your alloy wheels as much either

I used to keep it all the time before I knew I could take the seat off Also it was a handy place to keep the registration/insurance card. Now I have a grifter thingie behind the plate, so that's where the stuff goes. I don't bother to carry it. Maybe if I go away for a long trip I'll toss it in the saddle bag.

My manual stays in the pocket under my pillion seat, mainly so I can remember where it is. However my pillion seat's not on the bike.

Oh and nitrogen's used because it doesn't expand under heat as much as air.

Matt

I've kept mine in the little cuppy hole for 4 years and the elements have not ruined it. The plastic is a little yellow from aging. When I take it in the house to look at it I will invariably forget about it and then end up needing it. I think there is a point to it. There are some mechanical instructions in there about the chain, tires, fuses etc. that could come in handy if you broke down on the road. Then again someone could swipe it. As far as air. I don't use it. I have the new airless Michelins on my bike

I'm using fresh Welsh air in my tires and manual is ...........somewhere

1. A/C guys will fill a tire with freon if they have a slow leak. Leaks slower because the molecules are larger. Freon expands more, so I wouldn't recommend it.
B. Don't need my manual. I've memorized it.

lonzo...thats a $10,000 fine for us a/c guys. so you would never "CATCH ME" useing it for things like my lawn mower, dolly, truck or trailer tires. nope!!! you would never catch me. and its for sure i would never use it for the bike tires.

Sounds like when I was in the greenie in VN and they sent me for a bucket of prop wash.

I use Helium. Makes the bike lighter and faster

We're supposed to put air in our tires?

yes I keep mine under the passenger seat along with the Registration and Insurance Card.

Adey,
I see a business opportunity here! If the French(spit) can bottle water, why can't you can some genuine British air for us. Collect from several different locations and give us some variety. I'll take 10% for the idea .
Mike Sr.

Race car teams have long used nitrogen to inflate tires. Compressed nitrogen has virtually all of the moisture removed. Very few air compressors have this capability, one of the exceptions being those that are used to refill SCBA and SCUBA tanks. The reason for using nitrogen in race car tires is the desire for constant and predicatble tire pressures when the tire heats up. Moisture in a tire inflated with air vaporizes and expands, causing the pressure inside the tire to increase. Even small changes in tire pressure can noticeably affect the handling of the car. By using nitrogen instead of air, teams have more control over how much the pressure will increase when the tires heat up.

For the rest of us there are benefits to using nitrogen. Compressed air contains 80% nitrogen, 19% oxygen, trace amounts of other gases, and water vapor Over time, the pressurized air inside a tire migrates through the tire. The oxygen and moisture in the air react with the rubber compounds in the tire, causing them to break down and lose strength and durability.

Unlike nitrogen which is an inert gas (does not readily react with other chemicals), oxygen is affected by changes in temperature, which affects the rate of air loss from a tire. Oxygen contributes to the aging of the rubber, while nitrogen does not. Because nitrogen molecules are slightly larger and less permeable than oxygen and other gases in air, it migrates considerably slower through a tire. On average about three times as long.

Maybe this is why I almost flunked chemistry in high school. Looks like one of those web resources was flawed and the infor mation was worth what I paid for it.

Hey Dennis!

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Looks like one of those web resources was flawed

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Veracity is everything!

Who said this site is not educational? I had no idea Nitrogen was used to air race car tires.