Air Compressors - anyone have one on their bike?

[Tony Nitrous]

I have home recovery. Useful but not great here.

If your too far from home they will only get you a motel / hire car etc
and won't rescue the bike, OR over a certain distance you get charged by
the kilometre for the extra distance. Even a couple of hours away was going to cost me an extra $500.  Been-there-done-that twice! ...and yes, I have the top level of cover.

Also. If you actually do decent mileage, and aren't on a little Island like the
UK or posing at coffee shops in suburbia, then good luck getting phone reception!

I always carry a repair kit, but having said that, I cut a tyre that couldn't be plugged and was out West with no phone reception on a Sunday. Not something I'd wish on another rider.

[gsxbarmy]

Just bought one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rocky-Creek-Motopressor-Compact-Pump-with-5-YEAR-WARRANTEE-/132220567849?

not cheap - but fits nicely under the seat (without taking up loads of space) and really quite powerful.

[grog]

Tony, which home recovery company do you use? something wrong there

[Tony Nitrous]

Tony, which home recovery company do you use? something wrong there

RACQ.

Try calling them when your a good distance from home.

They offered me a hire car or motel.
You can't get tyres out West on a Sunday.
I had work the next day and my partner had kids to get back too.
Their quote to get the bike home the same day was very expensive.
I made alternative arrangements for a fraction of the price and was home with the bike the same day.

https://www.racq.com.au/roadside-assistance/roadside-assistance-options

I think the 200K call out only gets you a 100K tow.



It's 6.30 am as I type this, the 50 in today's group are all over 200K's from home.
One has a hole through his Hayabusa radiator.

Was a good night out though.

[Irish in Oz]

For me is repair kit as I posted enought. Never need them. So probability 2 defects per day or trip is zero for me.

You're a lucky man if you've never needed to use your repair kit. Let's hope if you do get a puncture you don't have to inflate the tyre to find the hole as happened to me. Luckily I had the compressor & could re-inflate the tyre after fixing.

At least you carry a repair kit not like a lot of riders in Oz. Word of advice too ... if you've never done a repair with the kit you have then practice on an old tyre. You don't want to be on the side of the road wondering how it all works. Rubber glue has a shelf life of about 2 years so make sure it's OK every now & then.

Sometimes it's handy to have a spare wheel with you lol.

[V_i_c_i]

For me is repair kit as I posted enought. Never need them. So probability 2 defects per day or trip is zero for me.

You're a lucky man if you've never needed to use your repair kit. Let's hope if you do get a puncture you don't have to inflate the tyre to find the hole as happened to me. Luckily I had the compressor & could re-inflate the tyre after fixing.

At least you carry a repair kit not like a lot of riders in Oz. Word of advice too ... if you've never done a repair with the kit you have then practice on an old tyre. You don't want to be on the side of the road wondering how it all works. Rubber glue has a shelf life of about 2 years so make sure it's OK every now & then.

Sometimes it's handy to have a spare wheel with you lol.

For my second bike this is no problem 

E: Spare wheel and lots of kilograms of tools and spare parts. 

[Timothy Spencer]

It would be great if you could carry everything with you on the bike to cover all possibilities. You can't of course. No point having a pump/compressor if you ain't got the kit to plug the leak. If you call out the RAC or AA for example in the UK then they will plug it if possible and then inflate it. You can go 50mph max then to get you home (been there, done that, got the T shirt  )
I would not want to be without the RAC cover for myself and wife in the cars and they cover the bikes too so I let them carry all the tools and parts around for me.
I have got a Michelin rechargeable compressor in the garage to check and adjust the tyres on 2 bikes and 2 cars and it works well. It has the hose and fitting just like the one on the pic at the start of this topic and goes onto the valves on my 14 easily. On the Pan Euro its easy on the front but only just gets on the rear due to the massive hub. Too heavy and bulky to carry around on a bike though.

[Andre]

I am a member in the ADAC. Famous here in Germany for their great roadside assistance, a ton of other services, and are networked throughout Europe. I hope they will never come to pick me up in one of their helicopters as they also provide the air rescue in Germany.

[VladTepes]

as per Tony's comment - RACQ - pack of idiots when it comes to bikes.

If you call them out because of a 'failed to proceed' issue, they look at the motorbike, scratch their heads, and tell you it has to be towed.
But they won't send a towie in the first place, oh no, you have to wait for the head scratcher and THEN wait for the towie... hours later.....

As Tony says a private recovery is almost always quicker/better.

I also offered to write a column / series of articles for the RACQ magazine.  My argument was that many of their members who are car owners are also bike owners. And for the majority perhaps that are not, it's very important that they be aware of issues affecting other road users - eg filtering is legal etc.  RACQ wasn't interested in any such proposal.

Seems they take the AUTOMOBILE (Royal Automobile Club of Queensland) part of their name very literally.

[Dusty ST]

Last two punctures I've had have both been on a Sunday afternoon in very rural France, with a threat of no dinner if not back at the B&B by 7pm. So I always carry a CO2 inflator, and nowadays a compact bicycle pump as backup, which I was very glad to borrow last time when my CO2 connector pipe went pop.

[grog]

ill try and keep away from that racq mob.

[Speedy1959]

This is the one I have..
Fits perfectly in the well under the seat (above the battery).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stop-Go-Motorcycle-Tubeless-Tyre-Puncture-Repair-Pilot-Kit-Air-Compressor/132282961234?hash=item1eccadcd52:g:6esAAOSwAA5Z3kOR

[Notty]

I got this one - personal european/recovery/at home/breakdown came with the car insurance and covers my bike 

[Speedy1959]

I have that as well..
But my rides take me into the middle of nowhere..
I cant see any of the rescue services turning up in the 15 minutes it takes to fix your own puncture !