That is not normal at all. You should get them checked out.
this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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Yeah what he said. Your bike tires should hold pressure over a season. I have to add air to my motorcycle tires maybe twice a year.
That being said, I wouldn't count on the gauge on a shitty compressor to be accurate. Get yourself an accurate tire pressure gauge and check it over a couple days without riding it in between to make sure it's really losing pressure sitting still. If it is, fill it up and take it back to the dealership and tell them to fuckin' fix it! And don't let them 'fix' it by putting slimy sealant in your tires. That shit is a mess to clean up when you do a tire change, and it's just a band aid. You want to know if they sold you a bike with defective rims or tires, basically.
Nothing to add, but I feel like this comment (especially the last line) is important enough to second.
I generally have to add air when the weather changes but that's it. Winters are mild enough here that I can ride unless it's storming.
To be honest, I have used 3 different tire gauges throughout the time as well so that very well could be it. One for a car air compressor, one for a portable compressor, and the cheapest possible manual pencil gauge I could find.
Iβm going to order a proper digital one.
Get your proper digital one and use it exclusively. Consumer tire gauges are basically never calibrated consistently, especially mechanical ones, and you'll drive yourself nuts getting all different readings from different gauges, none of them agreeing with each other even though they're all measuring the same thing. Down that road lies madness.
The pencil gauges in particular are uniquely terrible, and are tantamount to random number generators. Find all of yours and throw them away.
As others have said, your tires should not be losing air that fast. You probably have something wrong with one or both of your valve stems, or the beat seat if your tires are tubless. I dutifully check my tire pressure before, er, well... most rides, like the MSF manual told me all those years ago. Many rides. Okay, certainly before some rides, occasionally.
I have seven (7) bikes in my stable right now. (They're the ones in the header image in this very community.) I have to add air to the tires in each of them once, maybe twice per season at the outside. If you're having to do it every day, something is wrong.
Yeah you got that right - the whole driving oneself nuts with consumer tire gauges. For all I know my tires could be totally fine and Iβm just consistently not using the same gauge twice π€ͺ I only realized after a comment here and then watching a Project Farm video where he tested like 10 different gauges and a whole bunch of them were wildly off (by more than 5psi).
My gauge arrives in a couple days so we shall see. Thanks for the advice!
Edit: ya this was it. Iβm dumb and my tires are good.
add air to my motorcycle tires maybe twice a year
that doesnt compute at all. every motor vehicle ive ever dealt with needed air weekly.
i don't think its safe to ride motorcycles with deflated tires like this. please keep your tires calibrated to the correct pressure.
Having to put air in your tires weekly is not normal. Something is wrong with your tires or rims.
Like I said, I put air in my tires a couple times a year (on two bikes), always air up at end of winter and usually sometime in the fall for a top up of a couple PSI, but I check the pressure monthly (except during winter) and they are fine.
wait what? we surely must be talking about different things?
pedal bikes are a different beast ime, but motorcycles? i don't think i have ever seen a tire that can hold manufacturer specified pressure for half a year in my entire life, on any car or motorcycle ive ever interacted with, on all the wheels.
the owners manual on mine recommends filling them up weekly, and surely it will be down by 5ish psi in that time if i use it daily.
@umbrella @CarbonatedPastaSauce hmm, the whole summer I ride my bike to work. 400 to 500 km per week. I never have to inflate my tires for the season, unless something is wrong with them and need to be fixed.
you can in fact ride a pedal bike for a season without inflating tires. they will be at a lower pressure and offer more resistance though.
however, motorcycles will be unsafe if you ride it for that long without topping it up.
Nah shouldn't lose air over a couple days as everyone else has said.
Fill a spray bottle with soapy water and spray around the valve stem and bead (where the tyre meets the rim) look for bubbles.
Or check it then don't check for a week and check again and see if it's a bigger lose.
You will feel low pressure tyres when riding especially in corners.
All good advice. Iβll check for air leaks while I wait for my proper gauge. To be honest my bike has felt fine handling wise. No problems with taking twisty roads at speed. Iβm hoping I just have faulty gauges.
I don't use my bike that much but it does not loose that much air.
Is it because you're checking every day and letting out a little each time?
I donβt think so. Iβll have to check with a digital gauge I think
Have someone check it out, it sounds like a slow leak maybe. It can be really hard to find those sometimes.
~~Just test without opening the valve either by pinching the tire with your hand or by putting your weight on it to see the deformation. Do this after topping up to get a baseline and once you think you lost pressure.~~
~~If it actually loses pressure you can find out where exactly the problem is, by taking the tire out, filling up your sink, pressurizing the tire (not as much as normally, as it is not confined), holding it under water and looking for bubbles.~~
Or use a tiny bit of soapy water instead of the entire sink. Also helps degreasing before applying glue and s patch to the leak.
Edit:lol thought this was about bike, but now see the motorcycle sub. Still with that big of a tire soapy water might be even more handy π
Edit:lol thought this was about bike, but now see the motorcycle sub. Still with that big of a tire soapy water might be even more handy π
didn't realize it either
I didn't catch this was about a motorcycle until their comment either!