Valve Stems By speedracer (Read 1,189 times)

[speedracer]

OK, I heard time and time again to make sure you change your cheap value stems. Do I replace my China stems with new China stems? How does one know who makes the value stems in the first place?

[daver]

speed,
What works for me is a super short stem I picked up at my local tire dealer.. The ones I use are called lawnmower/atv stems.. They are so short you have plenty of room for air chucks or tire pressure gauges on them.. Last trip in they just gave me a handfull, and since they are being used by a business with huge liablity issues you can be sure they are good quality..
There are several good posts for the "how to's", but really all you need is a nice LARGE c-clamp, piece of leather or rubber to protect the back of your wheel, and a good source of air to get the tire reseated back on the rim..
Good luck, Dave
PS: the maker is usually listed on the bottom written around the center air passage.. Most any "real" brand name should be fine..

[fairweasel2323]

speedracer I know this is a thread from scootdawg but has good info about the valve stems and pics to help u get the idea of how it works! scootdawg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=steeringissue&action=display&thread=21635 I used the .453 diameter 1 and 1/4" long stems got them for $3 at Auto Zone I have realized on my scoot having the 12" front wheel and the 10"rear caused a problem the 1 and 1/4" stem fine for the front but a little to long for the back rim ( hard to get air chuck in) but I will replace the back one with a shorter one soon. Defenitly better then the originals! My scoot was only 3mths old and already had cracks and looked like the brass elbow was separating and were always losing air, with the new ones been fine no air loss and I feel much safer knowing I got better stems on then the OEM's!

[fairweasel2323]

I used a towel in between the rim and c clamp instead of a piece of rubber but heard of people using a small piece of wood too! just to protect ur rim from getting scratched! I just used a pair of pliers to pull new stems through instead of buying a stem puller worked pretty good, I used a 5inch c-clamp but a 6-8inch would of worked better! it was a tight fit on rear wheel with the 5inch clamp. Hope this helps!

[speedracer]

fairweasel2323 Thanks for the link and picture of what stems you used. I guess it is ok to have straight stems.

[damin69]

My Dad and I had such a bad run on valve stems this year. This is what we finally ended up with. Well Like these anyway

[fairweasel2323]

yeah the straights work! It is hard to check psi in rear tire but, it hasnt been leaking so I dont check much. just some water and soap to check for leaks every now and again, and have checked psi about once a week since I put them on and they aint dropped a pound! I want to get a shorter sraight one for rear so it will be easier like a 3/4 inch or 1" instead of inch and 1/4. But for $3 u cant complain!

[Cruiser]

They can be oriented anyway you want. Make sure you get the .453" valve stems.

[speedracer]

Thanks Cruiser for the info. Had no idea of the size now I do and have it written down.

[Cruiser]

Your welcome, speedracer. These are my favorites and they should last the life of the scooter.

kurveygirl.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=72

[speedracer]

Sept 22, 2010 23:09:56 GMT -6 Cruiser said:

Your welcome, speedracer. These are my favorites and they should last the life of the scooter.

kurveygirl.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=72

Cruiser thanks for the link. Are they long enough to put air in and check pressure?

[Cruiser]

I find that they are just the right length. Any longer might cause clearance problems with the other components of the scoot. The 90 degree angle allows a straight shot when checking pressure and adding air.

[fairweasel2323]

yeah as I said before make sure there .453 diameter