The hard bags and my laziness - close call

[bobhamlin]

If some newk came on here and asked about safety, I'm sure I'd be one of the first to spout for regular inspection of the bike. Talk is cheap.

Several weeks ago, I lost a footpeg, because the peg had been in service for about 3 years and never came loose before -- and I had stopped checking that bolt.

My disciplined side says the bike should get a "Is everything tight?" check once a week (I commute over 300 miles weekly, in addition to the weekend), and air pressure should be part of that check.

The dual disks on the front brake and the hard bags on the back, make checking the pressure a little more "effort-ful" than with the Classic.

I have a slow leak on the front tire, so I've gotten into checking that daily. Whenever I checked the back tire, it held air fine. The nuisance of having to practically lay on the garage floor just to see if I could access the valve gave me the poor excuse to skip the regular pressure check.

When I did check, the pressure had held -- and the back tire receded even more from awareness. Lately, I've been noticing a different feel, but there's been a lot of different weather conditions. Could it be the back tire? Well, it's always good. OK, I'll check it next time. What? Can't see the valve through the bags? I'll get it next time. (Next time) Oh yeah, forgot to check the back tire again. I'll get to it.

Yesterday, as I was pulling into the garage (lots of rain), I noticed a louder rubber-squeaking-against-concrete sound than seemed normal. Mental note to check pressure.

This morning, after I checked and adjusted the front tire, I found the back valve, rolled the bike forward to access the valve and, laying on the garage floor (in my chaps and jacket liner), found that the pressure was at 15 lbs.

If one of you said that you had let your tires get down that far, I wouldn't call you out on the board, but I'd make a mental note about your association with Darwin.

Even if your tires ALWAYS hold pressure, make them a regular part of a frequent inspection. Geez, it seems so obvious.