Do you replace valve with tires?

Hello folks,
I'm a frequent reader. Infrequent poster.
The first spring like day in PA last week got me thinking about how far behind i am in my 550 restoration winter project.
I got up the gumption to replace the tires myself. There was a good you-tube video and it went well. Even balancing was easier than i thought it would. definitely worth the satisfaction and the savings I thought - there are good tire deals when you can shop online.

anyways, i realized too late that the valves on my XJ550RJ are also 25+ year old originals. on my bike i'm finding not a lot has been replaced over the years. one of the you tube videos told a scary story about a valve failing at speed.

do you guys replace air valves when replacing tires? the didn't look in bad shape or anything, other than the sealing rubber on the under side looking, you know how 25 year old rubber looks, wasn't dry or flaky.
the seem well made with aluminum caps and all.

what do you think?

 

If the valve stem isn't flaking or cracking I wouldn't worry about it now...but I'd replace it when you replace the tire next time. If it's cracking....well I guess you get to do it again.

I notice you're in SE PA. There's several of us in MD, not too far from you.

 

Oh yeah, SE PA born and raised.

Do you guys ever do group runs or tuning parties?

When I parked my 550 in the fall, it ran ok, but started really hard. I'm hoping on having a reliable starter before spring rolls around in earnest.

 

For under $10, a new valve is cheap insurance. I purchase the 90 degree type for the rear to ease tire inflation.

 

Yeah,
I know I would have done it if I had planned ahead.
I'm weighing the benefits of going back and doing versus stretching out my new rubbers by yanking them off and on again.

 

I'll be fitting new tires shortly and will be replacing both valves, as they're most likely as old as the bike (26 years.)

You shouldn't need to completely dismount the tires, if you pop one side off you should be able to reach in there.

If it were me I would not wait, but I regularly ride freeways.

 

Huh...I thought these were replaced at every tire change. Will have to inspect mine the next time I'm in the garage.

 

Rnice, you shouldn't need to dismount the tire as Fitz mentioned. Easier to dismount it for sure but not necessary.

 

one would HOPE and maybe even ASSUME that they would be replaced; unfortunately this is not always true. I always insist, and end up paying about $4 per tire more (cheap insurance.)

 

My 90 degree cost me $17!!!

 

8O OW!! or is that life in the sunshine state... or as we here in the midwest refer to it, "the land of the fruit and nut."

 

next time you change the tire get the metal ones and theyll last forever.

 

Ummm... ok, I've heard that before. So maybe here's a dumb question.
It looks all metal to me. Threaded all the way through with a nut and lock nut top side and rubber washer on the other side. Even the cap is aluminum. So uh, is that 'all metal' and will it 'last forever'??

I know I know, I'm fishing to not do what I probably should just do. But there is so many other things to give time to, like figuring out how to get rid of those pods.

 

I work in a tire shop, we replace valve stems and valve cores on all vehicles getting new tires. we also replace the valve cores when repaing a flat. that 1 less reason for the tire to come back. being yours are about 25 years old its would be in your best interests to replace the valve core. one less potential problem on the road.remove the aluminum cap replace with plastic . we see corrosion in valve stems and rims when 2 unlike metals meet (like aluminum & steel) again 1 less potential problem on the road. we see these issues on a daily basis

 

There's really only one way to do it right: Pull the blasted motor and install the stock airbox. We've already established that on a 550 Seca you WILL have to pull the motor to get the airbox in.

My beautiful nearly original '81 Seca's airbox is coming apart at the seams, and I'm postponing the inevitable with black adhesive RTV for now. Probably be next winter's project. Look on the bright side: with the motor out, areas of the bike that haven't seen the light of day since it was built can be cleaned and repainted if necessary. (I keep trying to convince myself of this...)

 

The problem with this forum is that as soon as you do something new and feel ok, someone convinces you on taking an even bigger bite.

Tire off, valve off, wrong size valve from local chop shop, I guess I'll order from Chacal and hope the chop shop give me my$10 back.

 

Metal units do not last indefinitely, they merely last a long time. I have had to replace a few units but (because I am not the original owner) I replaced dog-eared units to establish a baseline. In all cases, I found the rubber seals to be hardened and ready to crack. Ounce of prevention, pound of cure. I have not had any tire stems fail to date and, God willing, never will with care and regular inspections.

 

I used to work for Canadian Tire in the parts department and as such was the go to guy for the guys in the shop, especially the tire guys.

Rule of thumb with valve stems. If they're rubber, yank em out and replace them every time you change the tires. If they're the "permanent" steel kind, replace the cores every time and every 3rd to 4th time, pull it apart and replace the rubber seal between the base of the stem and the rim.

As far as I know, you will need to pull the tire off to replace any rubber stem because you have to pull them through the rim from the inside out

 

Just found out why my tire went flat on me this past Friday (bit of a hike pushing the Seca home). The stem valve wasn't seated fully (I paid someone to do this...) and let the air escape. Grrrrr.... figures. Fortunately no tire damage and it aired right up. Now to get this thing rebalanced. Check your tires after you have someone put new tires on for you.