Slow leak in tyre

[blastedbugler]

I have a slow leak in the front tyre of my Interstate.
About 5 psi a week when not being ridden.
I have taken the tyre off and an inspection showed no visible flawes or nails, etc.
Checked out the rim and all appeared OK.
The tyre still has about 50% of tread and would be about 3 years old.
I put a new valve in the rim and put the tyre back on.
All done by a Honda agent.
Still has the leak.
I am loath to replace the tyre but that may be the next step.
While the tyre is off is there any treatment I can give the rim in case it has a porous spot.
I dont want to use any of the puncture fix products as there are positives and negatives to these.
Any ideas.
Don ( Aussie )

[YoungPUP]

See if a local tyre shop has a test tank for looking for leaks, or throw it in the neighbors swimming pool.

[sandy]

Older rims can have a rubber buildup in the bead area. If so, clean that up with steel wool or a Scotchbrite pad. I suspected a porous rim leak problem years ago. I never proved it but here's what I did. I lightly sanded the inside of the rim and sprayed it with polypropylene spray to fill any pores in the rim casting.

[Jess from VA]

My bet was going to be the valve stem.

Can you get this down under? (NO OTHER TIRE SEALANT BUT RIDE-ON)

http://www.ride-on.com/

http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle-formula-mot.html

[salty1]

Blasted take a bottle of Windex or a soap solution and spray it liberally around the rim to establish/eliminate you have a small bead leak. Recheck your valve also. Sandy is right about the crude build up that can occur. I usually use a brass brush and xylene to clean up my beads followed by a scotchbrite pad.    If nothing works out, I would just run it and put up with thie PITA

[Robert]

After you checked all the previous suggestions change the tire or call for a warranty on it. I had the same problem with a couple of tires didn't start right away but in time they started to loose air. Couldn't find a leak so just waited till it was time to change and sure enough no more loss of air. It may get to be 10 a week thats when mine was really annoying.

[Jess from VA]

Put 15lbs over max psi (printed on sidewall) in the tire, and put it back in a water tank (bathtub).  Or on the bike, use dishsoap and warm water solution and a sponge (looking for bubbles).

Remove the extra air after.

I have had a very slow leak that could not be located.  If you can't, pulling it off the bike and rim, cleaning the bead on the rim and reinstalling (pull wheel weights and rebalance) may delete it. (before replacing it ($), it's worth a try)

[YoungPUP]

May want to check with the shop that does your tyres before you use a ride on product, balancer, sealant etc.  My shop of choice after one too many cleanups from fix a flat etc, now charges $25 if you don't let him know about the stuff before he breaks the bead. 

[Tropic traveler]

Older rims can have a rubber buildup in the bead area. If so, clean that up with steel wool or a Scotchbrite pad. I suspected a porous rim leak problem years ago. I never proved it but here's what I did. I lightly sanded the inside of the rim and sprayed it with polypropylene spray to fill any pores in the rim casting.

Agreed. The front tire on Kim's Valk lost 2-3 lbs a week regardless of use. I suspected the stock rubber/metal stem so I dismounted it to change it to a all metal 90* type. When I dismounted it the rubber build up was nasty. Cleaned it up real good & almost no leakage 6 months later. Not sure whether the stem or bead clean up did it but it coulda been either!