rear wheel black plastic valve stem support

[boss hoss bill]

I was putting air in my tires and the piece of black plastic that surrounds the valve stem came off, due I suspect to old age.

Question is, until I need a new tire and bring it in  is it safe to operate without this piece? I don't see that it is supporting anything anyway?

TIA

Bill

[98valk]

its there is help keep it from moving when adding air.  as far as I know all the GL1500 goldwings had them also

where are u located?  I have 2 new ones unopened bags.

[gordonv]

Question is, until I need a new tire and bring it in  is it safe to operate without this piece? I don't see that it is supporting anything anyway?

It should be supporting the valve stem of the tire. Stops it from flexing while the well is rolling, as it can fatigue at the rim and break/leak. I broke mine while pushing hard on the stem to get a seal and an air reading. I always use a screw on pump/gauge now.

All stems should be replaced with ridged ones. Rocky Mountain had a few sales during the year with no shipping charges. A good time to buy up 10 and have some giveaways for your friends.
https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/tires-and-wheels/myers-90%C2%B0-tubeless-chrome-valve-stem-p

Only you can say how long you want to wait and chance a failure on a ride somewhere. I would replace the support if it is actually supporting something. OEM stem should be 90'.

Some have removed the air and crushed the tire to the side with a c clamp to get to the stem and replace it. Should be able to find some posts on the procedure.

[98valk]

"It should be supporting the valve stem of the tire. Stops it from flexing while the well is rolling, as it can fatigue at the rim and break/leak."

completely disagree with that, since 90 degree valve stems are used on vehicles and have never seen any with a support.
the rubber of the valve stem is EDPM and must last a minimum of 60k miles per D.O.T. 
oil products which are in many waxes and polishes degrades EDPM.

[John Schmidt]

You should be able to press it back into place unless you broke it off. It just slides in.

[Chrisj CMA]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

As was said it should be able to be replaced. The best answer is to replace the valve stems with all metal ones and then you don't need that piece.

[ridingron]

If it's the piece I'm thinking it is, Honda sells it for about $5. Go Honda or go aftermarket. Your choice.

[98valk]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

[hubcapsc]

OEM valve stems will leave you on the side of the road. And you
might not even still be on your motorcycle when you get there.

It is sound Valkyrie wisdom to replace the OEM valve stem
with a metal one. After that the plastic holder would only
be for looks. I still have one on my front. If I run across another
I'll put one on the back.

I've watched people break their old OEM stems trying to put air
in their tires. The plastic holder kind of helps with that.

-Mike

[h13man]

If you are running rubber stems, it needs to be there for sure. Had failure after tire/stem replacement w/o "tombstone" support. Got plenty extra if anybody needs any. And yes I use steel stems now but still use the support.

[Willow]

... And yes I use steel stems now but still use the support.

If you have full metal stems the "support" piece is pure decoration only.  The fill metal stem cannot bend in the manner that the item is meant to resist.

I don't understand why Honda chose to use stems with rubber in them but many of us miss the recommendation that they be replaced with new during every other tire change.

[sandy]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

[Chrisj CMA]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

^^^^Yes This^^^^ I know from experience. 70 mph on I-95 is not a fun time to lose all air pressure .  But, do as you please.

[98valk]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

do u have a video of this to support your theory?

[Chrisj CMA]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

do u have a video of this to support your theory?

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

[98valk]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

do u have a video of this to support your theory?

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

your EPDM valve stem failed from the petroleum distillates in car polishes and waxes that were used on the wheels. EPDM does very very poorly around petroleum distillates
there is not enough weight and distance from the wheel in the little valve stem that centrifugal force from the spinning wheel to cause failure from that type of movement.

car polishes and waxes caused the failure of the valve stems.

[Chrisj CMA]

For the OP. The answer to your question is NO, it's not safe to ride without that piece if you have the OEM Valve Stems with the rubber base. Under acceleration there can be too much movement of the valve stem and it can fail causing a rapid loss of tire pressure.

that cannot happen unless the EPDM rubber is already damage. there is almost zero movement. the plastic support is only for valve stem support during tire filing operations.

I disagree with this. At speed, the metal end of the stem wants to bend towards the rim edge. When bent like this, it puts a strain on the rubber which can split the base at the rim. That's the original purpose.

do u have a video of this to support your theory?

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

your EPDM valve stem failed from the petroleum distillates in car polishes and waxes that were used on the wheels. EPDM does very very poorly around petroleum distillates
there is not enough weight and distance from the wheel in the little valve stem that centrifugal force from the spinning wheel to cause failure from that type of movement.

car polishes and waxes caused the failure of the valve stems.

The only product I have ever used on my Valkyrie wheels is Bombs Away. I don't think there are petroleum distillates in that product. I'm not however 100% sure.

[-mike-]

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

That's exactly what happened with my front wheel, too. No issues standing still, runnig at highway speed the rubber stem flexed enough to open a small crack and soon my TPMS jumped to alert.

No issues after the change to metal valve stems.

-mike-

[Willow]

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

That's exactly what happened with my front wheel, too. No issues standing still, runnig at highway speed the rubber stem flexed enough to open a small crack and soon my TPMS jumped to alert.

No issues after the change to metal valve stems. 

That is pretty well how it manifested itself with Mama.  I do not believe, though, that that is when and where the initial damage occurred.  I'm pretty confident that what the little plastic support protects against is damage while pressing the air nozzle or gauge against the stem to air or check the pressure.

[Chrisj CMA]

It's not a theory. When it happened to me it felt solid on the side of the freeway. I even aired up the tire and it seemed to hold. It was fine until somewhere around 60 and then instantly flat. As soon as there was enough centrifugal force to move the valve stem.

That's exactly what happened with my front wheel, too. No issues standing still, runnig at highway speed the rubber stem flexed enough to open a small crack and soon my TPMS jumped to alert.

No issues after the change to metal valve stems. 

That is pretty well how it manifested itself with Mama.  I do not believe, though, that that is when and where the initial damage occurred.  I'm pretty confident that what the little plastic support protects against is damage while pressing the air nozzle or gauge against the stem to air or check the pressure.

So that plastic piece protects the OE stem from excessive movement. So one could surmise regardless of the cause of the movement.

[Skinhead]

I can't believe you guys are still discussing that little piece of plastic....

[Jess from VA]

I can't believe you guys are still discussing that little piece of plastic....

Yeah I threw mine away and cut off the T's they mount to like 12 years ago. 

One of the very few Mickey Mouse parts on a Valkyrie.