valve stems

[Shasta]

Hello

I got new cobras put on last week and they put in new oem honda 90 degree valve stems.  Not I have been seen all the posts about how bad they are.

I have a couple questions.

1)  The black piece that holds them in place fell out when I aired up.  I didn't think anything of it and went for a 50 miles ride and hit some high speeds.  All is well but not I read that that piece is vital to the safety of the stem.  Should the come off that easily?  Are they easy to put back on?

2)  When i added air it was hard to get the hose to seat because they flexed when i pushed the nozzle onto them.  How do you guys air up without pushing the stem hard, therefore bending the stem?

I don't really want to have to pull the tires and have new ones put on. 

Please advise.

Thanks, Matt

[Red Diamond]

You can order new ones, they help to prevent the flexing you mentioned. They also prevent flexing at high speeds and can be installed simply by sliding them over the valve stem.

[Hook#3287]

Hey Matt;

These really are Tech Board questions, not that it's a big deal, but you might get more response.

Yes the black piece is very important and should be in place with OEM stems.  At high speed, they keep the stem in place and counter the centrifugal force that can lead to air loss.

If you keeping the OEM stems replace the "Rim valve holder"

Question 2,  The holder will hold the stem. Or you could do the reach around

You don't need to pull the tires to put in new stems, do a search and there should be many thread's about changing stems using c-clamps and pieces of wood to hold the tire bead back enough to swap the stem.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Get some new ones and put on immediately. Also order some metal valve stems for the next tire change. But don't ride high speed without doing one or the other !!!

[Shasta]

Thanks guys

I still have the little black holders.  They cam right off when I went to air up.

It was hard to hold the other side on the stem with the floppy gas station air hose tight on the stem and reach around.

Can I put the black stem holders back on or if they fell off does it mean they are broken?

I thought this might belong in the tech forum.  Thanks for the tip, Matt

PS-The ride I did today was an after work 50 mile jaunt through perfect twistys, empty pavement, and beautiful scenery.  Pleas get in touch if any of you are out west in the Northern California this summer.  I know the area well.

[Pappy!]

If you do a search you will find more than a few posts on OEM valve stem failures. Each one came with its own big time pucker factor.
Well worth installing new holders or metal 90 degree stems.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Thanks guys

I still have the little black holders.  They cam right off when I went to air up.

It was hard to hold the other side on the stem with the floppy gas station air hose tight on the stem and reach around.

Can I put the black stem holders back on or if they fell off does it mean they are broken?

I thought this might belong in the tech forum.  Thanks for the tip, Matt

PS-The ride I did today was an after work 50 mile jaunt through perfect twistys, empty pavement, and beautiful scenery.  Pleas get in touch if any of you are out west in the Northern California this summer.  I know the area well.

They probably aren't broke. Just pop them back on. And get some metal ones for the next tire change. 

[John Schmidt]

Sounds like they weren't installed correctly to begin with. They really don't just fall off.

[Willow]

...
I have a couple questions.

1)  The black piece that holds them in place fell out when I aired up.  I didn't think anything of it and went for a 50 miles ride and hit some high speeds.  All is well but not I read that that piece is vital to the safety of the stem.  Should the come off that easily?  Are they easy to put back on?

2)  When i added air it was hard to get the hose to seat because they flexed when i pushed the nozzle onto them.  How do you guys air up without pushing the stem hard, therefore bending the stem?
...

The black piece simply snaps into piece on the rim.  Perhaps its was bumped loose during the tire change.  They should be easy to snap back into place.  If they don't snap into place easily then they are broken.

Holding the stem from behind while airing is the correct method.  The support is needed notonly when you are airing them up but also when you're checking the pressure with a tire gauge.  That need is relived with an all metal stem.

As to the sudden fear, the OEM stems under many, many circumstances have performed well until they get older and more brittle.  The presence of the stem support is essential.  It's not so much that the OEM's are just bound to fail at any moment, but that they have a weakness that some of us are unwilling to risk.  That will seem odd coming from me because more than one member will quote me as saying, "Friends don't let friends ride on OEM valve stems."  I do think you should replace them, but if you get the support back into place the next tire change should be adequate.

Put the supports back into place and ride that beast.   

[hubcapsc]

When i added air it was hard to get the hose to seat because they flexed when i pushed the nozzle onto them.

I think that is when the old ones break. I saw my buddy Henry carelessly airing-up/flexing his stem
as we were headed out to Cheaha once... we only made it to Toccoa .

Your new one might withstand some flexing, but flexing and OEM valve-stems don't
go together...

-Mike