There’s a lot of conflicting advice on the internet about whether or not you need valve caps on your motorcycle or scooter.
The simple answer is yes, you do.
It’s about your safety. Without a valve cap you increase the chances of air leaking out of your tyres either slowly or from a rapid deflation.
If you run without valve caps, general road crud can get into the valves and this build up can cause air to slowly leak out of the tyre. Over time, this can cause you to lose pressure faster than an acceptable rate. Without valve caps the wear on the valve internals might also cause problems when you do go to inflate your tyres, with the valve core spring getting stuck and therefore the valve not closing properly.
However we have heard of instances where bikes that are being run on a dyno without a valve cap have experienced rapid rear tyre deflation due to the forces acting on the valve. In fact Pirelli also mention this in their dealer catalogue – that any bikes being run on the dyno must have valve caps fitted.
It’s not hard to imagine what might happen to you if you’re pushing 150mph on the Autobahn and the rear tyre drops 30psi in a matter of seconds due to centrifugal forces opening the valve.
So while you can run without valve caps, we advise you don’t.
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