Portable Manual Air Pump: Topeak Road Morph with gauge

[FZ6er_FSR]

The reason:
In riding school, we’re taught to check “cold” tire pressure in the morning. If a bike is ridden to the gas station air pump, the tire will warm up and the pressure reading would be incorrect. It would take 3 hours for the tire to cool down before you can check pressure again.

I’ve been adjusting tire pressure on the FZ6 with the classic $8 foot pump and separate tire gauge. I’ve always wondered if there was a decent portable pump for motorcycles, something I can take with me instead of relying solely on the CO2 cartridges in the plugger kit. The foot pump is too bulky and heavy. I went on the internet to only find the best solution is the electric pumps which need you to tinker with the engine to get them to work. As a new rider, this was something I didn’t want to do. Just a month ago while cleaning my apartment; I came across my trusty bicycle pump I bought 8 years ago.


The Review:
The Topeak Road Morph is a portable floor pump designed for bicycle tires. It folds into a long stick for transport

and transforms into mini floor pump for use. The hose also extends a few more inches.

The pump body and shaft for the piston is made of Aluminum; hose and seals are rubber, and the other parts are hard plastics. There's no dual head nonesense and Topeak managed to keep the design simple. Overall, it’s a very durable design considering this pump is still in my possession.

For the Car? No.
I had a hard time trying to connect the head of the pump to the valve. The pump has a built in gauge which makes the head long, this interferes with the rim. I did manage to get it connected; it will pump air inside but very slowly. But at the end, it was too much trouble and I ended up damaging the built in gauge.

For the FZ6? Yes, but look for the version with no gauge.
Rotate the tire so the valve is perpindicular or closer to the ground. I had an easy time connecting the head to the valve compared on the car. The thumb lock needs to be flipped up to lock the head to the valve: no interference on the rear tire, front tire, it just touches one of the spokes of our cast wheel. The hose seems just long enough for the pump to reach on the ground. The pump did get the job done and fairly quickly. The head is more tenacious than the average pump, so you must be careful not to pull out your valve from the wheel once you’re done. I’m not sure how well the built in gauge would work on the FZ6 since my gauge was damaged by the car tire, but it’s always recommend to check tire pressure with your favourite gauge.

Conclusion:
Cost: $25 to $50
This product is recommended to anyone looking to bring a tire pump on a long trip. I recommend this pump with no gauge:
Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - Road Morph?
I prefer the mountain version because it's more compact. Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - Mountain Morph?
The trade off is it may not pump air as quickly and the hose is not as long the road version.

If you have this pump, give it a try and let us know if you’re getting the same results. You can try the other Topeak line of Morph pumps but keep in mind even with my road version, the hose was just long enough for the pump to reach the ground.
Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - Mini Pumps (5 Morph versions)
Make sure you have a return policy if you're going to try this line of pumps.

Good Luck