The AstroAI L4 portable air pump can top off your tires and fill up repaired flats with selectable air pressures up to 150 psi. The AstroAI L4 model has presets for car, motorcycle, bicycle, and ball inflation. Weighing about 1.2 pounds and standing 6.5 inches tall, it is small enough to fit in a corner of a pannier or top case. The screw-in 11-inch hose has a no-leak, securely fitting snap-on valve connector. Although the compressor doesn’t have enough oomph to seat a tubeless motorcycle tire bead, it will help you or a friend get back to civilization if a tire has a slow leak or needs a freshly installed tube inflated.
I have tire pressure monitoring systems on all my automobiles and motorcycles, and I make sure they are properly inflated at all times. The AstroAI L4’s strong compressor does quick work of increasing the pressure from 30 to 36 psi. However, I wanted to see how it handles flat repairs.
To torture-test the AstroAI L4, I set out to discover how many tires I could bring back up from flat. I aired down the front and rear tires on the Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike, one SUV tire, and one sedan tire to 5 psi. The Ténéré rear went from 5 to 36 psi in 6.5 minutes. The front took 90 seconds to go from 5 to 32 psi.
The SUV tire went from 5 to 36 psi in 7.5 minutes, and the sedan tire pumped up from 5 to 29 PSI in five minutes. With that accomplished, the AstroAI L4 shut off with a low battery indication. The 6600 milliamp-hour (mAh) lithium battery delivered 20 minutes of run time until it needed recharging.
The SUV tire was a real strain on the L4’s compressor and battery. It was obvious that lifting the heavy SUV from near-flat is not the intended use of this portable unit. Also, although the hose connector gets hot, AstroAI has surrounded it with a silicon-like fingertip saver so you can take the hose off immediately after a long filling session, without burning your fingers. I will stick with filling motorcycle tires and topping up car tires.
The AstroAI L4 portable air pump comes with two air nozzles, a needle valve adapter, and a Schrader-to-Presta adapter. I have helped several bicyclists get back on the road using the Presta adapter.
I used the included USB-C cable to recharge the L4 to full capacity in about four hours. In addition to pressurizing tires, the internal 6600 mAh battery can also be used as a power bank, white light LED, and a flashing red LED.
The AstroAI L4 portable air pump has a two-year warranty and an $89 MSRP. AstroAI makes many different portable air pump models. The L4 model is a compromise of size, weight, battery capacity, and convenience—all things to consider when carrying it on your body or motorcycle. I have been packing a small, corded compressor for many years, and it is obvious that battery-powered is now the way to go. Incorrect pressure in motorcycle tires causes excess wear and can be dangerous at freeway speeds. If you air down your adventure bike to ride offroad, the AstroAI L4 will air you back up in minutes for a safe street ride home.
