Clarke Monza portable air compressor: rapid and portable tyre inflator
The Clarke Monza portable air compressor is extremely light and portable, and a godsend for any home mechanic.
Portable air compressors are valued for their compact size and usefulness. 12v car versions are ok for adding air to car tyres but, man, are they slow! They are also not much use for motorcycle track days if needing to add air to tyres or, as we’ve discovered, they’re too weak and slow to blow off debris as a result of a get off!
Taking the garage 24 or 50-litre compressor to a track day is a tad overkill and takes up valuable space in the car/van especially when a small generator is also onboard. Rather than burden other track day goers, we upped our compressor needs with the £79.99 Clarke Monza portable air compressor.
The Monza is a tidy, compact 230v electric compressor and easily powered by the Visordown track day and bike event generator – if your genny has a UK household 240v 3-pin socket, then the Monza is good to go. And go it does.
With a safe working pressure of 115psi (8bar) and a goodly air displacement rate of 6.35cfm (cubic feet per minute), it doesn’t take long to inflate bike or car tyres let alone the kids’ variety of mostly unused bouncy balls, space hoppers and so on. It’s also been used to power a small air stapler when fitting a new, lurid-coloured seat cover to a friend’s otherwise immaculately restored RD350LC.
Not much bigger than the other half’s shoulder bag and a few grammes under six kilos, carrying the Monza by its sturdy handle halfway across Donington Park’s paddock wasn’t a problem – that’ll teach junior to leave it in the car. That handle forms part of the Monza’s external plastic casing that houses the oil and maintenance free electric compressor motor. There are also two pocket compartments to stash the three-metre air hose and 230v mains cable (with plug) to keep hose and lead from knotting themselves to anything and everything in the car boot.
The air hose is surprisingly flexible, and the business end has crimped in place a female Euro-style 1/4in PCL QD connector– the same type that features on nearly all modern air tools and compressors. The accessory pack is comprehensive but only three pieces are of real interest to us riders: 1) an air pistol with a dial pressure gauge and male Euro airline connector, 2) a separate hose whip (screws into the air pistol) with clamp-type tyre valve nozzle, and 3) a thin stem nozzle to blow a powerful jet of air. There’s also a plastic adaptor that enabled us to rapidly inflate camping mattresses. Ok, so make that the fourth necessary accessory.
Be aware though, if inflating an airbed in the paddock, or a spare tyre outside, do make sure it’s before bedtime because the Monza isn’t totally silenced. It’s not loud-loud either but noticeable if trying to kip in a nearby tent. One tip for Monza users involves the rubber damping feet on the back of the casing that stops it vibrating across a hard surface. Being of the soft rubber variety they are easily dislodged; a small drop of super glue keeps the feet in place. Apart from this minor but fixable grumble, Monza is a welcome addition to our tool collection.
To find out more or to buy, head to the Machine Mart website.
You can find Visordown's full range of workshop tools and equipment reviews here.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
