Spoked wheels-inner tubes arghh

semmyroundel

semmyroundel

Club Member
Hi despite what I've been told a long time ago, my Nightster having spoked wheels, has inner tubes.
I'v started getting things ready for a 3800 mile trip across France and around Spain, and having had a new front tyre+inner tube, I'm wondering what people think of sealant.
I've got a spare rear tube, but some of the places I'll go are very remote and would look to at least make it out to civilisation to get a puncture repaired.
So I have a couple of bottles of Weldtite inner tube sealant, what do people think of using this in the tyres? A good or bad idea?
TIA
 
Hi - in the 1970's I saw a demonstration in the Isle of Man of OKO fluid sealant where a wheel and tyre was set up on a stand and observers were invited to jab it with a spike then spin the wheel and note that the tyre did not deflate. I was impressed and bought some and used same for years after.
Then a tyre fitter pointed out that if you got, say, a nail in the tyre, the sealant would hold until the penetrant worked a split in the tube when you got a sudden complete flat instead of a controlled deflation. Ouch.
So, opinions differ. Sadly, on modern bikes, a set of tyre levers and a patch kit ain't going to work. Tricky choice.
 
semmyroundel said:
Hi despite what I've been told a long time ago, my Nightster having spoked wheels, has inner tubes.
I'v started getting things ready for a 3800 mile trip across France and around Spain, and having had a new front tyre+inner tube, I'm wondering what people think of sealant.
I've got a spare rear tube, but some of the places I'll go are very remote and would look to at least make it out to civilisation to get a puncture repaired.
So I have a couple of bottles of Weldtite inner tube sealant, what do people think of using this in the tyres? A good or bad idea?
TIA
Click to expand...

Consider converting your existing rims to tubeless, plenty of tutorials on YouTube and kits fairly widely available from off road and adventure motorcycling focused retailers.

You could probably also adopt a belt and braces approach of also running sealant in the tyre.

Some will say converting tubed rims to tubeless is dangerous or asking for trouble, but plenty of folks do it without any drama in the off road and adventure motorcycling world.
 
Stick the stuff in, get good breakdown cover and go , new tyre new tubes.....no worries just go! And enjoy, there's plenty of members, me included that have travelled many a mile on spoked wheels...a little tip I was given years ago was, look at your route the look for the dealerships/independent workshops along the way, a good way to find these are the agents for cce...zodiac etc
 
Mark Hammond said:
Consider converting your existing rims to tubeless, plenty of tutorials on YouTube and kits fairly widely available from off road and adventure motorcycling focused retailers.

You could probably also adopt a belt and braces approach of also running sealant in the tyre.

Some will say converting tubed rims to tubeless is dangerous or asking for trouble, but plenty of folks do it without any drama in the off road and adventure motorcycling world.
Click to expand...
I don't really understand why a tubeless conversion should be more dangerous than a tube. In my experience, a punctured tube deflates immediately anyway. More important is the rim profile. Old British bikes had WM rims, which have nothing to prevent the bead of the deflated tyre slipping into the centre of the rim, making the bike unrideable. Other rims - MT profile? - as used on "official" tubeless rims, have a safety lip that keeps the deflated tyre on the rim. Much safer. I've watched a video in which the rider of a Triumph Thunderbird 900 didn't even notice that the front tube had punctured until his mate pointed out that the tyre looked a bit flat. :LOL:

I wouldn't do a tubeless conversion on a rim that didn't have the safety lip, or using tyres that weren't marked as tubeless. DISCLAIMER: I have no personal experience of tubeless conversions. :)

Found an illustration

at-wheels.jpg

I'm pretty sure that, way back (perhaps 50 years ago), I read that Harleys used MT rims, but my memory may be playing tricks.

The other suggestion I'd make is that, if possible, you carry, in addition to a tubeless repair kit, a rechargeable cordless pump, preferably one that doubles as a power bank. You could even fit a USB charging port on the bike. Very handy if you end up with a slow puncture, even after a repair.
 
Thanks guys, @garethr I have a rechargeable pump, but also a large battery pack that I charge whilst riding from the optimate plug ( a lead goes up to the tank bag, and in it I have a loose 12v lighter socket, into which I put a 12v charging plug).
But now I'm just wondering about what you said there... about the tubeless repair kit:
If the inner tube punctures, and I pull out the offending item, assuming there is one, can I use a tubeless repair kit (rubber string-style) and pump it up like it was tubeless (the outers, Avon Cobra Chromes say tubeless on the side) and limp on till I find an Indy, or will all the air come straight out of valve hole, even if I stuff some ptfe tape around the base?
Just thinking about worse case scenario..
 
Good point Gareth, I won't bother then.
I'll still put some Weldtite in the inner tubes, it might hold out sufficiently to get back to civilisation if we get puncture of back and beyond.
 
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