► Tyre choices and emergency repairs

[kazntone]

Puncture Repair

I am planning to go down to the South of France with my wife, her on F650GS twin and me on my F800GS.
Up to now I have always had tubeless tyres.

I am able to get the wheel off the GS, but would like to know what tools I should take with me for puncture repair? Type of levers, repair patches and all good stuff like that.

I look forward to all your comments.

 

[Jonnie Boy]

I carry 3 of these on my F800GS, you'll need a 24mm one for the rear wheel nut, the 3/8 drive adapter is quite hany as well!

http://www.adventure-spec.com/shop/...tra-lightweight-combo-tyre-lever/prod_93.html

I recently replaced the rear inner tube in a roadside petrol station (luckily I had one in me bag) but usually I have a patch kit.

 

[Tim Cullis]

If you have the space the best solution is to carry a spare front and rear inner tube.

Use the side stand to break the bead of the tyre, fit the new tube, get the old tube professionally vulcanised as soon as possible, then refit the old tube and retain the new(ish) one as your spare. Sounds more work but you know then where you stand.

You should also carry a repair kit just in case you get a second puncture before you get to civilisation. And, of course, either a hand pump or an electric jobby.

From experience I can add that only carrying a spare front tube and if necessary sticking that in the rear tyre is not a good idea!

 

[kazntone]

All good advice guys.

Looks like the tool tube I have ordered is starting to fill up.

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

DRC Pro Tyre Levers. They come in a range of sizes for about £15 each.

I have two: 1x17mm (front) & 1x 24mm (rear)

Not used them yet but they seem to be of excellent quality.

I put them in a bit of old innertube to stop them rattling around and put them in a tool tube with the rest of my pucture reapir kit.

Bit of scale next to a TT catalogue...

BTW that's the tube I store them in... not got round to taking the yellow stuff off yet and I only put it on the bike when I'm touring.

In terms of kit I have a Stop 'n' Go tubeless repair kit with a couple of CO2 cartridges as well as a small bicycle hand pump and an Airman Compressor from Screwfix for £13. In the repair kit I have patches, vulcanising fluid, small can of WD40 some talcum powder, a valve core removal tool and a tyre gauge. I also have spare heavy duty tubes, front and rear. Oh and my RAC membership card, just in case I can't fix it myself.

Hope to be heading into Europe myself end of this week...

 

[Jonnie Boy]

Carrying spare tubes will get you on th move again quicker. My recent escaped saw the rear go on a dual carriage way didnt notice at first then on realising somethig wasnt right limped in to the nearby services.

The tyre/tube by this time were a bit hot resulting in the tyre moving on the rim and ripping the valve out of the tube and destroying the rim tape! The rim tape is currently replaced with gaffa tape and a patch kit would have been useless so a new tube was a nessecity!!

Dunno if a tube sealant goo would have helped?! The offending nail had only just scratched its way into the tube!

A modern fancy push bike hand pump is usefull to have, to put air back in the new tube (its got to get to quite a high pressure 40ish PSI to seat the tyre on the rim)

A valve key is required to get the valve innards out for deflating tyres quickly(or you'll be there all day poking a stick into the valve to get the air out) ready for reinflating to the correct pressure once the tyre is seated. its also a good idea to fully deflate before inflating to the proper pressure to allow the tube to seat nicely inside the seated tyre to avoid any undue 'chafeing'

Tubless tyres are loads easier to sort with a plug kit! dont even have to take the wheel out!!

They do spoked wheels for the 1200's that run 'tubeless' be nice to have this option for the 800's!!

All part of the joys of motorcycling!

PS I am practiced at tyre changeing as I replace my own tyres when worn. (Its cos Im tight ) Be a good idea to get familiar with the proceedure in the comfort of your own shed before having to face it on the road side!!

Good luck on the pucture front!! Watch out fer them pesky nails!!

 

[ILMV]

I usually take the rear wheel off and send it w/ a new tyre to the local mechanics to change... I don't think they've ever moved the weights, so not sure if they've ever balanced the wheel.

Anyway is it possible to change (no balance) a tyre with just a set of tyre levers and the side stand to break the bead?

 

[Jonnie Boy]

I usually take the rear wheel off and send it w/ a new tyre to the local mechanics to change... I don't think they've ever moved the weights, so not sure if they've ever balanced the wheel.

Anyway is it possible to change (no balance) a tyre with just a set of tyre levers and the side stand to break the bead?

Yep! No probs

some tyre soap helps.

And some swearing....

 

[Greggers]

Easy ...

you shoulda come to my place last year lol ...

G

ok - yes, I use slime in my tyres and have become complacent - I guess that in tihs situation I've have been fooked, but carrying enough kit to get you moving again is essential - even if it is only an AA card ...

G

 

[Steptoe]

[URL="http://www.stopngo.com/motorcycle.asp"]Stop and Go[/URL] do a tube repair kit.

If you use the engine cylinder pump disconnect the electrical connection on the injector ---- You don't want atomised petrol in your rubber innertube

 

[ILMV]

You doing anything similar Greggers? I was going to pop down but couldn't make it :-(

 

[Tim Cullis]

I used slime on my seven week tour of Morocco last Oct/Nov and we got to see each other quite often every time I had a puncture! Having a decent amount of tread prevents some punctures.

The neatest air pump solution I've seen was put together by Peter Buitelaar at Bikershome in Morocco. He'd removed the casing from an inflator (to save space) and mounted it in a spare niche under the seat. Then he's connected some coiled air line so that he could reach either tyre, or the tyre of a nearby bike. The negative wiring was permanently connected and the positive wire had a crocodile clip.

So all he has to do is to uncoil the airline and clamp the positive wire and it's operational.

 

[chrisjk]

It's much easier with three tyre levers than two. I use a couple of the alloy ones sold by Adventure Spec and a long steel one I mount in a foam tube zip tied to my pannier frame.

 

[Dave Ett]

You're going to the south of France, not outer Mongolia! Get AA cover and forget taking anything at all. In the 40,000 miles I've done riding round Europe I've never once had a puncture.

If you really insist on taking tools and spares then practice before you leave, as otherwise it'll be quicker to call the AA anyway!

Have a great time.

 

[TheJoker]

Use the side stand to break the bead of the tyre,....

I was thinking about this yesterday....

Sadly I'm such a numpty that my imagination doesn't stretch as far as being able to visualise a motorbike, sans one wheel, and then using the side stand to break the bead. Should there be two wheels on the bike I can see it... but how to lift the bike up on one wheel, then extend the side stand and then dropping the side stand onto the bead...

.... no... not good enough imagination.

Anyone care to enlighten me on how this is done?

 

[Greggers]

Tyre bead breaking ...

You can even do it with just one wheel on your bike...

 

[TheJoker]

Thanks! Now that makes sense.

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

Fitted some TKC80s to my F800GS today... first time I've ever changed my own tryes - it was quite easy actually. The hardest part was getting the valve stem back into the hole on the rear hub. Anyway, they certainly look the dogs gonads so I'll see how they are on the tarmac tomorrow? Never ridden with knobblies before either...

Saved myself £50 fitting them myself - Can't be bad. Two tyres, front and rear cost me £165 from NC Motorcycles.

 

[Blobby]

stephen.stallebrass - They look great. Very interested to know how you find them.

What's the story re your very shiny exhaust downpipes? They look immaculate. Are they stainless steel?

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

stephen.stallebrass - They look great. Very interested to know how you find them.

What's the story re your very shiny exhaust downpipes? They look immaculate. Are they stainless steel?

The header and downpipes of my F800GS were looking pretty awful, as you would expect with 31K miles, and was considering having them replaced with the Remus Decat ones off Ebay for £290. But I thought I'd try and give them a polish first to see if they could be restored. So I bought some Chrome Aluminium & Metal Polish, also off Ebay, and went to work on them and the bash plate.

Well I'm glad I did because they have come up almost like new. I didn't do a proper before picture but you can get a sense from these pictures of what they were like and how good they have come up with a bit of elbow grease.

This one of the cat probably gives you a better sense of the corrosion and discolouration.

Abracadabra...

With my new Touratech Tool Box

Need to clean up the underside of the Cat a bit more... I'm considering painting (or powder coating) the bash plate, tool box, chain guard, radiator guard, heat sink guard and reservoir gaurds black? But I'm very happy with the result of the rejuvenated header and downpipes!