tubing a tubeless

daylyons

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I have a persistent leak on front tyre of 1992 R100GS and was planning to fit a tube. Anyone have experience of such a modification? As the tyre takes 24 hours to go flat this would probably rule out any sudden deflations in the event of a catastrophic puncture to the tube.

I am renovating the bike and also want to junk the oil cooler. I see an oil sump extension would be the way to go so I will probably fit one and throw away the leaking horrible oil cooler.

I was planning to go to JapandGerman to fit the tube (they used to be in Richmond near me but have moved to Bermondsey near the Tower Bridge). Cannot imaging any other tyre fitter would do it.

Best to you all - have just discovered this site

Day in Kingston/Thames
 
Hi, I just got my R80GS back from the garage where they popped a tube in the front as it also had a slow leak.

Seems to be fine but would also like to see what others say about this.

Cheers, Aaron
 
Would recommend taking cooler off and see how she runs before putting sump extension on, from wot I red it is not needed.
Where is leak from? Can it not be found and fixed?
 
Most of the tubeless slow leaks are from worn out valve to wheel seals and crud build-up on the seating surfaces of the rim.

Clean the rim with a wire brush and p320 production paper and fit a new, angled valve.

John
 
Most of the tubeless slow leaks are from worn out valve to wheel seals and crud build-up on the seating surfaces of the rim.

Clean the rim with a wire brush and p320 production paper and fit a new, angled valve.

John


+1 :thumb2

When I bought my 100 GS in 2005 it had a tube in the front - inside a Pirelli tubeless tyre.

My local M/C Shop cleaned up the rim and made sure the new valve was sealing before fitting a new tyre (Pirelli Scorpion).

Its not leaked since.

(But I do have Ultraseal / Punctureseal installed :augie ).



Bob.
 
I have a persistent leak on front tyre of 1992 R100GS and was planning to fit a tube. Anyone have experience of such a modification? As the tyre takes 24 hours to go flat this would probably rule out any sudden deflations in the event of a catastrophic puncture to the tube.

I am renovating the bike and also want to junk the oil cooler. I see an oil sump extension would be the way to go so I will probably fit one and throw away the leaking horrible oil cooler.

I was planning to go to JapandGerman to fit the tube (they used to be in Richmond near me but have moved to Bermondsey near the Tower Bridge). Cannot imaging any other tyre fitter would do it.

Best to you all - have just discovered this site

Day in Kingston/Thames


+2 Welcome aboard Day.

Fitting a tube in a tubeless tyre is not in itself a bad thing and is done quite often on various vehicles.

However it isn't necessarily a cure either, just an easy way (bodge) around an often easily sorted problem. Though carrying a tube with you on a long tour can get you out of a tight spot if need be.

As has been said above, get the tyre fitters to remove the tyre and valve and clean up the rim and refit the tyre.

Some tyre fitting shops have a water bath to identify exactly where the leak is, which can save a lot of messing around.

Oil Cooler:

PM Abrasion, his partner has an R80GS with the oil cooler removed. I'm quite sure it does NOT have a sump extension, and runs very well as it is.

If your coming along to the Gentleman's Weekend 'This weekend'.

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=335

They, along with many more of us will be there, all happy to chat about our bikes (well in my case, my other half's :augie)


Val.
 
I run HD tubes in my GS with no problems - the tires actually run cooler with the tubes in and I have never had a puncture with a tube in. I have lost the air from a tubeless more that once, and once suddenly at speed.

The tubeless valves can be the problem - it appears that the rubber auto type don't seal reliably , so make certain that you get a bolt up type, and the rims have a odd size of hole which not all valves will fit , so see someone who knows what they are doing. Dont ask----.

I have a oil temperature gauge on my GS , and IMHO people who say they don't need the oil cooler simply don't know what they are talking about.
The GS has a small unfinned sump , a long dipstick and a silly little sump guard which shields the sump from the airflow.
If you intend riding it on dirt you will end up doing a fair bit if low gear, low speed work and I can tell that the oil gets pretty hot, 130c , even with the cooler in place and the sump silly little sump guard removed.

So the best synthetic you can afford and forget about the silliness of removing the oil cooler. Make certain all the washers are there on the hose bolts, there should be two on each bolt yet when I got my bike there weren't any, and the last service was done by a BMW dealer.

If you want more oil a second hand deep sump is a fraction of the cost of the sump extension, has cooling fins externally, is thicker and stronger than the original and it wont protrude below the bike as much.

And have fun riding it too , they are great bikes.
 
The only bike I've bought new was a KTM950 Adventure in 2003, it was fitted with Pirelli Scorpion tubeless tyres - with tubes, never had a problem with the local tyre fitter when new tyres were fitted, tubes and all.
 
I As the tyre takes 24 hours to go flat this would probably rule out any sudden deflations in the event of a catastrophic puncture to the tube.
Unfortunately not so. There is no seal around the tube valve stem.
 
Aye you could well be right about not needing the extension. Cooler leaks around the pipe junctions, but the entire unit is bashed and never recovered from me beadblasting it about ten years ago. I am older and wiser now.

Day
 
Thanks John. The rim cleaning was tried before but was probably not done properly. It would probably be worth another go.

Day
 
Thanks Val. I will shove the wheel into the bath and check where the leak is coming from before I decide what to do. I do not know what the Gentlemen's Weekend is - will there be any MPs coming? Must say, this UKGSer is a brilliant site. I have been riding BMs since 1980s and have avoided clubs and associations, but the internet is great for real news. Using a wallpaper steamer with Gunk is another good tip I got.

Hope the weekend goes well. Will you all be claiming expenses.

Day in Kingston
 
This is all excellent advice Mr Boff. And it has all been taken on board.

CAnnot wait to get the old girl up and running again after 15 years. I used to to ride it all over the Continent (Europe) and it was a real delight. Much lighter than the current generation.

Good luck to you

Day in London
 
I'm in kingston.

Have you replaced the valve to stop leaking. The valve body get corrosion around the seat, very common as thse bikes get older.

My own R100GS has a tube in the front tyre.
 
Thanks for your tip Mr Steptoe. After shoving the wheel in the bath yesterday I found bubbles coming from all around the rim plus the valve, but when I tightened up the lock nut the valve leaks stopped - so it is just the rim that leaks. I plan to tie the wheel to my other bike today and trundle over to JapandGerman to get them either to stop the leaks or fit a tube.
Take care.

Dave/north KoT
 
Possibly slightly off the thread here but I took the oil cooler off my 100GS before a long overland trip (30kmiles) on advice that it wasn't necessary and if an exposed tube was damaged it would render the bike useless without replacement parts. I wish I hadn't as, although I can't confirm it, I feel sure this contributed to the continual cylinder base oil leaks and the threads stripping in the crankcase. The bike was heavily loaded and the temperatures were high.

On the same trip after problems with repairing badly damaged tyres and obtaining replacements we fitted TT spec. tyres in place of the TL type. Although you lose the benefit of being able to plug small repairs when a tube has to be fitted at the roadside the TT tyres are much easier to get off the rim. We did about 20K miles with tubed tyres fitted.

The bike is now fitted with the oil cooler and tubeless tyres without problems but is only used for trips around Europe mostly on the road
 


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