Tube or Tubeless?

I'm glad you asked that question, because I have no idea what my new bike has on it. I've noticed that when one gets a nail in his tubeless tires, it's easy for the repair guy to fix it. He runs a round file through the hole and plugs it with a long string patch on an inserting tool. If you had some way of inflating the tire after plugging the hole, you could carry the tool with you. I've seen them at Wal Mart with patch, tool, and glue.

BUT, this is just a guess, because I've never had a flat on a motorcyle. Lucky me, huh!

If you have cast wheels, you more than likely have tubeless tires, I think most spoked wheels still use tubes because of feeding the spokes through the rim, but I'm not sure.

I would agree that many spoked wheels still use the tube. I know my father in law and I both run tubes on our cruisers. Both machines are spoked wheels.

Hammer

Going along with what TFee said i guess it would be a good deal if you had a nail in your tubless tire and could plug it to get home on , but who would want to run up and down the interstate on a mc with a plugged tire ? Old bike had tubes new one doesnt not really sure its any better .
zook

What I've come up with so far is that there is a danger from tubes in that they go flat very fast and pose a safety hazard as you try to stop the bike. Tubeless, on the other hand, typically go flat more slowly. This give you more time to safely stop.

Spoked wheels use tubes because of leaks around the nipples. Spokes can be sealed so that tubeless tires can be used.

I'm not sure I ever had an option. Mine have always been tubless and I have laced wheels.

When I turned my street bike into a dirt bike, I carried one of those pressure cans with sealer in it. I ran over a thistle from a tree, and it did the job on my tube type tire. I blew it back up with the can of sealer and rode on it another 3 hours and then home on the street. It worked fine. But, I'm not sure it would do the same on a tubeless tire. They claim it will, but I've never tried it.

I would never plug a motorcycle tire, it just isn't worth it working it's way out. Maybe to get it home or to a shop to get a new tire but that would be about it. Most bike shops won't plug a motorcycle tire. 4 wheeler tires are a different story though. I've had 6 and 7 plugs in 1 tire before.

I haven't had any issue running on a plugged tire but you have to use the good ones where you break down the tire and pull through from the inside so you don't feel it for a long term fix. Loses the conveinence factor but its sure cheaper than buying a $150 tire.

yeah, my bike has spokes for both wheels, and only the rear was stock tube type. i bought the bike not too long ago, but today the rear one went flat from where someone had plugged it before... as it turns out the tire on the back was converted to tubeless. if there's not a huge difference, ill just reuse another tubeless tire (assuming i can find one)

tires for nighthawks are turning out to be IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of

james

CB750F said:

I would never plug a motorcycle tire, it just isn't worth it working it's way out. Maybe to get it home or to a shop to get a new tire but that would be about it. Most bike shops won't plug a motorcycle tire. 4 wheeler tires are a different story though. I've had 6 and 7 plugs in 1 tire before.

Click to expand...

Amen! On a scoot it's just not worth it. The extra $150 is worth the peace of mind. I picked up a nail with my bike tire when there was only 4K on the bike. I never considered a repair. If you have 4 tires and one gives out at highway speed, you can probably recover. If you have 2 and one goes to hell on you at high speed, you're in trouble.

Jack Pot said:

Spoked wheels use tubes because of leaks around the nipples. Spokes can be sealed so that tubeless tires can be used.

Click to expand...

I have a spoked front wheel which requires a tube and I always wondered why don't they manufacture the rims so that the spokes are sealed where a tube doesn't need to be used in the first place.

It's probably because spokes on a motorcycle have to be adjusted periodically to keep the wheel round or break once in a while and have to be replaced. I had spokes on my first two bikes, but never adjusted them, even though I eventually rode them in the dirt (just lucky, I guess). I finally broke down and read my manual on my new C90T. It says that I should replace my tires with ONLY tubeless tires. Don't know why. Maybe, it has something to do with balancing them.