Flats

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DEALING WITH FLATS

You come out to your garage to take a ride on your bike and find that you have a nail or screw sticking out of your tire. Maybe this situation happens to you on the road. What do you do?
There are many opinions on what you should do depending on the circumstances. The immediate problem is to get the bike back on the road.

You should have a tire plugging kit with you and a means to inflate the tire after the puncture has been sealed. One particularly good kit is the Stop & Go Tubeless Tire Plug Gun Kit. I do suggest you sit down with your plug kit and read the instructions carefully and even do a test run to satisfy yourself that you know how to use it.

If you happen to own a Honda Gold Wing with an onboard air compressor, you'll have no trouble inflating the tire after it has been plugged, assuming that you have also purchased an extension air hose to reach your tires.

For non-Gold Wing riders, consider carrying CO2 cartridges.

Another possibility is to buy one of those 12 volt portable air compressors, strip it down to a more compact size and change the cigarette lighter adapter for a straight connection to your battery. The whole unit can then go into a zip lock type bag for easy storage.

One person was on the way to a major rally when his buddy got a flat on the rear tire. They didn't have a plug kit and so made due with a piece of shoelace covered with Goop adhesive. They inserted it with one of the attachments on a Swiss army knife and it worked great all weekend and got him home. They checked the tire pressure daily and it held. You might say they fixed it on a "shoestring." After you get a tire plugged, you have to remember that the repair must be considered temporary. It is possible to repair the tire from the inside using an umbrella patch. However, many motorcycle shops will discourage this on liability grounds and try to convince you to buy a new tire.

A new tire is cheaper than a new bike.

You only have one life and the tires on your motorcycle must be safe.

Continuing to ride on a tire plug or patch may be dangerous. You should buy a new tire and also consider whether the other tire on your bike should also be replaced if it is wearing thin.

It is always good to replace the front and back tires at the same time if financially possible.

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