Roadside Punctures

So after scaring myself looking at Leroy Beals's walk-through on removing the rear wheel on a Swing, I started wondering what you big mileage guys do when on a trip?

On a motorcycle, I can usually get a wheel out in 3-4 minutes and change a tyre and tube in 15-20mins. However, a tubeless scooter wheel and tyre is another matter altogether.... Whats the easiest fix, run the tyre with Slime or similiar, mend the hole with a proper plug, try a can of tyre sealant mousse or call the roadside assistance people for your neck of the woods?

steveR,

As for me - I carry a cell phone and my road hazard assistance card.

Ive always used plugs and co2!

Emergency---plug to get to repair facility---go slow----carry tools to remove rear wheel-----get home repair, is plug/patch from inside by tire professionals----replace tire. Make sure you have pump to pump tire up

Extreme....on your own=remove wheel, remove tire from wheel, patch/plug from inside, insert tube (you carry), go on your way. SilverWing tires are bear to remove from rim with short tire irons.

Drive as little on plugged tire.

Note: most dealers won't monkey with tire repairs. Get Tire quick=Dennis Kirk and most expensive shipping. Honda dealers usually do not have SilverWing tires in stock.

And to think scooter used to have spares.

John Grinsel

steveR wrote:

Whats the easiest fix, run the tyre with Slime or similiar, mend the hole with a proper plug, try a can of tyre sealant mousse or call the roadside assistance people for your neck of the woods?

Thanks all. The overwhelming opinion is that there isn't one!!

I will pick up a plug and CO2 repair kit when I am next in the bike shop, and make sure my RAC breakdown assistance is up to date. Not that I can see them doing a fix, but at least they will get me off a motorway while they sort out a mechanic.

I recommend PunctureSafe (formerly Ultraseal).
I have every reason to believe it 'repairs' little punctures without any fuss or bother.

I used Ultraseal when I had a Burgman 400, and I have 14 units of blue Ultraseal left in the bottle, not quite enough for the Silverwing and as I'm unsure of it's shelf life, I ordered a bottle of Puncturesafe which I pick up tomorrow. The thing is the chart from Ultraseal does not list the Silverwing tyre sizes for how much you put into the tyre.

It's usually precise units in each tyre, or the precise amount in the front and you can add a bit more for the rear tyre. Any info on recommended units for the Silverwings tyres much appreciated.

Meldrew

I can't remember - I telephoned Puncturesafe in the West Country and they told me.

MikeO wrote:

I recommend PunctureSafe (formerly Ultraseal).
I have every reason to believe it 'repairs' little punctures without any fuss or bother.

Thanks Mike, I have used OKO sealant for donkeys years in off road bikes, quads and the like. I also had an annoying, very slow puncture in a front tyre on the Transalp 2 years ago, slipped in a small amount of OK and problem solved.

Good to hear that the Puncturesafe works well with tubeless tyres.

'Tis a pleasure, Steve.
I hesitate to recommend anything to anyone but PunctureSafe seems to be a winner - friends have removed worn-out tyres protected with the stuff and found many sealed holes which haven't leaked air.
I've had it in both X9s and the Silverwing.

Another major feature is that it's so easy to put in.

So far I've been fortunate enough to not have a puncture or flat. I have had a slow leak though. I always carry tire plugs and a small air compressor with me, but so far have not yet used any tire plugs but I've used my air compressor several times when I had that slow leak which I could not locate. I have however experienced a drive belt failure (i.e. SNAP!). I have changed my back wheel a couple times and it's actually really easy to do. Leroy Beal's photo pictorial is very easy to follow.

To make things easier for myself, I purchased another rim from ebay and mounted another tire on that one. Up until a week ago, I had been using a darkside tire, but decided that I hated how it handled in the twisties, so switched back to a Pirelli Diablo (my tire of choice). I tried to get the Sumitomo off my other rim and my friend and I could not get that sucker off with tire irons, blocks, or even driving over it. That one's gonna have to be taken to the shop to get the darkside tire off. But having a spare rim makes for much easier swapping.

Has anyone had luck with tire irons at all? I'd really not want to have to go crowd my garage with another device (i.e. a beadbreaker)... If so, there's lots of good instructional videos on Youtube (some are pretty crazy though), and Aerostich does make a lightweight but ridiculously expensive beadbreaker that would probably make life a bit simpler on the road. BUT... I'd like to hear what folks have done before re: changing a tire at home or using an internal patch on the road.

A couple of short boards and a large C clamp worked well to break the bead on my SW's tires. I've also used my bench vise with a couple pieces of wood to to protect the tire to do the same thing. Tire lube helps a lot taking them off or putting them on. Once the bead's broken changing the tire using tire irons isn't too bad. I use three irons about 24" long. Rim protectors available at most motorcycle shops or online are advised. Good results can be had balancing your own wheels by supporting the axle of the wheel and tire with a wood jig and then just give the wheel a slow spin. Mark the highest point on the wheel with chalk and repeat. Once you have a cluster of chalk marks stick a 1/4 oz. weight on the wheel centered on the marks. Repeat. The bearings are good enought that you can get within less than 1/4 oz. of perfect balance. My scooter has been over 100mph with wheels balanced this way, smooth as silk with no vibes.

MikeO wrote:

'Tis a pleasure, Steve.
I hesitate to recommend anything to anyone but PunctureSafe seems to be a winner - friends have removed worn-out tyres protected with the stuff and found many sealed holes which haven't leaked air.
I've had it in both X9s and the Silverwing.

Another major feature is that it's so easy to put in.

My record for puntures!! Is 13 potential holes, 3 of which would have been serious had I not had 'UltraSeal' as it was then in my tyres. The fitter and myself where speechless when we examined the inside of the tyre.

After that fantastic save, I always have the stuff put in all my replacement tyres.

A by product of the UltraSeal compound is that the manufacturers state that longevity of the tyre is increased and the compound reduces the tyre temperature too.

My own finding is that apart from the above it also assists with the balance of the wheel with the distribution of the compound around the tyre.

For bead breaking-----used to be in BMW handbooks.

Two people make is easier---put wheel and tire under leg of center stand, from left, left leg of centerstand....bring weight of bike down on bead of tire. Might be a little difficult on disk brake side.

Removing tire from rim seems to be hard for rear---my take, low aspect ratio tire and little drop center in rim.

Glad to see somebody like Hammy acknowledge goofy handling of car tire on scooter. Guess others don't go around corners with them?

John Grinsel

exavid wrote:

Good results can be had balancing your own wheels by supporting the axle of the wheel and tire with a wood jig and then just give the wheel a slow spin. Mark the highest point on the wheel with chalk and repeat. Once you have a cluster of chalk marks stick a 1/4 oz. weight on the wheel centered on the marks. Repeat. The bearings are good enought that you can get within less than 1/4 oz. of perfect balance. My scooter has been over 100mph with wheels balanced this way, smooth as silk with no vibes.

I picked up a neat little shaft and bearing wheel balancing device years ago for £40 ($50) that makes balancing motorcycle wheels really easy. Like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/universal-motorcycle-wheel-balancer-/160560570225?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item256227df71

More than saved it's cost in fitting my own tyres Not sure about the scooter tyres yet....!

Waspie wrote:

MikeO wrote:

'Tis a pleasure, Steve.
I hesitate to recommend anything to anyone but PunctureSafe seems to be a winner - friends have removed worn-out tyres protected with the stuff and found many sealed holes which haven't leaked air.
I've had it in both X9s and the Silverwing.

Another major feature is that it's so easy to put in.

My record for puntures!! Is 13 potential holes, 3 of which would have been serious had I not had 'UltraSeal' as it was then in my tyres. The fitter and myself where speechless when we examined the inside of the tyre.

After that fantastic save, I always have the stuff put in all my replacement tyres.

A by product of the UltraSeal compound is that the manufacturers state that longevity of the tyre is increased and the compound reduces the tyre temperature too.

My own finding is that apart from the above it also assists with the balance of the wheel with the distribution of the compound around the tyre.

I've just bought some Puncturesafe, and they might have changed the name but the same no use for the Silverwing installation chart is in the box, and their pdf's aren't much better. To save me and anyone else the bother of contacting them, does anyone know how many units you install in each tyre?

With my tyres - 120/80/14 & 150/70/13 - it's 9.5 units per tyre.

MikeO wrote:

With my tyres - 120/80/14 & 150/70/13 - it's 9.5 units per tyre.

How many units in a bottle for 20 quid off ebay?

My bottle had 28 units/700ML; the sticker on the side says,
" New bigger bottle with 11% extra FREE".

The address on the box is:

Puncturesafe UK,
Queensgate House,
48 Queen Street,
Exeter,
Devon,
EX4 3SR

www.puncturesafe.com

MikeO wrote:

My bottle had 28 units/700ML; the sticker on the side says,
" New bigger bottle with 11% extra FREE".

The address on the box is:

Puncturesafe UK,
Queensgate House,
48 Queen Street,
Exeter,
Devon,
EX4 3SR

www.puncturesafe.com

Thanks Mike, plenty of stuff in it then I always found the OKO never seemed to have quite enough for the task in hand!

One of our local..ish m/cycle dealers sells Puncturesafe, so I may have a wee ride out on Thursday to Wales and make a detour... :D

Thanks for the info about units per tyre Mike, I've got about 17 units of Ultraseal left over from 2008, still within the shelf life but not enough to treat both tyres. I may use that with a couple of units of the Puncturesafe, or I'll just use the new stuff. It's great for tyres, but you can't gargle with it!

Meldrew wrote:

I used Ultraseal when I had a Burgman 400, and I have 14 units of blue Ultraseal left in the bottle, not quite enough for the Silverwing and as I'm unsure of it's shelf life, I ordered a bottle of Puncturesafe which I pick up tomorrow. The thing is the chart from Ultraseal does not list the Silverwing tyre sizes for how much you put into the tyre.

It's usually precise units in each tyre, or the precise amount in the front and you can add a bit more for the rear tyre. Any info on recommended units for the Silverwings tyres much appreciated.

Meldrew

IIRC, B400, Majesty and Silverwing all use the exact same size tire/rim combo front and rear. If you know what the B400 takes, the Swing should be the same.

I installed Puncturesafe in my tyres earlier today, rather than mess about slowly squeezing the required amount into each tyre, I used a Clarke 500cc oil suction pump which I bought a few years ago for about £6.99. Think big metal syringe, and it does the job in a fraction of the time.

Afterwards I went for a 15 mile ride to distribute the Puncturesafe round the tyres, wearing the Nolan 101 flip front helmet I only occasionally use. I was impressed that behind my newly fitted Givi Airflow screen how quiet it was.

Anyone know where to pick up Puncturesafe stateside? I collected a nail yesterday and I really don't want to replace the tire -- it only has a few thousand miles on it.

Any tricks on extracting the nail without dismounting the tire? It's either a headless nail or I've worn the head off it.

For nail----any sealant as get home fix. Put sealant in, ride 10 or so careful miles, pull nail out. See if hole seals.

Tire might be able to be saved----remove wheel, remove tire----take to tire shop, not bike shop in US, have then repair from inside....if possible. Remount tire, balance tire and wheel, etc

By the time you have gone thru all the removal procedures-----just as easy to mount new tire of the recommended type.

I have used sealants both as get home fix after the fact and put in----so nail can be pulled out.....and maybe seal.....or at least it will let me know I might want to try plug. Sealants are really messy on tire removal.

Take no chances with tires===ain't worth it. I have had at least 2 high speed tire thrillers......V-7 Guzzi in S curve---spike in tire, ended in field. BMW K75---nail and kwik deflation @ 85 plus mph in the dark.......needed all the road to bring to stop.

On SilverWing---took off Bridgestone, installed IRC....within 100 miles big nail in IRC, had to put old tire back on to remain mobile. IRC. threw away.

Falling down or getting run over hurts.


John Grinsel

roadrunner wrote:

I collected a nail yesterday and I really don't want to replace the tire -- it only has a few thousand miles on it.

I know you asked about sealant, but some tire repair kits work better while you investigate.

I started with a Stop-n-Go mushroom plug. I tested two times on tire off rim, then helped a Harley Davidson disabled by the side of the rode. The tire would not fully inflate, he was able to get to a gas station with an air compressor .. he said his house was a few miles from the gas station.

Now I carry the Nealey Tire repair kit ( http://www.tirerepairkit.com/aboutus.htm )

An advantage of Puncturesafe is that it's water-soluble so can easily be washed out of a tyre if a repair is needed.

Anyone ever used Slime? Recommend/don't recommend and why?

roadrunner wrote:

Anyone ever used Slime? Recommend/don't recommend and why?

http://www.slime.com/faq.html

I've heard that SLiME will ruin my rims?

Our SLiME Sealant for tubeless tires is formulated with rust and corrosion inhibitors as well as a pH buffer making the product more alkaline. All of these ingredients work to protect the integrity of your rim. It is important to note there are factors which can allow damage to occur in spite of this. If you want to err on the side of caution, you can use SLiME as a roadside repair. All you need is SLiME and an air compressor! SLiME can have an adverse affect on certain types of aluminum rims. Because alloys differ, it is difficult to predict how SLiME will react with your rims specifically. Over the years, though, we have found that older rims are more susceptible to damage from SLiME. Make sure that, if you have tubeless tires, you are using our tubeless formula. Our inner tube formula does not contain rust and corrosion inhibitors. Do not leave SLiME inside your tires for more than 2 years. After that time, we cannot guarantee the integrity of your rims. If pre-existing damage is present, we do not recommend using SLiME.

Slime air compressors are very compact and inexpensive. I keep one on my bike and it has saved me on more than one occasion. They come with a variety of ways to get power, from alligator clips to 12 volt plug.

Dan

roadrunner wrote:

Anyone know where to pick up Puncturesafe stateside? I collected a nail yesterday and I really don't want to replace the tire -- it only has a few thousand miles on it.

PunctureSafe clearly states it will not repair nail/puncture damage after penetration. It will prevent air loss if a foreign object penetrates the tyre once PunctureSafe is installed.