Fix a Motorcycle Flat Tire

It's just like fixing a bicycle flat tire, but MUCH BIGGER.

For instance - contrast these "tire irons" with the little plastic things you use to pry the tire off a bike rim.

Some newer/larger motorcycles don't have innertubes. Fixing one of those is more like fixing a flat in a tubeless automobile tire. Just keep in mind you CAN put an innertube in any tire, even a "tubeless" one.

Step 1 Motorcycle Stand from Milk Crate

We're going to remove the front wheel.
I made a hasty motorcycle stand from a milk crate. I put a slab of 2x6 on top of that to spread the load. I propped the engine up on that. Fortunately there's a flat spot on the bottom of the skid pan that makes this arrangement very stable. Don't store your bike this way though, the milk crate plastic will sag and eventually your bike will fall over.

A double kickstand would hold the bike up just fine with the front wheel off, but this bike doesn't have one. This is my 1987 Honda TLR200 trials bike. It was stripped for racing, I'm in the process of putting improvised street legal signals and lights on it. That's why the lights on this bike look a bit odd. Expect to see that project soon.

Comments

[vincentmcmurray]

Don't forget to put the tyre back with the DOR (Direction of Rotation) arrow pointing forward. Imperative if you travel at speed.

[digitalbrad]

I would only patch a motorcycle tire in a pinch. Breaking the bead of the rim is stupid hard sometimes and also when levering the tire back on, you can quite easily pinch your fixed tube and put more holes in it. This is all great knowledge. But if you can. Spend the 15 bucks for a tube and 20 bucks for them to install it.

[vincentmcmurray]

If your not in a hurry, remove the wheel and leave overnight near a radiator or even room temp, this will make the tyre more pliable. If you can, use a vice to break the bead or get your car and a mate to just roll over it with the car wheels.

[masterochicken]

My father and I are in an argument about the proper purpose of the screwdriver end of a tire iron right now.

[vincentmcmurray]

It was/is to get the old style wheel trim off, like the chrome ones on V Dub Beetle

[ladyharley05]

Anyone that would "fix" a motorcycle tire must not care about safety. It's so cheap to get a new inner tube. To do this is endangering your life as well as a passenger. If that tire should pop or go flat while riding, why would you risk your life?

[ivancamilov]

When you're riding alone, at night, and in a deserted place with a heavy bike, you'll have to do this to get to the nearest service station.

[abadfart]

i've had to do it to get home before but now ive made the switch to tubeless tires

[sdcphoneguy]

I need to correct you on one item. The dot on a motorcycle tire indicates where the valve stem should line up. An example of this may be found at http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocenter_tiretips.asp?id=16#tip Motorcycle tire are too critical to be installed incorrectly.

[MT-LB]

I think that's why we see so many 1990s Suburbans around

[Hellchild]

I dont get it.

[shawntherobot]

How would you fix a hole in the rim. I own a pocketbike and the rim has a gash in ti its not that big. I might either try to get a sample of this type of liquid metal that is selfwicking it is used  for fixing holes in the rim but if not i might have to buy a new tire and that would cost 46.00 $. Do you have any other ideas?

[Yerboogieman]

On a regular bike tire, what if you have a big skid hole in the tire and tube, will a regular patch fix that? I doubt slime would.

[sharlston]

no it will not youll have to replace the tire is it on a bmx or mtb?

[Yerboogieman]

Huh?

[sharlston]

on the bike tire you were on about im asking what type of bike it is is it a bmx or a mountain bike?

[Yerboogieman]

I can't understand most of that. I can only understand the part that asks if it is a BMX or a MTB. It's a mountain bike.

[sharlston]

i mean youll have to replace the tire and innertube if the skid has tore through both

[masterochicken]

5 stars as always sir.

[Tracy]

Like the diy. The political statement, not so much.

[NormMonkey]

When my bike tire gets a flat, I like to chalk-mark the tube and the tire at the valve stem before I separate them. I make a T-shaped mark with the tail of the T pointing the same way (clockwise, say) on both. Then, if I can't find what made the puncture in the tire, I can find the hole in the tube and use the mark to tell me where I should look on the tire. Once I found a small piece of safety glass hiding in the tire this way.

[Goodluck]

Maybe obvious to some, but not others, before starting to remove the tire from the rim, let all the air out of the tube. That makes the job very much easier. Obviously if it is completely flat you can probably skip that.

[fegundez1]

do not patch motorcycle tires unless you have a lot of experience or you don't go very fast. The few dollars you save over buying a new tube will seem a bad investment when the patch fails at 70 miles an hour,if your real lucky it will happen when you and a friend are going around a turn at said speed! Also never try to patch/boot the outer tire,I believe thats what koolaid was asking.

[Its Giggles]

I was wondering the same here too. . . (about an inner tube tyre gash that is)