Triumphrat

05-15-2002

Hi, all. I have a 2000 Legend that uses tube tires. About a year and a half ago, I picked up a couple of spare tubes (front and rear) and a rim band just in case. I stored one tube in its original box and the other in its original plastic bag. Neither has been inflated.

I understand that it's good practice to replace the tubes along with the tires. So far, I have 11,000 plus miles on the original tires, and they look like they each have thousands of miles left. That means that my tubes will be about two years old (not including shelf time before I purchased) by the time that I have to use them.

Does anybody have any thoughts about how long the tubes can be kept in suspended animation before using?

Thanks in advance....Jerry

Ballacraine · 05-15-2002

Hi Jerry,
I would just be tempted to check it out before you intend to use it. If there is any evidence of hardening or cracking bin it. They are not an expensive item. I would imagine that they will stay serviceable for a very long time if just left in their box. I tend not to have spare tubes lying around. I just put a new one in with a new tyre.

Nige.

05-15-2002

Hi, Nige. Glad to see that you still are visiting this site! The reason that I ordered them was because when I asked my dealer about availability, he said that one of them (front) was a standard size, but that the other one (rear) had to be specially ordered from Triumph. I figured that if I was on the road and I got a flat, it might be a good idea to have replacements on hand.

As for the price, maybe you're closer to Southeast Asia than I am, but they were a bit more pricey than I would have figured. The front one cost me around $25.00; the rear one cost me around $30.00! I guess what I'll do is ask the parts person to look over when I get around to ordering new tires.

....Jerry

P.S. Shawn went through all the trouble of putting a separate "Legend" subgroup on this board. It's a pity that we don't have more folks using. I posted this message in tihs subgroup because it sort of was generic to all tube tires rather than the Legend. I hope that you liked how I worked in the Legend angle nonetheless.

Ballacraine · 05-16-2002

Yep.. I may occasionally put in an appearance here & there on other sites, but this place is my home now.

It is a good place & getting better as Shawn refines & enhances it!

More folk are joining, but we could still do with more contributors.

Nige.

glgavin · 05-23-2002

Hi again - I have 56k miles on my TBS and have put a few tires/tubes on it since 1998. Each time the tire is replaced I get a new tube installed. I inspect the old tube for any signs of fatigue. The most common, as I understand it, is chaffing between the tube and tire casing cause by under-inflation. So far so good. There has not been any evidence of fatigue of any kind. The valve stem where it attaches to the tube has been rusty and nasty looking. But no failure.

I am in the process of getting a new front tire (Metzeler MEz4) and was surprised that my new dealer (HD & Kawasaki) did not stock tubes to fit. The old dealer (Honda, Yamaha, BMW, Ducati) did. So I ordered the Metzeler tube as well. It ran $22.00. I ordered a spare which I intend to store in a cool dry place.