[5bassman]

Beautiful day here in Georgia so I rode the Bonnie to the Post office to send off a couple of packages. I come out and see a screw in my front tire! Moved it alittle and some air came out, left it alone and no leakage, so I eased it home. Now, what to do. Anybody patched their tube and it hold, or do I need to replace the tube? If so, is it something I can do with the tire on the bike? Or only a shop can do? The front still has a good many miles left so I want to put off replacing the tire till next summer. Any suggestions?

 

[kurtisf]

just put a new tube in it you can patch the inside of the tire if its to bad but you probably don't need to, i wouldn't patch
the tube, i pulled a screw out of my front tire in august and replaced the tube, no problems the only problem now is black ice , sucks

 

[Baltobonneville]

Most riders say replace the tube. It's cheap enough.

My local (non-dealership) shop repaired my back tire when I picked up a nail at 100 miles--not mph--and almost killed myself. He refused to even consider patching, ostensibly out of safety and liability concerns, and expense (to him) if the patch didn't hold. Maybe.

Then Beavis the mechanic put the tire on backwards, and after I noticed, I brought it back to have it turned around. I can't say that I felt any difference, but I ride conservatively.

Personally, I'd rather pay than play when it comes to changing tires, although one always has to carefully review what's been done to the bike.

 

[whoa]

Well, you could patch the tube without pulling the wheel. I don't know what the heat load is on tubes when we are pushing the bike hard. But zipping along at full steam makes me think riding a new tube a better idea.

If I just puttered around at normal speeds (55-70), I'd patch the tube.

 

[CAPTDON]

12 bucks for a new tube!! My life worth a hole lot more than that!! Asa said if the tiregot some chord dammage you can patch it. Chuck the tube tho! While off check the rim for rust. There have been some scary pics here !! Let me guess "A drywall screw?" Got me 2 weeks old. I declined the roadside assistance on my ins. Turns out $8/ yr incl- 1st hr labor & the tow. Woulda saved me $100+ Needless to say I got it now!

 

[5bassman]

Well, at my age I try to ride at reasonable speeds, guess that's how I got to be 43! Took the wheel off but couldn't get the tire up enough to get to the tube so I'm gonna call a local bike tire shop and try to get it done Sat. It was about a 1/2" wood screw! Never would have penetrated a car or truck tire. Figures! :roll:

 

[MES]

don't patch the tube. You ain't 'Pa Kettle. Do it right.
Make sure that you ALSO patch the tire. You don't want to get a pinch flat later on.

 

[CommandoRdster]

I've successfully patched literally hundreds of tubeless tyres(worked in a tyre shop 18 years), but have only had about 50/50 luck getting a patch to stick to a tube. I would just replace the tube,not take the chance of a patch letting go on the road. Especially on the front. You can limp home a ways on a flat rear, if you have to, but riding a flat front can get a bit dodgy.
:-g

 

[kurtisf]

break the tire down below the inside of the rim, dropcenter
then you can work the tire off but you need two spoons,
tire irons, or what ever you call them when i was a kid i used dads screw driver but i had a big box of patches, dont patch it take the tire off replace the tube, you can patch tubeless tires on cars but not bikes, dealers wont do it,
and dont forget your soap for the bead, good luck!!!

 

[Programr]

i got a 2.25" sheet metal screw in my back tire last week, pulled off the wheel and took it into a local shop to get the tube replaced:
Labor - $24
Parts - $7.99
Tax - $.68
Total - $32.67

IMHO, I'd say it is worth the $30 not to have to fight with tire irons and to have the piece of mind of having a new tube in there. If you're in the CA bay area, the shop was Scooteria and the guys there were really friendly. Got it back in a few hours.

It sure was a pain to get the wheel back in there, though. Are there any tricks that I should know about? Between the spacers and the chain adjuster there was 0 clearance and I didn't want to***** up the wheel bearings fighting with it. It went in, but I was losing faith quickly. I'm sure glad now that I changed my disk and pads while I was in there .

 

[5bassman]

Well, I took the front wheel to a shop about 5 miles from me that was highly recommended to me on Craigslist. Nice folks and $23 later I left with a new tube installed and a balanced wheel. That's where I'll be buying my next tires! If I take the wheels in mounting and balance is only $10 if I purchase the tires there and their tire prices are very good!

 

[ohiorider]

Hi, Programr - this may not specifically answer your rear tire replacement struggle, but here's what I do so I'm not wrestling with the wheel, axle, and all the rest of the stuff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacing tires on bikes with centerstands

I hate this job ... replacing wheels after having new tires mounted. But I discovered a way of using my motorcycle frame jack in combination with the center stand on my T100 to make it easier to align the axle holes in the wheels with swingarm and fork tube holes. This procedure also seems to make it easier to remove the wheels.

Picture the bike with both wheels removed, supported by the center stand in the rear, and the hydraulic motorcycle frame jack in the front.

I first replaced the rear tire. Since I used the fat 150/70 Dunlop 501 on the rear, I needed lots of clearance to get the tire under the fender, so, with bike on center stand, I carefully lowered the front of the frame with the jack. (My jack will not go so low as to allow the bike to 'ride' off the center stand - that would be bad - next time I will use a strong nylon strap to lock the centerstand in place just to be safe) Since the bike pivots on the center stand, lowering the front (with front wheel removed) raised the rear end, giving me clearance. Once I’ve positioned the fat 150 tire and wheel in place, I began using the jack to slowly (very small increments) raise the front of the bike, which in turn dropped the rear swingarm until all the holes in the swingarm and wheel lined up, permitting me to slide the axle into place.

Same for replacing the front wheel/tire. Pivot the front up using the jack. Then carefully lower until holes in fork tubes and wheel line up, and replace the front spindle. You may find it easier to drop the bike past the alignment point, then use the hydraulic jack to raise the bike and bring all the holes into alignment. The jack is much more controllable when raising it instead of lowering it.

Using this approach, you can concentrate on getting the calipers and spacers in place, instead of trying to do that while also wrestling with the tire and wheel.

A scissors jack in the front would work as well or better than the large frame jack.

Bob G
Hudson, OH
2006