My first flat

[Keithy]

Well, today was my first flat on the bike.

I’m mechanically inept and pretty feckin’ useless when it comes to anything practical so it was always going to be challenging. To add to the jeopardy I was on a tiddly and twisty road deep in the wilds of South Shropshire. Basically everything started to feel odd and wobbly so I ditched into a lay-by.

The rear was as soggy as a weekend in Wigan, so 20 minutes of faffing back and forth trying to find a nail or other obstruction. Nada. Rang my breakdown cover folks, bike not covered. Rang a local garage, closed. Fortunately I had ordered some stuff from an online retailer a little while back and, as usual, got carried away adding bits, including a tyre repair kit.

Last thing I read about ‘em? “Practice first!” Hey ho. It’s a brilliant little kit. 3 CO2 cylinders, tyre adaptor, corkscrew thingy and hooky thingy and five toothpaste/dog turd squirts in a wrapper. First shot of CO2 and I actually found the puncture, result! Trying to push the dog turd into the hole with the hooky thing (is that what you are supposed to do?) was pretty ineffective and attempting to cut if off left me with a sliced finger. At this point my right hand woman arrived (slight detour!) with a crappy £10 air compressor so we put the patch to the test.

Long story short, I got the 40 miles home. I think the kit was £20. Recovery would have been £150. Off to get the tyre replaced tomorrow (if I can still ride it!) and I think a couple of other things…

Tin of tyre weld.
Sh#* load of CO2 cylinders
Small portable tyre gauge

Any other suggestions? Anything else I should have done?

[Polo]

Tyre repair strings and CO2 canisters, problem solved for car and bike.

Strings last the life of the tyre in my experience and I R Fireblading.

[Polarbear]

Practice on your fucked tyre. I use sticky string because cheaper and has always worked in wifeys car tyres. She's still alive.

I repeat, practice. It's an easy operation but takes a bit of strength and brute force. I find lots of short swear words help immensely.

An incy little tyre pump/compressor is useful to top up the CO2 cylinders.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[wr6133]

I've found you need 5-6 of the CO2 bulbs to get a decent pressure on most tyres.

Your local tyre place will probably be able to remove the string repair and do a proper repair. Place near me will do that for a tenner (sometimes a fiver if I bring biscuits). That said as Polo stated you can run the string for the life of the tyre they are pretty hardy, I fitted one at the top of the runway at Henstridge and then did multiple runs down the strip..... didn't kill me

[arry]

This is where I get jealous - I have two bikes; both tubed

Ballache.

[doggone]

Incredibly I managed most of 20 years without having a flat tyre while out but a couple of times it had gone down overnight at home from a slow(ish) leak.
For whatever reason have had more in recent years on one occasion it was possible to ride home after topping it up at a garage and another time I managed to continue slowly with it almost flat along minor roads to get home.
Low profile radial tyres can be ridden almost flat but it's likely to wreck them but you probably won't damage rims.

I carry strings now and a 12V pump but would try to use garage airline if possible.
In more rural areas most farms can inflate if not repair tyres and are usually willing to help if nearby.

[blurredman]

I thought the topic was going to be about an appartment..


Yeah I normally buy the strings online for like £2 for 5. And I always have a compressor in my top box. But I have a hand pump too to get me to the petrol station if I forget my compressor and I really have no other choice.. Most of the time I do not use the 'glue'.

The things are great and I just ride like nothing happened. I don't replace the tyre until tread has deminished, as usual. Do this on the car too when I go on holiday (take the strings and compressor)- I have my spare wheel of course for driving around usually, I use the string things on the flat tyre when I get home..


Repairing a tube however on the side of the road is much more of a faff, you have to actually get spanners out.. Ugh.
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 17k. , 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 9k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 38k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 49k

[A100man]

Thread got me thinking I should carry something - at least on my tubeless bike.. I spotted the GRYP brand things where it appears tyou screw in a rubbery plug in place of the (likely) metal item that caused the puncture. They're not 'strings' but look convenient. Any good?
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[MCN]

I wondered why you got a puncture in your apartment?

I have used sticky string hundreds of times on Hylux tires. Usually they 'take' on the first go but they reliably fail if the hole has any steel cord involved.
Then the sealing effect can be marginal. Very temporary.
To say any repair is permanent is ignoring some physics involved and tyre construction.

Sidewall repair is never permanent due to the amount of flex and stretch in that area.
On the tread is easier but really, if you can see cords are cut then better to replace the tyre ASAP.

I have the string, needle, cylinders and the adapter under the seat of one bike. Since 2011. Still in the plastic. Should remember to replace the cylinders.
I prefer sealant in the tyres when fitted new.
Many will cry that if phuques the tyres.
Knickers.. It works perfectly. If a hole is too big for sealant to seal then it will also be too big for a plug/string.

Look for Puncturesafe Or Ultraseal.
A £25 bottle will easily treat two bike tyres.
Takes about an hour to do. Including making tea/coffee/can of lager.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Easy-X]

FortNine did a bit on this not long ago. IIRC the liquorice strings came out on top.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[A100man]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

The hooky thing has a rough shaft so you push it through a few times to prepare the hole. Rubber glue has the dual function of lubing the plug’s progress as it goes in, and then fixing and sealing when it sets. You obviously did all right though.

[doggone]

The glue is somewhat optional, in a small kit if you use it once it will be hard next time.
You can use a dab of soap to help it ram it in if at home.

When contractors were here picking up silage his forager thing (like a combined harvester blows grass into trailers) started a slit type puncture in a rear tyre, unfazed they jammed in no less than eight strings and finished the job but did call tyre fitter to replace it.
It wasn't leaking so he said if the van hadn't come he would happily have gone on the road to next job with it when it didn't fail bouncing over rough fields..

[MCN]

[doggone]

Have you checked for fatalities by sticky string

[Keithy]

Well a quick check yesterday and the tyre was soft again, no surprise there. A local tyre fitter had already said they did bike tyres - I asked when the car went in.

On arrival I discovered what they actually meant was “If you order a specific tyre in advance, then remove the wheel of your motorcycle and bring it to us, we will fit it” which, I feel, lacks a certain something in terms of both commitment and customer service.

So I rode rather slowly across to the other side of town where the local Honda dealership whipped off the tyre, extracted the 5” and 2” bits of what looks like old rusted nails from inside the tyre, pronounced the tyre as ‘proper fucking fucked’ and supplied and fitted a new one.

The bit of dog turd I had tried to shove through had actually been partially successful but apparently there were two entry holes and they were very close together, rendering a repair unfeasible.

Two questions.
Can someone post a link to the string?
How do I use a compressor on the bike, no ashtray, no fag lighter, what connections are available.

Sorry for being an eejit!

[ThatDippyTwat]

Strings and kit to use. I presume this is what you're calling dog turds.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123654898177

Air compressors use your bike battery. Make sure bike is running, they'll flatten your battery otherwise.

The Car tyre fitter is describing loose fitting, which is common. Probably should have told you that though. It's what mine does. If you're not a bike specialist, it's easy enough to get in a pickle with bike wheels as they're not as easy as car wheels, especially if you're busy. Mine stopped when someone chucked in a £5K claim for fucked carbon (I think he said Dymag?) wheels. He is happy he didn't actually do anything to them, but it was easier to pay the bloke and only fit to loose wheels.
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'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)

[doggone]

The compressors typically have a cigarette lighter or croc clips on a separate short section of lead - or could be converted.
You might fit a battery tender lead it is a good way to keep it on trickle charge if not used for a week or more and offers a way to connect various stuff by SAE type connector usually.
Or fit a cigarette lighter style one somewhere also useful for charging stuff etc It doesn't have to be very conventional they can practically dangle on a secured lead tucked behind panel

[MCN]