06
Dec
There’s nothing more frustrating to a biker than a flat tire situation on the road, away from a service centre and away from a proper tool for changing the tire. Plus, where would you put a spare tire for the sake of carrying a reserve one with you? It’s a motorcycle, you have no place to carry an extra with you. Which is why, a part of every biker’s biking preparation is knowing how to fix a flat tire while on the road with a limited choice of fixing tools.
Since we established that you won’t have a spare tire with you in worst case scenario, it means that you need to have some kind of tool in order to fix the tire. Among the moto parts you’d be carrying, you need to own a tire repair kit which can be a different combo of elements for various types of fixing procedures. Here’s a short guide on how to handle the situation without any stress.
This can actually go in two directions: you can either determine which tire is flat or not. It’s preferable to try to determine which tire is damaged as this will tell you which brake should you use to stop the motorcycle. Not that using the brake for the damaged tire could do any particular damage, but in order to prevent further problems, it’s best that the tire isn’t pressured additionally.
If you can determine the flat tire, simply use the opposite brake to stop the motorcycle. Slowly move to the side of the road and gently turn off the engine. If you can’t determine the damaged tire, simply roll off the throttle and don’t hit the brakes, but slow down the motorcycle through engine braking.
Whether your tires are tube or tubeless would determine how ‘hard’ would the repair procedure be. A tubeless tire is easier to fix, as it doesn’t require removing the tire from the motorcycle. You just need to remove the object that has caused the damage and use your repair kit to fill in the hole. You’d usually have a repair kit that works by using cement to fill in the holes. If your tires have tubes, the story is a little different. First you need to remove the tire from the motorcycle. This procedure involves more moto parts that need to be removed during the repair process, which is why it’s so complicated. It also includes a lot more repair tools like tire pressure gauge, eye protection, tire levers, tire lubes and similar, which is why it’s recommended to avoid tires with tubes.
These quick-fix procedures aren’t meant to make a flat tire a brand new one all of a sudden. Once torn, a tire simply can’t be brought back to being fully functional as it was before the damage. This is why these procedures are meant only for fixing the tire so you can drive to the nearest service centre where a professional would change your damaged tire with a new one. And if you’re far from a service centre in the middle of nowhere, have an emergency number on your speed dial.
