Tube in a Tubeless Tire - Follow Up

[Dr. Dolittle]

This is a follow up to my earlier thread:

Screw in Rear Tire - Advice Please - Harley Davidson Community

Had the new rear tire put on today and had a nice discussion with the owner, who's been doing motorcycle tires for 15 years. He said the only issues with putting a tube into a tubeless tire were:
1) If you get another puncture that gets through to the tube, you cannot make a roadside repair (plug and go) and must call for a tow.
2) Slight increase in tire temperature - something about an inner liner on the tubeless tire - but nothing so significant to affect handling or wear.

I brought up the issue of potential cord damage as the reason I was replacing the tire instead of having the tube installed. He said if it was only a screw or nail causing a small, straight puncture that cord damage is not an issue. Something larger like a bolt or anything causing a CUT vs. a puncture would be definite reason to replace the tire.

Something to think about if you seem to be jinxed like me and find a screw in the road every 2500 miles or so.

 

[glider]

As mentioned earlier in the other thread, do you positively know that the cord wasn't damaged? The answer to that is obviously no so I wouldn't take a chance myself.

 

[Joyflyin]

I personally don't feel that I know enough about tires on motorcycles to know for sure what is safe to do and not to do. I would have to get a new tire for my peace of mind.

I do know that I don't like plugs in my personal cars, I have been fortunate in the past to have a reliable tire place to deal with, but now they are in WV 3 hrs away, so they are not always an option. I drive a bucket truck at work, and since it is a heavy duty truck with a lot of extra weight, I don't allow plugs in that ride either. I guess the guy in charge of truck maintenance agrees, because he doesn't argue about it.

BTW, my tire guy did tell me that plugs are okay if they are done right, but he would not recommend them in any heavy duty vehicle or vehicle that tows a lot, which I did for many years. He did assure me that if you patch the tire, you are usually good to go. I guess that is why I don't like them since I never know when I will be dragging a trailer. But, as you can see, my experience with riding on 2 wheels is limited, but I have lots of time on 4 wheels.

Doc, I do appreciate you sharing the information with us here, you never know when using a tube in a tubeless tire may be the only option at the time. Tires are one thing on my vehicles that I don't skimp on or mess with, thanks to the good advice of my dad & the tire guy down the road.

 

[wildspirit97]

Am I wrong here or don't all wire rims still run tubes?

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

I know what you're getting at but that's not the point of my thread. I'm talking about putting a tube into a tire that was originally tubeless because something punctured the tire and it won't hold pressure.

 

[wildspirit97]

I know what you're getting at but that's not the point of my thread. I'm talking about putting a tube into a tire that was originally tubeless because something punctured the tire and it won't hold pressure.

I wasn't getting at anything I was just kinda wondering.....I don't even know if I have tubes in my own H-D tires or not now......my back tire is the solid rim, but the valve stem looks like theres a tube in there, the front is spokes and I'm not sure if theres a tube in it or not. I'm pretty sure the tire can be run tubeless, but that all depends on the rim. And I'm starting to think maybe it is tubeless because before I had a new tire put on I had no wheel weight put the rim....had a new one put on and still have no wheel weight on the rim???? I even took wheel to a different shop with a real nice electronic wheel balancer and had it double checked after the I had the new tire mounted and it balanced out perfect. What are the chances of two tires in a row balancing out perfect if I had a tube in it?

 

[glider]

The tube shouldn't make any difference in the balancing of the wheel. Either it needs weights or it doesn't.

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

I wasn't getting at anything I was just kinda wondering.....I don't even know if I have tubes in my own H-D tires or not now......my back tire is the solid rim, but the valve stem looks like theres a tube in there, the front is spokes and I'm not sure if theres a tube in it or not. I'm pretty sure the tire can be run tubeless, but that all depends on the rim. And I'm starting to think maybe it is tubeless because before I had a new tire put on I had no wheel weight put the rim....had a new one put on and still have no wheel weight on the rim???? I even took wheel to a different shop with a real nice electronic wheel balancer and had it double checked after the I had the new tire mounted and it balanced out perfect. What are the chances of two tires in a row balancing out perfect if I had a tube in it?

I'm pretty sure HD spoked wheels all have a tube in them - as was pointed out earlier you can have your wheel sealed to go tubeless but they don't come stock this way. Solid rim should be tubeless, despite the appearance of the valve stem.

 

[Bud White]

Depends on the spoked rim .. some of them are tubed others are not .. my Road King has Tubes