From my understanding 14 and on H-D spoked rims had a ring seal and were tubeless tires.

My 14 RK and 16 Heritage Classic are spoked and tubeless tires.

 

Back in the old days at highway speeds, a flat tire and a blowout were often the same thing because the tube and tire deflated so rapidly - less than ten seconds at 70 mph for me, twice. When I bought my first (used) BMW in '84, I bought a set of Lester mags so I could run tubeless tires. I've plugged three flats on tubeless tires, which deflated slowly at the puncture point. Only one of the flats was mine. IMO, tubed tires on motor vehicles are obsolete.

 

I just went through this conversation w/ someone I'd consider an expert on the subject at a custom bike shop. Had problems getting the bead to hold on a tire that was a bit thinner than the stock, I guess it's a feature of the HD rims, you can't go by the wheel width to know what's gonna work because they are made for tires to be a bit pinched in there or something.

Anyway - so he suggested we put a tube in, it's a cast wheel and tubeless tire, my question was basically what the downside was - his answer was $15 and you can't plug it, nothing else.

Not being able to plug it sucks but then how often are you plugging motorcycle tires, most of the time you likely want to replace the tire if it's anything substantial anyway. I guess it'd be a big downside for folks that go on long rides and need a quick roadside fix; for me I never go more than 50 miles from home on a bike and usually it's within 15, kinda a non-issue.

Jon

 

Thanks all. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. I will check with the dealer to confirm that I have tubeless wheels. That would be awesome!

I looked up ride-on and according to their website, it works on tubeless and tube tires. It will seal a hole up to 1/8" on a tube tire. Thanks again for the suggestion, I am going to order the product for some peace of mind. And since it works on both type of tires, I will be able to use it no matter the tire that my bike ('14) came with.

 

I order it off eBay myself

 

Apparently, my bike might have either tube or tubeless.

Per the manual: "Some Softail motorcycles with profile laced wheels (wire spoked wheels with smooth round rims)are fitted with a special rim seal, a rim strip and a tubeless tire. An inner tube is not used. These rims are unique and identified by the letters MTM and the word TUBELESS etched into the rim.Never install a tire with an inner tube on these type wheels. Install a new rim seal and rim strip each time a new tire is mounted on a profile laced wheel with MTM and TUBELESS markings.Steel laced rims use an inner tube and rim strip. Tubeless tires fitted with the correct size inner tubes may be used with these wheels. Install a new inner tube and rim strip each time a tire is installed on a steel laced wheel."

I'll check the rims on my bike tomorrow and see what I have.

 

Luckily, flatz don't happen too often (anymore!)

Here's been my personal experience with laced motorcycle wheels. Let's only talk Harley here as motocross is a completely different application.

I had laced wheels with polished SS spokes on my Dyna as well as my RK. I had the misfortune on having a rear flat on my Dyna, and a 150lb passenger on the back.
I was almost a mile from the gas station that I just filled up at. Going about 50mph, I noticed the bike felt "heavy" so I slowed to a crawl. Did a u-turn as I was heading away from civilization. Went back to the gas station. On my way back to the station, slipping the clutch in first gear, the back of the bike was swaying a foot to either side. Remember, I had a passenger on the back. By the time I got back to the station, the OEM Dunlop had broken it's bead and the tire was just about off the wheel. Here comes the scary part~
because of the unusual side forces the wheel encountered, it broke about 6 spoke at the hub. So, the tire/tube were flat, and wheel integrity had been sacrificed. If I had to go much further, I don't know how many more spokes I would have heard, "PING."
Since this happened, I changed the wheels to factory mag wheels. And tubeless tires. Haven't had a flat on any HD since. This occurred about 1997 or 8. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Over the years, I've had enough flats to be nicknamed, well, "FLATZ...."

Then again, can you trust tire advice from a guy named "FLATZ?"


Yes, you can.

 

Its true the tire says tubeless, it also says for tube type, fit tube. Meaning the tire goes both ways.

My 14 RK with factory spokes has tubes inside the tubeless tires.

 

Thanks for advising, I wasn't aware of this.

 

I've been riding since March, '69.
In that time I have had two (rapid tire deflations) on two different used bikes that I had just purchased.

The first was on a little Honda CB Dream 305.
Someone put new tires on it and failed to properly install the valve stem through the wheel (not lock nut on the inner side) and the valve stem ripped out of the tube. Almost dumped the bike but fortunately I was able to keep it upright.

The second was on an '87 FXSTC.
The previous owner had "plugged" the rear tire and failed to tell me.
I dropped the bike (with my wife) but we had no serious injuries.
Fortunately we were in our subdivision and doing perhaps 35MPH but we were just a block away from a major multi-lane street where the speed limit was 55MPH and I'm sure that it would have been very serious if we had made it to that street.

We have 4 bikes and only 1 with mag wheels.
With spoke wheels, be sure to have them checked (by a pro) for truing, balance and spoke tension when you have new tires, tubes and rub strips installed.
With mag wheels, "plugging" should only be used to get you to the nearest store or shop where you can have a new tire installed.

For both, Run On or any tire sealant should be installed or kept in a saddle bag on long trips just in case you pick up a nail or a screw.

And most of all, tires/tubes on bikes should be replaced every 5 years regardless of mileage and at tread depths less than 3/32nds.