Couple of buds 'n me rode our Shovels up to the old bike swap meet in Hebron CT yesterday...lotsa gorgeous old stuff there.

Start ride back around lunch time....noticed a tiny bit of squirreliness in the back...we pulled into a burger joint (Harrys in Colchester CT)....got some greasy grub, about to hop back on and took a looksie at my rear tire...sittin' low. Dangit! Well...there's a few gas stations on the ride back, look for one with an air pump and top her off and get home. Pull into each station on the way back...WTF...no stations have air pumps anymore? Thing of the past?

About 2/3 of the ride home, one of the guys I was riding with has his workshop barn (collection of Shovels in there)...with a full compliment of garage tools, including a compressor. So I decide to ride with him to his place...getting really squirrely on the ride there...but pull into his barn. He pulls out his air hose...I lift my saddle bag to find the valve. Where there F is it? Can't find it..am I going blind? Roll the bike back about a foot 'n change...look again...still can't find it. Lay down totally..wipe my eyes (it was hot out)...look closer...and I find the square hole where the valve stem should be. Empty!!!! Crimminy...either it blew out, or the tube rotated inside when she started getting soft!

Had to be home by certain time to leave for date night w/wife up in Providence RI for the water fire thing....so...rode home from there on the backroads. Had the Harley brand tires on the bike when I bought it....didn't plan on replacing til next year to shod her with Avons..but...gotta blow the budget early. Least they were the semi stiff sidewalls that kept it from going totally flat....so we made the 35 or so mile ride back, keeping her below 45.

Missing a great riding day today.

Great antique bike show at Hebron anyways.....lots of old pans, knucks, Indians, Triumphs, tons of old school choppers of all kinds. Got a sweet old timing cover for 5 bucks.

 

I used to get flats too. That's why I went tubeless back in '85. It's good that you got home OK.

 

Yeah I may take this opportunity to seal the wheel and go tubeless....doing some homework on this.

on the bright side...rear wheel is dirty as heck, opportunity to clean it up!

 

Please school me.

How does TUBELESS keep you from going flat?

I can see it eliminating a source of flats, if stiff enough provide "Some" support, or if filled with something providing even more support either structurally, or in puncture sealing.

But,,,,,,,,,,,!!!!!

What am I missing?

Thanks.

 

Most flats are the result of the tire being punctured. A tubeless tire can usually be plugged and re-inflated with a portable compressor or CO2 cartridges. With tubed tires, the tube must be(at least partially) removed from the tire to be repaired. In order to accomplish this, the bead has to be broken from the rim, which requires tire irons, a "bead breaker" and no small amount of physical effort. Buy a shop manual and look-up "tire removal".
For some reason, I had bad luck with flats in the 1970s - maybe one or two since then.

 

Slow flat that gives you warning is the best kind, if you're going to have one. Blew a rear around 60 once, more excitement than I ever wanted - that sidewall didn't hold the bike up, hell, it didn't even stay on the rim. Rode Goodyear ride flats after that, but they didn't stay on the market long.

Tubeless rarely blow out, but tubes have a bad habit of doing just that. That abrupt transition from aired tires to rim on the ground is... unpleasant.

Stonecat - if you stick with tubes, get the ones with metal threaded valve stems, lock em down with nuts. That's the only kind I use with tubes, at least I don't have to worry about them wandering down in the tire if the air gets low, have had that happen, too. That's the kind the Harley dealer carries here, nice heavy duty tubes, and were even priced good. Also, I've had a rubber stem break off while trying to put air in it. Was just really, really glad that happened in my garage and not at a small town gas station 90 miles from anywhere. I always put new tubes in new tires, too.

 

Good point...didn't even think of that yet ..when I get to the Indy shop to get 'em. Will ask for 'em, keep it from getting sucked in (if that's what happened to mine..haven't yanked wheel yet, got side tracked with other stuff today).

Covered above by another reply...but yeah, "roadside repairs" are much easier.
Slipped the tire bead aside, getting friendly with the tube as you examine it for the hole, pulling out that length of tube like a disemboweled intestine...scrubbing, cleaning, glue, patch....wait for dry, ain't all that fun on the roadside. Cramming a rubber plug in a tire with goop is much easier.

 

I wonder how the the "Tire Slime" for tube tires works. Is it worth taking along with some co2 cartridges.

 

Two words...RIDE ON. Not only a wheel balancer but a tire sealant too.

 

Flats are the one thing I absolutely hate dealing with on a bike, glad it didn't completely ruin the day for you.