If you're gonna ride in the middle of nowhere, you're gonna need to know how to fix a flat motorcycle tire. We've got you covered.
It took me five years of riding off-road before I ever actually picked up a flat tire on my ADV.
I was out on a day trip just farting around on some gravel roads, and as such, was completely and utterly unprepared to handle the situation.
I waited a half hour hoping someone with a repair kit would ride by, and then I called a tow truck. The driver took two hours to find me, then we stuck a basic $2 plug in the tire and I was back on my way.
I learned two things that day: First, never leave home without the basics to fix a flat on your motorcycle.
Second, relying on someone else to fix a flat for you is asking for trouble.
Below we'll dive into both lessons: The right tools for the job, and how to use them.
We'll cover both types of repairs, both for tubeless and tube-type tires, as well as some hard-earned tips to keep a flat motorcycle tire from ruining your ride.
Nowadays, the most common type of wheel/tire setup is a tubeless one, and there's a reason for that.
Tubeless tires are much faster and easier to repair 99% of the time because, as the name suggests, they don't rely on inner tubes to hold air.
If you can plug a car tire, you can plug a motorcycle tire. Let's dive in.
Sounds obvious, but let's start at the start: Your first step is to find the source of the flat. Look carefully over the tread of the tire as you spin the wheel.
Your usual culprits are screws, nails, or other sharp pieces of metal. Sticks are uncommon, but not unheard of.
If your problem is in the tread of the tire, good news: Chances are it's easily repairable with a basic plug.
If your puncture is in the tire's sidewall, however, things get more complicated, as there's no safe way to repair a sidewall.
Once you've located your offending obstruction, you're going to want to pull it out using your pliers.
Pay attention to the angle that the obstruction is lodged into the tire, as we'll want to follow that same direction with the reamer/rasp.
Once the object is removed, it's time to prepare the hole using the reamer in your repair kit. We do this to clean up the puncture, widen the hole to more easily accept a plug, and to rough up the rubber around the puncture for a better seal with the cement.
Run the reamer in and out of the hole a few times at the same angle as the puncture to ensure it's ready to go. Getting the tool into the hole can take some serious pressure at first, so don't be afraid to put a little elbow grease behind it as needed.
Now it's time for the fix. There are two popular types of repair kits for tubeless tires, the classic "bacon strip" style common to any autoparts store, and the more recent "mushroom plug" style kits. Both get the job done, so we'll cover both here.
If you're using a classic "bacon strip" style kit, begin by pushing a strip through the end of your plug tool (the same way you'd thread a needle). Pull the strip halfway through, and then coat it with a healthy dose of rubber cement.
Line the loaded plug tool up with the hole, then give it a hearty push to force it into the hole roughly halfway. Now remove the tool from the hole with a straight, steady pull. A few inches of "tail" should remain outside the hole after removing the tool.
Note: Some bacon strip kits recommend rotating the tool inside the hole before pulling it out, while others recommend pulling straight out. There's debate around which is best, so we just recommend following the instructions on your specific kit.
If you're using a Stop-And-Go or another "mushroom style" plug kit, the operation is similar, but cement isn't typically used. Locate the object, remove it with pliers, ream the hole, then insert the probe tool into the hole.
Load a plug into the insertion tool, connect the tool to the probe, then tighten the hex bolt to push the plug into the tire. Once the bolt is seated, remove the tool from the tire, then use a pair of pliers to pull the plug up and seat it against the inside of the tire.
Next, take a razor, pocket knife, or a pair of snips and cut off the excess plug material to make the repair flush with the tire tread.
Don't worry about getting too scientific here if your plug is inside one of the sipes in the tire, just cut what you can reach.
How you choose to reinflate the tire is up to you. Most folks rely on either a CO2 cartridge inflator or a compact compressor, but with a little patience and a lot of energy, a compact bicycle hand pump can also serve as an analog solution.
Reinflate the tire, listening for any obvious signs or sounds of a leak as you go.
Once the tire is inflated, we'd normally test the repair by spraying it with soapy water and watching for bubbles, but out on the trail, spit works the same way.
If the tire holds pressure and doesn't show any evidence of leaking, your repair should hold for as long as you need it to.
Most folks consider plugs a "temporary" fix until you can get to a tire shop, but truth be told, we've seen them last the life of the tire.
A simple plug typically works about 99% of the time. That being said, if you just can't get yours to hold tight, there's one sure-fire solution to fix pretty much any flat, and it's the same one we've detailed below: throw a tube in it.
Here's how to go about that.
Technically, replacing an inner tube is a more-or-less permanent fix for both tubed and tubeless tires alike. The repair itself is much more involved, however, and requires additional tools and mechanical know-how.
Note: Never attempt to plug a tube-type tire.
Because there are no "exterior fixes" for inner tubes, your first step is always to remove the wheel itself. Suspend the offending wheel with a center stand if you've got one, or go find a log, rock, or pile of dirt to prop your bike up on if you don't.
Pull the wheel, and make an effort to keep any dirt or dust off exposed bearings, axles, or anything else that's heavily greased in the process.
Not gonna lie, this is generally the most painstaking part of the process. Before you can get to the innertube, you're going to need to unseat the tire bead from both sides of the wheel.
Your goal here is to put enough pressure on the sidewall of the tire to get the bead to break away and move down toward the center of the rim.
Once you've broken a section of the bead, the rest will typically follow with the simple pressing of your hands and knees.
There are a few ways to go about this. You can go the difficult route by levering your tire irons over a socket, rock, or stick to push the bead down and away, or you can just pony up the extra cash and buy a set of Motion Pro's BeadPro tire irons.
Break one side, push it down all the way around, and then repeat on the other side. Both sides must be fully broken before you can continue.
If you want to spare your wheel from scratches, plastic rim protectors are cheap and good to keep handy.
With both beads broken, you've now got enough wiggle room to get one side of the tire pulled up and over the rim.
If you're working with the rear wheel, pry the wheel off with the sprocket side down to avoid damaging the brake rotor.
Using a pair of tire irons, work the bead of the tire up and over the rim a few inches at a time. Work in small bites as you go.
Once you're about halfway done, you can usually pull the rest of the tire up and over by hand.
Now that you've got access to the inside of the tire, you'll need to pull out the old damaged tube.
Remove the valve stem nut from outside the rim, then pull the old tube up and out of the tire.
If the cause of the flat was an obvious puncture, now is the time to locate and remove whatever caused the flat to begin with. Check the outside of the tire for any obvious obstructions, then run your hand along the inside surface to check for anything sharp.
If there's no obvious obstruction in the tire, thoroughly inspect the tube: Chances are you've got a "pinch flat," caused by a big hit pinching the tube between the tire and the rim.
You'll need to replace the tube in either case.
Begin installing your new tube by first running the valve stem through the hole in the rim and loosely installing the retaining nut to hold it in place.
Now work the rest of the tube down and into your tire.
Now comes the tricky part. You need to work the tire back onto the rim using your irons, but you also need to be very careful not to accidentally pinch the new tube in the process.
Take your time here: If you damage the new tube, you're back to square one.
Start on the opposite side from the valve stem, pushing down on the sidewall as you work to keep the tire in the drop center of the rim.
If you let the bead slide back up into place, you won't have enough slack to spoon the last few inches down over the wheel.
Save the area just above the valve stem for last, as this section of the tire can't ride in the drop center with the valve locked in place.
With the tire back on the rim, you can now reinflate the tube using your method of choice, be it a compressor, CO2, or a hand pump.
Get it up to pressure, and then check to make sure it's holding air steadily.
Once you've confirmed the coast is clear, there's nothing left to do but reinstall your wheel and try to avoid flats until you can replace your spare tube with a new backup.
Avoiding damaging your tube takes practice, and accidents happen. For that very reason, we also recommend adding a basic tube patch kit to your tire repair loadout.
They're cheap, take up minimal space, and can save your ride in a pinch.
Patches aren't the most reliable thing in the world, but they'll get the job done, and also allow you to convert the old punctured tube you just removed into your new backup tube.
Redundancy is always a good idea in the backcountry.
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