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How to Repair a Motorcycle Tire Flat
Since there are only two wheels between the motorcyclist and the road speeding beneath, good tire repair is essential to learn. In case you should encounter a flat motorcycle tire, here are the steps to follow:
1. Start off by looking for the obvious cause of the motorcycle tire flat. It shouldn't be too hard to locate since nails, screws, and shards of glass tend to stick out of a motorcycle tire like a sore thumb. Carefully inspect the entire motorcycle tire for any number of harmful objects.
2. If you don't notice any clear reason for the damage but the motorcycle tire won't hold air, check out the valve stem for cracks in the rubber. Tilt it back and inspect it's security. Check the sidewalls of the motorcycle tire for punctures in the material. Damage to the sidewalls is not mendable, so in that case you'll probably need to call a tow truck.
3. Carefully remove the object that caused the injury. If the motorcycle tire was punctured with a screw, bust out the tool kit, assemble the screwdriver and twist the screw back out. It is possible to just yank a screw out of a motorcycle tire but you'll do so at the risk of damaging the rubber further.
4. Clean the area around the motorcycle tire injury. You can spit on it if water is not available, just make sure to get the majority of rocks and dirt off.
5. Use a rasp or a plug-insertion device to prepare the motorcycle tire injury. These tools are meant to clean out the inside of the gash and rough up the material so the cement will hold.
6. Inside the motorcycle repair kit there will be rubber cement, apply it to the rasp or plug-installation tool, and rub it into the damaged area. The cement will not harden for a couple minutes so you don't have to make haste.
7. Remove the protective wrap around the special vulcanizing ring on the plug. Make sure you don't touch it with your bare hands. Apply enough cement so the motorcycle tire plug is covered but not dripping.
8. Position the tire plug inside the hole until the orange stripe is no longer noticeable.
9. Rope-style plugs require a rope clamped to the center of the installation tool to push the plug into the motorcycle tire where the cement can take effect.
10. Carefully twist the installation tool as you pull it up and out. When a half an inch of rope plug shows you can stop.
11. Now ready the CO2 cartridges to reinflate the motorcycle tire flat. Only allow a small amount of air in at first then dribble water around the plug and watch for bubbles. No bubbles means you are good to go.
12. Refill the motorcycle tire using the CO2 cartridges and then listen to the tire near the valve stem to know when the air pressures are equalized. (When the hissing stops.)
13. Finally, trim off the end of the plug or rope flush so it is even with the tread surface. If you don't even the plug with the motorcycle tire surface it may pull out as you ride, and besides that is sloppy workmanship.
Now that you know all the steps you can be prepared to repair your motorcycle tires.
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