Bike pumps suffice for Moto tires?
 

Hi all,

Just wondering if I can just buy a cheap bike pump for middle of nowhere punctures? I purchased two tubes so I'll go the way of swapping the tubes on route and then repairing the puncture at nearest town professionally. I've been shown a few electrical pumps which hook up to the battery but they look kinda flimsy and I'd rather have something reliable even if it means a bit of work! Here in south America the options are limited but I can find basic pumps in most malls.

Cheers!

rtw

I carry a small compressor so I can change pressure with road condition. What about bomb cylinders? Tiny and reliable. Just carry about 6. That is plenty

A bicycle pump will do a motorcycle tyre. It will take a long time though. Often you need to put air into a tube quite quickly to find a puncture and you can't do with with a hand pump.

Cheap electric pumps are flimsy but they do seem to work well as long as you're very careful with them.

You can use small bicycle pumps but they are hard work - particularly on rear tyres and on a hot day. I must have half a dozen of them that I've bought over the years - they all work but just slowly.

Small electric pumps are the easy route if you're on a bike that'll power them but I have two bikes that won't - one with no battery and one that's 6v so the manual pumps are the only option. I've also had an electric pump sucumb to being shaken around so it didn't work when I needed it so these days I chuck one of the manual pumps in as well!

What I've tended to do with the hand pumps is just put enough air to get going and finish it off at a garage (or later on pump a bit more in when I've recovered from the first attempt).

For a hand pump, you want one with the largest diameter barrel you can get. One meant for fat tired mountain bikes, not skinny road tires. You only need to go to 40 psi or so on a motorcycle, so you want high volume, not high pressure. It really does make a big difference.

I find it much easier to use the pumps with the valve head on a hose, not part of the barrel of the pump.

If you want a manual pump, at least get a foot-powered one. To inflate a motorcycle tube to 30psi takes a lot of effort, and it goes easier on your leg than your arm.

Mountain morph pump will do the job. Reliable, small and high psi.

http://www.topeak.com/products/pumps/mountainmorph

Meant to say, you can order from wiggle.co.uk. I think they deliver worldwide. Alternatively, try chainreactioncycles.com

Great responses all! Many thanks!

Also, is there a gadget for checking PSI? Do those who use simple bike pumps just guesstimate and then check them later?

Time-tested advice, for what it's worth: carry two pumps, not one. Rely on the electric one, since it's fast and easy--when you've got a flat, usually just before dark, in driving rain, or on a busy highway where stopping means risking your life, the last thing you're going to want to do is hang around hand-pumping.

But carry a mountain bike pump as backup. Advice given above is good: a large barrel, a hose for connecting to the valve. I'd add that a cheap one is wasted money and will let you down, so buy quality. Ziptie it to your frame so that you won't be tempted to lend it out or remove it at inopportune times. Sooner or later your electric pump will die.

Note that sooner or later your hand pump will also die, particularly if left out in the weather year after year. Don't neglect this simple fact.

Little CO2 cartridges are fine as long as you carry enough of them. They're good for popping a bead back into place if you ever go tubeless. You'll be surprised at how many cartridges it takes to inflate a big back tire, and how much they cost. You'll then need to find new cartridges each time you get a flat. On a long trip you might get a lot of flats. You can do the math, but I'll say that it takes two to inflate my tubeless mountain bike tires, and my motorbike tires are a lot larger than that.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Absolutely in agreement. If you take an electric one take a good quality bicycle one as well. Only, remember you've taken it. I've tended to bury mine in the bottom of a pannier and last time I needed it it I couldn't find it. I ended up convincing myself I'd left it behind and only found it when I got home and unpacked.

All of this is for tubed tyres. Good luck trying to sort out a tubeless puncture with a bicycle pump

Or you could get a quality electric pump. I've got a 'cycle pump' cost £70. I've used it in anger all over the world for 8 years and its never let me down. It's had some seriously hard times too.. 15 punctures in Tanzania in one day. It was almost almost running.

However, one day it might fail so I carry three c02 cartridges just in case.

I might get a bicycle pump though. More reliable and the same weight as a few cartridges..

Tire tubes can be easily patched yourself. I like touratech's patch kit. Grant's video is a great tutorial.

We have a small compressor which is brilliant. Just needs a smack now n then;)

Well, it's been a few years, but the last HU meeting I went to in North Carolina, Grant demonstrated a CO2 deal that used much bigger, paintball cartridges. I believe one of those suckers would do a tire. You'll have to ask him who made it.

Bike pumps suffice for Moto tires?
 

Co2 cartridges? All this is news to me! I currently live in Chile though I'm originally from the UK. Are they widely available? I wish I'd considered all of this before I'd left but was too busy focusing on what bike to aim to buy and what stove, etc :)

Ps 14 punctures in a day!? I think after the fourth id have phoned my dad in tears to come and pick me up :D

Pps

I bought a couple of tire irons out here. They are around 7 inches long and pretty sturdy feeling. My bike is a stock Honda Tornado XR250. Do you guys think two will be enough?

Forget CO-2 cartridges ... too expensive and requires a bit of technique to make them work. Stove? Really? Don't burn down your Hostel room!

A simple decent quality bicycle pump will work fine. Remember: On your Tornado 250 you really don't need more than about 15 PSI to proceed. Of course, stop and "air up" at first opportunity (tire shop, taller, Gasolina) ... and if riding at 15 PSI, keep speeds to 50 mph or less.

I'm guessing Honda recommends something like 20 to 22 psi front / 23 to 25 PSI rear, am I close here? Any auto parts store will sell a pencil type air pressure gauge. Do you not drive in the UK? This is so basic.

On a lightweight 250 you can easily ride safely below those stated pressures ... so you really don't have to be pumping your bike pump all day long. Getting the rear tire up to 15 to 18 PSI will suffice until you can get to a "real" compressor. Don't worry about seating the bead. Just get some air in there and go ... go easy in the corners.

Tire Irons:
I like 3 Irons but you can make 2 work if your technique is good. Get a third if you can. If you get a flat, just ride it.
Keep going. In a few miles you'll get used to riding it flat. Don't crash but it will move around until you figure out how to do it. Ride to help unless you're really middle of nowhere. Riding flat will RUIN the tube ... but beats changing a tire!
You decide ... I always ride ... and it's why I carry 3 spare tubes.

You really need your Valet with you to deal with all these minor issues. :helpsmilie:

Better with 3 tyre levers, and the long ones not short stubby ones. On a 250 you will get by with the short ones, but no way on my 990!

those CO2 cylinder bombs are OK as a back up not the primary means if inflation. The other alternative is slime for tubes. But that is temporary to get somewhere then you must chuck away the tube. It is a way of avoiding tyre removal and bead breaking in a place you dont want to stop long, I carry that as back up. But you still need a way to inflate the tyre.

Carry the best small compressor you can afford. Otherwise once it gets hot it packs up. Mine goes to over 3 bar easy. Had it for years and works well and I use it all the time to top up my tyres. Just look for that Made in China label, and if you see it, be weary!! It wont have a chinaman's chance of lasting a trip lol. Its always more expensive to buy cheap and it is expensive to be poor.

Unfortunately if you look at all the stuff you need, tubes, small compressor, bottle of slime, a groundsheet, a pint of synthetic oil (for me as it is only available in big centres), tyre levers, dishwashing liquid, duct tape, palm size battery charger, chain lube and brush etc. It is half a pannier gone.

Speaking of punctures, I put a new T63 on on Friday. Sunday morning it was down to 0.8 bar. I thought perhaps he didn't tighten valve properly as nut on valve stem was so loose as I could turn it by hand. This morning back down at 1.3 bar.. grrr. They either stuffed the valve or nicked the tube..

That's a good list of stuff above :thumbup:
Problem is ... the OP is in Chile. My guess is that even simple, made in China, mini compressor's are outrageously priced. I'd go with a good bicycle hand pump and be happy.

No idea if they have SLIME in Chile, but I can tell you how to use it. (I first used it in Baja in early 90's) SLIME is meant to go into tube BEFORE you get a flat. No need to carry it with you. It goes in your tubes and stays in. It's good for about 1 year, then becomes watery and ineffective.

SLIME may not always work, but often can slow down a leak or stop it. It's good with cactus spines and small punctures, not so good against big nails and such.

A Slime'd tube CAN be patched ... if well rinsed. (SLIME is water soluble) A Vulcanized patch should be used ... after SLIME, a glue-on bicycle type patch may not work, even if cleaned off. A Vulcanized patch is melted on, not affected much by SLIME. No idea if they do this sort of repair in Chile, but I'd bet they do. Best sort of tube patch! :thumbup1:

Like most imports in Chile, SLIME may be expensive? :confused1: It's about $4 to $5 for a small bottle here in USA.

OIL? He's riding a NEW HONDA. Honda's use little or NO oil ... and make gas! :smartass: (thrifty on fuel!) Check oil at start and finish of day. I'd carry maybe a half pint? It just won't use much unless run flat out all day. A liter is too much. Every small Aldea will sell oil, no need to carry a whole liter bottle. BTW, use the BEST OIL you can find. Euro or US made is BEST.
bier

Bike pumps suffice for Moto tires?
 

Wow as usual the more I learn the less I know!!

Mollydog: I always thought that riding on a flat would ruin not only the tube, but the tire and the whole wheel rim too! If you had to in an emergency, what speed would you keep to on either dirt or road?

My strategy will probably be spare tubes and a pump, that will hopefully be enough to change tire and blast on to next town. I found a electronic air compressor here but it's 15 bucks and looks pretty flimsy.

More questions! What do you mean when you talk about 'seating the bead'? I've tried to read threads about the dark art of tire changing but everyone seems to take for granted the meaning but it's double-dutch to me!

There are hundreds of tire-changing videos on line. Watch a few. More important, take your toolkit out to your bike and change a tire or tube yourself, without any outside help or resorting to internet or extra kit. See how it goes. It'll be obvious what you need to work on, what questions you really need answered, and what tools you're lacking.

Asking here somewhat misses the point, which is that you need to be able to fix a flat. Yourself. Probably in the rain, and possibly in the dark. Mollydog's not going to be there when the time comes.

That aside, anything anyone tells you here is just one opinion among the many. You need your own knowledge base to decide what to take on and what to discard. Otherwise, you'll end up accepting whatever's said longest, loudest, or most convincingly on the internet. Do that and you'll pay for it in the end.

Hope that's helpful.

Marki

As in many things, it depends. You can ride on flat tyres - I've done it for many miles. I've also been stuck at the side of the motorway overnight with a flat where it was all two of us could do to push it twenty yards under a bridge for shelter.

The difference was the tyres. In the former case it was a Michelin Desert - a tyre with very solid sidewalls that didn't distort at all when I let some (eventually all) of the air out for traction in sand. The other one was a road tyre on a heavily laden road bike. It went bang and I was lucky to come to a halt still upright. If you have that sort of tyre on your bike you won't be riding it anywhere flat, even in an emergency. You do occasionally see the Dakar guys arriving at checkpoints riding on the rims but they inhabit a different world, both financially and in terms of their ability, to the rest of us.

Often a tyre just loses pressure gradually and it's tricky to decide when to stop. You may feel the handling go off. If you do - stop and do something about it. Fix it at best or pump some air in at least. Don't just keep on and hope. Something (probably the valve) will break.

If you're seriously concerned about punctures you really need to learn how to change tyres. It's not that hard (mostly) but like many things there is a knack to it and, sadly, watching it done on YouTube is little substitute for actually doing it. Have you ever fixed a bicycle flat? - it's exactly the same just everything is bigger. Add a couple of tyre levers to your list of things to take

Re seating the bead - mainly a concern for tubeless tyres where you have to get the edge of the tyre to seal (seat) against the rim before you can pump it up. Something needs to force the edge of the tyre outwards to start with and a "shock" of air is one method. You won't achieve that with a hand pump.

With a tube tyre inflating the tube, even slowly with a hand pump, will force the tyre outwards and, in theory, you can ride off. In practice the edge profile of the tyre need to be in the correct part of the rim otherwise the tyre will be off centre. If you look at a tyre near where it meets the rim you may see a thin band of slightly raised rubber going all the way round. That's a marker to let you know whether the tyre is seated properly. It should be the same distance from the rim all the way round on both sides. If it isn't the bead isn't seated where it should be in the rim and you'll need to fix it - tyre lubricant or higher pressure till it seats or both are the usual options.

I've got one of these Portable motorcycle tyre inflator it has a metal casing and comes in a pouch and is available from various outlets (I've no connection with any of them by the way).
It's tough as old boots (some videos about of UK Military using it) and inflates your tyre very quickly. It comes with a couple of options for connecting it and I find the crocodile clips straight onto the battery work best for me (R1200GS Adventure).
I use it frequently to adjust my tyre pressures between one up and two up as one day I'm out on my own, next day my other half is with me and/or we're loaded up. Also used it to reinflate after plugging a front tyre puncture.
However, there's quite a lot of other makes out there - I just chose this one and not disappointed, have used it a lot.
IMHO the sheer effort of using a hand pump would put me off adjusting my pressures most of the time and as for an absolute flat and possibly trying to reseat a tubeless bead with a hand pump - don't really fancy the idea of that.

As BackofBeyond says ...depends on stiffness of your tire sidewall. If you ride flat for any distance ... you will most likely ruin your tube, or pull out the valve stem. If the tires are stiff enough ... you can ride slowly on a flat ... on your 250 I'd guess around 25 mph.

The bike will slew/wobble around. If your tires are very soft ... your tire may come OFF the rim. If this happens ... stop and repair it now. I've ridden lots of bikes flat, both steet an dirt. 550 lbs. Triumph Tiger, Vstrom 1000, 850 LeMans Guzzi (hardest), KLR's, XL Hondas, and my DR650. Some bikes go down the road OK, others are too scary. A heavily loaded bike will be harder.

This is best advice. Get out and do it. Learn it. Try not to puncture your new tube (a common mistake).
Use BackofBeyond's advice about seating the bead. Use the little rubber seam on your tire as a guide. But if using a hand pump, don't worry if bead is not fully seated or even. 15 PSI and ride away. YES, you may feel a little hop or wobble. Just ride on until next town with high pressure compressor. May take 50 to 60 PSI to fully seat the bead. Use tire lube to help tire bead to seat, restore to
proper PSI.

Exactly why I carry a compressor. It allows me to quickly adjust tyre pressure for sand and tar. To be even quicker I have 2. One fitted with a Hela jack for the BMW power take off (you have to remap the power take off to the battery as the Bus system wont allow a compressor), and one with a normal 12v cigarette lighter fitting. just plug and pump. Just like going to a brothel: just stick it in, pump, then be on your way.

Im not about to shit there with a manual hand pump and work up a sweat for an hour like a wanker. A good quality small compressor is a good investment. A cheap one is a waste of money and only fills Chinese bank accounts, not your tyres.

What brand compressor do you have? Where was it made? :innocent:

SPOT ON!!!

My personal reliable kit...
Bestrest CyclePump / Tire Inflator: http://www.bestrestproducts.com/c-10...and-gauge.aspx
Neaely Tire Plug Kit (sticky rope): http://www.tirerepairkit.com
Stop & Go Tire Plug Kit (rubber mushroom plugs): http://www.stopngo.com/pocket-tire-p...tubeless-tires

Great advice all, many thanks!