Unless badly rotted, rusty spokes/nipples/wheels can be cleaned up with work, if mostly surface rust. You'll need to evaluate the whole wheel, or have a pro do it if you're not sure.

Soak in WD40 (or other product), work hard with steel wool. It's labor intensive but works. Do INSIDE of the wheel rim as well, clean up spoke nibbles best you can.

Make sure to replace rubber rim strip on top of spoke nipples inside wheel .. (or use duct tape). Protects tube from spoke nipples sharp edges.

Yes, you can convert wheels to typeless-type by sealing spoke nipples with strong Marine type epoxy sealer. Usually this is done by Pro wheel specialist. Bit tricky to do correctly. (I tried it ... couldn't manage it. )

On a 250 Honda I would NOT recommend this. Not worth it, IMO.
First, it's an expensive process if you pay a pro. Second, it's not always reliable (leaks can happen) especially the front.
Woody's Wheel Works (USA) will NOT convert a front wheel ... too dangerous.

A front tube change is pretty EASY, no need to seal it. Run HD tubes, possibly run Slime or similar flat protection Goo. But Slime makes patching hard ... unless it's a Vulcanized patch (at tire repair shop) which sets tube on fire, melts patch onto tube. Permanent!

The fact is, older 250 Honda tire changes should be fast & easy. Good tire irons/tools is all you need, PRACTICE at home before Africa.

Carry at least 3 spare tubes, get them patched professionally if and when you can. (vulcanized patch is best) Sometimes a tube will be destroyed (this is why you need spares) ... so look after tubes. Learn to do proper patches when shops are not around. Quality tubes can be patched many times and still be usable.

If going off road in East Africa, good strong knobby tires probably best. Thick, stiff side walls are best with a tough carcass.

A few examples:
T63, IRC TR-8, MT21, Pirelli Rally, Dunlop D606 (many other options). About any knobby will fit if it's an 18" rear wheel?? A 17" ? more limited choices. Any 21"front will work. Carrying a spare rear tire is probably a good idea too. Front tire should last and last. Tarmac riding at high speed wears rear knobby fast.

Trail bike knobblies are designed to be changed with levers. Any decent threesome of tyre, rim and bike manufacturer knows part of the basic requirement is to fix punctures on the trail or track side. Practice and carry tubes.

Road bikes don't seem to be specced with the same care. Worst example is the BMW singles, tubeless tyres, sealed bead type rim, tube and open spokes. Can't be plugged, can't be removed with levers. You either carry some expensive fold up bead breaker or hope slime works. A pure job creation scheme for the dealer network.

Andy

Thanks for all of your advice.

Though seems a bit straying off the "which bike" topic, the matter of tube vs tubeless has a little to do with the choice of bike.

Not every member of the 250cc dual sport family uses tube-tires, e.g. both Honda SL230 & Yamaha XT250 (2005 & onwards) have a tube-type front and a tubeless rear.

I prefer these 2 bikes because of their low seat height. But after knowing the above advantages of having tubes, should I change the rear rims to tube-type?
Or can a tube-tire be simply fitted on a tubeless rim?


Thanks,
Kei

You can quite happily use tubes with tubeless rims, I have done this on my GS in the past when I had a puncture.

Thanks Mark.

Yes, my local mechanic also told me it's ok to use tubes with tubeless rims.
But when reading the owner's manual there are scary statements of warning like "Do not install tube-type tires on tubeless rims. The beads may not seat and the tires could slip on the rims" & "Do not install a tube inside a tubeless tire. Excessive heat build-up may cause the tube to burst".

I just wonder if these statements are merely written for legal considerations, or there is a real, potential threat associated?

I currently 1 motorcycle with tubeless rims and 3 motorcycles with spoked wheels and tube-type rims.

When shopping for tires I usuall find tubeless tires or ones marked "tube/tubeless". When using them with a tube I've been told to downgrade the speed rating 1 notch -- a V rated tire becomes an H rated tire. Since that's about 200kmh they're obviously rated for an audience other than me. It would matter if I found J, K, L, or M -rated tires (under 100mph) but those aren't common here. YMMV. Some people know how fast their motorcycles can go -- I don't (except for the CB360 which falls below the category of "fast").

When I do find a tube-type tire, usually one of the "vintage" tread designs in "inch" sizing, the tire does not slip on the rim. That may be because the tube is pushing the tire bead against the rim, but that would only be because the air pressure is pressing the tube agains the bead. Air pressure (and friction) do the work.

You probably DON'T want to install a tube-type tire without a tube on any rim. The beads of tubeless tires must be smooth to seal all the way around. The bead of a tube-type tire can have a ripple that would let air out since the tube will keep the air in.

I suspect they are, a friend of mine who is also on here somewhere has done 275,000 miles on his GS with tubes fitted to tubeless rims without a problem.