(2012 S40 with 3200 mi.) Riding to breakfast with my wife as passenger, I notice a extremely slight handling difference about 3-4 miles from the café. I didn't think to look at the tire then, but when we came out of the café, the bike was sitting on the rim of the front tire. I pushed it across the street to a convenience store air pump. It wouldn't hold air very long, so at approx. 10-15 psi. I used Seal "N" Air until the foam appeared to stop flowing in the clear discharge tube. Instructions say to ride the bike immediately for about 2 miles and the foam will spread, air pressure will increase gradually and the leak will seal. In about 4 miles in was almost on the rim again, so we stopped.

We have Progressive Insurance ( first usage) with towing so we called. They contacted several towing services from their inventory to procure the shortest arrival time. Most were 3 hours. The selected provider said 1 1/2 hours. Four hours later they arrived having had to return to the shop because they forgot the straps. The 86 year old owner and his 20 something son-in-law said they had never loaded a "sickle" which was evident. I had to instruct them to relocate the straps forward of the front attachment location on the "sickle" to keep it from moving backward and to relocate the hooks to slotted holes on the truck deck or stake pockets, as the son-in-law's rail attachment would allow the hooks to slide. They thought it was a great idea and a revelation to not ratchet down  with the kick stand touching the deck.

We were delivered 12 miles to our home, where I removed the tire, picked up a spare tube and rim liner and drove to the Suzuki dealer for repair. It cost $23 and the cause of the puncture ( a 1/4" slit in the sidewall) is unknown.

Observations:

1. My wife is still a great traveling partner (44 yrs.) No complaining and two hours into the event, grabbed the toilet paper and hand sanitizer from the tail-bag and headed for the women's restroom/woods a half a city block away.

2. Progressive worked well ( not the tow service) as they communicated with us at least 6 times during the wait, either an actual person or an automated call- giving updated ETAs. No out-of-pocket, as Progressive is billed directly.

3. Have spare tubes and liners on-hand all the time, particularly on long trips, makes so much sense; avoid down time.  

Questions:

1. I've not read or spoken to anyone that would recommend changing a rear tire on the road. But the front,- many conflicting takes. Some say you're not a true biker dude if you can't change/ repair a tire on the road. However, I talked to a HD mechanic, who said" definitely no"- if you bend a spoke, you've just created an expensive, more involved repair.

Do I have the best compromise presently, with towing and spares?

If I'm not going to repair on the side of the road and I have towing, is removing the tire and taking it to a shop (leaving the bike) worth considering?

This time an air compressor was just across the street, but didn't make much of a difference. Is a hand pump or a 12 volt compressor worth the cost and space it will use on the bike?

Anyone have experience using Seal"N"Air?

Rick in Indiana

Flats on a street bike don't happen too often... so, I wouldn't be worried about it...
If I were taking a trip lasting several days,... in a remote area, I might think about carrying a rear tube (as they are less common)...
Generally I'd just rely on your Progressive towing package...

When I rode dirt... I'd have at least one flat per month...
Riding street,.. I've had 2 flats in the last 50,000 miles...

On the wildguzzi forum some of the guys say they use that product called Slime in their inner tubes.  I always thought it was for tubeless tires only and would not work in inner tubes but some of them claim it works and has saved them a lot of grief.  

I'm not going to let all the air out of my newly mounted and balanced tires so I can squirt some slime in there but the next time I am inflating a tire I think I will try it.