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Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube? (Read 99 times)
springman
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Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
05/24/18 at 18:41:57
 
I ordered my tire but not an inner tube. Now I find that after removing a half inch long screw from the rear tire, the tire is flat. Is it sae to just patch the tube?
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #1 - 05/24/18 at 20:42:30
 
Do you trust your work? Is the price of a new tube worth not having to worry? Sorry about answering a question with more questions. If the tube is fairly new I see no reason not to , if the hole is small and not near the sidewall,  fix the tube and air the tire up checking pressure at that time,  an maybe overnight again, If the tire holds your good to go .( the pressure could slightly vary depending on outside temperature) I've been lucky enough not to have done it in many years ,but I 've done it with good results in the past.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #2 - 05/24/18 at 21:35:49
 

Yes, use a relatively large patch, well glued and you should be fine.  

Our tubes do age out and start leaking before the long term tires wear out -- be quick to take it apart if some Slime won't correct the issue, wash out the tire itself real good and put a new tube in it.

I lost a darksider rear once due to a slowly growing rust lump on the rim metal going through the rim strip and through the tube wall (tire was on there for nearly 8 years by that point in time).

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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #3 - 05/25/18 at 02:48:14
 
The theory is that every time you brake, accelerate, corner hard, the tire is trying to rub the patch off the tube.
I'd only put a patch on to ride slowly to where I could change a tube.
Riding on a patch is not worth the risk to me.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #4 - 05/25/18 at 03:03:50
 
springman wrote on 05/24/18 at 18:41:57:
I ordered my tire but not an inner tube. Now I find that after removing a half inch long screw from the rear tire, the tire is flat. Is it sae to just patch the tube?


How old is the tube?  If that is the OEM tube and it is 10 years old....time for a new tube.

If it was a new tube when you mounted your last tire and is only a few years old - I would patch it.  And as other have said.....make sure the patch is done well and has at least 1/4 inch beyond the hole on all sides.  Clean the patch area with lacquer thinner or acetone, scuff it up with sandpaper, apply fresh glue extending it over the entire patch area and let it dry until there is no more wet remaining (the glue should be very thin and stinky when it is fresh.....old glue gets thick and doesn't work well), then apply the patch and roll the bottom edge of a glass bottle on it well to make sure it is stuck on good.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #5 - 05/25/18 at 05:12:03
 
Armen wrote on 05/25/18 at 02:48:14:
The theory is that every time you brake, accelerate, corner hard, the tire is trying to rub the patch off the tube...
------------------

In theory, yet many motocrossers and off-road racers run on patched tubes with just 12-14 lbs of pressure.  Is a new tube better?  Sure, in theory.  Are you going to die with a patched tube?  Unlikely.  At ~30 hp and ~30 psi, that tire and tube is not moving on the rim.

Now that I've said that, I would just go buy a tube as Armen suggested.  Ha, ha! Grin
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #6 - 05/25/18 at 06:38:52
 
Thanks.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #7 - 05/25/18 at 08:59:58
 
Inner tube has been ordered. I will however patch the one with the hole as it is less than 2 years old and I can keep it as a spare. Thanks again for the input.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #8 - 05/25/18 at 09:11:43
 
One thing is sure. After all the work to remove the wheel and tire what is the cost of a tube in the overall equation. Peace of mind is worth something.
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #9 - 05/25/18 at 09:29:47
 
I was told by the dealership they would NOT mount my new tires unless I provided them with new inner-tubes.
I bought the tires on-line, had them shipped to their business, and they installed my tires.
Their installation price was the same.
I bought tubes and took them to them the day I had the job done.

I once lost a tire/tube to a screw, in the road, yeah, you could say I got screwed....
It was 4:30AM, on my way too work.

That rear tire went flat faster than I would have ever imagined.
On a surface street at 40, it was really squirrelly, would not like to experience it at 70......no way.

Tubes are cheap, when compared to a ER bill  Wink
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #10 - 05/25/18 at 17:50:14
 
Good topic!
Im REAL frugal (CHEAP), but when i buy a new tire, i get a new tube as well. Yeah, back in the day i would andHAVE patched MANY a motorcycle tire! And ridden them off road, raced motocross, but there is something about bikes getting squirrelly and loose at highway speeds that i dont care much for these days.
And as mentkoned, after the work of getting the rear wheel off, why chance having to do it again sooner than needed?!
Just my humble opinion!

Mike
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Re: Is it safe to patch a motorcycle inner tube?
Reply #11 - 05/25/18 at 21:33:34
 
"the tire is trying to scrub the patch off every time it moves" REALLY? The tube is anchored in the rim by the stem and the fact that it's pressed against the tire by the air pressure, and seeing how the tire beads are seated against the rim by the same pressure ,neither is moving relative to each other or around the rim , what "scrubbing"is happening?. If you hit a bump and the patch flexes it's because the tire flexed the same amount. If you inflate a tire to 30psi ,that's 30 lbs of pressure /per/square inch , about 1/3 of the tube may contact the rim and 2/3 contact the tire , If that 2/3 area equals 150 square inches (and it could be greater) that's 4,500 lbs of total pressure,  holding the tube against the tire.    I'm calling BS on this one.
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