My bike is only really used as a commuter, but when not dealing with heavy traffic, I do tend to push it fairly hard. My current tires are the original Dunlop Battleaxe (I think?) tires that came with the bike. They are in sad shape, and just ordered Michel Road 5s to replace them. Now I’m hearing that the Road line isn’t very puncture resistant. The city streets I commute on tend to be full of ready made puncture shrapnel, nails, screws, metal wire from tire belts, glass, you name it. Am I going to regret the Road 5s? Is there a better option for an all-weather sport commuting tire?
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There’s no such thing as a puncture resistant motorcycle tire. Whoever told you that is an idiot. You’ll be fine with the road 5s. The battlax is better on the sides, but the road 5s can handle most of what you’re likely to throw at it.
And please for the love of Christ don’t put slime or other sealant in your moto tires.
This comment right there ☝☝ Also motorcycle tires are round and its way more unlikely to get puntured than a car tire
I had run flats on my car and they sucked. Really stiff, loud, not great traction and worst of all when you pick up a screw or nail (which happened to me 5 times in a year - truly bad luck) you have to unmount the tire and patch internally to do it properly. Yes, you can still drive with the puncture…but with a normal plug kit and compressor I could fix it myself easily (or call AAA).
I swapped for soft, sticky old school rubber. Oh…and fingers crossed not a single puncture in the two years since. WAY better performance, quieter and cheaper to boot.
Thanks. Not looking for run-flats, just wondering if there is something less puncture resistant. In the cycling world (the ones with pedals) certain tires are known to be more or less resistant to punctures. Commuting on brand X resulted in multiple punctures each month, while brand Y was puncture free for a year.
Ahhh got it. Not aware of a specifically more puncture resistant motorcycle tire per se but I’d expect touring tires (which deliver higher wear) might be tougher than track focused tires. I personally really like Michelin Pilot Road series.
Probably not. I have never seen a run flat or puncture resistant motorcycle tire, and I’m not sure such a thing exists in the consumer space. If it did, it certainly would not be a performance tire.
If you’re worried about that sort of thing, I would advise running some manner of tire sealant such as Ride On inside your tire. Anyway, if you did not have an issue with your Battlaxes I don’t think you’ll have a problem with your Road 5’s. I run Road 5’s on my FZ6R in the usual shitstorm that is our public roads around here and I have never had a puncture issue. I’m not sure what would make them “less” puncture resistant since they’re made of similar materials and have roughly the same tread and carcass thickness as other comparable tires…
At the risk of asking a stupid question (apologies), can you run a tube in a tubeless tire? A tube with some slime to help prevent punctures?
Yes. I’ve carried a tube instead of a spare on long haul adv rides. It’s a reasonable backup plan, not a daily ride option.
No, it won’t make you more puncture resistant, and you absolutely do not want sealant rolling around in a moto tire fucking up your balance and making life miserable for whoever has to eventually change it.
Probably not in your application.
What determines if you run a tube or not is the rim, not the tire itself. If you have a spoked rim it’s most likely you will have no choice but to use a tube. The tire valves are different between tubes and tubeless rims. On a tubeless rim, the valve stays with the rim. Otherwise it is attached to the tube.
I guess you could theoretically install a tube anyway (after ripping out the existing valve stem) but it’s not a great idea. Heat buildup from high speed riding and cornering may cause the tube to fail unexpectedly. You won’t find anyone willing to take responsibility for it, either – not the manufacturer of the tube, nor the tire, nor the rim/bike, since you used a combination of parts not designed for the task. (The tube’s valve stem is not airtight against the rim, so if you blew a tube inside a tubeless tire on a tubeless rim, the tire itself would not leak air but the gap around the valve stem will.)
For future readers:
- Tubeless rim, tubeless tire: Yes
- Tubeless rim, tube type tire: No
- Tubed/spoked rim, tube type tire: Yes, and use a tube.
- Tubed/spoked rim, tubeless tire: Yes, and use a tube.
