Triumph Tiger 800

Were ECU adjustments required?

My guess is NO.

None.

For those XC riders that aren't particularly fond of tubed tires this is a little project that doesn't require too much effort and results in a tire that can (usually) be easily plugged roadside. There's a fair amount of info on spoke sealing for those curious types.

Usual disclaimer for project like this: Preform at your own risk.

Rear has a "safety lip" on the wheel. Let me tell ya, this would be a real bitch to break the bead trail-side with a sidestand.



Scuff the surface up and clean with non-alcohol solvent



Cover the spokes in case a future adjustment is needed and insert proper tubeless valve stem.



Cover evenly with, in this case, 3M 5200 sealant.




Allow product to cure. They have a regular and a Fast Cure 5200. If I do this again it'll be with the Fast Cure.
Install tire, balance, submerge in tub to check for tiny leaks, and ride.





Several rides and all is well.
If the front wheel had "safety lips" I would be sealing that one too, but most of my punctures have been on the rear so hopefully the front won't need an in the field fix....

Since you have partially filled the drop center section of the wheel, how much harder does this make it to change a tire?

Freaking brilliant.

I got to try out the bead breaking with the side stand yesterday and it's a piece of cake. Works great. Still, so much nicer to plug one on the road. As someone mentioned, sure as shit it's dark, cold, and raining when it goes.

Front is super easy to remove and dismount one tire bead - just like the regular dirtbikes. The rear? Not so much!

I do quite a few tires, so my "technique" is pretty good (IMHO), and it wasn't any more difficult than the ordinary. You only have to put 1/8" to 3/16" of sealant over the spokes.

Does the pressure of the tire bead against the sealant when mounting or dismounting gouge or dent the sealant?

+1 and does it set hard or soft(ish) ?

I always inflate to about 42psi... but I'm not very good about checking regularly, so occasionally it'll drop into the mid 30s before I top it off.

But when riding in the rain I'm also easy on the throttle, brakes, and cornering -- I don't care what tires I'm running, I just don't trust a wet road surface that's had god knows what dripping on it from some of the shitbox cars I see driving around...

--mark

When this stuff (3M 5200) cures, it is wicked strong and flexible. Google up a spec sheet on it, it's a pretty amazing product.

I don't think it would be cold tires, it would be very hard to get any meaningful heat in a tire on a rainy day. Also, I've done enough sub 40 degree rain riding with zero chance of warming a tire.

However, the gloss black surface of wet asphalt can hide all sorts of surface contaminants - I think that's what did you in.

Sorry to hear about the mishap, but glad you walk away with little personal and vehicle damage.

+1
Oil, diesel fuel, brake fluid, any number of slick contaminants. A little water is no problem, but oil floats up and can create a very slick surface. Sorry to hear of your mishap. I'm sure it's very unnerving.

Here in LA, when it rains, the freeways turn into a skating rink. Hundreds of accidents every time. Plus it's so infrequent the idiot drivers have no clue how to drive in the rain, so they go other other way, slower than shiite.

5200 is a marine urethane adehesive/sealant. Have used it for bedding deck hardware and thru-hulls. The stuff sticks like crazy and cures to a very firm rubbery material, much harder than regular silicone rubber. Can even be applied underwater and uses moisture to cure. The stuff is amazing.

I've seen this done on another thread but they were using epoxy or some kind of two-part material. This is a MUCH better solution.

The only downside is if you have to replace any spoke nipples. The sealant would be real bear to remove. Do-able, but difficult. Probably easier to cut the spoke holes out then re-seal the cutout.

I still really like the idea, especially for the rear tire. That whole thing is a bear to work with, hard to mount the tire, and hard to fit the assembly into the swingarm. If the cush-hub isn't completely seated the thing won't even go in there.

How many tubes did you use, and what did you use to cover the spokes? Do you have any pics of the valve stem area and how the stem is installed?

I used about 5/8 of the tube. Probably could have been a little more economical (every time I set the caulking gun down some would "dribble" out of the end).

The spoke covers were nothing more than those round price stickers. Just enough to keep the sealant from totally surrounding the spoke nipple. Vinyl tape would work fine if you felt like cutting a bunch of little pieces.

I slightly enlarged the valve hole (maybe 1/32") to allow the stepped rubber washer to better seat. I happened to have a couple straight stems on hand- if I had it to do over I would go with a 90 degree offset stem.

And a homemade template that road on the inside lips of the rim as it rotated to ensure uniform sealant depth.

All in all, if you can mount and remove a tire you can easily do this project.

For any tube type caulk or sealant in a manual type caulking gun, if you pop the ratcheting slider loose to remove the pressure as you set it down, very little material will keep flowing. An old boat builders trick.


EDIT: BTW, 5200 is also available in black....what I would use.



EDIT 2: James Town Dist has 5200 in white for $12, black for $15: http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...?pid=2002&engine=adwords!6456&keyword=3m_5200
Hump-Depot has it too but only in white. West Marine and Walmart too but more money. West marine has all the colors, wood colors.

3M also makes a 4200 but I can't remember the differences. Might be worth a look. Probably similar, and a couple of bucks cheaper.
There are other marine sealants that may also be suitable, like sikaflex, boatlife, etc. Since 5200 has been demontrably effective it's an easy choice.


EDIT 3: I got curious and looked up specs. Something to note, and I remember now, 5200 can be very slow to cure. The 3M site says, "tack free in 48 hours, cures in 7-14 days. Based on that I would let it cure for at least a week before reassembly. It can skin over and still be gooey inside.

There is also a 'fast-cure' 5200 in white only. Similar in strength but curing time similar to the 4200 next:

4200 is also a polyurethane sealant but faster cure, tack free in 1-2 hours, cured in 48. It's not quite as strong, designed for easier disassembly of marine parts. Since we're not looking for strength here, but sealing, I'm thinking this is probably a better bet. Also comes white or black.

Here's 3M's data sheet on all of their marine sealants: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=66666UF6EVsSyXTtMXfXnXfXEVtQEVs6EVs6EVs6E666666--&fn=60-4400-5507-1.pdf

Yeah I use the "take the pressure off" technique. Still flowed out slowly. No big loss.

Home Depot is right down the road so white was my most convenient choice- $11.48
I was careful and neat and still some will end up on wheel where you don't want it- white is easier to spot on black wheel for cleanup and only you know what color it is after the tire goes on.

If you're the impatient type, the fast cure is supposed to be cured and ready to go in 4hrs. Get it at West Marine (I waited 60hrs.) Temperature and humidity do affect cure rate.

awesome! I want to do this! let us know how it holds up. Thanks in advance!

+1. The real test is a long ride, like 250 miles. It wouldn't hurt to hit some potholes, curbs, or something similar.
The only reason I say that is because I've read about other people trying this & during a ride it failed. I'm sure they didn't use your technique or 5200, but you never know. Please give us an update as you put miles on.
The way my luck is I'd brake a spoke the first ride.