only back tire keeps getting punctured, should I got inner tube?

I am very tired of patching or replacing my tires every 6 months. My last job it was obvious why I got punctured but now it's just ridiculous. I don't buy cheap tires, they are expensive and they always get riddled with nails and stuff.
What course of action should I take. I don't ride in dubious areas or off-road.
And the odd thing is its only ever the back tires NEVER the front.

Hi "X".... don't want to start any wars here... but... you can always consider going to the "dark" side and using an appropriately sized car tire...  use this site's search function and check out the "dark-side" department... much info... good luck...

Use Ride-On tire sealant — not Slime.

I think back tyres get punctured more often because the front rolls over the item when it is lying flat and flicks it up so the rear tyre gets punctured. Certainly over the 40 years I've been riding, I think the front to back puncture ratio for me would be 1:5.

From memory, a tube is likely to suffer a sudden pressure loss when punctured, whereas the tubeless tyre tends to go down more slowly (and hence safely). I carry a puncture repair kit (gummy worms, adhesive, the insertion tool and also a small compressor) when I ride now.

Terry Smith wrote:

I think back tyres get punctured more often because the front rolls over the item when it is lying flat and flicks it up so the rear tyre gets punctured. Certainly over the 40 years I've been riding, I think the front to back puncture ratio for me would be 1:5.

From memory, a tube is likely to suffer a sudden pressure loss when punctured, whereas the tubeless tyre tends to go down more slowly (and hence safely). I carry a puncture repair kit (gummy worms, adhesive, the insertion tool and also a small compressor) when I ride now.

i see, i once got a massive flat on a highway once on the regular tubeless and it happened in a slow way that i was ably to carefully get to the shoulder and patch up and that alone was terrifying, i cant imagine it happening all at once like a blowout
i carry the whole kit as well (which includes any tool i need to strip the whole bike down if need be) and a flat kit with a compressor.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Use Ride-On tire sealant — not Slime.

i just did a quick google on that and it looks VERY interesting. ill have to look more into it but one question, Does that fix/ repair already punctured tiers or is it only a protection against FUTURE punctures?

Likely the best way to repair a puncture is from inside the tire, with a patch- Ride On is probably fine, but still would feel better with a ‘permanent’ repair- I got a a puncture in the back with the first 200 miles I rode the scooter. I used a gummi worm to fix it and it’s held well so far, but I want to pull the tire for a more permanent repair.

XMD, if you haven't added a front fender extension, I would suggest adding it. I had them on my last three bikes. What Terry said is what I have read also. It's a DIY project that takes maybe a half hour. I used a rubber roofing membrane and Gorilla glue two side tape to fasten it, no holes in the fender that way. It's still on firmly after 5 + years. The addition also prevents crap from collecting in the radiator.

XDM:copyright: wrote:

I just did a quick google on that and it looks VERY interesting. ill have to look more into it but one question, Does that fix/ repair already punctured tiers or is it only a protection against FUTURE punctures?

You need to repair the puncture first. Ride-On isn’t “Fix-a-Flat”. But Ride-On will seal the tire against future punctures.

It’s an excellent product and wont leave a mess when the tire is changed the next time. The person doing the next tire change really won’t appreciate you if you’ve used Slime.

You’ll need an entire bottle of Ride-On for each tire. Once opened ya gotta use it.

Yeah ! to what Old Wing Guy says about adding a DIY mud flap to the front fender. I made one from a cheap disposable plastic flower pot and used heavy duty double faced tape to attach it. Cheap insurance against nails being kicked back from the front tire.

In Germany 40 or 50 years ago Nail catchers were available and I think Trials riders used them, too.

Ride On not cheap=works as balance medium and maybe seals small leaks punctures. For me, one bottle works for 2 scooter tires/wheels. Been using it for 20 years or so.

I've used Ultraseal in the past on the bikes and Slime in the mountain bike tubes.
These wonder chemicals do work but you still need to check your tyres on the regular basis, you don't want to leave a large nail in there wiggling about.

Yes, Ride-On is fairly popular and effective, lots of satisfied users, as both a wheel balancer and tire leak stopper, I have changed many worn tires that had nails, etc., unknown to owner because he was using ride-on, i.e. were not leaking , also seen flat tires were the Ride-On just helped find the hole/puncture and were leaking!! , the thing is in most the cases where the tire did not leak with Ride-On, the offending object(screw, nail, etc.) or part of it was still in tire, plugging the hole, so did it work or not IAC, not all tire punctures are the same. IAC, is always best to leave nail, etc. in tire, if at all possible, until repairs are made.

BTW with the advent of internal TPMS (tire press monitoring), even on motorcycles, lots of manufacturers are advising against using any fluids inside tire.

Not clear if installing a tube was suggested, but is a bad Idea on a tubeless wheel in general, many reasons, hard to repair #1.

Personally, I don't llike adding anything but air/nitrogen to my tires, my "Stop & Go" kit with extra CO2 cartridges has been my go to for a long time.

Sorry, kinda got sidetracked from OP's question, but really the only solution is to "Try" to be more vigilant of road surface in front of you, not easy with all the craziness out there, but I've driven around plenty stuff, that's sure to ruin anyone's day

john grinsel wrote:

In Germany 40 or 50 years ago Nail catchers were available and I think Trials riders used them, too.

I’m fascinated by this concept, having never run across it before, but I can’t find any discussions or images of nail catchers online. Do you have any more information about their design or links to images of a motorcycle nail catcher? I guess the corollary question becomes, did they actually work?

BrianInVA wrote:

john grinsel wrote:

In Germany 40 or 50 years ago Nail catchers were available and I think Trials riders used them, too.

I’m fascinated by this concept, having never run across it before, but I can’t find any discussions or images of nail catchers online. Do you have any more information about their design or links to images of a motorcycle nail catcher? I guess the corollary question becomes, did they actually work?

WT…?   You’ve never run across a nail Brian? And, hey, all too frequently the nail catcher is the rear tire.

Apologies to Mr Grinsel. But Dale N made me say this.

What little I found on Google looked a bit Heath Robinson. Maybe it didn't catch on

A note about Slime, while it works quite well if the tire isn't rotated it can and will eventually let air out if the leak is on the high side. I found this out with my front tractor tire, if I run it around at least once a month the tire stays inflated. In the " off " season I have that side jacked up just enough that I can give it a few spins when I'm in the shop.

MUCHoldERwingguy wrote:

XMD, if you haven't added a front fender extension, I would suggest adding it. I had them on my last three bikes. What Terry said is what I have read also. It's a DIY project that takes maybe a half hour. I used a rubber roofing membrane and Gorilla glue two side tape to fasten it, no holes in the fender that way. It's still on firmly after 5 + years. The addition also prevents crap from collecting in the radiator.

I was JUST about to ask about a way to extend the fender.
I'll look into that too

My BikeSeal Auto-Seal arrived yesterday, complete with a syringe worthy of featuring in 'The Devils'.
I've used Ultraseal and Puncturesafe in the past; are there any tips for applying the new stuff or shall I proceed as before?
TIA

If you have an oil suction pump handy that's like a large metal syringe, you can pour in the recommended dose for either front or rear tyre and have the job done in a few minutes.

I fondly remember a post some years ago on another maxi forum where some lad bitterly complaining about how rubbish puncture sealant was, and how difficult it was to get it into his tyres.

I asked him if he'd removed the tyre valves beforehand, and of course he hadn't.

Meldrew wrote:

If you have an oil suction pump handy that's like a large metal syringe, you can pour in the recommended dose for either front or rear tyre and have the job done in a few minutes.

I fondly remember a post some years ago on another maxi forum where some lad bitterly complaining about how rubbish puncture sealant was, and how difficult it was to get it into his tyres.

I asked him if he'd removed the tyre valves beforehand, and of course he hadn't.  

Thank you very much for the tip. I have one somewhere.

As for the 'tyre valves' bit: I'm laughing out loud!

Thanks again.