Puncture

[ABC]

Well, I had my brand new Alp for exactly two days when I pick up a rear wheel puncture on the M25. I was going along at seventyish when suddenly the bike felt weird, wobbling. My first thought wasn't a puncture but that that something had become loose on the steering or swing arm. I slowed down and somebody in a car pointed at my back wheel so I pulled over to the shoulder, stopped and saw the flat. ****! There was a small nail poking out of the tyre.

What to do? I knew that two years AA membership came with the bike but the problem was that I had not yet received my membership details, I understand they are forwarded later by post, so didn't know where to phone for assistance or what my membership number would be etc. Luckily this was about 3.30pm on Saturday and my dealer was still open so I phoned them and they supplied me with the AA number to call.

I called the AA and they had my registration number already recorded on their computer system, which I must say surprised me pleasantly, given the very short time I'd owned the bike and how poor the admin. of so many organisations is these days. About an hour and a half later a breakdown truck arrived, it was a car carrier but we put the bike on it and the guy strapped it down.

I'd decided to take it back to my selling dealer as I didn't know where else to go, I'm satisfied with their quality and by chance we weren't that far away. Got there around 5.30pm just when they were closing but they took it into their workshop to fix on Monday. I picked it up yesterday and as I expected they had fitted a new tube, which cost me about £42. I presume the breakdown recovery will be covered by the AA membership.

Whilst I was waiting on the motorway for the recovery, the Highway Patrol guys stopped and very kind they were too, offering to call for assistance if I didn't have the means to do so. Turned out they were both bikers so we had a pleasant chat for a few minutes and they left only when it became clear that I had managed to organise recovery myself. These chaps aren't a division of the police as I thought, they are part of the Highways Agency or whatever it's called, the body that looks after the motorways. Full marks to them, they would have been a great help if I had been unable to obtain assistance elsewhere.

Do people with tubed Alps have more punctures than other bikes, which these days run tubeless in most cases? The AA told me that they might have been able to fix tubeless at the roadside but not tubes.

[stephen McG]

Tubed tyres are the only gripe I have with the TA700.
Deflation is sudden and no simple roadside repair plug kit can be used.
OK you can carry plenty of tools/take of wheel/replace or repair tube.
If you get a puncture at home then this is OK
I got 'get you home slime' put in tyres when I got bike but it did nothing when I got nail in front tyre.
I got recovery to get me and bike home and took off front wheel and got new tube fitted.
I got charged £24 for new tube but this was to a loose wheel.

You will get into the habit of checking tyres most days and try to avoid 'dead' areas of the road (including centre of lanes) - this is where most bad stuff lies.

PS yes the sudden loss of full control is a bit of a shock.

Stephen McG in Glasgow

[ABC]

£24 for a tube fitted to an off bike wheel means that my £42 for the whole job is not unreasonable then, and this is at London prices too which may be higher than elsewhere.

What surprised me a little though is that the Alp is supposed to be a dual purpose bike with a certain amount of off road capability. Although I have no wish to ride dirt, I would have assumed that it is perhaps less prone to punctures given that it is meant to be used on crude unpaved surfaces as well as on the road.

But that doesn't of course mean it's immune to punctures on the road so I guess I was just unlucky. I just wondered whether readers here, especially those like me who have experience with many bikes, have had more punctures on the Alp than on other machines.

[Wee Jack]

Offroad bikes in general get more punctures especially "pinch" punctures picked up riding over rocks with low pressures in the tyres (preferrd by offroaders as it gives them more grip).

I have been riding for 34 years and got 3 punctures in that time - 2 of those were on my KTM 990 running Pirelli Scorpions !!!!!.

I think there may have been something in the knobbly tread of the scorps that picked up jaggy pointy things.

[ABC]

Offroad bikes in general get more punctures especially "pinch" punctures picked up riding over rocks with low pressures in the tyres (preferrd by offroaders as it gives them more grip).

I have been riding for 34 years and got 3 punctures in that time - 2 of those were on my KTM 990 running Pirelli Scorpions !!!!!.

I think there may have been something in the knobbly tread of the scorps that picked up jaggy pointy things.

A plausible point Jack. It may be that the sort of semi knobblies tyres fitted as original equipment to new Alps, Bridgestone Trail Wings and presumably chosen by Honda because they offer some offroad capability, when used on the road are more puncture prone than tyres designed exclusively for road use. Because I'm never going off road, I'd rather have full road tyres if they are available for the Alp but that's for the future when the original ones wear out.

[StumpyFingers]

The only reason tubed tires seem more prone is because the tube is a separate item and deflates when holed.
A tubeless tire can seal itself around the object and therefore loses less air and deflates at a slower rate. Because of this most people do not realise they have a puncture.

[Grey alp]

Correct me when wrong ,but aren't knobble tyres more puncture proof because their contackt point on the tarmac are in fact the thick knobbles?.
I mean they stand out at least around 8 to10mm when new. If you pick up a nail or other sharp subject it has to be at least longer than your knobble thickness.
The area between the knobbles is more vulnerable of course ,i have no idea how thick the rubber between the knobbles is.

And the 24£/42£ mentioned ,is that for the inner tube?.
I'am about to change the rear tyre and don't know if the inner tube also has to be replaced?.

Is it possible/adviseable to put tubeless tyres on spoked wheels?.

So far 21k on Trailwings and no punctures!.

Enjoy

[ABC]

Correct me when wrong ,but aren't knobble tyres more puncture proof because their contackt point on the tarmac are in fact the thick knobbles?.
I mean they stand out at least around 8 to10mm when new. If you pick up a nail or other sharp subject it has to be at least longer than your knobble thickness.
The area between the knobbles is more vulnerable of course ,i have no idea how thick the rubber between the knobbles is.

And the 24£/42£ mentioned ,is that for the inner tube?.
I'am about to change the rear tyre and don't know if the inner tube also has to be replaced?.

Is it possible/adviseable to put tubeless tyres on spoked wheels?.

So far 21k on Trailwings and no punctures!.

Enjoy

The £24 and £42 mentioned were purely to replace the inner tubes but include the labour charge.

You can't put tubeless tyres on the sort of spoked wheels that the Alp possesses because the points where the spokes join the rim is not airtight.

I'm not sure if knobblies in general or Trail Wings in particular are more puncture prone when used purely on the road. It could be that the knobbly areas somehow act as a sort of grip for nails etc., forcing them into the thinner area between. But that's just my speculation, we need a tyre expert to tell us for certain. I'd like to know myself the answer to this one.

If you are changing a tyre, it would be advisable to put in a new tube as well because the rubber material does deteriorate with age and use.

[davedixon]

Hi ABC, you asked about road tyres. I traded my 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100 in for my TA XL700VA and guess what both bikes use the same tyre size. The Bonnie was factory fitted with Metzlers (identical size as the TA). Having the Bonnie from new I can personaly give the Metzlers full marks for road holding, tyre wear (4000 miles and they still looked brand new). When my Trailwings wear out (sooner rather than later, they are rubbish, 3000 miles and nearly worn out) I intend to fit the Bonnie spec tyres as they are superb, and cost affective. Dave.

[ABC]

Thanks for the information Dave.

I had a test ride on a Bonnie T100 a few weeks ago as a possible alternative to the Alp. Nice bike and it was a fairly close thing for me. On balance I found the Alp a little more comfortable though.