Tyre levers on board.

[El Vencejo]

"I asked earlier how to get a wheel off to repair the puncture with only a side stand,"

Undo the axle nut etc, then lie the bike down on a handy patch of grass, preferably on a slope so gravity helps lift the thing upright afterwards.

Be brave and optimistic, just go for the ride; chances are that you will not get a puncture, engine seize up, forks collapse, earthquake, HIV or anything else.

[Mudwiz]

"I asked earlier how to get a wheel off to repair the puncture with only a side stand,"

Undo the axle nut etc, then lie the bike down on a handy patch of grass, preferably on a slope so gravity helps lift the thing upright afterwards.

Be brave and optimistic, just go for the ride; chances are that you will not get a puncture, engine seize up, forks collapse, earthquake, HIV or anything else.

You don't know my life!!

Seriously though, putting the bike on its side is the only way I can do it on my own. It causes far less damage than one might expect, on the XR its best to turn the petrol off first, never had issues on the TA.

In the defence of taking all this stuff to "be prepared" there is a joy in it, and the preparedness of others has got me through many a tight spot - chains on the M5 spring to mind! (Thanks again Mel and Rich ) Also a goody was the combined might of crm250.com at a rally in wales where they managed to refit a used xr250 wheel bearing to my "race" TA, with the help of a gas stove!! (Well, the old bearing was far better than mine!) Skills too, I changed a tyre on a soon to die XR from my pit, are fun to have and to use.

Don't you just love this place!

[El Vencejo]

Our first long ride (me & Jan, on a bike!) was 1974 on a 1963 Norton ES400 that I rescued from a breakers in Belper and had a "new" clutch from Crommy's shop in Golborne, Wigan. 2,500 miles to Barcelona via Andorra and back.
Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness struck on the Costa Brava.

Last one was 2002, Portsmouth to Bilbao, across Spain to Málaga and return.

Both were great fun, I wouldn't do it again, 2-up on 23bhp; but after doing that with no toolkit and very little cash, the rest was easy.
145bhp @ the back wheel with just a tank bag for luggage was fun
Still don't carry tools, even on roads like this, 5 hours walk to mobile phone coverage.


Life's to short to spend time preparing for it, just go for it

[Treadtrader]

"I really dislike the expression "blow-out" when used to describe a puncture."

In which case, you've never had a "blow out".
One of my 3 punctures was in a Lancia(car), porous alloy wheels which required a tube. Tube burst @ 80+mph, big bang, tyre trashed, by the time I'd stopped the rim was trashed too.

Ever been riding past a truck when it has "sudden deflation"?, blew me from the middle lane into the outside.

Blow out is an appropriate term.

Tyre levers, spare tubes , stuff like that is ok if you're riding round North Africa. For Europe... well, a bit anal retentive??? Just not my kind of biking, no fun at all.
Keep it light, ride fast, have fun, don't get caught

I've been dealing with the aftermath of blow-outs for the 42 years i've been in the tyre trade. A badly fitted tube in a tyre that was designed to be tubeless is inexcuseable and now illegal in the UK.

And yes, i've felt the effects of blow-outs, once had a tractor tyre give way and blow me across a tyre depot, i was deaf for a day!

If i'm touring i'd rather take the tools to fix a simple roadside problem than spend hours out of the trip waiting for a breakdown truck.

Each to our own. Ride safe.

[Grey alp]

Okay ,ordered the Slime inflator on the recommended site ,so thanks (aldo double the price you give me).

Tyre levers, spare tubes , stuff like that is ok if you're riding round North Africa

Thats my intention ,mayby this fall ,otherwise undoubtedly next year.

Be brave and optimistic, just go for the ride; chances are that you will not get a puncture, engine seize up, forks collapse, earthquake, HIV or anything else.

Well i agree ,its impossible to forsee all problems that can happen.
Unless you take a the exact same bike with you for spares!.
Its like having a insurance ,as long you don't need it ,its a wast of good money. But if you're in trouble....

If i'm touring i'd rather take the tools to fix a simple roadside problem than spend hours out of the trip waiting for a breakdown truck.

Same here ,i'am not packing a whole garage outlet with me ,but some tools and spares can save you a lot of time ,trouble and money.

Enjoy

[Austin]

I have always carried tools and spares on my bike all the time. They just live under the seat, for me it's about independence - I prefer to know I can fix or bodge my way out of most situations without relying on outside help. A puncture takes about 30 minutes to repair at the side of the road , a tubless one even less. I carry a mountian bike pump to reinflate.

Getting the wheel off - get a centre stand. The other way is to pivot the bike on the side stand until a wheel is off the ground then shove something under the swing arm or the sump to hold it. I have never taken a wheel out doing this though.

[El Vencejo]

A pleasant hour or 3 spent at a roadside pub/ bar / auberge whilst a local artisan fettles the bike or lends you his tools, is certainly not time wasted, more a nice chance to discover anything interesting in the locale.
We crashed a GPX750R @ Ciudad Real, S of Madrid a few years ago: the cops (Guardia!! normally they are Klingons: they only look human) were great, argued about Honda v Kawasaki, took Jan & luggage to a decent Hostal, gave us directions to an A* bar and restaurant, made contact with local bike shop for us ;Suzuki, but they sent a guy on a moped for footrests etc whilst we had breakfast. Met some good people, had some very bruised laughs. Same with a waterlogged CBX 750 in the Picos de Europa; f*ckups are just another chance to see something different
Call the insurance hotline or DIY and you just waste hours at the roadside..
Do it simple & meet some people

[El Vencejo]

Grey Alp,
have a friend down here, she's Scot but speaks fluent Magrebi Arabic (its a long story), organises small tour groups via 4x4 in the Rif mountains of Maroc; I'm sure she'd be happy to give info... especially if you want to visit Ketama during the marijuana harvest
(sorry, I'm an old hippy-biker, more MC than MCC)
You must be USA??

[Grey alp]

The Swift one, its true that getting in trouble on the road "sometimes" is a good opportunity to meet people you otherwise probably never would meet.
I have some simular stories of previous trips ,made some longlife friends on those occasions.
Then again ,would your encounter with the guardia civil have the same pleasant result/ending without your wife/girlfriend being there?.
Like hitchhiking ,with girlfriend always bingo ;without girlfriend nada.

USA? ,then i would be the first proud owner of a TA700 overthere!.
Nah ,i'am Belgian and been a couple of times to Maroc with my mountain bike and always swore to go back there with a motorcycle. Aldo i do realize very good that the 700 is limited in use there. Even equipped with knobbel tyres ,gravel or a mild piste is the limit ,the 700 is just to heavy for the real stuff.

As for the Ketama marijuana harvest ,mmmm.....

Enjoy

[El Vencejo]

The Guardia I met were keen bikers fortunately

You occasionally use US style of english rather than UK, same as my friends from Friesland... TV and music are to blame

Been to Tunisia and Maroc, apart from falafel and vegetable cous-cous, there isn't much for a vegetarian to eat especially difficult when local herbs give munchies