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?
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…
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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:
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.