To tube, or not to tube? That is the question.

[wonderboy]

So I cut the sidewall on my OEM 350x tire this weekend. It got pinched between the wheel and a stump. It really bums me out since the tire has very little time on it since new and the tire is now discontinued from Honda (apparently).

The cut is about 1/8" long, and is a thin slit rather than a puncture like you'd get from a stick. It's about an inch or so from the bead on the sidewall.

Anyway, I got the tire removed from the rim today and am prepared to patch both sides of the tire. I'm pretty confident that the patch will work, especially given the previous advice from Tapper to mount the tire with the patch to the inside of the machine (so that it won't see as much trail abuse in the future).

The question is, should I just stick a tube in there anyway, in addition to the patch? Is there a downside to running a tube in the tire, other than the cost? Does it mess anything up having a tube on one side and not the other (I can't see why, but I'm just curious).

I really don't want to have to buy a tube, but I also don't want to have to take the tire back in to have it broken down if the patch alone doesn't work.

[Popeye]

I don't know about trike tires, but a good patch or plug in a vehicle tire will out-last the tire more often than not. Sucks that you popped it though. I guess that's what happens when you use these bikes the way they were meant to be used. I hit a tree this weekend and bent my dang near mint front forks on my 81 200. But without brakes, it was either hit the tree or go off something I didn't want to go off lol.

[kb0nly]

I would patch it and put in a tube just to be safe, then you don't have to worry about getting stuck with a flat somewhere. My 84 200ES has tubes in both rear tires, they just had a slow bead leak somewhere that i got tired of trying to fix. I know it was the bead cause you could spray them down and get a bubble now and then depending on how it was sitting. Cleaning the wheels didn't help, no dings in the edges either, so i finally said the heck with it and put a tube in them. If you do put in a tube get the T6 valve type, its the metal valve stem with a nut on the outside and washer on the inside. A standard tube will slip eventually and pull the valve sideways cause the pressure is so low on these tires.

[pipeline triker]

I would patch it and see if it holds. You can always tube it later. remember also if you tube it you need to do both rears, other wise it will handle weird.

[TecateDan]

Patch it and if it just leaks a little slime it. I slime everything and it's great. I would buy new tires before I tube them just the way I roll

[Blown 331]

On a 350x I would try not to use a tube. The combination of low air pressure and power I think the chances of the wheel spinning inside the tire and shearing the valve stem off the tube are pretty high. If it was an ATC70 then yeah put a tube in it.

[MTS]

take it to your local ag,industrial tire shop and have it repaird, 1/8 inch is small, a properly done repair should hold no problem, just make sure its a proper biasply patch a radial one wont hold long..most small auto shops only carry radial boots and its forgotton, overlooked quite often.

[Big Mike]

I run tubes in both of my 350x's rear tires and have never had an issue.

[kb0nly]

If i had to slime a tire i would replace it... I don't see why anyone runs that foul crap.

Does tire slime work? Yes sometimes. Does it ruin the wheels and make it miserable to do replacements and repairs? Most Definitely...

The tubes won't slip if you get the right type, unless your running like 50hp and nitrous i think you should be fine.. LOL.. I have never seen one of these slip a tube and shear off the valve. I have seen them spin a tire a bit on the wheel, but whats why you get the T6 bolted in tire valve on your tube, the tube rotates with the wheel and the tire is free to do what it wants to. Put some baby powder around the inside of the tire and on the wheel, this will allow the tube to slide around inside without much friction.

[yaegerb]

1/8 inch isn't that bad of a slice. That being said, I have tried to patch sidewalls before and its never worked. After a couple hours of riding, they always failed, though, I had bigger slices in my tires. I second the opinion of putting a patch on and placing a tube in the tire. Double redundancy isn't a bad thing ;)

[dougspcs]

Personally me, not a big fan of repaired tires..especially sidewall damage.

I know that the pressures & speeds are alot lower than a car where we consider sidewall repairs on tires completely out of the question. But still when 30 miles back into the bush if your repair lets go it's a huge issue..

If I was to fix a tire I would then demote it to field use on one of the machines that doesn't leave the farm property.

If my main rider tires get damaged in any way they get replaced..but that is just my way!

[Blown 331]

I saw this guy sellin a bunch of sets on ebay so I figured they were readily available, I guess not. This set did not sell, email him and see if he still has them. They are cheap enough too! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-OHTSU-22X10-9-TIRES-ATC350X-ATC-350X-ATC200X-OEM-/390448014154?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ae883e34a&vxp=mtr

[stevensj13]

I used this weird rubber bonding compound stuff that melts rubber together, its some sort of glue. I used it on my old Tri-Z 250 tire when I had about an inch long dry rot crack on the side wall that gave out. Held up fine, didnt leak at all, it was great. Id reccomend giving that a shot. But, tubes are your friend. I tube everything when something goes wrong, quads, trikes, and mowers

[wonderboy]

I saw this guy sellin a bunch of sets on ebay so I figured they were readily available, I guess not. This set did not sell, email him and see if he still has them. They are cheap enough too! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-OHTSU-22X10-9-TIRES-ATC350X-ATC-350X-ATC200X-OEM-/390448014154?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ae883e34a&vxp=mtr

Man, I am kicking myself right now. I contacted that e-bay seller. They are an actual brick and mortar shop in Toledo (less than 1 hour drive away from me). I could have bought those and picked them up with no shipping. However, they have no more left and confirmed what another thread on here said: those tires are discontinued.

I've been tempted about 1/2 dozen times when I was ordering other parts to order a set of these tires, but I always said "I'll wait until next order"... well, now it's too late. Darn.

I'm still holding out hope that somehow they aren't really discontinued, but rather they are just waiting for more to get delivered from the manufacturer... but I don't think this is the case. Oh well.

I'm not a fan of the green slime, although I must admit to having used it before. It really makes a disaster of your rims inside.

I'm also having a heck of a time finding a tube of the proper dimensions (22x10-9). I was curious how much one would be.

I think my plan is to patch inside and outside and give it a whirl.

[hublake]

Years ago when I worked in a gas station, when we had tires that had a bad break we put a boot in it. A boot is nothing more than a big strong patch. This was before the days of radial and not alot of tubeless tires.

[Blown 331]

I always meant to order some stock dunlops for an 85 250r and never did. Can't get those anymore either. I ended up ordering stock tires for an 86, They look the same anyway. Maybe go with stock 300ex tires.

[donwon]

patch it then tube it. i got tiny shards of clam shell that stick into the tire and the only tires that go flat are the ones with no tubes. so now all of them have tubes and when i pry the pieces out they dont go flat.

[MTS]

Years ago when I worked in a gas station, when we had tires that had a bad break we put a boot in it. A boot is nothing more than a big strong patch. This was before the days of radial and not alot of tubeless tires.
we still call em boots, did not want to confuse anyone, I still say its the best and proper way, both my buddys side by sides sufferd bad sidewall injuries on a poker run a while back from beaver stumps and rocks, I pluggef them on the trail and they held fine, booted up when we got back both have over 500km more of the same sharp rocky riding with no problems what so ever. also with a tube on the trail..theres no chance of plugging them, just my opinion do what evete you like and feel comfy with..but patching the outside of the tire wont do much.

[wonderboy]

we still call em boots, did not want to confuse anyone, I still say its the best and proper way, both my buddys side by sides sufferd bad sidewall injuries on a poker run a while back from beaver stumps and rocks, I pluggef them on the trail and they held fine, booted up when we got back both have over 500km more of the same sharp rocky riding with no problems what so ever. also with a tube on the trail..theres no chance of plugging them, just my opinion do what evete you like and feel comfy with..but patching the outside of the tire wont do much.

I hear you guys. For sure, the main repair will be on the inside of the tire. I was going to put a patch on the outside just to sorta make a sandwich of the whole thing. I will keep my eyes out for a tube, but honestly, I've done some searching and don't see a 22x10-9 tube. Is there leeway to go with a tube that doesn't exactly match the tire dimensions? I wouldn't think so, but this is new to me. I've searched e-bay, amazon, rocky, denniskirk, etc. Haven't found one with my exact dimensions...

In the meantime, I'm gonna patch it, mount it, then ride it a bit just around my parents place where I'm never more than a few minutes walk from the house.

Thanks to all for all the info!

[MTS]

I hear you guys. For sure, the main repair will be on the inside of the tire. I was going to put a patch on the outside just to sorta make a sandwich of the whole thing. I will keep my eyes out for a tube, but honestly, I've done some searching and don't see a 22x10-9 tube. Is there leeway to go with a tube that doesn't exactly match the tire dimensions? I wouldn't think so, but this is new to me. I've searched e-bay, amazon, rocky, denniskirk, etc. Haven't found one with my exact dimensions...

In the meantime, I'm gonna patch it, mount it, then ride it a bit just around my parents place where I'm never more than a few minutes walk from the house.

Thanks to all for all the info!
little biger is ok..as long as it dose not fold itself up too much in there, you will need to figure out the metric conversion, also alot of the tubes are a combination of a few sizes, check out the maxxis site, been a few years since I have stuffed one in a atv tire...either way you need to fix the hole in the tire first or it will pinch and leak, also if the inside liner of the tire is very rough texture you might run into problems with it chafing and puttin holes in the tube.

[donwon]

ok just ripped a tire off and it had a tube. was doing donuts on the 250sx and ripped the tire off, the one that dosen't have a tube is still on. i don't know, mabey i'll just keep having fun and replacing the things i destroy. only cause it's fun!