How To Fit an Inner Tube

Changing tubeless tyres can be hard, but with inner tubes, it can be a right pain. Please find below a very helpful article taken from CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS

Back in the day if you got a puncture you fixed it yourself, often by the side of the road. With the advent of alloy wheels, tubeless tyres, roadside assistance and tyre specialist garages the most involvement many have with those black rubber hoops full of air is taking a wheel off the bike and getting someone else to sort it out.

It's quite common to order up a pair of tyres for an ongoing restoration, drop the freshly built wheels off at your local bike shop and simply collect them the next day. All of this is very convenient but what happens if you've bought some new rubber for a bargain price at a show and your local bike shop or tyre specialist wants a small ransom to fit the tyres? Or what about that damn puncture you inevitably find late on a Saturday night a few hours before you're due out on an early Sunday morning ride? Can you remember how to sort it out; does the workshop manual really explain what to do, have you got the necessary resources to do the job?

Changing tyres and tubes is fairly easy providing you go about it the right way using a few basic tools. The following is the in-house Cooper system as taught by a Second World War Military Police dispatch rider who learnt to ride on a Zenith Gradua outfit. This man (my father) also used to nick the keys to my 1970s Yamahas, scare the hell out of my mates with his riding and then offer to change my tyres. If the methodology worked okay for five decades with him it should be fine for us.

1.We need a few items from a bike’s tool kit or better, tyre levers, a pump and some talcu powder. valve key or old style cap with integral key is also handy

2.Loosen the valve retaining nut or collar with spanners or pliers as appropriate. These ancient wheel will be rebuilt so I'm not being too gentle