Topic: inner tube help

[kajtek]

hi all,

need a little advice regarding innertubes. changing both front and rear tires for the first time so obviously a good idea to do the tubes aswell.

its a cb400f with 90/90 18 and 100/90 18 tires. im thinking the best route is a 3.00 x 18 tube and a 3.50 x 18 tube, or tubes that are in the same metric sizes. only thing is theres a few types so cant decide which.

looking around i found these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-2.75-x18-%26-3.00-x-18-in-HD-INNER-TUBE-FREE-RIM-TAPE_W0QQitemZ380163384331QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=119635728035&rvr_id=119635728035&cguid=6e0b90a51270a0e205361d36fef83beb

hd tubes that are for road and off-road use. is this a bit overkill?

or should i be looking at something more like this

http://www.tyresalesuk.co.uk/cgi-bin/engine.exe/productsearch?Cat=7&Man=3&Fit=U&Size=18&Page=5

if it makes any difference im fitting avon roadriders.

thanks for any help:)

ashley

[Frankenkit]

As long as the tubes are sized to be the same as the tires you're putting in, you'll be fine. 
If you're mounting your own, what really helped me out with the new tubes was putting some baby powder in a plastic shopping bag and shaking the new tube around in the bag to coat it with the powder.  Slipped right into the tire and seemed to avoid the tire irons pretty well.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

Sounds like you might be over thinking this.  I get Chen Sheh tubes from JC Whitney for $7-12 and use their online recommendations for sizing.  I replaced roughly 125 tubes and tires with no problems.  Remember new rim strips. :-)

[Frankenkit]

some also use duct tape.  As long as it thoroughly covers your spoke nipples you should be ok.  Maybe take a bit of time w/ a dremel or wire brush to get rid of some of the rust you'll inevitably find, too.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

some also use duct tape.  As long as it thoroughly covers your spoke nipples you should be ok.  Maybe take a bit of time w/ a dremel or wire brush to get rid of some of the rust you'll inevitably find, too.

good advice

[kajtek]

thanks for the advice, maybe i am overthinking a bit! im just a bout to take my first motorcycle trip (london to paris) on my 400 and trying to make sure everything  is ok..

good point about the rust inside, im gonna clean/polish the rims and hubs while they are off so good time to clean the inside of the rim.

thanks for the baby powder suggestion, i also read somewhere that theres less chance of pinching the tube if you use a smaller one (i.e 3.00-3.50 tube in a 3.50 rim as opposed to a 3.50-4.00 tube), also a little air in the tube apparantly helps too.

ive mounted many bicycle tires, this is my first motorcycle, wish me luck!

ashley

[Frankenkit]

there are several guides on youtube, but basically, to avoid pinching your tube, put just enough air in it to give it some shape, so if you hang it on your finger, it'll crease over it.  That way you have enough air that it'll keep its shape and not twist on itself, but not so much that you can't cram it in the tire.