KLR650 Tubeless

[LeeDavis]

I got ANOTHER flat rear tire (nail again) on my KLR yesterday. Managed to limp home with 3 air refills along the way and I know it's weird bad luck, but enough is enough! The bike is determined to strand me. I'm converting the rims to tubeless and ordered TKC80 tubeless tires. The front rim is getting the Tubliss conversion: http://nuetech.com/tubliss/ They don't make a 17" kit to fit the rear so the spoke holes get sealed with Goop. I'm not breaking any new ground - others have done this successfully.

Fixed many a tubeless flat with sticky strings and except for a couple of extreme tire cuts the bike, mine or someone elses, is rolling in short order.

[LeeDavis]

It worked! My KLR with tubeless TKC80's went out for a check ride yesterday and still has the correct air pressure this morning...no leakage.

Cleaned both rims and spoke nipples with the wire brush.

Tubliss makes their tubeless conversion kit for 18", 19" and 21" wheels so I used that on the frontl

Unfortunately they don't make a kit for 17" wheels so I sealed the spoke holes of my rear wheel with 2 coats of Goop from Lowes.

And, used a motorcycle tubeless tire valve from NAPA Auto Parts.

Tire Valve.jpg (58.41 KiB) Viewed 25445 times

[Bob]

Great fix to a real problem!

If the "goop fix" works so well, why not just do that on the front also?

And what happens to the goop seal when you tighten a spoke? (Maybe I just answered my previous question)

[Broz]

Nice!

[LeeDavis]

Bob, From what I've read, extreme shock can compromise the bead seal with 21" tires. The Tubliss conversion kit eliminates that happening. If I needed to adjust a spoke on the rear wheel I imagine I would have to re-seal that spoke.

[Bob]

Ahh. So the insert also locks the bead in place. Neat. I thought it was just to seal the spokes. So airing down is not a problem.

[Broz]

Did it require a lot more weight to balance?

[LeeDavis]

Bob, Correct, the Tubliss converted wheel has 2 valve stems. One valve stem is for the black bladder you see in the picture at 100psi which holds the orange air and bead seal firmly in place. The 2nd valve stem is for the tire at normal tire pressures.

Broz, Nothing unusual with balancing.

[Bob]

Would it be possible to puncture the bladder with a really long nail?

[LeeDavis]

Bob, No, short of holding a long nail in perfect alignment and beating it through with a hammer it couldn't penetrate the orange enclosure.

[Bob]

Sounds pretty foolproof.

Broz, don't we have 18" rears on the DRZ's?

Lee, any other tubeless options besides the TKC's? Also, does that bladder get hung up with tar arns?

Does the bladder provide a modicum of low speed "run-flat" help?

[Broz]

Yep 18" on the rear.

[LeeDavis]

Bob, TKC80 is the only tubeless street knobby I found that offered both the 17" and 21" sizes I needed. There might be other options with the 18" rear.

The Tubliss system supports very low tire pressures off road, though I don't think I'd want to try that on pavement because of heat buildup.

Like all tires I install using my motion pro tire irons, I had to hold the tire bead close to the center channel with a clamp. Since the Tubliss insert occupies most of the center channel, I couldn't get as much slack in the tire which made spooning the last few bites on to the rim a little more difficult than usual.

There are bound to be people that have installed Tubliss to the 400S and reported results to some forum or another. See what they have to say about it.

[Bob]

I will--and thx for the helpful write-up!