Common Motorcycle Touring Problems

There is no excuse to be without lights on your motorcycle. You should expect them to blow – be it headlights, brake lights or indicators – and be able to replace them. Yet, it always amazes me how many riders don't even know how to change a headlight bulb and do not even carry a spare when setting off on a road trip. In a lot of countries in Southeast Asia, it is a legal requirement to ride with your lights – even during the day. So carry a bulb kit and know how to use it. It might not stop a day journey, but you are buggered if you get stopped by a police officer.

Despite our good fortune for the road trips we did so far, statistically by far the most common problem on any ride is a puncture or damaged tire and it you cannot fix this yourself, you are nowhere fast – so I make no apologies for covering this in detail! Once you are out of reach of your friends with pickup trucks, you should have the basic skill to know how to repair a punctured tire.

The easiest tire fix is on a tubeless tire, when you get a nail or other sharp object enter the tire on the main body. By carrying a puncture kit and mini compressor, you can be on your way in no time. We always have a tire repair kit including tire plugger and a mini tire compressor in my pannier. A valve removal tool is also worth having. The tire repair kit has the advantage of not using any glue and the mushroom plugs seal and bond to the tire. An alternative to use the mini CO2 gas cylinder to inflate the tire, which are fine if your motorcycle is simply traveling overland. If it is going to be freighted, then you cannot take these, without making a further dangerous goods declaration. It all becomes too costly at this point!

It gets a bit messier when you have an inner tube to patch. In a lot of countries in Asia, it often isn't worth doing the work yourself, as there is always a little man at a tire repair shop who will do all the work for a minimal fee. But if you have to, you will need a couple of decent tire levers and some patience.

Breaking the bead is one of the most awkward problems. If there are two motorcycles, you can use the second motorcycles sidestand to break the bead. If you are alone, then you will need to find something else. With some tires this can be done just by standing on the sidewall, but with others you will need more force. We've seen a very skilled local tire expert in Vietnam break the bead with a pick axe – he had obviously done this many times, as the strike was perfect and never touched the rim.

Be careful how you lay the wheel on the floor as to prevent damage to the disc. Once you have patched the inner tube or have a new one to fit then start the refit. It is worth checking the inside of the tire and the rim for any sharp points before fitting the new tube. Inflate the tube slightly before fitting and then fit the valve first. It helps to have some soapy water, WD40 or spit to assist with seating the bead of the tire.

Even if you have tubeless tires, consider still having inner tubes and tire levers. I have had situations where the split in the tire cannot be plugged and so a tube is fitted. I doing this, also think about putting a small patch inside the tire to stop the tube squeezing out of the split.

After tire, the most common type of damage to touring motorcycle that we experience on our expeditions, is due to static drops, slow speed drops or traveling on very poor road surfaces. This sort of stuff can takes its too on clutch or brake levers, indicators and wheels. Your bodywork may suffer, but that won't stop the motorcycle or the journey. If the damage is beyond a gaffer tape job, then you need to know how to replace both levers, indicators and spokes (if you have spoke wheels). I'd strongly recommend that if you are going to tackle rougher roads, get spoked wheels. I have seen alloy wheels come back heavenly damaged – and thee are the lucky ones! It is easier to replace spokes.