Are tubes needed???

[chuckycheese]

This subject has been touched upon but I'm not certain about the answer. When I recently had a new tire installed, there was a tube in place inspite of the fact that it has a cast wheel and a tubeless tire. The shop put in a new tube. It seems to me that a tube shouldn't be necessary but I've heard that some of the early Jap wheels wouldn't allow for a tubeless tire. Does anyone know the truth about this??? By the way, my bike is a l980 GS750L. Thanks!!

[focus frenzy]

As I was informed by the resident expert,(nick) the early cast wheels where made from magnisium and the front wheels were prone to excessive leakage in some cases, suzuki changed the wheel design and material in 1982 (Ithink it was 82) and "tubeless" is actualy stamped in the wheel.

my 80 1000g has the old style wheels but I dont have a problem with leakage, but alot of people do have problems, so the dealers just replace the inner tubes on wheels that already have tubes in them just to be sure.

[chuckycheese]

Thanks

That sounds reasonable to me and I appreciate the information. I think the next time I need a tire, I'm going to go "tubeless" for several days without re-installing it on the bike..just to see how my wheel measures up. That way, I can easily install a tube, if necessary, and still enjoy the advantages (cooler running, safer) if it works out. Does that sound like a good idea????? :roll:

[Anonymous]

Sounds good to me. If it does not work out, however, I can see two problems: loss of air in the middle of nowhere, while riding, with handling problems resulting in a possible crash; another is the fact that you have to take the time to remove the wheel again, get into it, install the tube, re-balance the wheel, then re-install the wheel. Sounds like a pain to me.

It's up to you, though. Let us know what you decide.

The model year 1982 is the one where Suzuki recommends tubeless mounting on front wheels.

Nick

[Jeff Tate]

My '82 did come with tubes when new, and I've always heard that they were required. Don't know why.