C90 Rear Tyre Puncture

On the way home from work last night, which so happened to of been a particularly rubbish day I suffered a puncture on the rear tyre of my Honda C90.

Coming down a hill at 30mph, I did have a bit of a wobble!

This is the second puncture I've had since owning the bike. The first time I was a good distance from home and needed to be recovered as I did not have the necessary tools or spare inner tube to do anything about it.

Last night was not much different, but after two miles of pushing "Lucille" which thankfully was on mainly flat ground I got her back home.

It's not easy pushing a bike with a flat tyre, but I'm very glad I was on a C90 and not on a BMW GS!!!

So today I thought it would do me good to have a go at removing the wheel, and swapping over the inner tube.

Easy you say, well it would be if you knew what you were doing! Armed with a Haynes manual and some YouTube videos I set about the task.

I first propped the bike up on it's centre stand and on a house brick to give it a bit of levitation. This would make it easier to get the rear wheel out from under the arch.

Firstly I removed the brake adjusting nut from the brake rod, once it had dropped free I replaced the nut on the rod as I could loose an elephant in a 2 man tent!

Then I undid the nut holding the rear brake torque arm and once more replacing the nut on the bolt and through the dangling arm.

Next round to the other side of the bike, removing the split pin, and undid the centre spindle nut.

With this off, it was just a case of a gentle tap to remove the spindle.

Once this was clear, knocking the spacer out of the way, the wheel dropped off the cush drive and rolled passed the number plate and straight out. Easy!

Locating the cause of the puncture was not a problem. A large self tapping screw had worked it's way straight in the middle of the tyre!

I had a set of tyre levers, so set to work on prying the tyre off. Not an easy task, but I got there in the end. 

I had a good look at the tyre whilst it was off and all though I could of re-used it, I decided against it. They cost peanuts and with a trip to Wales coming up decided that a new inner tube and tyre would be the best way forward. I had a spare tyre and tube to hand so no problems.

Getting the tyre back on was far easier than getting it off! Just remember not to pinch the inner tube when easing the tyre back on.

I used my 12v air pump to fill the tyre running straight off my 12v supply which is fitted to my bike. Totally self sufficient!

Then it was a case of slotting the wheel back in, making sure all the cush drive rubbers are in place, then easing the spacer back in.

The spindle with a gentle wiggle and tap found it's way back through and then loosely doing up the nut.

Re-attaching the torque arm and the brake rod. Whilst doing all of this the chain was re-tightened and the back brake sorted so the peddle once more is firm.

Finish off the main nut and replace the split pin, then have a quick look to see if I have left anything lying around!

Job done, rather pleased with myself as this was the first time I had done this. I now feel totally confident that if I were to have a flat whilst on my travels I could sort myself out and be on my way again without requiring any help.

The front brake got a tweak whilst I had the spanners out, my next task is to sort the lights as mentioned in a previous post.

The journey continues.....................