There is a British standard for motorcycle tyre repairs (BSAU159F) and this standard determines the strength of the puncture repair and where it can and can’t be made in the tyre. A puncture repair to this standard is known as a professional repair and it involves taking the tyre off the wheel to fit a repair plug from the inside.
Because this British Standard covers all tyres, for cars, vans and trucks, not just motorcycles, it does go into specific details about front motorcycle tyres.
Front tyre punctures are uncommon
Fortunately, front punctures on a motorcycle or scooter are not common at all. Most punctures are caused when the front tyre flicks the offending object up and into the path of the rear tyre. The rear then ‘crushes’ this object and if you’re unlucky, it’ll penetrate the tyre’s carcass, causing a puncture.
While you can get punctures in the front tyre, we do not recommend you try and repair it and we never carry out front tyre puncture repairs in our workshop.
Limp home
If you’re in the middle of the French countryside on your hard-earned week off and you are unfortunate enough to get a front puncture and you have to means to temporarily repair it, then this is an option we would consider but still not recommend.
If you do repair the puncture, ride at bicycle-speeds to your nearest motorcycle garage to get the tyre replaced. If this saves you having to waste a day getting recovered then it’ll be worth it but ideally you’ll find a different way to get your bike safely to the local garage to get it repaired.
Rear vs front blowout
Temporary repairs can and do fail. If your temporary repair in the rear wheel fails, you’ll likely be able to slow the bike in time to avoid a crash and deal with the issue but if a front tyre lets go, you’re going to be lucky not to end up on the floor. So never ride with a repaired front tyre if you can avoid it and if you do, keep the speeds down to sub 15mph to minimise your risks.
Hello
Can a relatively new front Trike tyre with a puncture on the outer, flush surface and not in the tread recess be plugged please?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Regards,
Mel
Hi Mel, you have to take a view on this. We don’t repair front tyres as a deflation could be very risky, however a rear would most likely be manageable.