It's a job you don't have to hate if you just be patient. Nice and slowly now Mark...

	Loosen your rimlock before you do the bead and take the valve core out to get all the air out of the tube.
	Breaking the bead by standing on the tyre and working your way around with your heals. Process is then repeated on the opposite side until the bead is completely broken.
	Start at the valve and take small bites, working your way around. Care must be taken not to nick the tube.
	Once one side is off, go back to the valve, push it through  the rim and then pull the tube out. Make sure there is no debris left in the tyre that caused the puncture in the first place.
	Refit tube to rim by holding tyre out and slipping the tube underneath. Insert valve back through hole and ensure tube is not caught on rim-lock. The lock should move in and out freely. Now, lever the tyre back on with small bites finishing at the rim-lock.
	Lube the bead with CRC or similar lubricant to help the tyre re-seat itself and then...
	Inflate the tube until the bead is fully on the rim. This might take more pressure, so make sure you reduce it to suit when finished.

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It might sound like a simple job, but not everybody treats their dirt bike like they should after a muddy days riding. Here are a few easy steps that you should follow each and every time before putting the bike back in the shed. They could just save you from having a problem next time you go for a ride.

	1. Rinse of your bike with a hose or water blaster.  If you’re using a  high-pressure hose, be careful to avoid pushing past bearing seals into the bearings themselves bearings – particularly around swing arm pivots, steering head and wheel bearings. Go easy around air filter ducts and electrical items too. Remember to plug your exhaust. Start under the mudguards and work your way down from the top.
	2. Apply a bike wash that doesn’t damage plastics or aluminium. A heavy duty truck wash from an auto store seems to work well. Also, get down the Warehouse and get a 5 litre spray bottle and write all over it, that it is only for your cleaning fluid. It wouldn’t do to cover your beloved dirt bike in paint stripper or the like..!
	3. While the bike wash is soaking in, use a sponge to go over the plastics etc and use a brush on tougher areas, such as wheels and swing arm. This is also a good time to apply a de-greaser on any oily or greasy marks. Then rinse off the bike, again taking care not to get water in those critical areas.
	4. After drying, it pays to apply a bike shine or silicone based spray over your plastics, wheels, swingarm etc. this make it harder for dirt to stick to your bike making cleaning it easier next time. Be careful not get any silicon spray on brake discs or your seat, both areas you don’t want to be slippy. Apply a water displacement fluid (CRC), to areas you don’t want water collecting such as electrical items, pivot points and levers.
	5. All done. Now your bike is spankin’ clean, a quick inspection of vital components might be a good idea. It pays to get into this habit every time you clean your bike as well as before you ride it. Check the condition of sprockets and chain and chain tension. Replace worn sprockets, apply chain lubricant and tension as required. An incorrect chain tension may result in excessive sprocket wear, chain damage or even chain breakage.
	6. Tyre pressures and spoke tension should be another one of your regular checks, as should the operation and condition of all cables.

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Fed up with soaking the inside of your boots everytime you jet wash them? Or, do you end up chasing them around the drive with the jet washer?

Well, find yourself a cone that has been conveniently discarded by the local road workers and stick your boots on top. Then jet wash them clean without the usual hassles!

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This  “How To” article is brought to you by Joe Forsyth of High Country Trail. He runs his fleet of KTM trail bikes on No Toil, and after years of trying all the different alternatives he thought we’d like to know how well they work.



Cleaning an air filter is one of those annoyances that comes with riding a dirt bike. It absolutely has to be done and normally results in your hands being covered in a tacky layer of stringy air filter oil, or finds you immersed elbow deep in a low flashpoint solvent, rinsing your seed infested, dusted and encrusted foam filter.

‘No Toil’ biodegradable air filter oil doesn’t end the possibility of the above happening, but it does make the job a lot easier, quicker and more likely to be done properly. Easier? Quicker? Yep, read on…

On the multi-day rides that are a feature of High Country Trail’s annual calendar, dust is frequently seen due to the famous Central Otago climate. Filters (like undies) may have to be cleaned daily if it is really dusty. No way could five, six or seven days riding be considered without a swap or clean en route. Using any solvent leaves one with the problem of cost, danger and disposing of the effluent. How good would it be to just tip the residue down the sink?

You do that with petrol already! Naughty!  A dirty No Toil filter can be washed out in warm water, in the sink, rinsed and the residue washed away down the plughole. Now that’s got to be easier for you, your bike and better for the environment.

Prior to washing, the warm water first needs to have the No Toil cleaner added and dissolved before it will clean and remove the old oil and trapped dirt. Without the added cleaner, the oil stays put. I have tested this aspect of the product on our Macetown route (that features 18 river crossings) so I know what I’m talking about. A rinse or two later and your brand new looking filter is ready for drying.

No Toil’s oil contains a red dye so you can see that your treatment is 100% effective. Before oiling any filter, shake the bottle well as this disperses the dye used to indicate oil take up. The dye is essential to help you see if any dry spots are on the filter.

After allowing the filter to dry, put the clean filter into a plastic bag, shopping or anything without holes, pour in airfilter oil and squeeze thoroughly (don’t wring the filter, you’ll hurt it!), add more oil if required.

Allow a few minutes for the alcohol (used to thin the oil) to evaporate then grease the contact surface of the filter to ensure a good seal before reinstallation.

Before re-fitting, now is a good time to shovel debris out of the airbox and ensure your airbox drain holes are unblocked, or it won’t drain, (but you knew that, didn’t you?) Nothing drags laughter from sympathetic trail buddies watching you dewater your wheels more than water running out of the airbox once the lid is removed!

After you’re done, a little of the cleaner can be used to clean your hands as well, removing any trace of the gory task just completed. So there you are, environmentally friendly, user friendly and it’ll probably clean your undies too!

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