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Tire repair kit

Jade

New member
I was going through stuff on my 04 1150RT preparing for a trip and looking at the tire repair kit. I didn't open it because I didn't need to, but I got to wondering what those three things that look almost like very fat bicycle chain links are for. I don't see any instructions in there unless they are in the little green box.
 

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Most people find those plugs useless. They tend to rip when being installed and are a bitch to insert. You are much better off with the ropey plugs found at an auto parts store. You will also need a lot more CO2 cartridges to fill a tire. Many people favor a small compressor pump.

The BMW insertion tool is excellent.
 
Most people find those plugs useless. They tend to rip when being installed and are a bitch to insert. You are much better off with the ropey plugs found at an auto parts store. You will also need a lot more CO2 cartridges to fill a tire. Many people favor a small compressor pump.

The BMW insertion tool is excellent.

Mr. Frank is right. You also should get a new tube of silicone sealant.
 
The very first time I ever repaired a tubeless flat was on the rear of my '87 K75S. I read the instructions in the kit and used the provided plugs. Being my first time, I went slowly and carefully and followed the instructions (inside the box, with the glue, a piece of chalk to mark the tire, and a small blade to trim the excess) to the letter.

I was back on the road in about 25 minutes. The plug went in easily and held the first time.

The three CO2 cartridges only provided about 20 pounds (after losing a bit on the first one - damm that was cold!), but it was enough to get me to a gas station for air. I now carry 6 instead of 3 (plus a second tube of their patch glue, just in case); my dirt-riding neighbor says to buy them at a shop that sells paint-ball guns: a lot cheaper so he can vary his tire pressures at will when out in the middle of the Mohave.

I've recommended the BMW kit to two Harley-riding neighbors; they've both used it and it worked for them too.

I've seen several times where the ropey rubber strings didn't work at all; by the same token, some people love the Stop'n'Go mushrooms while others hate 'em. Use what ever you think will suffice for your needs, YMMV, caveat emptor, yadda yadda.

I'll carry a stripped-apart baby compressor on road trips (less than $20 at Pep Boys), with a BMW plug to mate to the accessory socket, but I keep the standard kit + extra cartridges for anything else.
 
Many people favor a small compressor pump.

The BMW insertion tool is excellent.

He's right about teh pump. You can buy one at the local auto parts store. Put a BMW adapter on it so it plugs into your accessory outlet.

I disagree about the insertion tool. It will work in a pinch, but you can buy a kit from the autoparts store. It will have a reamer and insertion tool with a handle. It will make the job much easier.
 
For what it worth, if you can, practice on a tire (if you have one) at home, it will make the job a lot easier if you ever have a problem on the road, also you can try different tools and see what you are comfortable with.
 
Most of the insertion tools I've seen in auto parts stores have a handle like a screw driver. The T handle of the BMW tool gives more power when it is hard to insert the plug.
 
If you like the CO2 option, here are some different options than that supplied hose in most kits...the braided hose is a bit better than that white plastic one for sure...but these are a step up. have seen them as well as a few other syyles at bicycle shops cheaper at times. I carry this set up on some of the bikes with no storage other than under the seat. On the other bikes, it's the compressor kit.

http://www.genuineinnovations.com/motorcycle_atv.html
 

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I have used the BMW kit and found it works fine as long as you ream out the hole correctly and use lots of glue. That said, I bought a pack of the ropes at Autozone and carry them as I believe they work better than the BMW link plugs. Where the ropes really beat the BMW link is when you are next to a steel belt in the tire, I have found that the steel in the tire will eat right through the BMW plug in short order whereas the ropes will hold true. They are also much easier to use when you have a slit in the tire and have to use several of them.

Here is what I do, has worked well for me. First, always carry a Leatherman or one of the copies on the bike. You'll need it to pull out an offending nail or screw (lest you cut the crap out of your fingers trying to do it by hand - been there, done that.) The trick after removing the screw is to really ream out the hole well, in and out and not side to side. Insert the rope about 1/2" in, air up the tire to check for leaks, then trim the part hanging out to about 1/4" with the Leatherman. Lastly, use the net thing that goes around the CO2 cartridge, the things instantly freeze to about 50 below zero when the valve attachment inflater thing pierces the top.

All in all, I have gone quite a while with a single plug, but where you get a slit or a multi-plug hole instead of a nail/screw hole the tire is really shot and you need to limp to the nearest place for replacement.
 
Sorry about the length, but this is a reprint of a product review I did and was published in a 2010 issue of ON.

Hope it helps:

If you travel enough on two wheels, you either have or will experience the frustration of a flat tire, courtesy of the infinite amount of nails, screws and other debris on our nation’s roadways. Assuming the damage has occurred in the portion of your tread perpendicular to the road (and not the sidewall), plugging the hole is usually the only way of being on your way, either towards home or to a dealership to consider tire replacement.

The Tire Plug Kit from slime is a handy way to make quick roadside repairs and be back in the saddle in no time. The procedure is simple: First, find the problem (I suggest you carry a small bottle of “White-Out” in your tire repair arsenal – mark the damaged area before pulling out the object – when wet or in the dark or if the tire is inadvertently rotated, that tiny hole can disappear in the blink of an eye and finding it again can just add more stress to the moment!). Once located and marked, get everything ready before you operate. That means slipping one of the plugs into the eye of the needle-tool and coating it with rubber cement (both provided in the kit). A needle-nose plier is essential, not only for removing the invading object, but also makes pulling the plug to the half-way point on the needle-tool much easier.

Then, use the pliers to pull the object out of the tire. Insert the rasp into the hole and work it back and forth, as well as rotating it from time to time. This preps the hole diameter to receive the plug and grinds down any radial wires that can be present in steel-belted products. Insert the needle-tool with plug until about 2/3 of the plug has disappeared into the tire – then with a strong, swift motion, pull the needle-tool back out of the tire in a straight line, without any twisting. Clean the needle-tool with an alcohol swab to remove any sticky gook.

Use a razor blade or very sharp knife to cut the excess plug material flush with the tire’s surface, apply a minor amount of rubber cement to the exterior and inflate back to normal operating pressure – finished. I had the opportunity recently to use this very kit on a rear tire compromised by a small nail – worked great!

What I like about the slime kit is that the tools are in a T-handle shape. This gives you so much more grip and leverage when inserting, twisting or removing than straight-handled tools do. The kit also provides five plugs and a generous supply of rubber cement – enough to travel confidently for an entire season.

It’s available at your local Wal-Mart Tire Center for less than $8 – a wise investment that turns a frustrating moment into a five-minute drill that will have you back on the road in no time.
 
I use a good kit with reamer, T handle inserter, and "ropey" plugs with no cement. I also drilled a hole in my tire before replacing it to practice. As mentioned above, practice at home is REALLY worth it. I now carry about 5 very large CO2 cartridges. I can't remember the gram size, but they are physically larger than standard and they work great. I only use enough to get on the road and go to a station.

Keep in mind that on the road, you don't always know where the hole is. My buddy and I used two cartridges JUST TO FIND THE HOLE. So a lot of big CO2 cartridges is good. I don't like pumps, too big and bulky, but of course they do the job. A manual bicycle pump works fine, too, and never runs out of air.

My buddy had the cement type plugs but his cement was dry, making his kit useless.

We patched his tire in the Ozarks and he did an additional 2000 miles on that tire before needing a new one due to tread wear, so the kits do work well.
 
I use the "Stop and Go" mushrooms, so far so good. I am part of a local (non MOA) riding group and we do a tech day each spring just as an excuse to get together in the lousy weather. Each year we drill hiles in an older, mounted tire and take turns practising using the plugger. Our local dealer (Victory) gave me a bag of 100 plugs (mushrooms) so we have had plenty of free practise. We also get our local MSF guys to come out and do some training, as well as a fulltime MC mechanic to teach some maintenance items. Last year we did chain maintenance and oil changes for Noobies. This year we are adding a EMT to teach crash scene protocol, just in case.
 
Yep. Flat piece of tailors chalk is in my kit. Flat, inch and a half by inch and a quarter - quarter inch thick and doesn't "dust" everything in the kit from vibration.
 
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