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Tire Hell

175781

Bill Lumberg
A month ago, I replaced my happily used-up front tire. Yesterday, after less than 300 miles on it, it picked up a huge screw, dead center. I replaced it with another new tire. Dammit. Then, when I got home, I found a second screw, this one in the rear tire. Is this just a cruel downside to riding, or is conventional wisdom skewed- and it really is perfectly acceptable to patch a tire with a simple puncture? I've used plugs, patches, and fix-a-flat with 100 percent success in jeeps and trucks, but have not tried any of them on a motorcycle tire.
 
I would not do it on a motorcycle and most shops refuse to repair the tire.
Plugging is O.K. to fix a tire on the road in order to get home, but continue to riding it.....I have only one head.
Consider the heat cycles and movements a motorcycle tire goes through.
 
There ya go. Clear, concise and conflicting advice. The internet at its finest.

It's personal preference. If you get a passenger car tire plugged/patched, many shops will insist that you stay away from the shoulder area at least 1?¢-2 inches.
Reasoning is, the tire carcass moves in that area due to the laods in turns.

A motorcycle tire moves significantly more across the whole width.

If you spill, because your plugged and patched tire failed again, remember that I was not the one who told you "you are good to go":bolt
 
Hole in rear tire after about 500 miles. I patched it from the inside with a "plug n patch". I feel safe on it.
 
I have had several flats over the years and always had them plugged from the inside at the local bike shop. Never a problem.

Only once was the nail close to the sidewall and it was time for a new tire anyway!
 
The dealer won't plug a tire maybe for reasons of liability plus they rather sell you a new one. The plug maker only backs it till you get home probably because of the damage you have to do to the tire to insert the plug. I've got no experience with patches on tubeless tires which I assume is what we're talking about.

IMO there's greater potential for disaster from the sudden loss of 50% of your dependable tire-to-road contact on a bike as opposed to 25% on a car. Plus, a car has a natural tendency to stay up-right. Much more forgiving.

175781, in your circumstance I can certainly understand your looking for a less expensive alternative. But it sounds like you never did it before so why start now?
 
I've plugged tubeless tires and ridden them to their wear limits. Never had an issue. Dealers have liability to worry about and make more $$ selling a new tire. Your choice, but a properly plugged tire is perfectly good, IMHO. If the tire was ridden much while low or flat there may be structural damage, in which case it absolutely should be replaced.
 
I've plugged tubeless tires and ridden them to their wear limits. Never had an issue. Dealers have liability to worry about and make more $$ selling a new tire. Your choice, but a properly plugged tire is perfectly good, IMHO. If the tire was ridden much while low or flat there may be structural damage, in which case it absolutely should be replaced.

+1 - I've got one on the rear right now - time to change it out though since I've been in the wear bars for last few hundered miles. The string plug has been in there for 2000+ miles.
 
I had to cross this bridge a month ago with an almost new tire.
I decided to ride with it plugged.
I didn't post the question because I've read about 50/50 do/don't over many many posts.

To the OP:
You rode home on it with a screw in it, a plug has to be better than that, and an inside patch even better.
Sooner or later, at a new tire every 300 miles, you might eventually change your mind.
 
I suppose it really comes down to your tolerance level for risk -- a risk that nobody can really define except for relating anecdotes. If I get a hole in a bike tire, I replace it regardless of the mileage because I know I'd never be perfectly comfortable with a patched tire on a bike. I figure if I can't afford a new tire in those circumstances I shouldn't be riding it to begin with.
 
I don't remember having read a post about a plugged tire failing. Might have to do a little searching.
 
I have no problem riding on plugged tires. I have been doing it since 1970. I have had some plugs leak but I have never had one come out. After I plug a tire I will spray a soap & water solution on the plug to see if it is leaking.
 
I've got not problems with a tire plugged in the tread but I won't ride at high speed for extended periods. If sidewall has to be plugged I replace ASAP
 
I'll sidestep the plug/no plug angle here as mentioned. Personal choice I make when I need to make it.
You'll have to make up your mind on risk vs. reward...we all have and do what we need to do.


Discussed recently in Just Ridin':
http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=60383&highlight=tire+plugging

I will add that sometimes it is where you ride that gets one to this point. I speak from my own personal encounters of the hissing tire.
Are you riding in a known construction area, on the shoulder at times to look at map or chat, turning thru that triangle of debris at a lot of intersections or riding in the center of your travel lane? All these factor in picking up debris.

I have a lot less flats now( knock-knock) that I do not commute into the ever present construction zone of Austin,TX. You could see things fallng off of trailers and from pickups on a daily basis. My common flat maker was drywall screws.
 
One of the few good things in this lousy economy is that it got rid of most of the illegals in the construction trades running around with ratty pickups spraying crap out the tailgate. Haven't had to use even a plug since 2008. Without funny money driving excess housing builds one can expect this improvement to be long lived..

Re plugs- the worry warts need to get some experience and use some judgement...I've done stuff with them I'd never recommend to others simply becasue it was necessary at the time and have never been able to make one fail- not even on car race tires that far exceed temps and stresses any motorcycle tire would ever see...

Here's some guidelines
1) Don't try to plug anything big and never use more than 1 in a hole. The reason for this is simple- if the original puncture caused a slow leak even a failed plug would only result in another slow leak. So if you easily handled the first one, an unlikely second one is no big deal. Large holes that might result in an instant loss of pressure are another matter and a far higher risk. I don't even try to repair tears or large holes on anything except a car for street use- never on my track stuff or bikes.
2) If a plug alone makes you nervous (no reason for that if you plug correctly), you can later dismount the tire and do an internal patch over the puncture, leaving a plug remnant in the hole. (Again, I've done this version on track tires with no problems resulting)
3) Never try to repair a tire with any puncture in a sidewall- it will not hold. This is asking for trouble big time,,,
4) Stick to "string" plugs. Rubber and plastic ones are gimmicks with added possible failure modes..(eg steel belts inadequately reamed have been know to cut rubber plugs)
5) Its wise to practice with a plug kit before you need to use it for real. Technique matters and if you're good, you can do a plug with very little air loss while working. If inserted wrong, plugs are far less reliable so learn would a well done job looks and feels like.. T handle reamers and inserters work much better than screwdriver handle types. Always have an unopened fresh tube of rubber cement in your kit- open ones tend to dry up and harden. (I've encounterd 2 car/truck tire punctures that needed a drill to open them up for plugging- the steel belts in those tires were so stiff I could not drive a hand reamer through the puncture hole. Never seen this on bike tire where construction is lighter)
6) Carry a good inflator and pre test it! Hardcore types carry one of a few manual pumps because they never fail. I use a reliable electric one. Know that many of the cheap sompressors sold are crap and will either fail in use or draw so much current that they're not practical on your motorcycle..CO2 kit users should be carrying 6 smaller cylinders or 3-4 larger ones so you need to buy more than are in most kits. The things are a nuisance anyway- a compressor is first choice..

I can afford to do as I choose with tires but am not going to waste my time chasing a new one simply because of a tiny puncture. Also not going to risk my neck to save a couple $ trying to fix something that should be scrapped....
 
in years of this debate, i've gleaned these few things which i believe to be truths:
- dealers won't plug tires because of liability issues, along with greater profit from selling a new tire.
- those who have plugged tires will readily do so again, and tell you that you're a fool to throwaway a good tire with a little hole in it.
-those who have never ridden a plugged tire for farther than it takes to get a new one installed never will try riding one to its end, and will tell you that you're a fool if you ever consider attempting it.
- this, to me, is most telling: i have yet to read/hear of a plugged tire failing during extended use.
 
May as well throw my 2 cents in....

My bike came with a flat tire repair kit. Apparently there is at least one large motorcyle manufacturer who thinks they're ok.
 
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