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Stop and Go tire plugger

dpmonk

P Monk
On the way home from a week in the Texas hill country, thought the road noise was a little loud. Looked at the tire pressures and found the rear to be 29lb. No yellow warning light so started looking for parking place. Good old Dollar General looked good, then got flashing red warning and sure enough the rear was going down. Finally a reason to use the Stop and Go I bought at Billings. Problem is I never even looked at it before I needed it.

Was not as easy as the pictures. In fact it was mighty difficult. Made three attempts before I got the plug into the tire, and then it still leaked. Fortunately DG had a rope tire repair kit for less than $4 and it did the trick and I ran home a couple of hundred miles with no air loss.

I am not knocking the Stop and Go. After watching several youtube videos, I can see where I wasn't doing it exactly right. Did not have a feel for just when the plug was pushed into the tire using the allen wrench supplied. Takes a lot of pressure to squeeze that big plug through a tiny tube!

So lessons learned. Try out your stuff before you need it. Practice on an old tire, see what the plug looks like from the inside. Feel how much pressure it takes to insert the plug. That is what I am going to do when my new tire arrives. Finally, the old sticky rope plug will still work in a pinch.
 
Really good advice. Traveling far and wide on BMWs since the early seventies. I've always asked myself the question: what could leave me on the side of the road that I can prepare for? Simple stuff like light bulbs at night or fuses and a flat anytime or anywhere. I've always traveled with the tools and parts to fix any of the above and get back on the road. For my tube type bikes I've always got a new tube for the rear tire (the most likely one to go flat), tire irons and a compressor. I've fixed several tires on the side of the road over the years including one in front of a highway patrol who couldn't believe I had everything I needed. I was back on the road in fifteen minutes. He was ready to call a wrecker for me. With my tubless bikes I carry the stop n go as you do and it has saved my bacon though it does take some practice. Believe it or not, there are some places, like where I live, that don't have cell service. You are on your own. No tire pressure monitors on my bikes. I just sense something in the handling like a slight wiggle in the back end that shouldn't be there. Get stopped post haste and often find a back tire going down. Check tire pressures each morning before beginning the ride and make sure all bulbs are lighting up. With the right stuff it's only a minor inconvenience. Safe travels down Texas way.
 
I think that with tire plugging, most thinking is that “I don’t want to make the hole any larger!”..... Not having the optimum size hole works against the plugging process- really. How the optimum size is known....practice- and who wants that.
I know a fleet mechanic that just brings a drill with the optimum :) size bit and makes the hole. A quick and 1 try plugging and the vehicle is off again.
As long as you have plugs, breaking or otherwise wasting a couple, I find par for the course. After a couple of tries, the third try is usually the charm.
OM
 
... Was not as easy as the pictures. In fact it was mighty difficult. Made three attempts before I got the plug into the tire, and then it still leaked. Fortunately DG had a rope tire repair kit for less than $4 and it did the trick and I ran home a couple of hundred miles with no air loss.

I am not knocking the Stop and Go. After watching several youtube videos, I can see where I wasn't doing it exactly right. Did not have a feel for just when the plug was pushed into the tire using the allen wrench supplied. Takes a lot of pressure to squeeze that big plug through a tiny tube! ...
Glad you were able to get things working. It can be frustrating being prepared for a problem and then having to struggle even though you'd come prepared.

I've plugged tires before but not needed to since I got my Stop&Go, so don't have any experience with it specifically, just with others.

Have you watched the Stop&Go video that they provide for you to load on your phone and have available as a refresher? [video]https://www.stopngo.com/pocket-tire-plugger-for-all-tubeless-tires/[/video]
If so, could you comment on:
  • Do you feel there needs to be anything adjusted in the video or was it just the written instructions that gave you the problem?
  • Are there links to other videos that you feel are better from the experience you had?
Thanks for sharing.
 
tire plugging

Here is one, but I did not get a kit with the handy plug gun.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKCsh6jST_U

Think my first mistake was not cleaning out the hole enough to easily insert the tool. Secondly, I did not pull the plug out to set the mushroom head to the tire. Finally, I think if I had aired up the tire before cutting the plug, I may have been able to seat the mushroom head by pulling on it.

I underestimated how tight to screw in the plunger with the allen wrench the first few times I tried it so the Plug never fully entered the tire.
 
You need the Stop & Go with the gun kit. I have used mine twice on my 12RT and twice on two cars. I ran about 8,000 miles on a plug in the rear tire on my RT.
 
I have a Stop&Go kit. It is critical to do it right. I stuck the plugs in the screw-on tip and it failed to work. So I regrouped the troops and did it right. Follow directions and it works well. I had a tire I absolutely could not get a gummy worm in. I used the Stop&Go and it was fine.
 
I fixed a rear tire with Stop&Go. The hardest part is cranking the plug in properly. It bottoms out at one point and then it requires some real force to continue past the fake bottom to the end. It took me three tries to get this right. Thankfully I was at home in my garage. I stretched the end, cut it off and inflated the tire. I rode for several months on the plug and had no air leak at all.
 
Tried my Stop 'N Go last year on the road, with the help of two riding buddies. It did not work, so we tried my friend's good old rope-style kit. Worked like a charm. I ditched the Stop 'n Go, and now carry a rope kit.
 
The Stop-n-Go works, and works well, if, you use it properly, and if, you get the "extruder" gun kit. The gun pump really makes it easy. I carry the instructions in the bag with mine and actually read them...
 
I took the Anderwerks tire plugging course with the Stop 'n Go last year. Now if I can only remember how to use it if I need it....:scratch
 
.<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vCVNRtmxHEs" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Video from Stop n Go.

Anyone use this method successfully? That gun would seem to take up valuable space...
 
they make it look so easy

I guarantee you the effort to push the plug through the nozzle requires more effort than shown in the video. It took one person with a pair of pliers holding the tool and the other cranking on the allen wrench to get it to go in.
 
I guarantee you the effort to push the plug through the nozzle requires more effort than shown in the video. It took one person with a pair of pliers holding the tool and the other cranking on the allen wrench to get it to go in.

I agree the video doesn't give the right impression of the amount of torque needed to get the plug set. However, I was able to do it by hand without too much difficulty.
 
Video from Stop n Go.
Anyone use this method successfully? That gun would seem to take up valuable space...

I used one of these kits a couple days ago to plug a R12RT rear tire. Disclaimer: I was doing this in my garage and not on the roadside. I also used a bit of rubber cement to help the probe/nozzle slide into the hole. I also had access to my compressor and didn't use the CO2 inflators.

My $0.02 is the kit works as advertised.
 
The lesson that SHOULD be taken from this is: No matter what brand or type of plug kit you have, try it AT HOME, in your garage, as soon as possible, several times, until you are comfortable with it. Then order new plugs to replace your practice ones.

The perfect time to do this is just before you replace your tires. Try it with an inflated tire. Try it with a completely deflated tire. Try it with a soft tire. Try it with a 1/16" hole (drilled hole). Try it with a 1/4" hole (drilled hole). Have some windex to spray on the hole to see how much it leaks after you plug it and reinflate it. Also remember, the more worn the tire, the easier it will be to insert the plug.

The best time to learn how to plug a tire is in the comfort of your own garage with good light, shade, refreshments, a bathroom, and maybe even the current race or game on the tube, because I GUARANTEE YOU, when you really need to do this on the road, you will have NONE of these comforts.




:dance:dance:dance
 
Yes, just before you replace the tire--the night before you ride to the National, then get a new tire there.:)
 
Question, probably dumb question [ but based on the vid, and some responses here, no one is showing or reporting doing this on the road where it will matter to me ].

Does the tire/wheel have to be removed [ when on the side of the road ] for this to work? I have the tired and true rope repair kit with an onboard compressor I'll use to reinflate it. I've roped/repaired tires on the road in my cages, so that's what I went with, something I know and can use without removing the tire/wheel.

What's the members consensus on my decision to use the tried and true rope kit on the K1200gt? Not the best, just okay, get the stop and go?

I'm sorta happy I didn't buy the plug/stop and go kit now that I've read this thread.
 
I had two flats over the years and both were on nearly brand new Michelin 190/55 ZR17 size rear sport bike tires. The tires cost about 230-240 each if I remember correctly.

I plugged them with the rope kit I carry.

Being skeptical, I checked the air pressure almost daily to see if there was any leakage; and also used dish soap bubbles sometimes before/after a ride. The plugs never leaked.

I rode both tires until worn out despite warnings to not ride on a plugged tire. Never had an issue. Of course these tires only last about 4000 miles.

I think the key is to use the kit's ream/rasp to clean and size the hole; then use the glue as lube to easily push in the rope.

I still carry the same rope kit on my GS with CO2 cartridges but have not - thankfully - had to use it.
 
Question, probably dumb question [ but based on the vid, and some responses here, no one is showing or reporting doing this on the road where it will matter to me ].

Does the tire/wheel have to be removed [ when on the side of the road ] for this to work? ........

The Stop N Go rubber plug is a substitute for the sticky rope. It works in a similar way, you plug the tire on the bike. I have used both types, on the road and when lucky I was able to ride home and plug the tire in the garage. I have had an occasion where the SNG plug didn't hold - I think I might have pulled the stem too hard and then the rubber pulled itself back into the tire. On another instance, I had a cut in the tire, maybe 1/2 inch long. Two SNG plugs inserted side by side held the air enough for me to ride carefully back home. But I also carry a Nealy tire repair kit which has thin sticky rope plugs. I have used the Nealy rope plugs and they work exceptionally well and are much easier to use than traditional sticky ropes from the dollar store or auto parts place. I ride a couple of Airheads too, with tubes, and there is no comparison. For me, a flat while riding my Airhead is the end of the ride, where a flat on my Oilhead is a 15 or 20 minutes delay.
 
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