$#&$^%$ NAIL

[dangerdave]

200 miles on my brand new rear (tire)..... and a massive nail. Found it when I went to go for a ride and it fel like the bike was in gear when I took it off the center stand.

It's in the middle of the tread. Getting a new tire of course, but has anyone here salvaged a situation like this to keep riding? I've never patched one before.

 

[Koinz]

If its in the middle of the tread, throw a plug in it and wear the tire out. I use the sticky rope plugs. Never had one leak or pop out.

If it was anywhere near the side wall, I would say replace the tire, but the plugs work fine in the center of the tread.

Here's a video showing how it's done - not rocket science - http://youtu.be/wqzF8Vt03-k

By all means, if you feel uncomfortable with a plug, as I know some people are, then replace the tire. I'll send you my address and I'll wear it out for you. ::003::

 

[~TABASCO~]

I had a nail puncture my rear tire in Arkansas.. I didn't know it until I was 100+ miles down the road at a truck stop.. It was flat and very hot... I plugged it there in the parking lot and pumped it up and its good-to-go ! Still on it now.. does not leak any air... I would suggest you plug or pull the tire and patch it.....

If it where a sport bike Z rated tire I would suggest replacing it.. on these bikes, plug/patch if you can....

 

[avc8130]

For a tire that young I like to pop them off the rim and install one of these:

http://www.blackjacktirerepair.com/index.asp?pgrandchild=577

If it were closer to the end of its life I would pop a rope plug in and go for it.

ac

 

[tomatocity]

For a tire that young I like to pop them off the rim and install one of these:

http://www.blackjacktirerepair.com/index.asp?pgrandchild=577

If it were closer to the end of its life I would pop a rope plug in and go for it.

ac

Have never seen these before. Good information. What size do you buy?

 

[1reddawg]

If its in the middle of the tread, throw a plug in it and wear the tire out. I use the sticky rope plugs. Never had one leak or pop out.

If it was anywhere near the side wall, I would say replace the tire, but the plugs work fine in the center of the tread.

Here's a video showing how it's done - not rocket science - http://youtu.be/wqzF8Vt03-k

By all means, if you feel uncomfortable with a plug, as I know some people are, then replace the tire. I'll send you my address and I'll wear it out for you. ::003::

I'm with Koinz on this 1.Have had many nails in my rear tires,put a sticky rope plug in,no problems at all.But i have never seen the plug that avc8130 suggested.Looks like another option.

 

[mrpincher]

I just had a horseshoe nail flatten a brand new rear K60. So I bought my third new K60 and had a local shop install the new tire while they patched the punctured one so I can use it as a spare. The patch looks nice. They used one of those 1/4" patch plug combos that acv8130 linked.

FYI - My last K60 was also punctured and the bike shop in Alamagordo NM patched it. That tire lasted for 8000 more miles.

Really dislike riding on patched tires - just spooky.

I've found that some bike shop will not patch tires, or will do so reluctantly. One said they'd make me sign a waiver to release them from liability if I died in a firey crash.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I've found that some bike shop will not patch tires, or will do so reluctantly. One said they'd make me sign a waiver to release them from liability if I died in a firey crash.

Guess I can't blame a business for taking a very conservative approach. Lawyers would see them as a deep pocket.

For me, I've used sticky rope and vulcanized rope plugs several time. Never had any problems and ran all those tires until worn out. Punctures are definitely annoying, but if it's in the tread they are an easy permanent fix. Plug it and forget it.

 

[carrot]

i have 3 rope plugs in my rear k60 with 4000 miles with them in no prob .

 

[Maxified]

Whew, and I thought I had troubles with flat prevention, 3 plugs in the same tire...

I've had pretty decent luck running out a tire's life by plugging with the ropes & gummy worms but have had the good fortune never to have had to adjust tire pressures for changing terrains with a plug in. Should be fine, but ya never know for sure.

 

[EricV]

Like some of the others, I've run thousands of miles on patched tires. Sticky strings on all of them. They vulcanize to the tire, meaning quite simply, they become one with the tire. Really.

FWIW, when I lived in OR I knew some State moto cops and due to all the shoulder riding they do, punctures are quite common on the bikes. Their rule is no more than three plugs, and no two in the same quarter of the tire. Naturally, sidewall damage means a new tire, but they had zero issues running pursuit speeds on plugged tires and neither do I. I've run lots of miles on plugs and had no failures. I did have some issues with some dynaplugs that wouldn't bond and came out, but on the normal sticky strings, no issues ever.

Silly to toss a new or near new tire for just a simple hole in the middle of the tread. But honestly, if it really bothers you, go ahead and replace it. But do your brothers a favor and offer that take off tire up for sale, because there are lots of us that will snap it up if the price is reasonable.

 

[tpak]

Here's a video showing how it's done - not rocket science - http://youtu.be/wqzF8Vt03-k

FWIW this video is spot on exactly how to do it. I have lost count how many times I've plugged tires and I've never had an issue. If you have never done this before, watch the video - it is dead simple and he does it exactly right. This can be done with the wheel on the bike if you can find the hole.

Two key things this guy does that most people do not which can result in a pulled plug:

1) After inserting the plug he twists it so it knots up inside the tire. This helps keep it from pulling out.
2) After he gets the tool out and tests it he trims it flush with the outside of the tire. This is important - if there is left over cord you can pull it out very easily - if say you spin the tire, etc.

 

[tomatocity]

I am guessing the insert tool cuts the rope when tool is pulled out?

 

[bikerdoc]

::026:: ::026:: ::026::
I'm with the other riders here who use the snake/strip insert plugs... I've used them on all manner of rides here in mainland China. Actually they are what are used so commonly here. I one time watched a rider who joined our riding group rides one week long holiday period a couple of years back, insert a match stick into a small hole in his GSX1100R rear tyre after removing the nail, then inserting match stick, breaking off the exposed end of the stick then riding off to go change out the tyre back in the city his was from which was nearby. I was astounded to see that it worked, even though the tyre was a little passed its use by date. This was the reason he opted to insert a match stick rather than have the hole plugged at the tyre shop we had stopped outside of. Ironically it was a coincidence we'd stopped outside the motorcycle tyre shop, and even more so as that was where his tyre started to go flat.

After seeing this and having had to remove a rear tyre due to a puncture on my 2007 Dragstar Classic 1100 (Vstar) with no centre stand, outside a hotel after a days riding, I came to the realisation that I was over having to worry about running tubed tyres. I changed the tyres for tubeless and invested in changing over the wire wheeled rims to be able to run tubeless on the Dragstar for convenience sake, so I could carry and use the same puncture repair snack/strip plugs - far easier and carry a small compressor on each of my rides. Have used them and the whole setup has been a saviour many times in mainland China. On one of my maxi scoot tyres I ended up with about 4-5 of these plugs which outlasted the life of the rear tyre.

 

[1reddawg]

I am guessing the insert tool cuts the rope when tool is pulled out?

Negative Tomatocity,The insert tool is split @ the end,so you just pull the tool & the Rope justs exits out of the split end!!

 

[EricV]

I'll add a couple of tips for tire plugging here that are not discussed in the video. Air up the tire before you attempt to ream the hole or insert the plug. On a small volume moto tire it's a lot easier to get the tools in if there is some resistance. Otherwise the tire tends to just push in while you are attempting to insert the tools. Air it up and leave the compressor running or attached, if need be, but it's much, much easier to ream and insert the plug with a tire that has some air pressure in it.

Second bit - the reaming tool serves more purpose than just opening up the hole for the plug, it also cleans the hole. This is important, because most failure to seal attempts are due to contaminated holes. Depending on the item that made the hole, reaming can do a lot to clean the hole and make it more uniform.

I stopped to help a friend a few years back that had plugged his tire and taken off, only to have it lose air slowly and he was stopped again trying to get a good repair. His kit did not come with a reaming tool. His puncture was caused by a porcupine quill, and left an uneven hole that had contaminants in it.

After reaming the hole with the tool from my kit, the sticky string plug worked perfectly and he was golden. IIRC, he ran that tire for another 3-4k miles or more w/o issue.

 

[Jagermeister]

Has anyone tried this stuff?

http://www.tyreshieldusa.com/categories/All-Products/Motorcycles/

 

[Mikef5000]

I use the gummy worm type plugs as well. My last tire had 3 in it by the time i took it off, and my current tire has 1 thus far. I really like using rubber cement too, it helps the sticky thing slide in there, and then creates a better seal once it's dry. Shoe-Goo is the best stuff; it comes in a large tube, so you can use it liberally without feeling bad (but I carry a small tube of standard rubber cement when touring)

Here's an extra sloppy, but effective shot of my latest plug:

 

[hojo in sc]

I will use a worm to get me home, then plug it from the inside like ac said ( http://www.blackjacktirerepair.com/index.asp?pgrandchild=577 ) but probably the only reason I don't mind keeping a tire this way is using a tire pressure sensor to keep me informed of the tire status while riding.