Tire Repair???

[billdonna]

Plugs are generally considered a temporary repair. A permanent repair is to pull the tire off the rim and put a vulcanized patch over the hole on the inside. If there is no cord damage to the tire, this is a safe repair.

[manfromthestix]

Originally Posted by billdonna

Plugs are generally considered a temporary repair. A permanent repair is to pull the tire off the rim and put a vulcanized patch over the hole on the inside. If there is no cord damage to the tire, this is a safe repair.

+1 on this. I thought the list above RE: spending $66 for peace of mind was a little paranoid too...

I've used plug patches on tires dozens of times and put many thousands of miles on them after patching without a single issue. I'm not paranoid, but I am careful and watch these things, but I also know that tires are tough as hell and very rarely "grenade" under normal useage. If you doubt this, try to cut one in half; it's tough even with a reciprocating saw and razor knife! If the sidewall is torn or you've got a big rip in the tread, by all means replace it. If it's a pinhole and slow leak, plug it. I recently got a big staple through the tread on a brand new Continental tire on my car ($250 each - love the tires but ) and took it to the dealer where I bought the tires, they said no sweat and put one of these plug patches in, haven't even had to add air in the last 5000 miles. Roofing nail in my GS tire:





You can get these things at any auto parts store for a dollar each and a big tube of glue for a couple bucks. I carry these things with me along with the string plugs in case I'm in a place I can't safely pull the wheel apart and take the tire off to put in a plug patch. As a side note, I've had two valve stems fail in the past six months (they start leaking when the brass and rubber stem comes apart) so I've started just swapping out stems every time I change the tires. They're cheap as dirt too.

I just ordered a set of these tire bead breakers from Motion Pro, very excited to try them as I'm tired of all the old bulky PITA bead breaking stuff. These are small and I hope they work as advertised:



Doug

[MotorradMike]

Plug it and ride it.
I've been riding on 2 plugs most of the season.

My tire loses about 2 PSI in 24 hrs. though so I check it every ride day.

[Rauven]

I think what manfromthestix showed is the best option, used it for a quite some time when working in a tire shop and if installed properly works like a charm. Take of the tire, properly sandpaper the hole area, drill through the hole to even the edges, and glue in one of those thingies (whatever they are called in english ;) Sorry, not a native english speaker here). Afterwards paint over with vulcanizing agent and You are ready to go.

As long as there is no damage to the side of the tire You are ready to go with no worries.

[VEGASGSA]

I've shoved three mushroom plugs ina hole and rode for hundreds of miles..including off road..

Took a tire thru the Saline valley with 4 plugs in it..

All this talk about death if you do it..Umm..did you die the first time it had a leak? That's just stoopid..

Plugs are a permanent repair..tire shops do it all the time..

On a 35" Jeep tire once, we stitched a sidewall together with safety wire..put 20 some plugs in the gash..drove from Canyon City to Colorado Springs..never had a problem..

Plug it and ride..

[slartidbartfast]

I am a great believer in getting as much mileage from my tires as reasonably possible. I have also had good results with sticky string plugs.

In your case, If you were on the road, I'd say "plug it and keep going" As you're at home, however, I suggest just replacing the tire. If you really want to mess with it, you might try injecting a small amount of rubber glue into the hole with a hypodermic needle. IMO, it's hardly worth the hassle for just a couple of thousand miles though.

[CheckerdD]

I think it's a question of how pissed off your going to be if the tire spits out the string. If the answer is very pissed off, replace the tire. I agree with those who say another flat will not likely be a catastrophic failure. It will just leak out a bit quicker than the first time because the hole will be a bit bigger. I bought a new TKC and headed to Colorado a couple of years ago. In Salt Lake City I looked at the tire and there was a nail sticking out of it. Because I was planning to ride some difficult Colorado passes with friends I replaced the tire even though it only had 300 miles on it. I did not want to burden my friends with a flat on Black Bear. But if I had been on a trip to visit my mother in law I would have just patched it. Dave

PS Another issue is the location of the hole. One in the center of the tire is more likely to hold, one on the side or sidewall wont hold as long if at all. In the above example the nail was on the tread on the right side of the tire.

[webjester]

Thanks guys, for all your responses. Looks like I hit quite the nerve (as expected). However, I feel way more confident now to give the tires a few more miles.

[billdonna]

Originally Posted by manfromthestix;20032868
I just ordered a set of these tire bead breakers from Motion Pro, very excited to try them as I'm tired of all the old bulky PITA bead breaking stuff. These are small and I hope they work as advertised:

[URL="http://images.motorcycle-superstore.com/ProductImages/OG/0000-Motion-Pro-Tire-Bead-Breaker-Levers-Black.jpg"

[/URL]

Doug

I looked at those breakers but was concerned about rim damage. I ordered a "C" clamp type from Amazon instead. I await delivery with antici....pation.

http://www.amazon.com/Jaguar-Power-S...ker+motorcycle

Whaddya think?

[Loutre]

use a plug and if you you're afraid that that might not be working than put a tube in the plugged tyre.

[TomDac]

Definitely don't use slime or other goo that you put inside.. It will be very messy and the guy who takes that tire off will have to deal with all that mess... Goo is good for tubes, IMHO... I use it on my Mountain bike tires and it works nicely.

Everyone has said good things... No answer is wrong.. It's your decision. I'd be temped to plug it with either a string or a shroom type plug just to get practiced at doing it, then riding it around for a few days before taking it in and getting a new tire put on.

This will give you some practice plugging a tire and could save you some time and aggravation later down the road when you're forced to do it while on a ride.... There's definitely a little bit of finesse involved with doing this, so practice is good.

Good luck!

[slartidbartfast]

Originally Posted by Loutre

use a plug and if you you're afraid that that might not be working than put a tube in the plugged tyre.

I am pretty certain that a tube is more likely to suddenly and catastrophically fail than a plug. You would have to have a pretty badly damaged tire for that solution to be required. Also, installing a tube in a stiff tire can be quite an awkward job (by the side of the road, in the rain, etc), whereas a string plug can be installed in a couple of minutes. Plus, if you're removing the tire and valve stem to insert the tube you could install a patch plug (despite the good results I've had with sticky string, I don't doubt they are superior)

[SiouxsieCat]

I say if the plug holds air, go for it, just check it on every mount for a while.
I've had plugs outlast tires and I've had plugs fail to hold air.

[VEGASGSA]

Originally Posted by manfromthestix

I just ordered a set of these tire bead breakers from Motion Pro, very excited to try them as I'm tired of all the old bulky PITA bead breaking stuff. These are small and I hope they work as advertised:



Doug

Neat..I just use three tire irons..but same effect as that..keeps me from having to lift a bike up on the side stand..

May give those a shot..be aware, those or the three iron method don't just "pop" the bead off..you'll have to work your way around..

[Steptoe]

Originally Posted by LaurelPerryOnLand

Can you afford $66 for peace of mind?***

Otherwise...proceed with other options.

***Let's think this through to it's illogical conclusion:
1. Tire fails.
****YOU LOSE FROM THIS POINT FORWARD****************************
2. Bike sustains damage during accident.
3. Bike is repaired by your insurance...minus your ($500?) deductible?
4. You sustain some damage (injury) during this accident.
5. Ambulance, hospital charges exceed $45,000 for your 1 week recuperation.
6. Your boss fired you since you were really needed at work.
7. You injure somebody else and they end up suing you for their personal injury and damage to their car.
8. You're convicted of careless operation of a motor vehicle and serve 60 days in jail.
9. Your boss REALLY doesn't want to know about you...particularly now.
10. Since you have no income for 2 months...you miss a couple mortgage payments...bank forecloses on your home.
11. All your credit cards increase your rate since you defaulted on your mortgage payments.
12. Your FICO score drops to the low 500's.
13. It takes you 4 more months (I'm being generous)...in this BAD economy...to find another job comparable to what you had.
14. You exhaust your 2 months of 'savings' and are forced to BORROW from your wife's family...you didn't have the nerve to tell YOUR family.

I think you can see where this COULD be headed...worst case scenario.

Back to my original question:
Can you afford $66 for peace of mind?
HOPE SO...otherwise park it until you have the $66.

PS..."No" I don't sell insurance...nor TIRES.

New tyres can fail suddenly as well.


A bolt in my tyre, morocco 2007.
Used TWO plugs to fix the hole and rode back to the UK through spain and france (1600 miles), and carried on using it until the tyre wore out.

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