• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

REVIEW: Progressive Suspension Tire Repair Kit – Tubeless

Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
1,443
Reaction score
331
Location
Cypress (NW Houston)
First Name
Becca
Most of the time, emergency-use items such as first-aid kits and tire repair kits are just so much extra weight. In those rare occasions when they are needed, they are worth their weight in gold.

I’ve been pretty lucky. My last flat tire was back in mid-2002, over 60,000 miles ago. It was a sad, messy affair: That first moment when I realized that something must be very wrong because I was able to flat foot my bike…limping it under power around to the corner gas station…kneeling there looking grimy, cute, and helpless with a just-bought plug kit until a passing motorist took pity on me and did the deed.

In the last hours of 2006, I was in a very different situation. Due to the diligence of a past boyfriend, I was prepared with a never-used plug kit and a little more confidence in my wrenching chops.

After discovering the flat, I slowly rode the bike 15 miles to the first gas station I saw and pulled over next to the air pump. A wandering-by BSG (big strong guy) balanced the bike so I could get it onto the centerstand. Optimistic, I dismissed him with thanks and put 75 cents into the machine to get it to dispense air.

I shouldn’t have wasted my coins. As soon as air began entering the tire, I heard it hissing loudly out. I rolled the wheel around (DOH- should have done this before buying air) to find a staple sized sliver of metal lodged in the tire.

HPIM0326s.jpg


Some needle-nose pliers from my onboard tool kit easily removed the sliver and I was rewarded with a rush of escaping air as my tire went completely flat.

My plug kit included an awl-like implement, several torpedo-shaped rubber plugs, a tube of cement, air cartridges and a tube for using them (not needed in this case), and (happily) a small sheet of instructions.

progressiverepairkit.jpg


The instructions were straightforward enough. Ream out the hole with the awl, smear hole, awl, and plug with cement, insert plug (it fit neatly onto the awl for the push), and trim the plug. It seemed easy enough for the greenest novice and much more simple than the sticky string-type plugs I’d struggled with in 2002. The plugs included a “self-vulcanizing strip” around the narrowest part, which I guess is supposed to permanently bond to the tire when it heats up.

The instructions mentioned nothing about drying time for the cement. Just to be safe, I left it to cure while I went into the gas station for more quarters and a bottled Starbucks caramel frappuccino.

I heard no tell-tale hissing when I filled the tire with air, so I felt safe to head home. Throughout the ride, I frequently tested the air pressure by rolling the bike side-to-side to feel for wallowing. It held air sufficiently to get me into my garage.

HPIM0327s.jpg


I would recommend this kit. It’s simple to use and small enough to fit on most sportbikes.

Progressive Suspension Tire Repair Kit, Tubeless Type - $34.95
http://www.ridegear.com/rg/item/F-6232/Progressive_Suspension__Tire_Repair_Kit_.html

Also available as a bare bones kit without air cartridges - $9.75
http://www.parkeryamaha.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=21548

Full day ride report is posted on my Blog.
 
$35 is money well spent if it will allow you to limp home to the warm welcoming arms of your garage door!

I have a set that came with my bike, your note prompts me to go take another look and familiarize myself with how it works. Especially those little CO2 cartridges ...

Glad you made it home in good shape.

Dave.
 
That was my first kit as well. It worked very well. I still use the tools and carrying case from it.

I now use the strip plugs you can find in just about every gas station and convenience store in the country. You can get an entire kit, strips, glue, tools, etc, at Wal-Mart for a little over $10.

I bought a separate CO2 dispenser. The CO2 cartridges with threaded ends are hard to find and usually quite expensive. My dispenser will use the ones you can buy in bulk at Wal-Mart for BB guns and paint ball guns. Total cost was maybe $20 for everything. Works great and has really come in handy! A lot of folks like to use the little air pumps instead of the CO2. If you run out of CO2 cartridges and still need more air, you could be in trouble ;-) If you have a convenient way to plug in the pump to your bike, it will run a long time without killing your battery. Also, the pump takes up about the same space as the 5-7 cartridges you'll need for your tire if it is flat. Also, if you are in a group and several people get flats, which has happened to me, the pump will do many bikes!
 
Well done... I know more than a few BSG's that would call for a tow before making the effort to plug it.
My old kit has got me home more than once.
... But don't trust the plugs any longer than nessessary, the cords have been violated and tread seperation is in that tires future.
 
I actually carry a small air compressor in one of my saddlebags. Trouble is....I recently figured out that it blows the CANBUS fuse on my BMW accessory plug. If I had really been out in the middle of nowhere, I suppose I could have flagged down a car to provide power for the pump.

I've been putting off wiring in a new cig outlet (already sitting in my toolbox). Project for next weekend?

Luckily, the tire is due for replacement. A Pilot Road, it has almost 8000 miles. You can see that it's at the wear bars in the pictures. That 650 mile day coming back from Big Bend was really it's last gasp.

I really hated the strip plugs back in 2002. I found them to be messy and difficult to use last time I tried. I rememeber managing to bend the insertion tool (and having to insert several times before it stayed). This kit was relatively foolproof (for this kind of puncture).
 
Last edited:
I carry the rope style plugs, a rasp type enlarger, an insertion tool and an air pump. I've had good luck with CO2, but can see an advantage to unlimited air if you have the space.

I actually carry a small air compressor in one of my saddlebags. Trouble is....I recently figured out that it blows the CANBUS fuse on my BMW accessory plug. I need to wire in a new cig outlet. That's a project for another time.

Get a pump with alligator clips and hook it directly to the battery.
 
I carry the rope type plugs also. I also carry extra cement, plugs as well as patches. As for air, I have a cheap 12V compressor from Wal-Mart. I have bailed out many a rider with this kit as well as myself. As for the CO2 cartridges, well I'm not a big fan. They are expensive and as Becca saw, you may have to waist one or two just to find the leak and on a rear tire it can four or more just to get enough air ti ride to the closest station.
 
Back
Top