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Riding on a plugged tire

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E.Marquez said:
Still not sure Im personally comfortable running repaired tires on my, my wifes or my sons bikes as they get used at speed... used for hours at a time and changing a tire for a fresh one is not an emotional event for us.. just a few minutes in house or at the shop at no cost. And tires don't last very long for us anyway...

BUT, it does seem to be a non issue in real world use :giveup:
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Can I have all of your tires with nails in them? :trust::lol2:

The bottom line is to each their own, and just because I do it or someone else does it, doesn't mean than anyone else has to do it. For the record, I have also plugged my Wife's rear tire and she rode that till it was at end of life. And no, that doesn't show how little I care about her, that shows how confident I am in plugging a motorcycle tire. I have left out of my garage for a 5k mile solo trip on a plugged tire and didn't think twice about it. I would do the very same thing today.

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21765
 
I would add that my deciding factor for plug or replace is based strongly on just how big and where the hole is.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
Can I have all of your tires with nails in them? :trust::lol2:
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You bet, last one was about 1998.....:-D

If I get another, your welcome to it.

Again it's how you use it after repair.... if you're comfortable with a tire that may go flat in use, how you use it, plug away.

If you have real life understanding of what happens when tire goes flat or worse while in use how YOU use it ..and understand that is a serious concern... then you decision may be different :giveup:
 
The ORIGINAL puncture didn't cause a blow out or loss of control, did it? It just went squirrelly on you and you realize it's lost air pressure, and you pulled over.
Motorcycle tires are stiff suckers! They don't come Off the rim easy and don't go ON easy.
So, you replace the NAIL with a sticky gluey rope.
You light the rope and get it nice and sloppy from the heat. You push it into the NAIL hole, twist it around two times to make a knot on the inside of the tire, and then you pull the tool out and let that melted rubber stick and cool. And you air it up and go.
You DON'T plug a sliced up tire. You DON'T close up a missing chunk where the broken coke bottle bit it. You don't 'fix' a blown tire by sewing it back together with a big needle and plug ropes. You just replace the nail (or screw, or mesquite thorn) with a melted rubber rope plug.
If it leaks, it is just like when the nail got there the first time. It goes squirrelly on you.
(You meaning I, cause that's what I've been doing all my life...without dire consequences.)
 
mikes old virago said:
The ORIGINAL puncture didn't cause a blow out or loss of control, did it? It just went squirrelly on you and you realize it's lost air pressure, and you pulled over.
Motorcycle tires are stiff suckers! They don't come Off the rim easy and don't go ON easy.
So, you replace the NAIL with a sticky gluey rope.
You light the rope and get it nice and sloppy from the heat. You push it into the NAIL hole, twist it around two times to make a knot on the inside of the tire, and then you pull the tool out and let that melted rubber stick and cool. And you air it up and go.
You DON'T plug a sliced up tire. You DON'T close up a missing chunk where the broken coke bottle bit it. You don't 'fix' a blown tire by sewing it back together with a big needle and plug ropes. You just replace the nail (or screw, or mesquite thorn) with a melted rubber rope plug.
If it leaks, it is just like when the nail got there the first time. It goes squirrelly on you.
(You meaning I, cause that's what I've been doing all my life...without dire consequences.)
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'81 Virago 750 / '82 Virago 750 / '83 Virago 750
There might be the difference :giveup:
 
Bottom line is that most of us responding are relating actual experiences. Eric, if you have not had a flat since 98 then your input is mostly theoretical. Each repair is evaluated on its merits. I have ridden thousands of miles on center plugged tires. One tire that was punctured in the outer portion of tread was plugged and ridden slowly home to be replaced. So far so good in the real world.

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2
 
E.Marquez said:
You bet, last one was about 1998.....:-D



If I get another, your welcome to it.



Again it's how you use it after repair.... if you're comfortable with a tire that may go flat in use, how you use it, plug away.



If you have real life understanding of what happens when tire goes flat or worse while in use how YOU use it ..and understand that is a serious concern... then you decision may be different :giveup:
Click to expand...


I've had three tires go flat while riding, two fronts and one rear, one front was a tube failure so it was an instant flat albeit a slow speed one. Neither of the tubeless were plugged at the time, and the rear was while I was doing over 80 mph. The rear flat at over 80 was almost instantaneous because the tire was cut due to some road debris that I still don't know what it was exactly. So I would say I have a VERY good understanding of what is going on and can make very good educated choices based upon lots of real world experiences and not internet stories.

Again, if you aren't comfortable with it then no worries at all. I have friends that aren't comfortable with it, and I gladly change their tires out without saying a single word about it. When they ask my thoughts on it, I am very clear to tell them that "I" am comfortable with it, but it is their own choice since it is their bike not mine. But I certainly don't brow beat others based on little to no real world experience like some on this thread. Can't we all just get along?
 
ed29 said:
Bottom line is that most of us responding are relating actual experiences. Eric, if you have not had a flat since 98 then your input is mostly theoretical.
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My actual experience comes from not my personal bikes but the ones I service, repair, work on weekly. The many I see monthly due to having close contact with several shops to included the one my wife is the Service manager for, my son a tech at, the one I do contract work for. It also comes from the fleet of trainer bikes I maintain, the many riders I see each week at training and their personal bikes they bring to training.

And none of that means anything to those that have it firmly entrenched in their observed opinion, no minds were changed :giveup: And thats not a bad thing.. We are what we know... and I do not discount what others have observed that formed their opinions. I respect that and at the same time am not compelled by it.

The reason I have no personal experience on my bikes with plugged tires is.. I don't plug them :-D ON MY BIKES :giveup:

I would plug a tire to get home or finish a trip.
I will patch / plug a tire at request
I replace many tires that have been plugged and leak.
BUT I have never seen one that came apart due to a repair :giveup:

Never the less, it's not a risk Im willing to take...I take enough others, this is one I can eliminate so i do... Thats my opinion, based on what I know 1st hand.. others experiences will vary.
 
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I rode a plug rear tire ( brand new tire) on the bandit and the plug hold till tire was ready to be changed, I use safety seals plugs, I also use them on my trucks never have a plug come out, and we carry 25 tons. I always have plugs and air on a can on long trips ����
http://www.safetyseal.com
 
I'm personally in the camp of plugging and patching a tire from the inside, but that isn't always possible. For tires that are close to end of life, than I'll just replace it. If on the road, I'll plug and go. But do what's comfortable for you; if you have the faith in the repair, then great. Monitor it for a while while you proceed. If not, then do what makes you comfortable.

Plugging a flat tire has had mixed results for me; some hold, others don't. However, here's a tip on successfully plugging a tire: Inflate the tire above the operating pressure (say 25% or so) before and while installing the plug.

Use the reaming tool to clean the hole and hold pressure while over inflating the tire. An air chuck that clamps on the valve stem is a necessity here. Use a liberal amount of glue/cement on the plug, quickly remove the reamer and insert the plug. Watch your eyes as there will be glue/cement being blown off of the plug by the escaping air. Once the plug is in place, reduce the pressure to the normal operating pressure and trim the protruding plug flush with the tread surface. Done.

The over inflated tire stretches and will contract when pressure is reduced, which grips the plug firmly. I've plugged many tires over the years using this method (taught to me by an old school tire guy) and have never had one fail.
 
I've only had a motorcycle tire tube go flat due to a leaky valve. Tighten, air up, drive on. The prospect of having to deal with a real flat on a tire tube though is why I went tubeless this time. Me and patches don't get along on bicycle tubes. I ain't fighting with them on a motorcycle.

Gummy worm, aka, cat turd, plugs have served me well on cages. Reckon I'll use them on a bike, if I had to.

My question is, how well do those CO2 cartridges work at inflating a fully flat tire?
 
Bines said:
My question is, how well do those CO2 cartridges work at inflating a fully flat tire?
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Well, if you carry enough of them then they work very well...once.:lol2: If you are on a long road trip and your plug job is leaky a little bit, or you pick up a second puncture; it might be a bad thing.

I just carry around a little compressor that has served me well for many many years.
 
I carry a can of Fix-Flat. Not only will it inflate a MC tire quite nicely, it'll plug up a leak pretty darned well - I've used it to stop a rim leak. Only problem is, it leaves a sticky mess inside your rim and your tire changing buddy might not appreciate it too much. Sorry, Bill. :duck:
 
I have tried the Co2 route and it did require a whole bunch of cartridges to inflate the tire, I carry a little mini compressor now.
 
funny bit, the plug kit I have comes in a holder shaped like a Co2 cartridge.
 
tshelfer said:
I carry a can of Fix-Flat. Not only will it inflate a MC tire quite nicely, it'll plug up a leak pretty darned well - I've used it to stop a rim leak. Only problem is, it leaves a sticky mess inside your rim and your tire changing buddy might not appreciate it too much. Sorry, Bill. :duck:
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If I ever use fix a flat I'll show up to my tire changing buddies house with a sixer of Rasputin Imperial Stout . After 2 he won't even notice.:rofl:
 
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