Flat tire

[R1150R]

Not sure where this should be posted.
Don't want to come across as being negative either.

Rode my 2016 R1200RT to Gilmer Texas to visit my parent grave site to assure their headstone was engraved correctly.

Planned to stay the night in Tyler (which I did), but on the trip from the cemetery to Tyler, noticed my TPMS was registering 35 psi and not the 40 psi I had during the trip.

Checked into the room then went out to inspect my rear tire. Sure enough, a small nail. Pulled it out and air was escaping.

Got out my string repair kits, aired up to 40 psi and still had a small leak. Did this 5 times with 3 different string kits.

Being this was Monday, I had to reach out to 5 different motorcycle shops on Tuesday morning. 5 different shops called and none would work on my BMW. There was a U-Haul facility 4 miles south of me. I made it there with OK tire pressure and hauled my bike back home to Spring.

Is this the norm now? Shops not willing to work on bikes other than what they sell?

Just a FYI, the NOCO AL5 inflator worked well airing up my tire multiple times. I did have to charge it up several times.

 

[chuy43]

I know how you feel . Had flat tire during Rattlesnake round up in Freer, Tx years ago. Nobody I mean nobody fixes flats on Sundays even though gas stations were open. Even tried to bribe and fix on my own since I had experience they said no exceptions. I called city hall following week to complain to no avail. Limped home without a spare.

 

[Jeff S]

Did this 5 times with 3 different string kits.

Man - that's tough. I've needed to use two strings at once, but have never had it totally not work. You said "small nail" - was it in a particularly bad place on tire?

Is this the norm now? Shops not willing to work on bikes other than what they sell?

I've never had that... Maybe it was the single-sided swingarm that made them nervous?

I had TWO flats in one drive in a pickup a couple years ago. One blow-out on I-10, put on the spare, inflated, headed back out... only to flatten the spare in about 20 miles - it was even OLDER than the 4 "good" ones. This fella came to my rescue from Sonora, on a Sunday...

And he called his buddy at a tire shop - which was closed. He came in, had Geolanders in the right size in stock, and mounted 5 of them while I had a cold beverage. Yeah, cars are different than motorcycles... but just wanted to share that there are good people willing to help out there in the world.

 

[woodsguy]

@1150R , would they have patched tire if you removed from the bike?

 

[R1150R]

Hole was pretty much dead center. Noticed that most kits don't have a vulcanizing compound anymore. The slime kit I got at the local Walmart had a tube of plug bond...looked like white glue. Older kits seemed to have rubber cement, which I assume is more of a vulcanizing compound.

The one of 2 kits I carry with me had a lubricating paste to put on the 1st portion of the string to be inserted.

I tried 2 strings at once but couldn't get them to pass thru the hole.

After an hour or 2 one the 4 previous attempts, I was able to pull the string out with needle nose pliers. Took some effort but they did come out.

The 5th attempt I left in was a slow enough leak to allow me to travel a few miles.

 

[R1150R]

May be my ignorance but seems most places won't patch the inside...even though I believe it's the best way.

I didn't push when they said they don't work on BMW's...Removing the rear wheel is pretty easy on them.

I will say that Edgar at the U-Haul facility was the bright spot of my day. He made arrangements to get the 15' truck I needed and even helped my load it and strap it down.

Good man that Edgar.

 

[Jeff S]

I tried 2 strings at once but couldn't get them to pass thru the hole.

Yeah - that's never worked for me, even on BIG holes. I did two strings separately last fall:

I rolled into Bandera with a pointy piece of sheetmetal in the tire. The gas station I stopped at was across the street from a True Value HW store. I guess you can't really see the first string - I cut it nearly flush with the tire, then ran a 2nd thru.. which is the one you see above. That got me about 300 miles until it was replaced.

 

[Cagiva 549]

The biggest issue I have seen with road side repairs is every tire repair kit I have seen in the last 20 years is made in china , absolute garbage . I even went to a commercial tire wholesaler to try to buy a quality repair kit , no luck , I started seeing that years ago , I would buy a kit and put it in the bike , 6 months latter when I tried to use it the glue tube was solid . Spare tubes are the only thing I bother carrying anymore .

 

[darrin1024]

5 different shops called and none would work on my BMW

One challenge with BMW wheels is that they may not work on their tire machines without the adapter thing for the larger hub. So if they don't have the equipment, I could see them turning you away. Though if that was the case, I would've expected them to explain the "why" to you.

Also, they may not want to mess with removing the wheel on a brand they don't normally work with, but I've been able to take in naked wheels to a shop and they were willing to mount/balance tires on any brand wheel.

 

[FE_Rex]

Somebody on this site recommend a Nealy tire kit

Haven't had to use them on my motorcycle, but they have worked real well on a few holes in a my truck tires and when a metal wedge about 1/8 x 1/4 got stuck in a Town Car tire. They'll get you home, but I'm still not a big fan of rope plugs in tires

Cool thing on these is they twist on inside of tire. On the smaller holes (brads), I had to use a standard plug-kit rasp before I could get the Nealy kit too in the tire

https://www.nealeytirerepairkit.com/brochure

 

[grumpy48]

I’d have just replaced the nail with a screw to keep it from flying out. Might lose a pound or three but would get you home. I’ve seen patch kits that’s are just that. A big screw

 

[Simmons1]

Somebody on this site recommend a Nealy tire kit

Haven't had to use them on my motorcycle, but they have worked real well on a few holes in a my truck tires and when a metal wedge about 1/8 x 1/4 got stuck in a Town Car tire. They'll get you home, but I'm still not a big fan of rope plugs in tires

Cool thing on these is they twist on inside of tire. On the smaller holes (brads), I had to use a standard plug-kit rasp before I could get the Nealy kit too in the tire

https://www.nealeytirerepairkit.com/brochure

I believe that was me. I have never had a Nealey plug not work. I have had couple flats on nearly new tires. The plugs were still doing their job when the tires were removed because they were worn out.

 

[FitzPA]

To the OP: if the leak was slow, I've had good luck with the "slime" type goo. Twice I've had a leak
and the "slime" has sealed the leak; Once I had a nail which I pulled out and "slime" sealed the leak

I always carry a bottle with me - I've heard people using Stans Sealant on motorcycles with good
results.

 

[TNC]

That issue of some/many shops not working on certain bikes or so many years past model entry is not weird...okay...weird but unforgiveable in my mind. The shop I used to work at in my younger years part time as a mechanic, we would usually try to get the customer on his/her way with some kind of reasonable fix regardless. Those days are gone at many maybe most shops.

On the issue of punctures, especially in tubeless tires, I wouldn't run any bike without some kind of sealant. People are often fearful of imbalance with sealants, but honestly most of them, especially in the modern era may actually contribute to balance rather than harm it. I've been running the Nuetech Tubliss system in my dualsport bikes for many years, and I've run Stan's sealant in them. I haven't had a puncture flat since 2009, and that's in tires that are not designed as tubeless. On at least 4 occasions I've gotten back into camp, and while lubing the chain for the next day I've found nails, wire, and such stuck in the tire. On the ride the tire didn't lose air. In camp I pulled out the offending item and string plugged the hole. I've always been able to continue my trip and wear out the tire. This may not fit everyone's specific scenario, but I'm not running a tubeless tire without a sealant in it. I've seen many pavement-only riders use the Ride-On stuff with success, so maybe there's something there.

 

[woodsguy]

What does sealant do to the TPMS? Hate to lose that function.

 

[R1150R]

Good question...not sure.

Without getting a new tire or at least having confidence in a plug holding, I'm of the opinion that the best choice was the U-Haul.

Didn't want to get caught on the back roads with nothing 20 miles either way.

 

[Tigerkf]

I would bet that an independent motorcycle shop would have worked on it. The problem is there are not many of those left around. I personally have never had a rope type plug fail provided I used copious amounts of rubber cement. If the kit doesn't come with rubber cement, then I buy another kit that does.

 

[TNC]

What does sealant do to the TPMS? Hate to lose that function.

Of course I'm not guaranteeing anything personally, but even the modern Slime you can buy at Walmart today claims tire sensor safe, so take that for what it's worth. If indeed it is, I can't believe that Stan's would be an issue as it's not as "sludgey".

 

[Tuco]

I experienced a slow leak while riding Missouri. Of course I had left my tool/repair kit in the motel room. Found an independent bike shop but they wouldn't touch it cause of "liability". Ok, sure. O'Reillys within a few miles and picked up a Slime string plug kit. 4th time I've had to use Slime strings and glue; never had a failure of the plug.

 

[IOM TT]

Grumpy, that’s genius!!! I think a button head sheet metal screw would work the best. My experience is that a counter sunk screw (not inserted on purpose, but the culprit that started the leak) leaks right away, it’s a perfect valve. A hex head sheet metal screw gets “worked” more on each revolution as it’s very proud even when all the way in to the head. All others nails and screws (and big staples) I’ve run over didn’t start to leak fast until the head was gone. That’s why I think a button heat screw would be the best when no patch is available.

Woodsguy, I’m not worried about my TPMS sensors; they don’t work anyway.

Cagiva never had a tube of sealant set up. Have had rubber cement evaporate so I always have a new tube with me.

All Firstly, BMW tire repair kits suck! The plugs are useless and I’ve had the insertion tool end break off in the tire. The inflator tube and cartridges work great (I don’t think BMW supply them anymore ).

I’ve been using Monkey Grip patch kits since I got my first tubeless tires - at least 50-years ago. Never had a hole I couldn’t patch. My wrists are shot and I cannot even push the reamer in much less the string through the tire. So I carry a Hitachi WH 10DFL2 cordless impact and 5/32 drill to ream holes. A benefit of using a drill is that the hole becomes round and hot (if you are quick) for the gooey-string

Make sure, when you find the hole with whatever the thing was that punctured the tire missing, that you spin-check the wheel and listen for the object inside the tire. This happened to me when I ran over a duplex nail. The shank-head was driven through the carcass and the hammer-head seated against the tire. When the hammer-head finally wore off, the rest of the nail was pushed through into the tire when the tire lost enough air to go down.

I plugged the tire and rode maybe another 500-miles before having the bike on its center stand inspecting before a long, next day trip. When spinning the rear wheel I heard the nail à la the roulette wheel noise in the tire. Thank goodness it was a rear wheel, I don’t think I had ever spun the front wheel preparing for a trip-I do now.

The nail had cut a groove circumferentially so deep I could see the white nylon of the inner belt. See nail to right of impact and drill set up below.

 

[woodsguy]

Woodsguy, I’m not worried about my TPMS sensors; they don’t work anyway.

Weird, mine work great. Put that screen on my TFT when I ride all the time.

 

[IOM TT]

Woods , what year is your bike? Mine is 11-years old-I’m sure it’s just battery worn out. I won’t monkey with it until next tire change.

Have you ever replaced just the TPMS - battery?

 

[woodsguy]

2019 BMW 850GS F/S, knock on wood, haven't touched them. Jinxed now, lol.