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Nail in Tire, Need Advice

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MusicMan754

MusicMan754

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Aug 21, 2005
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Location
Arlington, Texas
I discovered a nail in my rear tire last Friday before driving to my In-laws in prep for going on the pie run with my wife the next day. Now I have a delima that I'm trying to decide upon.

Is it safe to just put fix a flat type stuff (pull the nail out, etc.) in it and continue with them or not? I've ridden over 9000 miles on these stock tires and I'm wondering whether or not to just go ahead and get new ones. The tread on them does not look all that bad. I think I have about 70% of it left on both tires.

Next Question:

If I do get new tires, should I stay with the stock tires, or go with something else? What are the pros and cons?

Any advice?

Thanks,
 
I would get new tires.

As for what to get, depends on what type of riding you do.
I just put on Pilot Roads and they are nice, but they arent dual sport tires.
 
My rule is that if is not on the sidewall, not in the front tire, not in a groove, and there is plenty of life left in the tire, patch it and ride on. I use the strip type plugs and lots of rubber cement. Never had one fail.
 
9K on stock tires, replace it.

With that said I will typically repair the tire with a "patch" from the inside if it has 50% or less wear. Greater than 50% wear, I replace it. I will never use a "Stop Leak/Fix-a-Flat" product again (insert several long stories here). I have used and continue to use "plugs" to get me home. After I get home I dismount the tire and patch it from the inside.
 
Use a "plug patch" applied from the inside of the tire, so long as the tire is worth patching (lots of tread left). You will be fine so long as the puncture is not near the side wall.
 
The stock Trail-wings that come on the big and wee 'Stroms are very long life but have a love-hate relationship with DL owners. I got over 10000 on mine but was ready for something different.

If you are still happy with your TW's, patch the tire and ride on. You have gotten your money's worth, so you could go with something else. Popular choices for DS tires are Metzler Tourances, Michelin Anakees and the Trailwings. For more road tires, the Michelin Pilot Roads were mentioned.

This V-Strom forum has a big section on tires: VSRI

Good luck!
 
The Big Spank Daddy said:
9K on stock tires, replace it.

With that said I will typically repair the tire with a "patch" from the inside if it has 50% or less wear. Greater than 50% wear, I replace it. I will never use a "Stop Leak/Fix-a-Flat" product again (insert several long stories here). I have used and continue to use "plugs" to get me home. After I get home I dismount the tire and patch it from the inside.
Click to expand...
I used to ride on plugged tires with know fear or troubles. "BUT" not anymore! I can tell you a horror story that me and a buddy lived on a 4100 mile cross country road trip. "NEVER" again....:miffed:

Here's the LONG nasty story.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90210

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90211
 
I have used the BMW tire repair kits for years with no
issues they are the plug style but they mushroom out
as they enter the tire to keep from coming back out.
 
I agree with the statement below. Of course, you didn't mention if you had tube or tubless tires. A plug will only work on tubeless. Personally, I have never had good luck with 'fix a flat' so I stopped uses it. The plugs always seem to do the trick.

That said, most OEM tires are shot at 9000 miles.

Voltar - Austin TX

txmedic said:
My rule is that if is not on the sidewall, not in the front tire, not in a groove, and there is plenty of life left in the tire, patch it and ride on. I use the strip type plugs and lots of rubber cement. Never had one fail.
Click to expand...
 
Also... fix-a-flat or slime or whatever other type of inflatable sealant you use may cost you extra when you finally replace the tire. Some one has to get paid for cleaning that crud up.
 
Just an FYI, if you get new tires, Cycle Gear has a road hazard option on all their tires if you buy'em from them :mrgreen:
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions folks. I'll probably go ahead and get new tires. Now I just have to decide which ones to get for my style of riding.
 
MusicMan754 said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions folks. I'll probably go ahead and get new tires. Now I just have to decide which ones to get for my style of riding.
Click to expand...
Do they still make solid rubber tires? :lol2:
 
txbanditrydr said:
Also... fix-a-flat or slime or whatever other type of inflatable sealant you use may cost you extra when you finally replace the tire. Some one has to get paid for cleaning that crud up.
Click to expand...

Good point! I think I overheard something to that effect this weekend! ;-)
 
I considered the Anakees but went for the Tourances. Right now, I would not fully recommend the Tourances - mine seem a little squirrelly at certain speeds...
 
MusicMan754 said:
Anybody tried the Michelin Anakee type tires? They seem to have good reviews on them.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
I believe those are what's on my Wee. RevBiker can correct me if I'm wrong. So far I have no complaints, but I haven't been on a dirt road yet. They were great in the wet riding the bike home to Addison from Georgetown.
 
Gilk51 said:
I considered the Anakees but went for the Tourances. Right now, I would not fully recommend the Tourances - mine seem a little squirrelly at certain speeds...
Click to expand...

I have Tourances and love them, but I have the front-end wobble when I decel around 40mph. It seems to be a common occurrance, but doesn't really affect the handling as much as you might think. It's just annoying until you get used to it.

The answer, or so I've been told, is to get an Anakee front and a Tourance rear. Many have done the same on the GS (same sized tires) and say it works great. Scott used to use them on his.

The Trailwings feel great compared to the Trailwings that came on the Strom. They don't degrade as quickly at the end of the tire's life, either. Great in wet or dry conditions, and they handle easy fire roads well.
 
Squeaky said:
I have Tourances and love them, but I have the front-end wobble when I decel around 40mph. It seems to be a common occurrance, but doesn't really affect the handling as much as you might think. It's just annoying until you get used to it.
Click to expand...
I seem to have wobble/shimy at other speeds, too, but - like you said - you kinda get used to it. :giveup:

I think I'll try the Anakee on the front next time... :mrgreen:
 
Thanks everyone for the insights. I bought both Anakee tires on Monday this week and put them on the same day. I was surprised that they were really smooth on the highway. Could tell a definite difference from the original Trailwings.

One thing that was kinda peculiar though. When I took the back tire into the dealer to get it mounted and balanced, they had to put a lot of small weights on it to get it to balance correctly. They said it was not because of the wheel, but because of the way the tire was made. Has anyone ever heard of this? They did a real good job of balancing it as it is real smooth. Even at 70 MPH.

I'll try to post a couple of pics on it tomorrow.
 
Same thing just happened to me on my rear (tire)... Went from needing no weights with a Metz Z4 to about 6 little squares with the Z6. The guy who mounted did a real nice thing and tried to "spin the tire", that is to rotate the rubber 180-degrees to see if it would balance out. It didn't, which makes me think the weight is needed to balance the tire (rubber), not the wheel (aluminum).
 
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