So I am interested in real world experiences with plugging a motorcycle tire...

Katrina not only brought with it death and destruction but a slew of construction crews with holes in their bags. I picked up a drywal screw in my brand new road pilot. I had to plug it because I cant afford another new one right now. I plugges a hole on my 82 nighthawk way back when and never had an issue. I also spoke with a couple local guys that also had no issues. Obviously I wont be going 180 with it in there but I was just curious how others have fared...

This may be in the wrong forum, but I can't move it for you, so we'll wait for somone else to do it...

Anyway,
I've plugged a couple of motorcycle tires and kept the plug in there until my new tire arrived... Never had a problem with one done RIGHT... Meaning:

0. Put a work light on the part of the tire with the hole (get it warm)
1. ream out the hole good
2. ream out the hole again with rubber cement on the reamer
3. slather rubber cement all over the plug you're putting in (and put the plug in)
4. Cut the excess plug off with scissors if at all possible, or a really sharp knife (as opposed to moving it all around trying to cut it with a dull knife)
5. Air the tire up
6. Keep the heat/work light on it for a couple hours afterwords

Mike

Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug! Plug!

Of course there are people that say you will die doing this. I'm still alive tho.

Be sure to put the plug on the INSIDE of the tire.

DOH!! How did this get here?!?! Move along, nothing to see here..uumm Admin please move this to garage...

+1

That's pretty much what I did when I plugged mine. I didn't use any heat, but I did leave mine sit overnight.

Got about 5k on my PR rear since I picked up a nail and it's fine.

+1 on the plug from the "mushroom" type that patches from the inside, a temp plug I wouldn't do for anything but the ride to the shop. :wink:

Plugs are your friends. So long as the hole is nearer to the center than the edge/sidewall of the tire, there shouldn't be any issues. I rode a plugged rear Pilot Sport last year for a couple of months, no issues at all.

I plugged it in my driveway with a flat repair kit. The only heat I used was from a disposable Bic lighter, after the plug was set and trimmed off. The flame sorta vulcanized the plug to the rubber.

Now I use Ride On. I swear by it, as I have in other threads. The stuff is a couple of bucks each tire change. I have had 1 hole that I know of, and the goo plugged it instantly. I only noticed it when I was washing the Bird, very fine hole in the center of the tread, marked with a itsy bitsy tiny white mark from the goo sealing it :wink: The tire was still at 36 PSI too :lol:

Plugs don't last in South Africa, either the temp is too hot or our roads are just way too shit.

It always ends up tearing a bigger hole.

Sean did you have Ride On in the front when you were coming home from NeXXt this yr?

If I recall didn't you have a rapid loss of air pressure while riding at a high rate of speed?

And if so how did it perform?

:wink:

What is this "Ride On " you speak of.. sealaent from the inside.. or a plug type...??

Sealant from the inside!

here...

http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle.htm

Had a plug let go once. Not fun, won't do it again.


This was not an applied from the inside patch/plug, nor one of the gun applied mushroom plugs. Standard plug applied as Mike described above minus the heat part. Still, it was enough to convince me plugs are for emergencies and nothing more.

That tire was B A L D when it unzipped itself. I was past the wear bars when I left Towanda. I rode 1400 miles to my first stay over. Got up early and planned on making it home. Time was my priority, not a fresh tire :lol: Got about 400 miles and to the west edge of Nebraska when it let loose at 100 MPH :shock:

We all live and learn, don't we :?:

The Ride On really couldn't do anything with a 10 inch long rip down the center of the tire :P

:P



Gotcha :lol:


:wink:

I prefer the beads. Plugs are uncomfortable.

:D

I've used the style of plugs that go from the inside a few times. The ones you push in just plain suck, they WILL come back out....

Never had a problem with the ones from the inside but I don't trust them. Would use it to get around but I wouldn't try anything over 60MPH just not worth the risk.

Iv'e used the sticky thread type a number of times without any problems at all. I also do everything wrong according to the comments here :?
a) Ride on the thing straight away. I think this beds the thread in better. Make sure there is a substantial loop inside the tyre so it folds down and sticks on to the inside of the tyre. This helps to resist pulling out.
B) Don't ream out the hole unless it is very dirty. If it's a screw, for example, wind it out instead of tearing it out. Just make the hole big enough so a thread can be pushed in with a lot of effort and use the vulcanising fluid for lube.
I keep checking the tyre for bulging and other signs of obvious delaminating or degrading, but I will use the tyre for it's full life. I think 'going to town' reaming the hole out does more damage to the carcase than it does help the thread to stick.
Obviously an internal mushroom or plug patch is better but I usually don't get a flat next to a tyre shop.
These are NOT the opinions of a tyre expert, but I've never had a problem :)

Strangely, (knock on wood) I've never picked up anything in a tire since I got the Bird. (65k miles) Radials?

On my previous bikes (all bias-ply tires) I've picked up numerous things.

I always fixed those tires with the sticky rope fixes and never had a problem. They didn't have the speed capabilities of the XX though.

I believe if you use the rope type on the XX and do some extended high speed riding the tire will heat up and combined with the centrifugal force it will come out.

I've got the remove tire and do from the inside plugs waiting for my first hole on the XX. I believe they will be fine and at the most you should drop one speed rating for the fix. So darn, I'll have to keep it at 150 MPH extended. I can live with that.

You didn't say if it was the front or back tire. That would change how I feel about the repair also. I could possibly tolerate a rope plug in the rear, but NOT the front. I would then keep my speed below 100 mph and watch the fix closely.

For the record ALL my flats have been on the rear. The front runs it over while the object is flat and pops it up so the rear eats it.

This is where a plug-n-go plug gun comes in handly. I bought one a few years ago and it's under my seat. With this plug gun, you can install a mushroom plug (came with the kit) from outside and the mushroom head stays inside the tire, in 30 seconds. I used it on motorcycle and car and worked wonder.

Check it out:
http://www.stopngo.com/Instructions/tirepluggers.htm

I've got a plug-n-go gun under my seat as well. Still only for emergencies, IMO.


The only repair I'd trust long term would be a patch/plug applied from the inside, and even then I'd only be tempted if the tire was brand new.

I did forget to mention that I would ONLY plug a REAR tire... Having a rear let go on you is not bad to ride out, but I would NOT want to have a front let go on me!

About the reaming, the reamer for my car is gnurled, which I wouldn't just ream the shit out of a hole, but the one on my bike kit is just almost fluted like a rifle barrel... That one, I don't think hurts...

Mike

mmmmmm all this talk about Mike's reamer.... :cum:

We plugged Steve's tire at TeXXt.. and shortly afterward proceeded to test it up to 140mph. The plug held. No clue what Steve did after he got home, but it held up fine while we were out.

That having been said.. I'd plug a tire to get me home, or get me where I could get it replaced. I've done it before on my Bird. But it's only for emergency use. Rear tires cost $130 from SWMotoTires. Since tires are what's between you and the road... do you really want to chance it? $130 vs $2000 worth of plastic....

I would not want a plug on a passenger car let alone a motorcycle. If you research this I think you will see the light. That is IMO

+1. Rubber is cheap in comparison to medical, plastics, etc...

Yeah, I'm a tightarse (tightass for the US guys :) ) I think it depends on the tyre, age of the tyre and the type of riding you do. If the tyre is brand new I'll risk it, but not for continious high speed stuff. If the tyre is half gone then I'll bin it. Down here in Brisbane, Queensland the police get there arse hairs on fire if you do anything fun. Getting to be a real police state :( so it's fairly safe to use plugs IMHO. I'm using Pilot Powers at the moment and I think they are a little light to risk with plugs. If I was still on the OEM BT57's I'd do it.

I'm with redbird, while I know alot of people who have plugged tires and ridden another 5k or 10k miles, there are also those few that had them come out or fail. On two wheels its just not worth the chance, not like on a car, where if one goes flat, no big deal, you have three more. On a bike a quickly deflating or exploding tire can kill you and has killed people.