| Author | Message | ||
     Cadhopper |
Got to work this morning and a guy walked up looking at the bike (that happens a lot with the Buell). As we were looking at the belt drive I saw the head of the nail and realized I don't have a plug kit with me. Hopefully it will hold until I can make it to an auto parts store. Would you guys run a tire with a plug on a bike like this? I ride pretty hard so I'm not sure I would trust the tire. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Your bike and Butt. Me....no plug my Butt is worth more than 200 bucks. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
Do a sick smoke show and toss the tire in the trash. YOUR life is worth MORE than the COST of a TIRE I would ASSUME. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I've run a total of 10,000 miles on rear tires with plugs in them. Never had a problem or even a slow leak from the two tires that had them. I don't think I'd trust one on a trackday, though. | ||
| Aeholton |
I have run the "mushroom" type plugs in motorcycle tires without problems. | ||
| Buellfighter |
Umbrella plug (combination plug and patch) installed from the inside and go! | ||
| Kdan |
My current rear has almost 6k miles with a plug. The standard Pep Boys type plug worked fine. But then again, I guess my ass isn't as pretty as Lost_In_Ohio's ass is. It sure isn't making me money anyway. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Would you guys run a tire with a plug on a bike like this?  Must be the Damn Hippie or Cheap Bastard in me that doesn't want to throw away an otherwise perfectly good tire. I'm running a plug in the my rear tire right now and have been for a few months. My theory, plug it, check pressure often, if it doesn't leak, forget about. Last tire I plugged at 1000 miles, I wore the tire out of tread, and the plug was still holding. YMMV | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
Must be the Damn Hippie or Cheap Bastard in me that doesn't want to throw away an otherwise perfectly good tire. Me either! 1000 on this one, 800 on the first one that I did throw away. Ran with a plug for about 100 miles, about half in the rain! Now I'm at 9000 miles and haven't "found" any more nails.  | ||
| New12r |
I pull the tire off and use a patch on the inside and I ride HARD! I got 2500 miles out of 2 patched tires in the Mountains of N. Ga. You will have to do it yourself cuz no one else will. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Personally, I don't ride that hard at all, but I would never use a plug in any tire. I don't run retreads on my semi's for the simple fact that they are a hazard to motorcycles. I use new tires, always. I have picked up nails at just a few hundred miles before, it pissed me off, and I replaced the tire. I had a front blowout on my first bike. I never wanted another one so I just don't take any chances. People who have had good luck with plugs, well I believe it's exactly that, luck and nothing more. Good luck! | ||
| Buell12hundo |
I wouldn't the nail in my tire put me down (low side) and the peace of mind you would have with a new tire is priceless | ||
| Cadhopper |
Do a sick smoke show and toss the tire in the trash. I need to find someone with a video camera...  Tiresunlimited has the D208 180/55 ZR17 for $131 + shipping so it looks like I will be ordering a new tire today. Thanks for all the advice. | ||
| Midknyte |
A typical dance with murphy['s law] on this would have you a) plug it and never run over another nail again... b) get a new tire and running into another nail! I'd have to side with the eco-hippies (hip-oconimists?) and get a plug, depending upon where it was at. Can't plug a sidewall... Mushroom type from the inside. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Here is another, ( slightly more expensive:-), way of looking at it. At 850 miles your Dunlops are almost half cooked anyway. Perhaps now is the time to consider an upgrade to a better tire, especially if you like to ride aggressively. Tires such as the Dunlop Qualifier, Michelin Pilot Powers, or Pirelli Diablos, all will make your bike handle noticeably better. When I picked up a nail in a similar situation, I took the opportunity to upgrade to a PAIR of Dunlop Qualifiers. I am very glad I did. Tires are a relatively small part of the entire "mission cost", and yet they can make such a big difference in the success of the mission, if you see what I mean. | ||
| Bomber |
just what ya need, another opinion ;-} depends on what you plan on doing in the course of the next 5oo miles or so . . . . local riding, commuting, back and forth to a buddy's garage, solo only -- plug it (mushrooms are best, standard plugs work OK as well) track daze, long trip planned for months, two-up for more than around the block -- new tire | ||
| Aldaytona |
The repair mentioned by Buellfighter is the only repair I've seen approved on a tire manufacturers web site as a permanent repair. Mushroom plugs work as well. Do not use car (string) plugs except in an emergency. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I've used the sticky string type on car, truck and motorcycle tires with zero failures or issues for a combined mileage of well over 100,000. I wouldn't plug a tire if it had less than half the tread left, though. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
I got one plug in the rear S1 tire now, Been there since May. | ||
| Pwnzor |
That's some mighty long luck ya got there Dj! I'm approaching the 3 million loaded-miles mark on my truck. I've seen a lot of failed tires from different situations. I've seen a lot of very lucky drivers. You're only one person, and I'm glad you've had good fortune but everyone cannot base their safety decisions on your experiences. It is my belief that patches and retreads are dangerous. I base that on some long experience and many thousands of observations. The failures of these stop-gap methods are low in percentage when you look at how many vehicles are on the road. However, when that statistic jumps up and bites you in the ass, you'll wish at that moment and into the future that you had spent a few dollars and insured your safety to the highest level. Just my opinion and my recommendation as someone who is responsible for the safety of nine other truckers plus myself. My company has a 100% safety record. No accidents or workers comp claims in the six years since I incorporated in California. | ||
| Aeholton |
Plugs in motorcycle tire = apples Retreads on load carrying trucks = oranges | ||
| Fullpower |
I have used the sticky strings to repair a Metzeler Z6 rear tire, and ran the XB over 3000 miles with the repair. no problems to report. Lucky? maybe so. | ||
| Whodom |
Look at the manufacturer's website and see what they say. Most of them say a patch installed on the inside of the tire is the only acceptable repair. They may say limit your speed on a patched tire. Given the potential liability the manufacturer faces from saying a patch is acceptable, I'd say it's safe to run (at sane speeds anyway) on a patched tire. | ||
| Paulson |
Check this out... I picked up a jagged piece of road construction debris in the rear tire of my XB while in a corner. Caused a slow leak. Took it to the dealer and they replaced it under warranty. This was at 2K miles, and I had the extended warranty. - No joke. I just plugged a small hole (the rasp was bigger than the hole) in the center of the rear tire of my FZ6 and haven't had any problems. I do check the pressure (kick test) on this one each time I ride. | ||
| Diablobrian |
I tried a plug once, earliers this year. After 120 miles or so it came out in a very dramatic fashion during a group ride from Appleton back to Steve Mackay's house. I've learned my lesson. I didn't like the idea, but I took a nail the day before homecoming and figured I'd get a new tire (I run Diablo Corsas) at the track on saturday, and I won't mismatch my tires after a bad experience with that on a previous bike. It's up to you whether you feel safe plugging your tire. The tires on a bike are far more critical than on a car. The loads are different, the tire carcass is thinner, and it's a lot easier to get a car with a blowout to the side of the road without there being paramedics involved. Life IS risk management. Is the risk worth the reward to you? Once again I must say thanks to the "Friday night Buell relay team" for their extraordinary efforts that got me and my Buell back to Steve's Safely! (Especially since there was NO WAY I could have pushed it more than 10ft myself) You guys ROCK! (Steve, Toni, Stalker, and I'm sorry the other names escape me   Stupid short term memory! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Plugs in motorcycle tire = apples Retreads on load carrying trucks = oranges 1) I was referring to both plugs and recaps. 2) The point I was trying to get across is any time you try to put a tire back together, it's going to suck balls. Diablobrian has it right, he had a plug come apart on him, but still puts out the idea that your safety is up to you. You feel safe on it, then ride on. Me, I never could do it unless I was in the middle of nowhere with no other solution. I mean, there are extreme examples in every idea model. Always an exception to the general rule. My general rule of never plugging a motorcycle tire or riding it until the cords are showing is in large part responsible for the absolute lack of road rash anywhere on my body. Do what you feel is right for you, ride in shorts, tennis shoes, patched tires, it's all good. I ride in shorts all the time and everyone tells me how stupid that is. I don't care. | ||
| Aeholton |
Do what you feel is right for you, ride in shorts, tennis shoes, patched tires, it's all good. Hey! Now I'm getting paranoid. How do you know all these things about me!?!  | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Rich....probably not......I commute in heavy traffic and I don't need to worry about my tires losing air because of a plug. $150-$200 for a new tire seems like really cheap insurance against low tire pressure and trusting the tire. | ||
| Curtyd |
When someone can explain the difference to me of getting a flat tire at speed from picking up something in the road, which can happen every time I ride, and a failed tire plug, then I'll consider not using them. www.tirerepairkit.com, I'm Old School, I guess. (Message edited by CURTYD on August 25, 2006) | ||
| Tramp |
you got that nail at 850 miles? i'd call buell customer service and complain, then i'd try to trade it in for a bmw. it's truly the beginning of the end, a steep and slippery slope... next you'll run out of gas, and i'll bet they won't warranty that. get rid of that buell, fast! | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
you can always bring it to me and i will dispose of that horrible thing in the proper way! | ||
| Crusty |
I'm running a plugged tire on my Uly right now. I've run plugs for thousands of miles in the past. Has anybody has a plug fail? I know that they don't work with steel belts, but, other than that, has anyone actually had a plug go bad? | ||
| Kdan |
has anyone actually had a plug go bad? No, but I knew this guy once who knew another guy who heard once on the internet... | ||
| Diablobrian |
Yes, I've had a plug "go bad"! I had a plug blow out at homecoming this year. Leaving Appleton on Friday night. I had put it in, against my better judgement, and had about 125 miles on the plug. I was trying to get to the track saturday to replace the tire. I had 200 miles or so on the tires, Diablo Corsas, and took a nail the day before I had to pack up for homecoming. No one had a compatible tire in stock in my home town area, and I also won't mis-match my tires after a nasty handling problem on an interceptor years ago caused by mis-matching the tires to "save money". I very nearly had a very expensive crash. | ||
| Cowboy |
Openions are like your ears every one has a couple. here is mine. If you do your on tire repair and you have less than 1000 miles a inside hot patch is ok. If you have to hire it repaired I think you are better off with a new tire(tyre).Just remember it is your butt up there. |
