| Author | Message | ||
     Arctic_firebolt |
Picked up a nail on my XB12R. It was one of those super thin very long finishing nails. I only have 3500 miles on my bike and don't want to change the front tire too, since it looks great. The bike came stock with Diablo T's. I see the Rosso and the Strada have almost identical tread design to the 'T' I now have. Any suggestions on compatibility? I realize the compound of the 2 tires I mentioned are quite different. I would not consider myself an aggressive rider at all. However, I commuted many miles in the past in the driving Florida rain so wet traction is very important to me. thanx in advance. | ||
| Scottykrein |
Just plug it and enjoy. | ||
| Ourdee |
plug n play | ||
| Arctic_firebolt |
Yeah, I am kinda tempted to do that. The nail was not much wider than paperclip. I'll see what they say at the local tire shop tomorrow. Thanx. (Message edited by Arctic_Firebolt on February 10, 2009) | ||
| Krueger08xb12s |
Hey I only have 5k miles on my bike and picked up two nails on my rear tire so far. Do NOT plug the tire. Plugs are only for temporary use and are not a "fix" for the tire. Find a shop that'll remove the tire from the rim and install a Radial Plug/Patch on the inside of the tire. Many shops won't do it, not that it's risky, but because of liability concerns and insurance. This should cost you about $60 which I'd say is only worth it if you have more than 1/2 the tread on the tire (~1,500 mi for a Diablo). | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Some say run plugs, others say not... I say; Your tire, your bike, your life, your choice. Just know that while some have had problems, others (such as myself) have not. Your results may vary. | ||
| Boltrider |
Krueger that isn't completely true. A shop plugged my rear Strada 2000 miles ago with no issues. The place that did it fixes lots of moto tires - I saw several outside waiting to be picked up when I dropped mine off. It all depends on how bad the puncture is and the competence of the person doing the repair. (Message edited by boltrider on February 10, 2009) | ||
| Diablobrian |
Or you could end up having the plug blow out catastrophically while riding with a group at moderate speed on the interstate after midnight less than 100 mikes after the plug was put in.... At homecoming.... two years ago... With your 13 year old son on the back... Some get away with plugs, but the risk is always there. It comes down to the old risk versus reward scale that dictates our entire lives. Is the risk worth the <$200 you would save by not replacing the tire? I understand tight budgets, having 3 kids and living very lean since the accident that put me on the disabled list. Food for thought. | ||
| Skinstains |
I've been plugging tires ever since they made them tubeless, never had a problem either on the street or racetrack. | ||
| Saratoga |
Granted, the odds of having a catastrophic blowout with a radial tire are slim, but the chance is there especially with a thin as tissue (compared to a car tire) motorcycle tire. If it were me, I'd buy a new tire unless the offending nail went into a brand new one to begin with. | ||
| Brumbear |
as long as its not a sidewall plug the thing and ride no worries | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
here we go with great "to plug or not to plug" debate!!! here's my story: A root put a hole in my new scorpion sync. I didn't want to waste the new tire and I didn't have the money to replace it. Bought a plug kit from wal-mart for a few bucks. Plugged it, rode until the cord showed at 10,500 miles. Not a single problem. Plug outlasted the tire. | ||
| Diablobrian |
The plug I was referring to was on a new tire <300 miles on it, and just off the center of the tread so that is not always a good criteria. The tire was a Pirelli Diablo Corsa. The funny part? I was going to replace it at the track the next day anyway, but it didn't wait until a convenient time for me. I had even checked at Hal's but they had none in stock. When it blew and the rear end of the bike got all kinds of squirrely I was certain for a moment that my son and I were going to share an ambulance ride. The Pirelli guys at the track wanted to know what I had done to that tire, and kept it aside so that the engineers could look at it. Without the fellow Buellers that stopped along side the road with me and took turns pushing my bike (with the bead broken on the rear FLAT tire) in a half mile relay to the next exit, and then called their Brother to bring a trailer out to pick us up I really would have been up a creek without a paddle. As it was I barely made the walk to the off ramp but I'd be damned if I was going to give up before the guys that were pushing my bike along side the road for gimpy ol' me! I am eternally grateful to the "Friday Night Buell Relay Team". | ||
| Ripdog28 |
new diablo strada 200 miles, 3 plugs and 2000 miles later still no problem. Now about the risks of a blow out.... We ride a motorcycle at 80+ with just a helmet. what kind of nut are we if we worry about a plug more then we do all the other shat that could happen? our hobby/life is full or risks some calculated but still a risk. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Any time you see someone riding my bike at 80mph in just a helmet CALL THE COPS! my bike has been stolen! There are risks involved with riding, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't mitigate risks that are above and beyond the norm. It's kind of like saying you shouldn't bother to install handrails on the stairs in your house because people fall down stairs anyway. I'm not saying you can't choose to not put the hand rails in, but admonishing others for using greater caution is not reasonable either. I was just making sure that someone that has enough concern to ask the question is fully aware that this is not the no-brainer decision that many make it out to be just because they came out on the positive side of the dice roll. Yes I'm one of those idiots who wear all their gear on every ride...and I'm alive because I was held together by soft tissue and leather when a car turned out and hit me head-on. The argument that I am foolish for wearing my gear because many people have never crashed badly is a similar argument, and has similar holes in the logic. | ||
| Slaughter |
Taking CALCULATED risks means you have to have enough data to make a CALCULATION. Do you KNOW that NONE of the cords are interrupted by the nail/screw/stone? Do you KNOW what the effects of defects really amount to on your tire? Do you know WHERE the penetration is on the tire carcass? (Sidewall? tread?) All have an effect. To imply that "plugs are OK" is just silly. The answer to the question "are plugs OK?" can only be "It depends." | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
Don't be a Tool, just change the thing. It is one thing to "calculate" your own life on the road, But when you are on the street you are also taking the chance of injuring some one else out there.  I am always amazed when people ask this question. | ||
| 03worc9r |
 | ||
| Srwitt |
I'm running Rossos after my stock T wore at 5k. If you go to Rossos I would do front and rear, they seem to have a more aggressive tire profile, same tread, different profile. The bike seems to tip in alot easier, it almost falls into a corner. | ||
| Edgydrifter |
I'll admit I was darned tempted to patch my rear tire when I found that nail in it. So few miles on it... so much tread left. Still, I knew it would nag at me every time I really got on the throttle or carried a little extra speed through a corner, so I just bit the bullet and ordered up a fresh one. Now I just need to worry about scrubbing off the release compound on wet roads. There's always something. | ||
| Srwitt |
Heres a solution, plug it, video of burnout to destruction, post vid here, get new tire, ride on. | ||
| 09ltrain |
What do you all think about tire slime sealer? Please dont kill me for asking. If I dont ask then how will I know? | ||
| Srwitt |
Tire slime to get ya home, for any serious sport riding, not so much. | ||
| Arctic_firebolt |
You gotta love this website. The extremely wide variety of riders and experiences being why. While I DO NOT disagree with plugging it two things I read had a major impact. Diablobrian hit the proverbial nail on the head. KIDS! I have them too. Even though they do not ride with me, they depend on Dad. Slaughter's comment brings up the topic of physics. Being an engineer myself I have to wonder about how many parameters are at play here. My nail was in the tread. So, is that better or worse? Because it was recessed away from where the rubber meets the road was why I wondered if I could get away with it. I just replaced 2 tires on my NightTrain which quite frankly, weren't exactly spent. Still I felt I would do it while I had the money to. This time things are tight and I was hoping to get by. Everyone has good input on the subject, specifically those of you who can attest to having gone thousands of miles without an incident. Which perhaps was the reassurance I was looking for. Judging by how fast the 'T' was wearing out from highway use I figured I might not make it past 6K anyway and would have to pay for the repair now and mount and balance again soon enough. I figured that to be about $50.00 I was investing in a 1/2 life tire anyway. I looked at the Rosso and the Strada. For my style of riding, mostly highway, I went with the Strada. Both were a very close match in tread design and I believe were certainly compatible with the 'T" on the front. I even went for the $25 tire replacement guarantee. With my luck if I didn't I would have another flat by Sat. :-) Regardless of who's more in the right, it's good to hear everyone is alive to talk about it. Cheers. | ||
| Srwitt |
You should post up after a while about the Stradas, I don't have too many miles on the Rossos to give a good review about them, except so far I love em compared to the T's. Once they are warm they are superglued to the road, once I got use to the aggressiveness of the tire, I had almost zero chicken strip left, and I never felt I was pushing the bike to hard for the street, just some 35mph corners with some good leaning goin on. With the T's at 5k the rear still had a good 1/2" on either side of chicken strip, and I felt I was pushing the tires at times while riding, on the same roads I love to ride on, I love em even more with the Rossos. | ||
| Arctic_firebolt |
Will do. I hear you on the Rossos. I was very tempted, but I figured economically the Stradas would do the job. Especially since I was only buying one tire, thinking I could push it having a top of the line rear and stock front would have had me on my ass even if I did try it. MY 'T' had a wicked chicken strip from the highway riding and since I have only known cruisers till now.  I was tempted to buy a pair of Dunlop D220's for only $160, for the pair including the shipping at Cycle Gear but they didn't have them in stock and I would have had to internet order them. Still they look like a good deal to me. If anyone cares they are on sale as we speak. | ||
| Diablobrian |
arctic: you dodged a bullet by avoiding the dunlops. They dont get along with the Buell's handling characteristics. Buell got some poor review due too bikes handling poorly during the time that Dunlops came stock. | ||
| Arctic_firebolt |
I did not know that! Thanx for the info. The sales rep at the store was pushing the Dunlop Roadsmart. About the same price as the Pirelli's. They looked great and I believe they had a 3-Ply instead of the 2-ply on the Diablo's. However, with the price of the D220's I wasn't much interested. I am new to Buell as of only last summer. Much to learn. | ||
| Diablobrian |
That is why we are here, to lend you our experiences. | ||
| Slaughter |
That is why we are here, to lend you our experiences. Brian - you know danged well that we are NOT here to lend our experience but instead, we're here in order to spout our opinions on EVERYTHING!! (at least that's true in my case) ... and John - with you being on Badweb now, I think we've reached engineer-saturation. We're going to have to recruit at least 6 artists now to balance the ONE new engineer. |
