| Author | Message | ||
     Cyclonedon |
well I was riding on Friday and when I got up to ride to work, I discovered I had a flat tire on my Uly. I had ran over a staple and it was almost a brand new Dunlop Roadsmart. Less than 500 miles on it! I plugged both holes tonight and will see how it holds up. The last time I plugged a tire I ended up putting about 9000 miles on it before changing the tire. I sure hope those plugs hold! I don't want to have to purchase a new back tire at this time. I have to rebuild the front forks, put a new front rotor and brake pads on the front first. | ||
| Dynasport |
Hopefully it will hold. I got a nail in a very new tire on my FXDX once. The nail was dead center on the tire and looked very pluggable, but I wanted it patched. I took it to the HD dealer and even the local metric dealer, but no one would touch it. They were only willing to sell me a new tire. I finally decided to just plug it and keep an eye on it. Then I found this tiny independent shop who took the tire to a car tire place who put a patch inside it. That tire never gave me a bit of trouble after that. | ||
| Arry |
I had a patch put inside a PR2 rear about 2000 miles ago (had to get it done at a auto tire place). Now it's leaking again (may be a new puncture). I'm thinking about putting some slime type sealer in the tire to get a few k more (still good tread). Is slime a bad idea? haven't heard anyone talk about using it. | ||
| Rwven |
Arry, If you Slime your tire be sure to let your tire shop know at the next change...they may not want to do it... | ||
| Nillaice |
don't slime it as a first resort. see if you can plug it. i've plugged too many tires too many times than i'd want to admit. ... the weird thing is that when my next door neighbors stopped paying rent and were evicted, i stopped getting flat tires every other week | ||
| Reepicheep |
I slime dirt bike tires to manage little thorn punctures, etc. I don't like it on street bike tires as it adds weight. I would use it to save a planned ride though. It's not a big problem to deal with when changing tires, that's a mess with or without slime. | ||
| Ulyranger |
I plugged my Uly's rear at about 3500 mi, center tread, ran till cords were showing at about 6000 .....no problems holding air. Quality plugs and proper prep work make for lasting "plug jobs". | ||
| Druelly |
I am going to reach into what is left of my memory. During the last tire plug discussions, there was an other choice for a product like slime. It did not have the mess issues, and in my opinion sounded like a much better product. Of course I do not have the name but if you search on tire plugs maybe you can find the name. | ||
| Bdub_uly |
Rhinotire? http://rhinotire.com/ | ||
| Djohnk |
Cyclonedon ... I feel your pain, my tires are about two months old and my rear tire got punctured last week. After repair it's got a slow leak still (2-4psi/day). The shop that mounts my tires has that Rhino-tire (I think that's what he called it) stuff there, and he swears by it. If he gives me a no-leak guarantee, I think I will take it in and have it done. (Message edited by djohnk on July 23, 2012) | ||
| Arry |
Rhinotire looks good. I'm getting tired of punctures (3 in 3k miles), I've been doing quite a bit of gravel road. I don't know if I've been unlucky or if this is to be expected. | ||
| Schwara |
How much is the Rhino stuff? Is it reasonable, or as much as a set of cheap tires ... ballpark. Thanks | ||
| Froggy |
I had Rhino Tire lined Diablo Stradas a few years back, I bought them through their website and it cost the same as buying the tires retail. | ||
| Bdub_uly |
Froggy Did you ever hava flat on them? How about retaining their balance? | ||
| Froggy |
I never had a flat, but I never tested it by intentionally putting a nail in it either. I still have the same rear mounted to my 06, one of these days I'll try something with it. It did not affect balancing at all. | ||
| Uly_man |
"Less than 500 miles on it! I plugged both holes tonight and will see how it holds up." That is a pain as had it myself and no fun. A "home/tour" type fix is only a temp repair. Take it to a tire shop and let them do a proper fix if it can be done. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
I run el-cheapo Shinko 009's. They last a long time and work well enough. Anyway, I was have problems with the front tire having a slow leak. Samething happened on my previous shinko. Put some "SLIME" brand fix-a-flat aerosol into it. No problems since. Bike still handles okay. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I plugged both holes and so far it's holding air but I really want to take it somewhere to have it patched from the inside but nobody will do that on a motorcycle tire because of the liabilty issues. I may go ahead and use slime on it to try and seal the inside of the plugs better to add extra prevention for leakage. | ||
| Uly_man |
Ok so 101 on tires. Buell use a ZR rated tires which are 240kph/150mph rated. Thats fast sports car stuff. There are rules about how much you can fix them and bike tires are MUCH harder on these rules. On a bike you may get away with a single small puncture in the middle of the tire. Not two. No one is going to break these rules, for 30 bucks and risk a multi-million law suit. Would you? I think the best you can do is plug and cap the holes as long as the caps do not cover each other. They need to be small holes as well. About 2mm or less. On a bike I WILL NOT run a fast bike with any sort of a damaged tire. Slime is a temp repair. Read the label to see its limits. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
my plugged tire is holding up but I might try adding this product as insurance to prevent the tire from leaking in the future. Has anybody tried this product yet? There was a interesting video on the company's website. http://www.ebay.com/itm/RIDE-ON-MOTORCYCLE-TIRE-BA LANCER-AND-SEALANT-8oz-/140807023249?pt=Motorcycle s_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20c8c0aa91&vxp=mtr | ||
| Eaglerider |
RE: Ride-On Yes. They work well as a tire balancer and also one of the few (if not only) puncture resistant formula that does not corrode metal and can be use in tube tires. FWIW, we run them in our fleet for dynamic balancing without any problems. We've never had any problems with flats but never really tested them with real world punctures. When we tested them out on cars, the results were less than ideal. For flat sealing, Slim works better than Ride-on, but will corrode metal wheels. We use them on ATV tires with great success but never on road bikes. Bottom line - I run them in my Buells, personal bikes, and fleet bikes. | ||
| Eaglerider |
The 8oz bottle is only good for the front tire. The back tire where puncture sealing is most needed - 170/55-17 size requires 11-13 oz so you will need two bottles. See the Ride-On dosage calculator. http://www.ride-on.com/calculator.html | ||
| Etennuly |
Two times now I have run a plug nearly the whole life of a rear tire. The first was a Scorpion Sync that had a small nail puncture near center tread. I used a gooey rope plug from the outside. That tire did the same 6000 miles the rest of those tires did for me without a problem. I also plugged a Michelin Pilot Road II rear. It had about 600 miles on it when it got screwed. I put the plug in it and rode it to 10,500 miles. I did replace the plug one time around 8,000 miles, just before riding it 650 miles to Daytona and 650 miles back. Never had a problem with that tire leaking or balancing at all. | ||
| Uly_man |
A small 1-2mm hole caused by something like a nail is going to be ok to repair. It is those 4mm holes caused by "hard point" type screws that are the main problem even on a new tire. That is because a nail will not damage the carcass but a big screw will cut "rip up" the inside of the tire "which you can not see" and is the reason others will not repair it for you. Flats on a bike are part of the game but there are some things you can do to cut them a little. Avoid the "dirty" parts of the road at junctions and the like. Do not ride in the gutter. Do not park outside a place were a builder may have stopped for lunch or something as they let all sorts of crap from there wagons fall on the road. The thinner the tread the bigger the chance of a puncture. (Message edited by Uly_man on August 01, 2012) | ||
| Motorbike |
I believe these tires are actually tougher than most people think. After I replaced the worn out Pirelli Diablo Strada on the rear of my XT, I tried to cut a section out of the old tire so I could see how much was actually left in the center, where it was worn the most. I used every sharp tool and saw I have in my shop and could not cut a chunk out of the tire. I did not think to try a cut off blade in my hand-held grinder but that would have made a lot of smoke and pissed off the neighbors. Anyway, I just gave up and discarded the tire. Thanks. | ||
| Etennuly |
I would also not recommend a business plugging a customer's tire except in an emergency situation with a written, signed disclaimer, as has been mentioned. It is not worth the risk of being sued over. The way people are, they could wreck a bike for some other reason, ending up with the repaired tire becoming flat in the wreck, now they have cause for a lawyer to jump on board. If you are capable it can be safely done. Given that, you also need to recognize that the tire is now fixed, it will need to be checked much more often for air pressure and physical condition. If you are not willing to keep an eye on the repaired tire throughout it's life, or know what to look for, you are likely better off replacing it. When I have a plugged tire, I at least visually check it every time I get on the bike. I make a habit of it. | ||
| Uly_man |
I think Etennuly has covered it all. Sound advice if you ask me. Way to many people jump on a bike with no thought of how dangerous a bike can be and/or spanner it like they are "chopping wood". As motorcyclists, even in the UK and EU, we still have some freedom of the road and our bikes. Many a government are trying to stop this so it is a good idea to try and keep them happy. I do not want them on my back. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I used to live in an area where there was a lot of construction (pre-07 meltdown) and three times in a row, right after I bought a new Scorpion Synch, I picked up a nail. All three times, I went to a tire shop, the plugged it with the gooey ropes, and all three times I used the tire up with no issue. I have a Scorp Trail on my bike right now that I picked up a screw on shortly after I mounted it, I now carry my own gooey ropes, fixed it, have put thousands on it with no issue and not a single PSI leaked out. In the overall scheme of things I'm way more concerned about the hausfrau in the minivan with kids on her cell phone behind me when the light turns red than my plugged tires. | ||
| Uly_man |
"In the overall scheme of things I'm way more concerned about the hausfrau in the minivan with kids on her cell phone behind me when the light turns red than my plugged tires." Super cool, Skif. | ||
| Buewulf |
I can't say how many of those gooey strand plugs I've gone through on everything from motorcycles, cars, lawn tractors and ATVs. Probably at least fifty over the past 20 years. I have always left them in for the life of the tire and (whether by luck or design) have never had one fail over the cumulative hundreds of thousands of miles I've had them in the tires. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I've plugged my tires and rode them without a problem for the rest of the tire's life. Yeah, it's always in the back of your mind that you've got a plugged tire but they seems to do just fine. If I had my own NoMar and could easily change out my own tires then I'd patch the darned hole. When you're on a trip though, plug, inflate and go. So long as you are not trying to plug a worn out tire because that might be tempting fate too much. |
