| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
Went to ride yesterday . . . . flat tire. I'm going to put a new tire on but am thinking about having the flat repaired and having it mounted on my spare 2008 Uly rear wheel with new bearings. Thoughts on repaired tires? | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Patch, plug, or string type? I've gone several thousand miles on a plug in the old Dunlop (since replaced) that came with my 12R. Depends on the severity of the hole. If it's just a nail or screw I say plug it. | ||
| Hughlysses |
From Pirelli's webpage: Tire Repair Tubeless tires: Due to the specific regulations of different national governments, we can not give a general recommendation regarding tire repair. Please refer to your distributor for information on your country's regulations. in case you are allowed to repair a tire, we recommend that you repair only small punctures which are restricted to the tread area, by using a mushroom head type plug. The repairer is solely responsible for the repair and any instructions given to the user concerning the repaired tire. Repaired tubeless tires should never be used with a tube. From what I've seen (only two cases, me and M2nc), Scorpion Syncs don't seem to hold plugs very well. I would certainly try it, but don't be surprised if you can't keep plugs in it or wind up with a slow leak. | ||
| Deltablue |
I think it depends on where the hole is in the tire, the best option is to patch, sounds like you can do that since you are replacing the tire. Just my opinion mind you. | ||
| Az_m2 |
Court, I've got several thousand miles on plugged tires. I use the mushroom plugs and they've worked great for me. Others think that plugged tires are safety hazards. Chris | ||
| Babired |
a mechanic once told me.... plugs are okay but you don't want to ride aggressively. The reaming tool is what does the damage to the steel belt inside the tire. It can become unraveled inside the tire leading to another slow flat. I get mine replaced as soon as I can. | ||
| Court |
Nuff said . . . looks like new skins for both wheels. Thanks guys (and GAL  ) | ||
| Rkc00 |
Court, Will you have this fixed by friday? If so where are we heading on friday? This is my weekend to ride. Mike Long Island, NY 09 XB12X Red/Black 06 VRSCR Blue/Silver | ||
| Court |
Should have it fixed today . . . dealer has new tire in stock . . . I may be iffy for Friday but I'll keep in touch . . which direction you headed? I'm flexible. I've got Long Island, New Hampshire and Saugerties "need to ride" destinations on the list and could care less where we go . . . although we are getting darn close to those weekends you hate to miss the North counties . . . . | ||
| Rkc00 |
It would be good to head North this weekend. I always try to head up towards my house in Margaretville NY to check in on the house this weekend. Keep me informed of the days you can go. I will be ready to go. Mike Long Island, NY 09 XB12X Red/Black 06 VRSCR Blue/Silver | ||
| Reepicheep |
Once you put in the rope to get home, IMHO the tire is toast. If you can get the bike home some other way, and remove and patch from the inside, and there was a fairly clean small puncture, I wouldn't hesitate to use it anywhere up to but not including a track day. | ||
| Thunderbox |
I don't see why a plug is not a perfectly good repair. The very worst that can happen is you will get another flat. If the first flat wasn't traumatic then the second one will likely be slower and even less traumatic. I have plugged thousands of tires and with the plugs we use we have never experienced a plug related failure. Now before anyone calls bull poop on this let me explain. I run a police garage where our vehicles drive and ride 3.5 million kilometers a year. We use plugs, cars and bikes. In 59.5 million kilometers not a single plug has ever failed. This includes cars and bikes and the worst of all, the police training vehicle that take a real sh t kicking. I would say the facts outweigh the rumors on "to plug or not to plug". There will be more new tire failures than plug failures by far. | ||
| Tginnh |
A friend recently changed out a Pilot Road 2 rear that had over 11k miles on it. 6k miles of which were run with a plug in it. The tire was finished before the plug. | ||
| Etennuly |
I have plugged three tires on the rear of my Uly thus far. Two Syncs and a PR II. They all worked well for thousands of miles, that PR II was at 11,000 when I took it off, 8,000 of it with a plug. I had to air it up every few weeks though. You have the optimum situation, when it is off from the rim have it patched on the inside. In my experience the patches are better and seldom ever loose pressure. Plugged tires will more frequently need aired up. My best case scenario for a flat, plug it if time or the situation does not allow a patch, run it until the opportunity arises to have the wheel off, then patch it on the inside. Two things bother me about plugs; you break belts installing them, on a thin cased tire like the bike tires, they will usually leak a little. Cold patches work fine, and a vulcanized hot patch is a true 'fix'. | ||
| Missin44 |
Most of the shops in my area will not even fix a flat motorcycle tire. A couple years ago I picked up a nail an went to have it repaired, the tire only had 400 miles on it. Out of 5 shops only one would do the repair and I was going to have to sign a waiver. After a little thought I decided to just get a new tire. Given the fact you're only on 2 wheels the risk, though it may be small isn't worth it. (Message edited by missin44 on October 07, 2009) | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Court, I plugged my tire on my Uly when it was new with only 1000 miles on it and rode it until the 10,000 miles service. Today is a different story, I had a flat at work from running over a nail and it went into the tire at an angle so I tried to use slime to plug the gap with no success and what a mess. It through that crap all over the bike when I went to ride it. I then tried to plug the tire, blew the fuse on my battery tender connection so my pump wouldn't work, used four containers of compressed air still with no luck. Then pushed to a gas station and tried their air hose and now the valve stem is leaking. I guess I'm going to have to give up and replace the rear tire now with only 8200 miles on it! I ended up leaving the Uly at a gas station and taking a taxi home tonight. So tomorrow I'll have to go and retrieve the bike and get the rear tire replaced. What a night! | ||
| Danger_dave |
I have a metzler on the back with 5,000 miles on a DIY plug. Leaks 3lbs a week. Not worth fixing. Professionally/shop plugged - no hesitation for street use. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>rode it until the 10,000 miles service. << I can show you how to use the throttle if you like. :-P | ||
| Thunderbox |
Is there any doubt as to why any motorcycle shop would refuse to plug a tire for you? Because they want to screw you for another tire. Simple isn't it. There is as more risk in buying a new tire and installing it than there is having a known good tire repaired. In almost 60 million kms of proving this I am convinced. We replace 4 or 5 new tires that fail each year without a probable cause. We have yet to see a plug fail. So you see I dispute the why take a chance scenario. | ||
| Chadhargis |
If you dismount the tire, and use an internal plug like this:  You push the plug in from the inside, and you really can't have any air loss. It's a beautiful thing. I got a new tire once, and on the first ride it got a nail in it. I patched it, and did several thousand miles on it. Just make sure the hole isn't in the sidewall or near the edge of the tread. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
My plug story has been documented here as well. My first Strada on my XT took a large nail in the first 1000 miles. I plugged it with a rope plug, but got scared after riding it 300 miles and replaced the tire. After pulling it off the rim and trying to pull the plug out I realized it was not going anywhere and it never leaked. I sold the tire on Ebay (noting that it was plugged) for a nice price. At my last service before our Lake Superior Circle tour, my dealer noticed a nail in my new Strada! I rode it home and plugged that one. Believe me, I trusted it now and put on 1750 miles that weekend with a fresh plug in it. Since then I have put on a good 1500 more miles on that plug and it isn't losing a pound. As noted before, I have not plugged a front tire and never a sidewall. Give it a shot and try it. | ||
| Nobuell |
Biffdotorg 1. What type of plugs are you using? I want to carry the same brand since you have had good luck with them. 2. You mentioned the Lake Superior Circle Tour - I am considering doing the tour next summer. I would be most appreciative if you can pass along any information to help plan the trip. Thanks Tim | ||
| Dennis_c |
plug it I only use the black tar string like plugs from NAPA. I have put 10,000 miles on them not the same tire. The most on any tire is about 6,000 and that was well past the wear bars with no air loss | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I have the worst luck with tires, it seems like every time I put a new rear on, I pick up a nail. I tried those mushroom plugs, they're crap, they'll get you home in a pinch but that's it. I've gone to the tire shop and had them put the gooey rope plugs in and those have worked fine. I've put 4-5K miles on tires with those in and no problems. Of course, if the hole were in the sidewall, that might be a different story, but I don't believe that the whole infrastructure will unravel based on a small hole. Now I've gone to an auto store and gotten the gooey ropes myself, and have them and the glue under my seat...I guess we'll see how they work in field application as soon as I get a new tire... | ||
| Tootal |
I had a nail in a synch. Put in mushroom plug but by morning it was flat and would not hold air. Made it to Advanced Auto and bought the black strings. Put string in and took off. Trying to make up time I hit the interstate and ran 75 mph and it flew out! Ok, that wasn't very smart. Good thing it's a dual sport cause I ended up in the ditch! I plugged it with two strings and it worked a whole day till I could find a dealer and get a new tire. I would use the string type plug for emergencies. Now a patch on the inside I would trust a lot more. If it's a new tire I would patch it, if it's half worn out, get a new one. Just my opinion. | ||
| Bcmike |
You guys are not talking about the same mushroom plugs. The professional ones that work can only be installed from the inside after removing the tire from the wheel. It is a combination repair, a plug/patch combo as shown in the photo above. I've installed hundreds, mostly in car and truck tires but also in motorcycle tires without a comeback. It's the factory recommended repair as stated above on that Pirelli website quoted above. If there was a safety issue our shop would not do it. On the road I'll use the rope type plug to get me home but never had a failure with that type either. An issue that might be of concern is that most tire manufacturers drop a speed rating one level after a repair, so avoid track days as was mentioned. | ||
| Road_kill |
Got a nail in my rear Sync with only 300 miles on the bike - RATS! Drove to friends house and put a string in it; lasted 2k miles before leaking. Then put a mushroom plug in it and it lasted another 5k miles - no problem. I NEVER operate a plugged tire over 75mph. I took a lot of data when I replaced it. It took 1.25 oz to get it back in balance and the max/min tread depth was off by 0.030 in I think plugged tires are fine. I prefer the mushroom plugs if the puncture is relatively small and straight in. For more peace of mind, I'd get a proper patch on it and re-balance the tire when convenient. But I would still limit max speed to 75mph. Just my $0.02 | ||
| Court |
Biffdotorg - Tell me what kind of plug you used. I replaced the tire . . . but at $300+ I'm going to get some plugs to keep with me. I seem to spend more time going off road with the Ulysses and want to be prepared to make on the road repairs. | ||
| Berto |
had a brand new PR2 on my 06 Uly that found a nail the first week. Less than a 100 miles.tried twice to plug it and it would not stop leaking.I put a tube in. Problem solved.replaced it last month with almost 7000 miles on it. | ||
| Cycletlh |
2 Syncs with plugs installed beside the road. Both ridden over 4,000 miles with no problems and no leaks. Inspection after removal indicated no signs of failure. I carry the old style gooey rope plugs, bicycle pump, and co2 cartridges in the tank bag. Went to the bike pump after I used up my co2's about 30 miles from no where on a gravel road. Had to use one co2 just to locate the hole. Rode 10 miles with low air until I found some ATVers that could help. As a side note, I can plug a tire faster than the wife can go take a pee!  Long story short, I do not worry about plugged tires. |
