| Author | Message | ||
     Naustin |
My rear tire is a D207 and its down to the wear bars. Here's the problem - I just noticed a nail in my rear tire and its about 100 miles to my preferred tire changing spot. (Fellow Badwebber  ) The tire still holds pressure, but if you take a srewdriver push on the nail sideways, it will hiss ever so slightly - so I know it goes all the way through. There is no "head" on this either. It might have worn off, or maybe its not even a nail but a peice of wire or something. Anyway, who thinks I should take the chance? For all I know, the nail may have been there for the last 2,000 miles, or I might have picked it up on the last ride. Its a very small nail, and I've only been paying close attention to the tread recently as the tire got to its last legs. Otherwise, I'll have to either take it to my local Non-Buell dealer or a Kawasaki shop for the tire change - neither of whom are likely to know jack about a Tuber. Any suggestions? | ||
| Etennuly |
I've had the same situation, I pulled the nail out and plugged it with no problems. I was waiting for my new tire to come in. I rode it about another 1000 miles until it got to the wear bars. If you are that close to the wear bars change it as soon as you can though. | ||
| Oz666 |
Keep it under 50 and PAY ATTENTION. I have ridden tyres like that for 100's of miles. The nail (or wire) won't go INTO the tyre, but excess speed MAY cause it to work it's way OUT. Then you will have a slow leak, leading to a soft tyre and have to stop every 20 miles or so to "air up" (good luck finding and air line at Quicky Mart). I would ride it, but, it is TECHNICALLY unsafe. It's your call.   Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| Naustin |
Yeah, I've actually already got the new tires, but I had them drop shipped to Brad's place and we were going to change them in the next week or two. I think i'll just be extra careful and stick an electric compressor in my saddlebag. I've never plugged a tire before, and I'm afraid I'll make it worse if I try. | ||
| Oz666 |
Good plan - take care, I don't want to hear that you scuffed the bike OR you. (The bike is much too pretty to be scuffed)  Are you going to Homecoming? (Now that you will have new tyres and all...) Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| Damnut |
Take it to any gas station mechanic or repair shop and they can plug the tire for you. A couple of years ago I changed my rear tire and the very first ride with my new tire I got a nail in it. I took it down to the garage down the street and the mechanic plugged it for me for 5 bucks. I rode that tire for ~4000 miles with the plug in it. | ||
| Old_man |
Put a can of fix-a-flat into the tire until you either fix it or get a new tire. Carry a spare can. When you get someone to work on the tire, let them know it's in there. | ||
| Naustin |
Oz666 - Thanks man, I'll be careful. And, Damnut, I'll keep that in mind, and if it starts to leak fast on me on the way up, I'll stop somewhere and have a local plug it for me along the way. Old_man - I thought of that too, but fix-a-flat would be an absolute last resort! I've heard that stuff is a major headache to clean up. Oz666 - yes, I'm planning on homecoming and I was stoked to see Hals post today their plans. I'm just waiting to hear where people are staying so I can try to land in a hotel with some company. I'm pretty sure my wife will be riding along with me too. Nick | ||
| Bcordb3 |
You can get a plug kit at any auto parts store or even Wal Mart. I would pull the nail and plug the tire. I would certainly replace tire ASAP. I'll bet that tire doesn't have much bite left anyway. | ||
| Fullpower |
I have had very good service from the gooey-string type plugs. they are available with installation tool and some rubber cement at almost any auto parts store for 5 or 6 bucks. I have run them at unsafe speeds, for thousands of miles. your mileage may vary. | ||
| Phat_j |
i come from the other school of thought, no way, no how will i ride on a plug, no chances when it comes to tires for me.. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Nick, Sorry for not getting back to you re your email. I'd probably leave the nail in and ride carefully. Then again, I might be tempted to plug it. When ever I plug a tire, I try to use the cap type that's inserted with a special tool. They are kind of shaped like a mushroom. I should know tomorrow how my weekend is going to shake out. Brad | ||
| Ulendo |
as an old school on/off road rider, there's a couple of points that havent been mentioned. 1) rear tire you can take a chance, and see what happens. if it's a front, dont ever risk it. 2) beyond a certain speed ( varies with the stiffness of the tire carcass) centripital force will come into effect, and the tire will bulk up enough to keep you off the rim. not a big deal in this case, but I've been in a couple places where you just cant stop - riding slow isnt always the answer. I've had quite a few flats running fire roads, etc (2 on the Buell so far) and where I ride is many, many miles from any service station. The little sticky strips & plug tool definitely work as a 'quick 'fix', and can get you back to somewhere where help is available. my only note would be that for a true repair, you also need a small rasp to roughen up the edges of the hole. $0.02 - I prefer a small compressor to the CO2 chargers 'cause you can handle a slow leak almost indefinitely. the CO2 things always seem to run out when you need them most. | ||
| Xbullet |
plug it. i've done it for fifteen years and my pops did it for fifteen before that. we have NEVER had one fail. (knock on wood). it'll get ya where yer goin. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I put a plug in my rear tire 7000 miles ago and I haven't had to add any air since the plug was installed. A very easy and inexpensive fix, just plug the tire and ride. | ||
| M1combat |
Plug it for the 100 mile ride. | ||
| Naustin |
Thanks for all the advice guys. Sounds like the consensus is that plugging it would be really easy and simple and there should be little risk of me fubar'ing the tire - so I should just do that. Maybe I'll run down to Napa and pick up a kit after work. Then again, I just bought a set of tires for my car and the guy at the local tire shop was awesome - so maybe I'll just let him make a buck; and see if he'll let me watch so I know what I'm doing next time. Once i've seen it done, most stuff is no problem. Going in blind, even on simple stuff tends to a crap shoot. I usually break something that shouldn't be broken. I'm imagining half the insertion tool busted off inside the tire or something. That'd be me, for sure... I guess I'll buy a kit, read the directions and if it looks simple enough, I'll just do it, and if it looks like one inept move might leave me with a 3 inch gash in the tire and rubber cement in my hair - i'll take it to the tire shop or go with the original plan of riding easy, bringing a compressor, and stopping freqently to check the tire pressure. The tire does still hold air, and I can't get over the feeling that that nail has been in there for thousands of miles with no problem - and here I come to upset the boat when if I had rolled the bike a foot further forward before I looked a the tread that day, I would never have noticed and would have been fine.  Oh well. Ignorance is bliss. Bluzm2 - it's cool, man! Whatever works for you is definatly all good... (Message edited by naustin on April 18, 2007) | ||
| Deltablue |
Good luck with the plug, most service stations won't do it for liability reasons. The best solution is a new tire barring that, a patch is preferred to a plug IMHO, just be careful because the seal layer is much thinner on these tires compared to cars. If you don't have the equipment, plugs work fine, just remember you have a plug in your tire when you are thinking about really laying into the corners. just $.02 more. | ||
| Damnut |
plugging a tire a super easy. use plenty of glue. the trick is when you put the plug in don't use so much force that you push the plug all the way into the tire. and when you take the tool out of the tire, hold the plug so that it doesn't come out with the tool. Super easy | ||
| Kdan |
I got a nail in a new tire on the way home from the tire shop. I plugged it and got 8000 miles on that plug. Wore out the tire. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Hmmm, it shouldn't be too hard to tell if the nail has been in the tire for very long. I would imagine that if it has been in there very long then it would look worn. I agree that pugging the tire for the ride to the shop is $5 well spent. |
