Powerman
Well-known member
After seeing most every pump known to man fail, I carry a large Harbor Freight pump.
Never liked the mushrooms, staying with sticky strings.
Never liked the mushrooms, staying with sticky strings.
Have you ever had a flat tire?
- Thread starter lunch truck larry
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Brodie
Darksider #16 - and Proud of it !
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Sticky string and MotoPump with me, also have an ersatz leatherman in the kit under my rear seat. Ive used it several times, the latest being the hero at work on a friends Merc.
Brodie
Brodie
Uncle Hud
Just another blob of protoplasm using up your oxyg
Yes, two weeks ago.
Second plugged rear tire of my moto-career. First one lasted over 2,000 miles after plugging; this one's already gotten about 750 miles on the plug, through twisties and above freeway speeds. I expect another 2,500 miles from this tire/plug before reaching the wear bars.
Aerostichmini-pimp mini-pump (adds about 5 psi per 60 seconds when near 40 psi) and a typical stab-and-pull patching kit from any auto parts store. A prepared rider must make sure there's usable "sticky glue" in the kit, not a hardened-up tube from last year's plugging event. [And it's not hard to push the string through the reamed hole if you ream it two or three strokes before inserting the string.]
Got a big pair of needle-nose pliers with a cutting section (to trim excess string) that I found on the side of the road at a BMR bonus location. Pump, pliers, reamer strings, and tube of rubber cement all fit in a small box that's always in my port-side hardcase.
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Dynaplug kit looks like it will work, and $75 seems like a reasonable cost. Gotta make sure you have charged-up CO2 cartridges, though. After you plug a tire, the used cartridge can create a memorable campfire experience.
Second plugged rear tire of my moto-career. First one lasted over 2,000 miles after plugging; this one's already gotten about 750 miles on the plug, through twisties and above freeway speeds. I expect another 2,500 miles from this tire/plug before reaching the wear bars.
Aerostich
Got a big pair of needle-nose pliers with a cutting section (to trim excess string) that I found on the side of the road at a BMR bonus location. Pump, pliers, reamer strings, and tube of rubber cement all fit in a small box that's always in my port-side hardcase.
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Dynaplug kit looks like it will work, and $75 seems like a reasonable cost. Gotta make sure you have charged-up CO2 cartridges, though. After you plug a tire, the used cartridge can create a memorable campfire experience.
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rbentnail
Economic Plankton
I never have either. I've been tempted to try the Dynaplug but it's hard for me to make the leap when I already have proven, readily available "technology" that works for me.
Sticky string for me also. I've heard of dyna plug failures and they don't seem like they would work in a jagged cut situation where you could stuff a few sticky strings in to seal the hole.
I've plugged a couple bike tires with sticky strings and run them down past the wear bars with no issues. My Garden tractor still has a sticky string holding 12psi of air in a rear tire after 10 years. Can't go wrong with proven technology! And the strings will also work without glue because I've done it in a car before.
I've plugged a couple bike tires with sticky strings and run them down past the wear bars with no issues. My Garden tractor still has a sticky string holding 12psi of air in a rear tire after 10 years. Can't go wrong with proven technology! And the strings will also work without glue because I've done it in a car before.
rbentnail
Economic Plankton
Good point! First time I needed to plug a hole it was actually a cut. I stuffed 2 (IIRC) strings in- didn't completely stop the leak but easily made it home from across town.
Maybe you should have crammed another string in so you didn't have to change the tire? LOL
Even I wouldn't run a tire until I ran out of rubber if it had multiple strings stuffed into a cut. But it sure would be nice to be able to ride to a shop or home rather than pay for a tow (and potentially wait for hours).
Bustanut joker
Well-known member
Two. One on my VStar and that sucked damn tubed tires anyway.. Crawling speed for 1/4 before I found a safe spot.
FJR w car tire? Yep noticed it felt a little different after riding awhile. Pulled over and checked and she was airless. Still managed 20 something mileS at 30 - 35 mph without incident.
Another plus for darksiders.
FJR w car tire? Yep noticed it felt a little different after riding awhile. Pulled over and checked and she was airless. Still managed 20 something mileS at 30 - 35 mph without incident.
Another plus for darksiders.
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philter
Well-known member
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Four over the years on two FJRs. Prepared for each of them, however I couldn't get one string to set as it was particularly cold & hole large...I did get the string to last long enough to make it 20 miles to a dealer for replacement.
Much of this subject has been covered many times on the forum including this well-responded to poll & thread.
HIGHLANDER
naewittyshitepostedeere
lunch truck larry
Well-known member
Hope that was ok . After doing a little web shopping .And with alot of input from, "Have you ever" ...12v pump.Is the way to go. Made in USA ,warranty ,invented by motorcycle guy ,LED ,good hose,gauge , # 1 pump.. Micro Mini ... or rebranded as Dynapump .I found one for less than $35..New on Ebay. Next , Plugs .. going to carry the Dynaplug stuff. It really packs small,No twin T handle tools , No ""sticky stuff " to un wrap,on the side of the road. .The tool w/ 2 plugs $20. Extra 5 plug package $ 10. So for about $60. bucks. or so ,Throw in a good flash light ,And we can put together a pretty good "Flat Fixer Kit ".
BigOgre
Well-known member
Glad you were able to put something together. Now one last thing to do. After you get it all nestled into wherever you'll be carrying it, go and take it back out. Plug it into your bike like you would on the side of a dark road and turn it on. All the connections work? Blow any fuses? More points if you've got an old tire around and practice popping a plug in.
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lunch truck larry
Well-known member
Thanks Big O ,, good advice , Hate to get out there,Thinking you got this, then you don't ! Going to go practice on wife's car! HA...HA...Ha...
Heen
Barefooter
Unless I missed it, does anyone have a good quality 12v pump that fits under the seat? I carry a slime compressor and it is too big for me.
Brodie
Darksider #16 - and Proud of it !
- Joined
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Uncle Hud
Just another blob of protoplasm using up your oxyg
Several can be found here. I have the fabulously dependable mini-compressor, but have wondered alarmingly about the "engineair power pump". Buy one and let us know how it works, OK?
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Search is your friend. There are some really good threads on this subject from past discussions. Flats, yes, I've had lots of them and fixed plenty of other rider's flats. From a 10mm hole on the Salmon Glacier road out of Hyder to tiny staple holes, two right next to each other, with another two about 90º off rotation from those.
I use a small Slime compressor now, had a no-name walmart unit that I took out of the plastic case, cut the fan blade off of and hung from a leather boot lace before. Sticky strings. Reamer and insertion tool required.
Dynaplugs - tried it, gave it away after it failed three times so someone else could try it. My personal experience is that it's not worth the cost and only occasionally works the first time. The sticky strings that come for the Dyna plug are much smaller in diameter than normal ones. they have a brass tip to help insertion w/o reaming. This is self defeating on two points. 1. The string is not doubled like it is in a normal installation, so you had better have a very tiny hole for it to really seal well. 2. No reaming is a common reason for repairs failing. Because there is A. dirt in the hole so the plug can not vulcanize to the rubber and B. because the hole is not smooth and even so the plug can't conform to the rubber in the hole well enough to seal.
Forget CO2 inflators. They are great for smaller tires and close to home/shop repairs where you can limp along on a partially inflated tire. They suck if you discover you have multiple punctures as you're attempting to inflate the first repair. They are rarely enough volume to actually fill a modern size rear tire, like on the FJR.
You have panniers. Stop worrying about what fits under the seat. You ride w/o panniers you say? Do you really think the bike handles differently w/o them? Whatever. Buy what ever pump you like. They all work. And the Walmart pumps are the same pump as found in that $100 cool pump in the aluminum box. It's just in a different box. Take the big plastic housing off and you'll immediately see how much smaller the actual pump is. The Walmart pumps used to be on sale for $10 now and then. The Slime pumps come in many flavors and the flavors change now and then, but the applicable ones often go on sale at Autozone for $10-20 on a regular basis.
I've fixed more flats than most people. I used to ride a lot more than most people. Not so much now, but I still tour and go places where services are not available and if you can't self recover it's going to be a long walk, and possibly a life threatening situation if you don't have water & shelter. Besides, I don't even wait the hour for AAA to come fix a flat on my car, why would I call someone to fix a flat on my bike?
Put a kit together that has your choice of air compressor, sticky strings and an extra pack of sticky strings, an insertion tool, a separate reaming tool and a little tube of rubber cement. There are tons of optional stuff you could put in your kit, but that depends on your needs and skill set. I carry a couple of inside the tire patch/plugs and tire irons, just in case the hole is huge and nothing from the outside works or will work. I know how to use those and can break the bead by the side of the road if needed.
Replace a tube of rubber cement once it's been opened or annually. You can buy them on ebay 10 at a time for cheap. Get the little ones, you'll never use all of one on a repair and it's going to dry up sitting on the bike anyway. Keep the extras in a statistically probably 'cool dry place' and they will stay good for a long time.
Rubber plugs like the Stop N Go kits use. These do not vulcanize to the tire. They can and will fix a puncture. Yes, people have left them in and used up the tire. However, read the instructions with the kit, it's only intended to be a temporary repair until you can get somewhere where a permanent repair can be done. Sad truth, virtually no shops will do a tire repair any more. Liability has killed common sense. They are happy to sell you a new tire, regardless of that new tire with the one little hole in it that you already own.
Please remember to always ream the hole well before inserting a sticky string. This cleans the hole and makes it uniform.
Punctures come in all sizes and shapes. I once fixed a porcupine quill puncture for a fellow rider. He had repaired it already at a gas station with a sticky string, but I found him down the road on the side of a very busy superhighway with every tool he owned spread out on the side of the road. His kit did not have a reamer and nothing he tried would get the hole to seal. I pulled his sticky string out, reamed the hole well with my reamer, then did a normal sticky string repair. Perfect seal and he ran that tire to a very nice finish in that rally in Utah. (way better than mine!) He's on this forum even. Who knew that a porcupine quill would make such an odd shaped hole? I do now.
No two flats are exactly alike. Sticky strings go in doubled up, can be used in multiples on large holes, (that 10mm hole took three of them), and vulcanize to the tire becoming a permanent repair.
I use a small Slime compressor now, had a no-name walmart unit that I took out of the plastic case, cut the fan blade off of and hung from a leather boot lace before. Sticky strings. Reamer and insertion tool required.
Dynaplugs - tried it, gave it away after it failed three times so someone else could try it. My personal experience is that it's not worth the cost and only occasionally works the first time. The sticky strings that come for the Dyna plug are much smaller in diameter than normal ones. they have a brass tip to help insertion w/o reaming. This is self defeating on two points. 1. The string is not doubled like it is in a normal installation, so you had better have a very tiny hole for it to really seal well. 2. No reaming is a common reason for repairs failing. Because there is A. dirt in the hole so the plug can not vulcanize to the rubber and B. because the hole is not smooth and even so the plug can't conform to the rubber in the hole well enough to seal.
Forget CO2 inflators. They are great for smaller tires and close to home/shop repairs where you can limp along on a partially inflated tire. They suck if you discover you have multiple punctures as you're attempting to inflate the first repair. They are rarely enough volume to actually fill a modern size rear tire, like on the FJR.
You have panniers. Stop worrying about what fits under the seat. You ride w/o panniers you say? Do you really think the bike handles differently w/o them? Whatever. Buy what ever pump you like. They all work. And the Walmart pumps are the same pump as found in that $100 cool pump in the aluminum box. It's just in a different box. Take the big plastic housing off and you'll immediately see how much smaller the actual pump is. The Walmart pumps used to be on sale for $10 now and then. The Slime pumps come in many flavors and the flavors change now and then, but the applicable ones often go on sale at Autozone for $10-20 on a regular basis.
I've fixed more flats than most people. I used to ride a lot more than most people. Not so much now, but I still tour and go places where services are not available and if you can't self recover it's going to be a long walk, and possibly a life threatening situation if you don't have water & shelter. Besides, I don't even wait the hour for AAA to come fix a flat on my car, why would I call someone to fix a flat on my bike?
Put a kit together that has your choice of air compressor, sticky strings and an extra pack of sticky strings, an insertion tool, a separate reaming tool and a little tube of rubber cement. There are tons of optional stuff you could put in your kit, but that depends on your needs and skill set. I carry a couple of inside the tire patch/plugs and tire irons, just in case the hole is huge and nothing from the outside works or will work. I know how to use those and can break the bead by the side of the road if needed.
Replace a tube of rubber cement once it's been opened or annually. You can buy them on ebay 10 at a time for cheap. Get the little ones, you'll never use all of one on a repair and it's going to dry up sitting on the bike anyway. Keep the extras in a statistically probably 'cool dry place' and they will stay good for a long time.
Rubber plugs like the Stop N Go kits use. These do not vulcanize to the tire. They can and will fix a puncture. Yes, people have left them in and used up the tire. However, read the instructions with the kit, it's only intended to be a temporary repair until you can get somewhere where a permanent repair can be done. Sad truth, virtually no shops will do a tire repair any more. Liability has killed common sense. They are happy to sell you a new tire, regardless of that new tire with the one little hole in it that you already own.
Please remember to always ream the hole well before inserting a sticky string. This cleans the hole and makes it uniform.
Punctures come in all sizes and shapes. I once fixed a porcupine quill puncture for a fellow rider. He had repaired it already at a gas station with a sticky string, but I found him down the road on the side of a very busy superhighway with every tool he owned spread out on the side of the road. His kit did not have a reamer and nothing he tried would get the hole to seal. I pulled his sticky string out, reamed the hole well with my reamer, then did a normal sticky string repair. Perfect seal and he ran that tire to a very nice finish in that rally in Utah. (way better than mine!) He's on this forum even. Who knew that a porcupine quill would make such an odd shaped hole? I do now.
No two flats are exactly alike. Sticky strings go in doubled up, can be used in multiples on large holes, (that 10mm hole took three of them), and vulcanize to the tire becoming a permanent repair.
K_Flyer
Well-known member
Riding home from picking up my new 1999 BMW K1200RS. Saw the spike on the road too late. Front tire picked up the spike and threw it through the sidewall an the rear. Stayed up, took the next exit and stopped at the tire shop on the corner. He just laughed, then offered to trailer my bike.
Now carry the mushroom-type plugger, the one with the gun, and a compact compressor. Have used the plugs a few times with never a leak. Always replace the tire as soon as possible.
Now carry the mushroom-type plugger, the one with the gun, and a compact compressor. Have used the plugs a few times with never a leak. Always replace the tire as soon as possible.
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
I've used my sticky strings and Slime Pump to fix two MC tires that did not belong to me. First time was for a Goldwing with a rear flat, on the way home from Laughlin. He was on the side of the road with his wife. Tried to give me $20. Haha. Super nice guy. I bet he carries stuff for a fix now. Second time was for a buddy who got a flat on his bike on the way home from Santa Fe. He called me because it was getting dark and he knew I would know what to do. I took my truck for that fix.
I have also fixed tires on my truck and work vehicle with the plugs and a 12v pump. Every vehicle I have is equipped with the tools to fix a flat. Unless the tire just totally takes a shit. Then its time to break out the Ryobi Impact wrench and go to work. I love that tool. Haha...
I have also fixed tires on my truck and work vehicle with the plugs and a 12v pump. Every vehicle I have is equipped with the tools to fix a flat. Unless the tire just totally takes a shit. Then its time to break out the Ryobi Impact wrench and go to work. I love that tool. Haha...
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