Spontaneous Tire fix

[HotRodZilla]

Yeah, ask Ford and Firestone what happens when a single tire suddenly fails. I know that 4 vs 2 argument has been made before, but it's total baloney. A car tire failing at freeway speeds can do very bad things, yet people plug them all the time.Personally, from what I have witnessed, the whole, "We don't repair motorcycle tires because it's dangerous" is simply a way to scare people into spending money.

It depends on the car. Had a debris-induce blowout on a freeway at the speed limit in a front tire on my Camry some years back. It was a non-event as far as control went. The car just kept tracking straight ahead. I pulled over to the shoulder and put the spare on and drove away.

I've had this happen two different times on my Prius. Nothing exciting.

Haha...Yup! My wife had a rear tire come apart quickly on her Mustang, years ago. She was going freeway speed, on the freeway. She pulled over and we changed it. A total non-event. Other people; however, have had issues. I'll keep my opinions to myself, but depending on the failure, ANY tire blowing could be very bad.

 

[lnewlf]

especially if it happens on a big rig that you happen to be following....happened to me once and I barely managed to dodge the storm of lane lizards he put down...

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Double points for using the phrase "storm of lane lizards" in a sentence.

 

[RadioHowie]

my Prius. Nothing exciting.

Yep...I've heard that about the Prius.

 

[BanjoBoy]

Yeah, ask Ford and Firestone what happens when a single tire suddenly fails. I know that 4 vs 2 argument has been made before, but it's total baloney. A car tire failing at freeway speeds can do very bad things, yet people plug them all the time.
Personally, from what I have witnessed, the whole, "We don't repair motorcycle tires because it's dangerous" is simply a way to scare people into spending money.

Yeah, I've had string worms last fer thousands of miles, 'n the life of the tire. Them BS tire shops can go f**k themselves!

Butt, one time I gotta puncture soooo very big the worm couldn't plug it, so I dun switched to the Stop 'n Go kit, and have had good success. (I've plugged 4 of my own tires, 'n a few for my riding companions.)

I carry that 'n a Slime pump on all my rides. As the OP mentioned it's good to practice on a sacrificial tire 1st, so out on the open road plug'in is much easier.

 

[KrustyKush]

Plugging with Stop 'n Go can be a real PITA, so I like the string things as backup.

I was plugging a hole in my 97 Royal Star rear, and the hole was too big to completely seal with the plug. I needed to get going, so I tried pushing another plug into the hole, thinking that it wouldn't work, but it did! Two Stop 'n Go plugs in the same hole, and they held until the tire was worn out, another 2k miles. In those days I was broke and less sane than I am now. Still, it's good to know that it CAN be done. I wouldn't do it again unless I was desperate.

 

[s.ga.rider]

I had a new tire pick up a nail on the way home from install. I put a string plug in and ran the lif of the tire out. After several thousand miles it developed a small leak after drying out over time. I pulled it out and put a fresh one in and kept rididng. Ive used numerous in bikes and trucks and that was the only one to ever leak

 

[HotRodZilla]

A couple years ago, while getting wood, I ran over a sharp stick that punctured my truck tire. My brother and I plugged it and filled it back up. That tire had 65psi and we had a huge load of wood in the truck and on the trailer. The plug held just fine.

I did replace that tire, but ONLY because I had the warranty from Discount Tire, so it only cost me $20, and the plug was near the side. If I hadn't of had the warranty, I probably wouldn't have replaced a $250 tire.

A couple weeks ago, my guys and I must have driven through some shitty area. Two of us ended up with good sized bolts in our tires. I didn't have time to wait 2 hours for our shop to fix it, and it was on a weekend anyway, so I pulled the bolt and plugged my tire. It has seen speed, and it works just fine. That plug will outlast the tire.

 

[Shane]

One thing I've noticed on tire plug threads on various forums, is that folks are usually trying them out for the first time in the field (not the OP this time). This makes a bit of sense from a practical use perspective, but is not an ideal time/place to discover that the (insert whatever preference) plug kit you chose is not up to the particular task.

If at all possible, I would encourage everyone to practice plugging a tire while at home--probably right before changing is best. Make sure and ride on the plugged tire to see that it holds. I've read about post-plugging failures on types I'll never buy--things like the little rubber mushroom heads coming off inside the tire after a few miles, or the (silicone!) lube used for the first try making it impossible to get a good seal on the rubber cemented second try with a different brand/type.

Flexing belted tire carcasses can cut inferior ones right off if it's in the right place.

Until you've done it a time or two, making an informed choice about which kit is best for you is simply guesswork.

All the best,

Shane

 

[Colin24]

Got a hole in the rear PR3 about two months ago. Pretty much knew I had a flat because of the way that the bike was wallowing around. But didn't want to stop in the middle of nowhere. So I was able to limp into town and stopped at a coffee shop.

Unpacked the plug kit (sticky string + tube of glue) and plugged the tire up. Then spent 20 minutes airing the tire back up with the little wimpy portable compressor. About 45 minutes after pulling in I was off and running again.

Kept an eye on the tire pressure. Plug was mostly holding. Would lose a little less than 5psi a week. Ran with that for about 6 weeks but the leaking was getting worse (about 10psi a week). So finally found some time, pulled the tire and put an internal patch on. Did that 3 weeks ago and the tire is still holding full pressure without a problem. Unless something else happens will continue to run that tire till its fully worn out.

My recommendation to other riders: Get and learn to use the sticky strings (or some other side of the road repair if you prefer). Can save you a whole lot of hassle and could save you from being stranded in the middle of nowhere. Whatever you use might not work perfectly but at least it will get you back to civilization (or buy you time) to get it fixed properly.

FWIW: Was using the "Slime" brand strings from Walmart. Get the brown ones, they are a little bigger than the black ones and will plug a little bigger hole. Some are designed to work without extra glue. But I find they work a little better if you have the glue.

- Colin