Motorcycle Tire repair?

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HuskyRider

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Location
Roseville, CA and Grangeville, Idaho
In 44-years of street bike ownership I have my first tire in need of repair.

Brand new rear tire has a pin hole caused my a very small paneling nail.

Question is can this be patched or does the tire need to be replaced?

If it can be patched will a motorcycle shop be willing to preform the repair?

Thanks, never dealt with this issue on a tubeless cycle tire.

 
Question is can this be patched or does the tire need to be replaced?If it can be patched will a motorcycle shop be willing to preform the repair?
Covered multiple times without absolute certainty. Read for yourself the poll results of one such exchange including whether to plug and mode if you plug.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
So Iggy, I went to the thread, was very interested. Read the posts for 10 minutes, got bored. Is there a place where you see the results? I would like to go to it without knowing about Beemerdons meltdowns, or anyone elses. LOL

 
So Iggy, I went to the thread, was very interested. Read the posts for 10 minutes, got bored. Is there a place where you see the results? I would like to go to it without knowing about Beemerdons meltdowns, or anyone elses. LOL
Yeah - Click on the "Show Results" button beside the "Vote" button!

 
So Iggy, I went to the thread, was very interested. Read the posts for 10 minutes, got bored. Is there a place where you see the results? I would like to go to it without knowing about Beemerdons meltdowns, or anyone elses. LOL
Honestly, the results are mixed. Most of us do it. If I had the time and energy to remove the wheel to patch it, that would be ideal. Beyond that, plugs seem to work just fine. Every now and then someone has a leak or has to install a second plug, but that's pretty rare. Do whatever makes you feel good.

 
Dang...I decided to click on that thread, just to take a look. From 2008, and lots of guys I haven't heard from in a long time. Made me smile to see their stuff again, and sad that some of them are passed and others just disappeared.

Sorry...Anyway, back to your thread...

 
In 44-years of street bike ownership I have my first tire in need of repair.Brand new rear tire has a pin hole caused my a very small paneling nail.

Question is can this be patched or does the tire need to be replaced?

If it can be patched will a motorcycle shop be willing to preform the repair?

Thanks, never dealt with this issue on a tubeless cycle tire.
If it were me, I'd get a Safety Seal kit, 'n stuff a worm in there, 'n be dun with it.
thumbsup.gif
https://safetyseal.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_2

 
Safeties was what I used when I got a nail on a brand new 200-mile Pilot Road 2. I patched it and it last until 15k miles when I replaced the tire. It still held just fine. Here are some pics.

Patch at 200 miles

mXr1ZH6.jpg


Pic taken at 15200 miles:

7EdnYYR.jpg


 
I've patched two tires and ridden both for well over 1,000 incident-free miles afterward.

Of course, I am a firm believer in "Ride More, Stress Less".

 
I have used strings several times with mixed results. They have always been good up front (so I carry them with me to avoid being stranded), but a few of them started to leak slowly over time. Now I make an effort to replace the stings with a mushroom plug installed from the inside. I sometimes don't get around to that until a few thousand miles after I inserted the string, but better late than never, right? The good news here is that you do not need to take the tire completely off the rim to install the mushroom plug. After the wheel is off and beads have been broken, just pull one side of the tire over the rim, and you should have enough room to prepare the area (polish+cement) and insert the plug. I have a 100% success rate for these so far...

 
So Iggy, I went to the thread, was very interested. Read the posts for 10 minutes, got bored. Is there a place where you see the results? I would like to go to it without knowing about Beemerdons meltdowns, or anyone elses. LOL
And just exactly WTF is wrong with "knowing about Beemerdons meltdowns"? Some of us would give an awful lot if we could read just one more BeemerdonS meltdown.

 
I don't think the Beemer Dude ever melted down. Seemed the opposite to me: he got spun up to the red line and (usually) well beyond.

 
Once the hole gets bigger than 1.5 plugs in diameter, it's not going to hold. But as long as it is a typical nail or screw, and it's in the center of the tire, a string plug will do the job for the life of the tire. If the puncture is in the sidewall, I've never seen a string plug hold.

I consider myself a fairly skilled tire plugger - if such a designation exist. My 27 year old daughter drives about 1/2" from the white line. Always has, always will. She's HELL on the right side tires. At one point, I could plug a Honda Accord tire while she sat in the driver seat with the A/C running, checking her hair or whatever else a young lady checks in these matters. I looked like a 1-man NASCAR pit crew in the driveway!!
punk.gif


 
Never done a bike tire but I've plugged sidewalls in Michelin light truck tires, never leaked. I've put 2 plugs side by side in a 3/8" hole to get me home- never leaked. IMHO it's kinda a crap shoot- small holes string plugs are great, larger holes maybe yes, maybe no.

 
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