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Flat tire help?

3K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Critter 
#1 ·
I recently purchased my first bike. I have since put about 300 miles on it and less than 1700 miles on the bike and tires. I went to go for a ride today and came out to a screw on the tire. I obviously had been riding on it for a trip and did not experience a failure. The tire still has some air and not completely flat. My question being replace or plug? I know it's not recommended to patch/plug motorcycle tires but I have no experience with plugs on motorcycles. With it being dead center I am also curious on anyone's opinion on if it looks intentional? The area that the rear wheel makes contact on the road it very small and for a screw to make a puncture without being intentionally wedged is rather slim.
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#2 ·
I doubt it was intentional.

I've had more of those damn things than I can shake a stick at.


Different schools of thought on whether it is best to plug or replace.
But I'll say this, if you are going to plug it, it's probably better to use 2 plugs. The problem with plugging MC tires is when they expand from heating up, you can loose pressure.
 
#4 ·
Well I did some talking around my area today too. I was questionable on the patch. I found a shop outside of town and found a race shop. Dropped the bike off to him. If it was his bike he said he'd patch it. There's a particular patch he's going to use, pull the rear wheel and patch from the inside. With that said there's no guarantee but all in all I am happy with the fact he wasn't trying to upsell me on anything. The fact that I didn't experience a blowout I am grateful and safe. I'll spend some time now to subscribe to some of the motorcycle sites RevZilla and try to find some rebates/sales on good tires and replace both in the future. Thanks for your response. The patch all send in done will be about 50, for that tire to be replaced balanced and mounted right now 200-300. Easy choice.
 
#5 ·
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You were fortunate to find your leak problem while at home. If you're on the road you may have to do some tire puncture repair yourself. This can be done if you have tubeless tires. The idea is to use a "plug" that you can insert from the outside without dismantling the tire. Cost will be about $2., but convenience is the biggy.

Do some searching on tire plugs on Google, You Tube, or most motorcycle websites and you can see demos of how to do it. What happens is you unscrew the nail/screw and use a small kit to insert a rubber cement coated piece of rubber or string which plugs the hole. Most of us have done this and continue to use the tire for many miles afterward.

This isn't always the answer since if the hole is on the sidewall or shoulder, then you should junk the tire as soon as you can and just use the plug to get home.

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#6 ·
That makes sense I have seen the tire plugs in the past and how they are done. I will be grabbing the puncture kit to leave in my bag with a couple C02 and Schrader valve kit. Very fortunate to come out and see and not out on the road and screwed or injured. Definitely will be replacing both tires in the future/come spring.

Currently I'm running the stock. 150/60 r17 m/c 66h Metzler on rear.
I see Dunlop makes a good tire, although the stock aren't bad at all but it never hurts to improve.
What do you all suggest, 16' Duke 390
 
#7 ·
The area that the rear wheel makes contact on the road it very small and for a screw to make a puncture without being intentionally wedged is rather slim.
No ... Probably (almost positively) picked up on the road. Been there done that to many times myself.

particular patch he's going to use, pull the rear wheel and patch from the inside
Yeah, that's a plug/patch shops used to use. Some riders crashed and got killed because the plug/patch got torn out, and all air lost immediately, after hitting something in the road.
Surprised you found a shop that would install a patch, of any type.
These days a plug is used temporarily only, like described above, just to get you home.
I'd NEVER plug/patch one for a rider. Don't want to do something that could kill a guy.
Opinions differ, so there is that.

S F
 
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#8 ·
There used to be a patch/plug. Mounted from the inside it had a plug that was pushed through and a patch on the bottom of the plug. I haven't seen them in a while.
 
#10 ·
There used to be a patch/plug. Mounted from the inside it had a plug that was pushed through and a patch on the bottom of the plug. I haven't seen them in a while.
Yes, that is the type I was referring to in post 7.
I would guess that is the type the shop would use to fix the flat for sportfish.
At one time the plug/patch was the only approved repair for a M/C tire. After a few deaths, no more.
Back then the customer was cautioned to never go faster than 80 MPH on that repaired tire.
They are still used for ATV tires.

I am curious and would like to hear why people think it’s dangerous to repair a motorcycle tire.
According to information within the industry, see post 7.

Typically you don’t use tubes with a tubeless tire. Perhaps for motor cycles there is an advantage with tubed tires, remove nail or screw, replace tube. Presumably a perfectly safe options.
Still considered safe to replace a tube as long as the tire is not damaged in such a way that it could harm the tube while in use.

S F
 
#9 ·
Interesting points of view. I am curious and would like to hear why people think it’s dangerous to repair a motorcycle tire.

My problem, clearly I think like a driver rather than a rider.
Clearly a tire plug is a temporary get you home solution to the problem. I’ve plugged a car tire in the past. And drove for quite a while. Even a car tire it’s mot a proper repair. The tire should still be removed and repaired properly with a patch on the inside.

I don’t see why having the tire properly repaired from the inside, re balanced a continue use would be unsafe. Tire repair has been done this way on all sorts of tires for decades. It would not occur to me to replace a newish tire when it could be repaired. Modern adhesives and patches shouldn’t fail. I suppose a tiny percentages will, I suppose a tiny percentage of new tire will get damaged and fail suddenly.

Part of the reason I chose my bike. I preferred the mag wheel and tubeless tire as per a car, believing it would be more reliable. Than a spoked wheel with tubes.
Typically you don’t use tubes with a tubeless tire. Perhaps for motor cycles there is an advantage with tubed tires, remove nail or screw, replace tube. Presumably a perfectly safe options.

Off road, dual sport and adventure bikes tend to have spoked wheels. Presumably both more robust, repairable and have tubes. Being the advantages. While my road bikes mag or ally wheel is, just pretty?
 
#12 ·
Interesting points of view. I am curious and would like to hear why people think it’s dangerous to repair a motorcycle tire.
An MC tire expands a whole lot more than a car tire. To the point you will lose air pressure. Hence the reason to keep speeds down as stated above. The faster you go, the more heat you generate at the tires, the more expansion you get.
The patch I'm sure would work better than a plug. My problem with the patch is, you have to do all the work (actually more) than to just replace the tire.
Plugging a car tire and plugging an MC tire are two different things.
 
#11 ·
I've had that kind of plug/patch used on a almost brand new tire before. I only had 500 miles when I got a screw right in the contact area. I was very leery of it but it was a new tire for gripes sack. I watched that plug like a hawk for the next 1k miles with varied speeds. I finally stopped watching it when it was changed at 18k miles. Darn good for a rear tire and plugged to boot. I don't know if they are still used or not but I'd do it again if they are. BUT, the max speed was 55mph back then. At todays speeds I might have second thoughts.
 
#15 ·
Simple math.

A car has 4 tires, if you loose one to a patch or plug failure you still have 3 to maintain some stability as you slow to a stop.

A bike has 2 tires, if you loose one to a plug or patch failure you are in for a wild ride trying to slow down to a stop
 
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