Just got the third one in my rear tire (Kenda) this afternoon. Tire was new in September, about 6-7000 K on it so far. Regularly travelling at about 100K max speed. Guy on ADVrider says not to worry but I'd like to hear some fresh ideas. Opinions?
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Just got the third one in my rear tire (Kenda) this afternoon. Tire was new in September, about 6-7000 K on it so far. Regularly travelling at about 100K max speed. Guy on ADVrider says not to worry but I'd like to hear some fresh ideas. Opinions?
Who knows?
If you have a blowout and crash no one will know if it was the plugs that caused the blowout.
Was hoping more for an example from experience.
Barnone, how many times would you get holes plugged in your tire before getting the tire replaced?
I've had 3 in a car tire, without concern, but that vehicle has 4 wheels. The tire shop guy insisted that I could have 20 and it would still be safe.
I don't recall ever having one in a MC tire. In theory, it shouldn't matter, but it would be a worry of mine ... probably no basis for the worry, but I would still worry.
Eventually, plugs and their presumably uneven distribution on the tire will start to affect a wheel's balance, which could lead to vibration, uneven wear, etc.
Three flats in six months sounds excessive, though. Are your tires always properly inflated? Perhaps time to think of a better tire?
cheers
My CFMoto Jetmax stock rear tyres seemed to attract punctures like the plague nearing the end of the usable road going life (some odd 10000km's) I was unfortunate to get a nasty piece of steel in the rear tyre at around 5000km or so, with the steel having an angular 'U' shaped profile (end-on) and also having a bend in it, meaning that it left a sizeable hole in the tyre. A plug held it for a time, but as it got closer to the 1000o km mark, the tyre seemed to collect a few more punctures (4-5 in total) and then experienced constant slow leaks whereby I'd have to reinflate the tyre each morning otherwise I'd experience decreased riding performance. The test as to whether or not the rear tyre was underinflated was easy enough to perform, simply remove hands from handlebars at any speed, and experience increasingly abrupt 'tank-slapper' cyclic movements of the front forks/bars with increasing frequency. The second tyre also seemed more prone to punctures (5 in total) and loss of inflation nearing the 10000km mark. All tyres were plugged initially successfully, but as stated experienced increasing loss of inflation over time and kilometers covered. I've since changed the rear tyre for a standard profile Kenda (Taiwan brand) which has now covered 2000km plus, even though I still have two new factory tyres in my garage (I carry a whole range pf parts and consumables - just in case).
My mate who also has a Jetmax has started to experience loss of inflation on his factory standard low profile radial tyre, which leads me to believe there is an inherent fault with the factory supplied low profile radial tyres.
Plugs work well on tubeless tyres provided the hole isn't an angular or is of an unusual shaped profile, or is in the side wall, or runs perpendicular/diagonally across the camber of the tyre.
My point precisely. Thinking the money for the tire is probably worth the peace of mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
There's been a lot of construction around my complex lately. My building alone has had 3 of the apartments gutted and refurbished (I'm lucky, they don't start work before 8 and always finish before 6). Each time it's been a brand new wood screw that has worked its way between the treads. The tire has never actually gone flat as a result. Thinking I should charge the damn construction workers for my new tire but like that would happen.:naughty:
/edit
Wow, thanks for the input Bikerdoc. There is no loss of tire pressure with any of the plugs I have. Still thinking I might just get a new tire put on though for reasons mentioned above.
Nuhaus,Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuhaus
I've only plugged one motorcycle tire in 50 years of riding and that was a temporary fix until I could get a new tire so I don't have any experience.
I have had a spill on a bike at speed because of a blowout on a rear tire back in 1968 and guess I am paranoid about motorcycle tires. I keep fresh unplugged tires on all my bikes.
Again, I don't how anyone can answer you original question. For what it's worth, motorcycle tire manufactures recommend against plugging.
Yeh, that would make me paranoid too. :eekers::eek2:Quote:
Originally Posted by barnone
Thanks for the input. Another friend of mine (the guy who got me riding bikes in the first place) just told me I had 1 too many. I know my mechanic is gonna think I'm dumb for changing the tire but I can afford it.
Needless to say, your safety and peace of mind are millions of times more important than whether your cheapskate mechanic tries to make you feel guilty for not running the tire down to bare threads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuhaus
Motorcycle tires are not the place to skimp.
cheers!
talking about flats... how exactly do you mend a flat tire in the wild? I know how fix a flat bicycle tire, and possibly without levers(if the tire is soft enough). In a pinch, I can fix a bicycle flat with just a knife and a patch kit.. but a motorcycle tire is different. Do you have to take the wheel off? Patching an inner tube, you have to actually take out the tube, find the puncture and sand it down, then apply the patch.
Again, how do you do that in the wild? Anyone has stories to share?
Never had to do it (touch wood) on a motorcycle but many times on a pushbike, cross country and road and once or twice on the machine before quick release hubs came in. I have seen a front tube fixed with difficulty while on the m'bike because some tools where lost but I think a rear would be too tight, less room to play with. I wouldn't go anywhere without tyre levers and tools. I am sure you can do things like stuff with grass for emergency until you find the tools and time to do it right. These days you have other options like puncture foam of coarse but that makes the final repair messy.
I've fixed punctures "out in the wild" lots of times as I trail ride - I'm not quick at doing the change - 1/2 hour ? but I usually carry a spare front tube and just swap it over - 21" front tube fits rear 18" wheel as a temporary fix . usual problem is not fixing the puncture but blowing the tyre up again afterwards ! - I usually rely on one of my buddies caryying a pushbike pump . Fixing a motorcycle puncture with a repair kit is no different to a bicycle fix but more of a pain getting the wheel out . Also be wary of just carrying a repair kit - I had a rear tyre deflate quickly while on my Skyteam near Granada coming back from Spain - rear tube had ripped the valve clean out - no fixing that one . It involved a scary trip to the local bike shop on the back of a spanish guys Honda to get a tube - since then I always carry a tube on decent rides and sometime a repair kit too - pessimist me !Quote:
Originally Posted by slabo
I've never had much success with the tyre foam in tubed tyres but it does sometimes do the job in tubeless in my experience , have tried the stuffing the tyre with grass trick but it does compact very quickly and you end up repeating it every few miles..........
Experience says that tubeless tires/rims are really the only way to go as they can be plugged from outside (usually) without needing to remove the wheel from the bike, remove the tire from the wheel, re-seat the tire on the wheel, etc etc etc. Just carry a plug kit, some compressed air (or small air compressor), and some tire foam "just in case" to reinflate a partially deflated tire. Also a spare valve stem and stem tool can be helpful (those little valve stem cores can go bad)
When possible, remove a punctured / plugged tire and install a proper internral patch (not plug) from the inside out. That eliminates the chance that the plug could pull out or be pushed in causing deflation...
Lots of guys are running "slime" in their tires too, which helps reduce punctures where the nail goes in and comes back out. I pick up a few bottles from USA every time i travel back n forth.
How many plugs? 0 to be safe but if the puncture holes have been very small, like what would be caused by a small screw or nail, or a hole not wider than 2 to 3 mm, or odd-shaped, then the plugs that I've used have stayed put beyond the useful life of the tire tread.
Those fancy laced (spoked) wheels may look good, with the glittering chrome, but they are not worth a darn if sitting on the side of the road. The fix-a-flat foam does *not* work in tube tires, and typically the tube rips a bit after it gets popped meaning often it can not be salvaged / reused / patched properly. Also, deflation is rapid with a tube tire leading to possible blow out / loss of control. Most of the time, a flat on a tube means the end of riding for the day, loading the bike on a truck to get it to the nearest service station, or as a minimum several hours in the sun, jacking the bike up on rocks, removing the tire, sweating your @55 off trying to break the bead, remove the inner tube, putting in the new tube and hoping it is not pinched, then pumping the hand pump like mad trying to re-inflate and re-seat the bead.
My tire tool kit contains: plugs, plug inserter tool, extra valve core, extra valve stem, and either 4 bottles of CO2 compressed air with inflator tool, or now they also sell these very small air compressors (pocket size) that run on 12V. Hooking it to the battery and running the bike while inflating the tire works good. And can be done multiple times (where as CO2 cartridges are good for 1 inflation but if you have a slow leak, you could get stuck again). Tire irons are helpful but extra weight....and then toss in a a spare tube (for your buddy who just wont trade his fancy harley spoke wheels for tubeless wheels) ...
Always buy good tires. Your life could depend on your tires and brake pads...
papadad
Blowouts are not only caused by patched tires. I forgot which year, team, rider, stage, ... of tour de france this happened, but I remember reading about a blowout on a TT stage once.
Reading about fixing flats on a motorcycle, I found this http://www.instructables.com/id/Moto...Flat-Tire-Fix/
It's much easier on tubless tires, but most MX bikes have spoked tires, so fixing a flat has to be done the hard way.. take the wheel off, and then it's all really similar to a bicycle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slabo
I had a puncture a few weeks ago on my rear tire outside Shanghai, flagged down a police car which sent a repairman to help me on the side of the road. His procedure was quite simple but really effective :
- he just got the tube out of the tire (without removing the rear wheel), found the hole by inflating the tube a little bit and checking where it was leaking
- cleaned around the 2 holes (!) with the brush, put a patch/seal on each of them with the special glue (he was very careful to stick them well)
- checked the inside of the tire with his hand and found the nail...
- put back the tube in the tire and inflate it as much as he could
And off I went, for 10 RMB and less than 10 mn for the repair job ! I just went to the bike shop after to have it inflated at the correct pressure, as the repair man on the road only had a bicycle hand pump.
Since this flat, I rode 1,500 km on it without any concern.
Hope this helps...
Hahaha - I love this country! Try that back home - road-side assistance for $1.5Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred
Great story!
where did you get your co2? and how much is the price of that one? any help please. thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by papadad