TBR China Cruising

[prince666]

Own my tire repair kits (various plug + go tools and compressors) for quite a few years and bought overseas, not really into cheap tools as they can leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere easily.
Do a search on Taobao and you might find some tire plug repair kits..... Slime has an importer / distributor in China based in Dailian: http://www.slime.com
Tire repair shops usually have sticky rope available but don't know about the quality.

Great report

But Please warn people the stick rope repair is considered temporary repair only and should only be used to LIMP home or to a bike shop ?????



The most common on the road tyre fix is the outside-in repair. These repair kits typically include a specialized piece of sticky rope or a mini-mushroom type plug. This outside-in type of repair does not require removing the tire from the wheel and is applied from the outside of the tyre. This type of repair is considered temporary, allowing the rider to limp the bike back home or to a motorcycle shop where a proper inside-out repair can be done or by having a new tyre installed.

[prince666]

’ve heard that Germany doesn’t allow plugged tires. I’ve also heard that a repaired tire loses one speed-rating. That means this Z-Rated tire would become a V-Rated tire, with a top speed of 149 mph. That seems absurdly high. Safety also depends on the position of the patch, if the tire has steel belts, who does the work, and the way the tire is constructed. I advise against patching any tire without first contacting the manufacturer. If there is any doubt, replace the tire

[prince666]

Carrying a tire repair kit is a great idea, especially if it has some CO2 canisters to re-inflate the tire, but I don't know that I would trust it long term, especially if you ride with enthusiasm.

Most of the tire manufacturers are going to tell you it's not safe to patch a motorcycle tire.

Unofficial response by a Dunlop rep: "When the tire is punctured, the carcus get exposed to air and contamination. That hole, even if plugged, now generates more heat, more flex and the layers now are trying to separate from each other. As the layers start to slightly separate they get more contamination between the layer and thus more heat and more separation. This gets worse and worse the faster you go and the more you use it. You will see separation and/or bubble and/or overheating from the hole outward. If you go slow (75 or less) this process does not happen.

Big rider, on a big bike, that rides fast in the hot dessert, you would expect the same issues as with the track.

Street tire (regular riding), go ahead and plug and ride. limp home or to a bike shop no more then 30km ride speed

Racetrack, good tires without holes, no plugs. "

I'd plug it, ride to the shop, and spend $130 for a new tire so I don't have to worry about it.

[bikerdoc]

IMO a wHOLE lot of scare tactics... plugged tyres have always worked well for me, and I've had plenty over my lifetime. Certainly in really extreme high speed situations i.e. on the racetrack, a plugged tyre is not appropriate. For the rest of us, repairing a puncture on either a motorcycle or car tyre will work in most situations where the tyre suffers a 'typical' puncture e.g. not in the side wall. I've had a couple of tyres where several plugs have been used and the tyre worked well right to the end of its usable life on my bike.

I've seen a match stick applied to a ZZR600 rear tyre and get the rider bike home, and that was on a tyre which had little to no tread remaining. The guy was friends of friends in some small town some place in Anhui, who joined our posse as we passed through that part of the province.

While a caveat might be appropriate in regards to the use of plug repairs to tyres, in my experience not one of the many plugs I've applied in China on any of my bikes has failed, nor have I had to replace any tyre as a consequence. I've also used the tyre repair in a can to inflate/fix punctures, and they are more hit and miss solutions, but that might have more to do with the fact that all are Chinese made products costing about 元10 /can.

[prince666]

That maybe your view on the matter all you have is 2 tyres from you and the road and with 20 years in the tyre game and seen loads of repairs that has failed . With the sticky rope kit you get a hand tool that cuts and drills the correct size hole to the size of the sticky rope when you have pulled out the nail ect but i see in one of the repairs that JBR done he put 2 bits of rope in one hole surely this is not safe ???? or would you say other wise .



jbr tyre.JPG



And when i am talking about repairs done to bike or car tyres which i say are only to be consider temporary i am only talking about sticky rope reairs and not mushroom tyre repair patch which is done with the tyre of the wheel ???

[bikerdoc]

I've had one instance with one tyre where the applied plug started leaking slowly over a period of time. I 're-drilled' the hole and replaced the slimy plug rope, only to find that it still leaked. Three-four plug replacements later, the slow leak (loss of about 5 psi overnight) was still occurring - in the end I went to my local Suzuki shop and they simply inserted another plug beside the one in-situ. Didn't leak after that. Rode on the tyre until the end of the normal life of the tyre. Didn't change my riding style or habits with that tyre with two plugs. Just rode as per normal. Nothing nasty happened...

I've had some tyre techs tell me stories about how useless or temporary or how damaging these so called temporary solutions are... especially about using the 'puncture repair' in a can over the years, but aside from the same products made in China that I've bought on Taobao and used here, all have worked well, right up until it is time to replace the tyre at the end of its life. Even some of those puncture repair in a can type products made in PRC that I've used have also worked, though they've tended to be less reliable.

Some of the tyre repair techs are horrified, or condemn the use of these types of products, whether it be tyre plugs (slimy ropes) or puncture repair in a can. However from my experience, such products have saved my arse on more than one occasion, e.g. doing two circumnavigation around and then through the interior of Australia. Even though in those situations I had a couple of spare tyres, the so called temporary puncture repairs were/are much easier to apply and have worked when needed. I first used a puncture repair from a can on my XL250S back in 1982 in NZ not long after the product hit the market. Interestingly, got a puncture on a wire wheel rim with tubed tyre, removed the offending article that caused puncture, on the front tyre, applied applicator hose, then inflated said tyre. Tyre inflated and stayed that way, until the day it was time to replace the tyre due to the end of its serviceable life. Many decades later I hear all the 'stories' about why one should not use these types of products, I call BS.

YMMV as might your methods.

[TB-Racing]

With the sticky rope kit you get a hand tool that cuts and drills the correct size hole to the size of the sticky rope when you have pulled out the nail ect but i see in one of the repairs that JBR done he put 2 bits of rope in one hole surely this is not safe ????

could you do me a very big favour and pollute some other threads with your gibberish as it looks like once again you have no idea what your on about, the pic shows one rope inserted into the rear tire.
opinions on tire plugging and repairs are like arseholes, everyone has one, have a nice weekend....

[TB-Racing]

Relaxed afternoon run up the G45 expressway from Beijing to explore a remote Great Wall of China section between Simatei and Jinshaling near the Hebei province border.
Simatai: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simatai
Jinshanling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinshanling

[TB-Racing]

More wall pics up Simatai area....

[TB-Racing]

Quick visit to the Donghuamen Night Market not far from the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square in Beijing with some visitors I had in town.
A sight in itself, the bustling night market near Wangfujing Dajie is a veritable food zoo...