Mushroom Plug Tire Repair Experience

Got a screw in the rear tire last Saturday – dead center! Bought and installed the mushroom type plug that day. Visited a buddy in the hospital yesterday who had his hip replaced on Friday. Coming back down Rt 95 at ~70mph ole Maxine started feeling squirrelly – fortunately I realized what it was right away. Interesting, it was sort of like a slow motion tank slapper – not nearly as violent and I never felt I was “out of control” (tire probably emptied in about 20 seconds or so). Managed to get from the fast lane to the shoulder (right side) w/o incident. No way I was going to load Maxine onto a tow truck so I duck-walked her at about 2 mph for roughly a half mile to a gas station (tire and wheel survived w/o visible damage). And here’s why I’m going to 1) order a Slime 12v compressor and 2) buy and carry the “sticky string” plugs along with the mushroom plugs:

First off it was not a new hole; the plug had failed in the original hole (to the inside of the tire). So, I assembled the various tools and inserted another plug – cut it flush only to watch it suck itself inside the tire. So being the ever hopeful man, I did it again and you guessed it, I again watched the plug suck itself into the tire. Then I did the head slap and muttered, “Fill it with air before you cut the plug flush you dumb ****!” So I did, and I watched the plug suck itself ALMOST all the way inside. Sat there for a while and sure enough it started to leak. So I emptied the tire and put yet another plug in, this time I didn’t cut the plug flush but left about a half inch proud. This time it worked. I was able to ride ~40 miles home and the tire had the same pressure as when I fixed it. BTW, the plug still had the ½ “ sticking out although it was starting to “wear.”

To lay all the facts out – The first time I plugged the hole the plug held fine (and while I don’t have the directions in front of me, they do say not to exceed 50mph or go more than 100 miles on the plug). I filled the tire, cut it flush and it worked great. I rode on that plug roughly 150 miles; mostly between 35 – 60 mph with a couple of short runs at higher speed. This was the second time plugging the same hole and perhaps that was one reason I had a hard time getting the plugs to stay in. I’m one of those folks who have to prove things to themselves and now I know from personal experience that these plugs are temporary and replacing the tire at the earliest opportunity is warranted. I ordered 2 x Avon Storms from SWMoto Sat evening and won’t ride again until I get them installed. All in all I’m glad this happened because I now know what a flat (at least rear flat) feels like at speed!

When I discovered a pinhole in my relatively new rear tire last summer I immediately replaced the it.

There just is too much flex, isn't enough rubber and plugs are simply not reliable enough for me to trust my life to them for anything except a limp to the nearest dealer or to home.

Besides, if I was going to patch the tire I'd have to have it removed, remounted and rebalanced, which is a quarter of the cost of replacement. So in my personal opinion - "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right". Don't risk it. Just toss the tire carcas. If the tire was an Avon, you could claim road hazard if it was new enough.

YMMV

I think you might be pushing your luck plugging the same hole twice... :blink:

I would do it in a pinch, Just to get the bike home, Then put new rubber on.

Cheap insurance, IMHO

Had 3 diffferent bikes with rear wheel punctures. Triumph Tiger, nothing doing new tire and new tube. Speed 4, begged a tire shop to plug it and after an hour of pleading the guy finally plugged the tire to get me home. Rode the bike for a few hundred miles no problem. Suzuki weestrom. Forgot i had plugged it and rode a few thousand miles no problem! Oh now I think of it a couple of other punctures plugged and rode with no problem.

Except for the weestrom bought new tires quickly.

I agree with replacing the tire - I was planning on ordering a new one, but Sat's experience just served to hastened my action! On plugging the same hole twice - I agree that it probably isn't a great idea - unless that's all you can do at the time. If I'm ever in that position again, I'll patch with the sticky string vice the plug the second time.

I agree that to patch it correctly is to remove the tire/patch (inside)/replace. At least for me, that would come close enough to the price of a new tire/mounting that I'd go for the new tire. What the hell are screws doing on the highways anyway!!

I have been extremely lucky and only picked up one screw on my way to get a new set put on! How that foe timing it right?

I had it plugged and finished my rain soaked ride to Hooterville!

[RANT]

There is nothing worse than picking up a screw, In the rain, And having to stop every 20 miles for air since the only repair shop near me refused to repair it due to liability reasons... Even after explaining that the new tires( that i had with me) were going on in 100 miles! :angry: [/RANT]

Thankfully, I found a good 'ol boy shop up the road in Rolla and he didnt even charge me! I threw a $10 bill his way anyway!

So, I now carry the sticky plug kit for emergencies.

I once picked up a fence staple or something that left two holes right next to each other. I was in the middle of the eastern Oregon desert with no bike tires to be had anywhere. The two holes right next to each other made it hard for the plugs to hold. Since I was riding with a friend, and since other bikes came by (I was leaving a COG national rally), I had a chance to try most everything -- mushroom plugs, bullet plugs, string plugs, & fix-a-flat spray in goop -- until a kind soul with a friend nearby got a cattle trailer to haul me to Boise for a tire.

The bottom line of this story is that the string plugs were the only ones that let me ride a while as I tried to get to somewhere that had a replacement. I could get 50 or so miles on them before they blew. Nothing else gave me more than 10. The fix-flat stuff was useless. String plugs are the only ones I carry on the bike now.

My rear tire went down 6 times that day. :dribble: I was pretty wiped out by the end of that.

JimLor said:

To lay all the facts out – The first time I plugged the hole the plug held fine (and while I don't have the directions in front of me, they do say not to exceed 50mph or go more than 100 miles on the plug). I filled the tire, cut it flush and it worked great. I rode on that plug roughly 150 miles; mostly between 35 – 60 mph with a couple of short runs at higher speed. This was the second time plugging the same hole and perhaps that was one reason I had a hard time getting the plugs to stay in. I'm one of those folks who have to prove things to themselves and now I know from personal experience that these plugs are temporary and replacing the tire at the earliest opportunity is warranted. I ordered 2 x Avon Storms from SWMoto Sat evening and won't ride again until I get them installed. All in all I'm glad this happened because I now know what a flat (at least rear flat) feels like at speed!

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I had similar results with the mushrooms getting sucked inside the tire, but I eventually figured out that you're not supposed to stretch the stem before cutting it flush with the tread. I was pulling on the stem to seat the bottom of the mushroom head against the inside of the tire, but once it's seated you wanna let go of it and THEN slice off the stem. Once I figured that out, the plug lasted for several hundred miles.

Replacing a tire and flex? Not so much. I've plugged multiple tires around the 1K mark, plugged once and correctly, and ran them to the end of their life with nary a problem....including runing one of the tires in a 24 hour rally in the heat of summer. Maybe it's the type of plug I'm using from Progressive Suspensions. It couldn't suck inside if I wanted it to.

Contrary to what seems like an irrational fear....if a plug fails the tire doesn't explode or anything. It loses air and if you're at speed you let off the gas and coast to a stop.

beerme - I did pull it taunt to seat it, let it go and then cut it. Probably patching the same hole twice made it harder for the plug to stay where the heck it was supposed to!

Ignacio said:

Replacing a tire and flex? Not so much. I've plugged multiple tires around the 1K mark, plugged once and correctly, and ran them to the end of their life with nary a problem....including runing one of the tires in a 24 hour rally in the heat of summer. Maybe it's the type of plug I'm using from Progressive Suspensions. It couldn't suck inside if I wanted it to.
Contrary to what seems like an irrational fear....if a plug fails the tire doesn't explode or anything. It loses air and if you're at speed you let off the gas and coast to a stop.

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I change tires if I ride the thing with a flat just to get out of the kill zone on a slab. It is a ***** to ride any bike with a flat either front or back and it destroys the carcass of the tire so change them if that happens to you!

I am surprised that more people that have plugged tires and ran them to replacement haven't chimed in. This has been discussed in previous years and unless I am at the end of the tire life,and the hole is in the meat of the tire, I just plug and go. I guess I have been lucky because not one plug has failed. But better be safe than sorry. It hurts in the pocketbook but no worries if the plug will hold or not if you replace the tire.

Yeah, I thought there'd be more stories of plugging and running for thousands more miles! Probably more physics and karma involved in why some plugged tires run for thousands of miles and why some crap the bed after a few miles. And for that very reason, replacing the tire - in my opinion - as soon as practicable is the answer.

No right or wrong answer on whether you run a plugged tire for awhile or replace it right away. Lots of factors including your own risk assessment. The "my life is worth more than a tire" rationale sounds dramatic, but if you're really into risk minimization, you would have four wheels under you, not two. It's a matter of where you draw the line.

Personally, I've had good luck with string plugs and lousy luck with mushrooms. If you're in a group, it helps to have lots of options.

- Mark

bramfrank said:

There just is too much flex, isn't enough rubber and plugs are simply not reliable enough for me to trust my life to them for anything except a limp to the nearest dealer or to home.

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I am going to disagree with that.

After dealing with approximately 7 or 8 flat tires in the last 3 years, add me to the gang who has tossed the un-reliable mushroom type plugs in favor of the sticky string plugs. I have several thousand miles on the sticky string plugs with no adverse effects.

SkooterG said:

After dealing with approximately 7 or 8 flat tires in the last 3 years, add me to the gang who has tossed the un-reliable mushroom type plugs in favor of the sticky string plugs. I have several thousand miles on the sticky string plugs with no adverse effects.

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And having seen him ride and squeeze the life out of tires like Scrooge on tax day.....he's either a lucky sum-***** dodging actuarial odds or an example of well-built modern tires that allow time to get somewhere safe when they go flat....and then be repaired virtually as good as new.

SkooterG said:

bramfrank said:

There just is too much flex, isn't enough rubber and plugs are simply not reliable enough for me to trust my life to them for anything except a limp to the nearest dealer or to home.

Click to expand...

I am going to disagree with that.

After dealing with approximately 7 or 8 flat tires in the last 3 years, add me to the gang who has tossed the un-reliable mushroom type plugs in favor of the sticky string plugs. I have several thousand miles on the sticky string plugs with no adverse effects.

Click to expand...

LOL

Too bad you cant blame the Playa incident on the tires!

Anyone who gets a small hole in their newish tire dead center & decides to change it out to new rubber, please send the removed carcass to me. PM me for my address. I'll pay shipping.

+1 string plugs, CO2 ultraflate and about 5 cartridges. I've never had a prob, but YMMV.

interesting to me -- never picked up anything in the front, just rear tires.