Flat Repairs

[Ignacio]

As Fall is in the air...time to ask a question I don't think has been polled before.

I'm sure I missed something or didn't think of a way somebody could answer...but aren't all our polls half-baked attempts at science?

Have fun and hopefully we learn something.

 

[SkooterG]

You forgot the option 'cry like that Nancy-boy beemerdons like the day they took away his wittle bwue and wyte bwanky'.

Other than that, my response should be no surprise to 'most' around here.

 

[Fred W]

You forgot the option 'cry like that Nancy-boy beemerdons like the day they took away his wittle bwue and wyte bwanky'.
Other than that, my response should be no surprise to 'most' around here.

Apparently, I voted the same way, except I'm cautious.

 

[chrisflock]

As Fall is in the air...time to ask a question I don't think has been polled before.
I'm sure I missed something or didn't think of a way somebody could answer...but aren't all our polls half-baked attempts at science?

Have fun and hopefully we learn something.

You forgot "I call upon Jesus."

He's this guy who lives just down the street from me, and he's got a pickup truck with a complete tire repair/replacement shop on the back. Call him up, he drives over, he'll look at the tire and determine if it is safe to patch, and if not, he'll slap on a new one. I've watched that guy change the rear tire on a goldwing in 5 minutes. And best of all, he charges 5 bucks over cost for tires, and 1 beer per hour for labor.

Chris

 

[TriggerT]

I am going to fill my tires completely with silicone caulk. That way they still have a little give, and I never have to worry about a flat. There isn't any down side that I can think of........ :blink:

 

[beemerdons]

You forgot the option 'cry like that Nancy-boy beemerdons like the day they took away his wittle bwue and wyte bwanky'.
Other than that, my response should be no surprise to 'most' around here.

I am still pissed off that we were not able to repair the tube on Jane's Kawasaki Vulcan up at the Grand Canyon last month.

By the way, I still have my "wittle bwue and silvre bwanky" my 2-tone '03 FJR. Squid: I have got your Nancy-boy hanging!

We have the same philosophy on tubeless tire repair and we voted that way. Since I'm a heterosexual, its the only thing we have in common! Remember, I still have pictures of you and Doucet bungering up his RS tire with trying to use plugs!!!

 

[exskibum]

Man, I'm jealous of the responder who has a pillion with mad skillz and can generate 42 psi. Unless . . . Well, is that for valve stem sized appendages only?

My choice on the plug and go situation is dependent upon how worn the tire is. If I've got a couple thousand or fewer miles left on the tire, I'll replace the tire pretty soon. If it's nearly new, I'll probably get a patch on the inside so I can forget it was punctured. If it's somewhere in between, I'll probably procrastinate with my thumb up my butt and ride around on the plug until I finally decide to replace it with a couple thousand miles left on it.

 

[Barabus]

As Fall is in the air...time to ask a question I don't think has been polled before.
I'm sure I missed something or didn't think of a way somebody could answer...but aren't all our polls half-baked attempts at science?

Have fun and hopefully we learn something.

You forgot "I call upon Jesus."

He's this guy who lives just down the street from me, and he's got a pickup truck with a complete tire repair/replacement shop on the back. Call him up, he drives over, he'll look at the tire and determine if it is safe to patch, and if not, he'll slap on a new one. I've watched that guy change the rear tire on a goldwing in 5 minutes. And best of all, he charges 5 bucks over cost for tires, and 1 beer per hour for labor.

Chris

Very nice. Very funny.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

As an addition to the last selection of the middle poll, I offer:

A guy I know rides a prestigious European brand Adventure-Tourer and when he was out Adventure-Touring in the "Wilderness" on his Gemanic steed a cactus thorn found its way into his rear tire -- permitting all the captive air to leave.

Well, in a maybe typical expression of Bavarian resolve?, he moved aside his tool kit and tire repair kit and found the little book that comes with all these prestigious machines and, using his cellular phone, called the number listed (I think there's a small annual fee for this service?).

A truck arrived presently in the "Wilderness" and the Adventure-Tour M/C and rider were hauled to the city where a repair was effected..... :blink:

 

[Wolfhound]

A tow truck goes into the "wilderness" from a phone # listed in the owners manual ? Was Jesus the GW tire fixer drivin it ?

 

[Jetmaker737]

I had no opinion on this until this morning when I went to go for a ride and found my back tire was flat with a screw in it. Shoot... I was thinking new tires, big bucks, etc. :angry2: I decided to search the forum and found this poll. Sweet! I had never tried sticky strings before, but I jetted down to Wally World (ugh! I hate that place.) and found some. Put 'em in and let 'em sit for a couple of hours. Went for a 100 mile ride this afternoon with no problems. B)

Thanks Iggy not only for this thread but this forum with all its great info. And thanks to ScooterG for being such an advocate of sticky strings... they rule!

 

[War Machine]

Ignacio,

I think you needed to add this choice to the poll:

Plug it, check integrity periodically, and install new tire ASAP.

I have gone on day trips 300+ miles with a plugged tire & even run as high as 80 mph. But I will not ride 2 up with my wife.

After going through two (yes two! due to screws) rear tires in less than 3000 miles on my 08, I am now running a Dunlop Roadsmart rear with this: Rhinotire.com. (click on the Bike 1 Video)

Did not affect the balance of the tire & added one pound to the weight of the tire. On the bike for approx 1K & no side effects.

 

[Zorlac]

I voted and I've used mushrooms on 2 cage tires with one leaking very slowly and the other OK.

I haven't had the pleasure of a flat on a bike yet, but I did notice that my Foremost insurance policy provides for 24hr roadside assistance which I thought was a nice touch I hope I never have to use.

 

[wfooshee]

My rear (tire) has 2 sticky-string plugs in it right now, the first about 4500 miles ago, the second a couple of weeks ago. No trouble at all, no qualms about anything riding-wise.

These were a nail and a staple, good straight punctures, no cutting in the tire. Had the tire been cut, it would have to have been replaced.

 

[Fred W]

How timely...

I went out yesterday to take a short ride. I wanted to test out my back for the ride to EOM this week. (It passed, BTW :yahoo: ) And before the ride, in my preflight check I aired up the tires. Wow, rear tire was down to 28 psi. Hmmm, I've never lost more than a pound or two between checks. Somethings not right. Put the bike up on the center stand and inspecting the rear tire found a little tiny sliver of metal about the size of a common pin without the head that went into the tire perfectly perpendicularly. It was hard to find, being that just the end was visible, but soapy water confirmed this was my slow leak. Yanking the pin with a pair of needle nose confirmed the leak.

No problem, says I, and break out my sticky strings kit. Ream out the hole, open the cement tube to lube up the insertion tool, and... WTF? The cement has all evaporated... Scouring all my drawers in the garage and I couldn't find any more rubber cement. "Oh well, lets put these strings to the test." Jammed the strings in the whole sans cement, aired it up and retested for leakage with soapy water, everything good to go.

I put on a couple of hundred miles with no problem. I was planning on replacing the tire today anyway as it only has about 500 miles left on it and I'm going to do more than that just to get to EOM, so I guess I was just lucky in the timing.

Moral of the story: Check that your cement tube has not dried up. Using cement is definitely preferable. But if you do get stuck on the road without cement the sticky strings will do their thing without glue (especially on a small hole).

 

[Silver Penguin]

My responses are on behalf of my trusty co-rider and DH. He's the one with the skills to plug a tire at the roadside, and has done so several times.

He added a power outlet to my '03, which runs the compressor a lot more efficiently than the stock outlet on his K12S. He's plugged almost a dozen tires between the two bikes. Each tire has been run to the end of it's useful life except one that wouldn't hold air for long.

Now, if I were to get a flat when riding alone, I'd use my cell phone to fix it. Just upgraded to the top-notch AAA membership, with MC and RV, after a friend got a flat near Sturgis. (Lots of other problems there that we don't need to talk about) but their regular membership only covered the first seven miles of getting the bike to a place that could fix it. They had to pay cash for the rest of the tow.

Jill

 

[Knifemaker]

I been using Ride-On sealant in my tires for years:

https://www.ride-on.com/prod_mot.asp

So , was not sure how to answer the poll as I do not "carry" the stuff with me, it is already in the tire.

I do have some sticky string for plugging holes, which I have used successfully on my car tire, but usually I do not carry it with me on the bike, nor an air pump.

On long trips I might stash them on the bike, but so far I have used them to fix other riders flats..not any on my bike.

I think those that believe they should trash a brand new tire because it picked up a nail in a "plugable" part of the tire are just paranoid. Or rich.

These tires are not running 200 psi and most of us can feel the diffrence when the air pressure gets low...so even if a plug of sticky string were to blow out somehow, the rate of air loss would not be so sudden that the rider wouldn't know it and not be able to pull over safely and re-repair it.

As for the Ride-On...I am a supporter here. I personaly have not had a flat , so I can only go by other riders I know accounts, but the stuff seems to do a good job. A freind took his Wing in for new tires not long ago and the wrench showed him the inside of his old rear tire...there was two inches of a large nail sticking out of the center tread area. He never knew it was there.

Now some will say that is a bad thing, my thinking is if the tire never leaked and was rode to the point of replacement with the nail in there, then the Ride On did it's job.

You should of course visualy check your tires periodicly, along with checking the pressure, but I have not known or heard of anyone having a safety problem with a plugged tire..other than having to re-do a poorly installed plug.

KM

 

[dcarver]

Most of my vehicles have plugged tires....

anybody need a ride? <_<

 

[petey]

I voted to plug and ride somewhat cautiously until the tire wears out. However, that depends on the size of the hole. Large hole, or the hole not straight...then the tire will be replaced ASAP.