Tire patches - a data point

[Crash Cash]

I'm replacing my rear tire, and I just rediscovered that this is the one I patched. This is the only tire I've ever patched, so it was a bit of an experiment. You have to sand the hell out of the inside and get rid of all the honeycomb texture or the patch'll leak. I didn't know that, so I had to take it back off the rim 4 times. On the good side, I needed practice changing a tire anyway.

The hole was big enough to stick a pencil through, so I wasn't going to trust sticky-string. I patched it on 24-NOV-2009 and the tire was only a month old then. Since then, I've checked the air once a month, and it's not lost more than 1/2lb a month. As you can see, it's got the Florida flat spot...

I've also string-plugged tires, but I did have one cook loose on my RZ-350 (which also tells you how long ago it happened) - the rear tire was hot, and I think it got low on air enough to flex and build up enough heat to melt the glue. I felt it get wobbly and it let go completely when I turned left into the parking lot. I have no problem with sticky strings, but now that I'm tire patch man, I'll be doing that as a permanent fix.

 

[SkooterG]

What the hell are you replacing that rear tire for? It's got thousands of miles left on it!

 

[dcarver]

What the hell are you replacing that rear tire for? It's got thousands of miles left on it!

Just because it looks like and now handles like a car tire don't mean it are one, SkooterG!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Everything I ever heard and read about motorcycle tires has said "Don't patch or plug on pain of death! Replace the tire immediately!" The experts that gave this knowledge were able to give great detail about the stresses on a motorcycle tire being different and greater than those on a car tire. The experts have always said that motorcycle tires are different from car tires and that the patches and plugs used for car tires are not effective on a motorcycle tire. These same experts have also given numerous reasons why a car tire will not work on a motorcycle. Especially not a high performance motorcycle like the FJR.

I am not a car tire convert, I like the feel of my motorcycle tire but... These experts should take a look at the Darkside thread here and study the pictures of SkooterG leaned over on his car tire. I think most of these experts are full of crap.

 

[Auburn]

I'm replacing my rear tire, and I just rediscovered that this is the one I patched. This is the only tire I've ever patched, so it was a bit of an experiment. You have to sand the hell out of the inside and get rid of all the honeycomb texture or the patch'll leak. I didn't know that, so I had to take it back off the rim 4 times. On the good side, I needed practice changing a tire anyway.

The hole was big enough to stick a pencil through, so I wasn't going to trust sticky-string. I patched it on 24-NOV-2009 and the tire was only a month old then. Since then, I've checked the air once a month, and it's not lost more than 1/2lb a month. As you can see, it's got the Florida flat spot...

I've also string-plugged tires, but I did have one cook loose on my RZ-350 (which also tells you how long ago it happened) - the rear tire was hot, and I think it got low on air enough to flex and build up enough heat to melt the glue. I felt it get wobbly and it let go completely when I turned left into the parking lot. I have no problem with sticky strings, but now that I'm tire patch man, I'll be doing that as a permanent fix.

A die grinder works very well to grind the inside of the tire and get the surface prepared for the glue and patch

 

[Chuck35]

My rear has a patch/plug in it. Last I checked, I ain't dead yet!

 

[RadioHowie]

Everything I ever heard and read about motorcycle tires has said "Don't patch or plug on pain of death! Replace the tire immediately!" The experts that gave this knowledge were able to give great detail about the stresses on a motorcycle tire being different and greater than those on a car tire. The experts have always said that motorcycle tires are different from car tires and that the patches and plugs used for car tires are not effective on a motorcycle tire. These same experts have also given numerous reasons why a car tire will not work on a motorcycle. Especially not a high performance motorcycle like the FJR.

I am not a car tire convert, I like the feel of my motorcycle tire but... These experts should take a look at the Darkside thread here and study the pictures of SkooterG leaned over on his car tire. I think most of these experts are full of crap.

WORD!

 

[wfooshee]

I've never had a problem with sticky-string plugs, but a cut that big I would have probably kissed the tire goodbye.

And I'm the world's biggest advocate of sticky-string plugs.

(OTOH, I might have tried two side-by-side, just to see if they held up.....)

 

[Not a Biker]

No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap!

 

[Enn]

No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap!

The same here. I would never take any risk on plug & patch regardless what some other pilots say here. In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ...

 

[PhilJet09]

No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap! :weirdsmiley: :weirdsmiley: :weirdsmiley:

The same here. I would never take any risk on plug & patch regardless what some other pilots say here. In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ... mg2:

I had five flats last summer on three different tires. I became a big fan of patch/plugs. These are patches with a long plug molded in the center of it. I understand your point of view on just changing the tire, in fact that used to my mantra. However, I blew my tire budget out of the water after the third flat and decided to give these a try. It was frustrating pulling a tire off with more than half it's rubber remaining. Now I'm using those patched tires for commuting and will put new rubber on for touring. Life is a compromise.
Btw, I love Tallinn and can't wait to get back there next month.

 

[Enn]

No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap!

:weirdsmiley:

The same here. I would never take any risk on plug & patch regardless what some other pilots say here. In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ...

I had five flats last summer on three different tires. I became a big fan of patch/plugs. These are patches with a long plug molded in the center of it. I understand your point of view on just changing the tire, in fact that used to my mantra. However, I blew my tire budget out of the water after the third flat and decided to give these a try. It was frustrating pulling a tire off with more than half it's rubber remaining. Now I'm using those patched tires for commuting and will put new rubber on for touring. Life is a compromise.
Btw, I love Tallinn and can't wait to get back there next month.

Life is indeed a compromise as long as you have it, but why to make it shorter? You may just have had good luck with the patches but the probability of getting punished did go up...

By the way, PhilJet, welcome to Tallinn and if you want to meet a local FJR pilot or get any other assistance while here, then don't hesitate to send me a PM

 

[HotRodZilla]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Enn" data-cid="1032261" data-time="1358089423"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Not a Biker" data-cid="1032239" data-time="1358065984"><p>No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap! <img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/weirdsmiley.gif' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /><img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/weirdsmiley.gif' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /><img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/weirdsmiley.gif' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /></p></blockquote>

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The same here. I would never take any risk on plug & patch regardless what some other pilots say here. In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ...<img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/omg2.gif' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /><span style='font-size: 14px;'> </span></p></blockquote>

Bull! The people advocating that we not repair MC tires are the same people that sell them. What do you think they would rather sell you; a $4 plug/patch set or a new $200 tire?

I have heard so many ******** stories about how a MC tire creates some type of magical force field that makes the tire prone to explode and kill everyone e within a 30 mile radius, but the funny thing is: all those guys sell MC tires too.

I have seen tons of guys run on fixed tires, and have yet to see one have a fatal malfunction caused by a bad plug or patch. Plenty of things on a MC will kill a rider. A repaired tire is very low on that list.

 

[wheatonFJR]

My double plugged tire made it just fine on CA 299, CA 36, CA 49...before hitting upper FJR nominal speeds in Nevada on Hwy 50 whilst getting home from Kali...2000 miles of twisty curvy high speed on a double plugged opening on the bottom of the rear tire.

Without a care in the world.

 

[Ignacio]

In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ...

<sarcasm>I know! The insantity of using tires more than 1,000 miles even if they never go flat is crazy too. Why risk riding on tires that don't have 90% or more of their tread? It just isn't worth the risk. It's your LIFE you're risking!</sarcasm>

A patched tire is perfectly safe as long as the tire is not structurally compromised and properly patched. It's also a common practice done by about 80% of the forum respondents.

 

[SkooterG]

No Thanks' on patching a tire. I would plug a tire if i was on the side of the road and then replace it (Life is top short ) tire are cheap!

You resurrected a 6 month old thread to add that bit of wisdom?

The same here. I would never take any risk on plug & patch regardless what some other pilots say here. In regards to tires I am pretty surprised, the guys who always tighten the nuts and bolts according to the torque values, drive ATGATT, do all the forks and shocks every 10 k, etc are then ready to compromise on tires ... Sounds like a smart saving policy ...

Are you a tire expert?

 

[Bustanut joker]

My double plugged tire made it just fine on CA 299, CA 36, CA 49...before hitting upper FJR nominal speeds in Nevada on Hwy 50 whilst getting home from Kali...2000 miles of twisty curvy high speed on a double plugged opening on the bottom of the rear tire.
Without a care in the world.

Everybody knows a patch on the bottom of the tire is safe Mark.. Those in the topside are killers!

 

[wheatonFJR]

My double plugged tire made it just fine on CA 299, CA 36, CA 49...before hitting upper FJR nominal speeds in Nevada on Hwy 50 whilst getting home from Kali...2000 miles of twisty curvy high speed on a double plugged opening on the bottom of the rear tire.
Without a care in the world.

Everybody knows a patch on the bottom of the tire is safe Mark.. Those in the topside are killers!

Yep,

That's why I felt so safe on the ride home. I'm even surprised I patched it...just for good measure I guess.

 

[RadioHowie]

But, ******* it, NO ON will answer the question if a turkey will fit in a freakin' side bag!!