Boots Ideas to repair melted boot heel?

Joined
Mar 17, 2013
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176
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Dahlonega, Georgia
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2020 Africa Twin DCT
Long ride on my kid's Vulcan when we moved him last week from GA to PA, melted away a large portion of my boot heel (rubber) early in the trip on his exhaust. Found out when my foot became glued to the pavement at a stoplight.
Price of sending out looks to be more than half the cost of new, anyone have DIY experience building a boot heel back up? I melted off about 1/3, so 2/3 of heel still touches the ground.
 
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Sep 4, 2013
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Cleveland
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Go to ebay and search for shoe goo. It is a self curing rubber compound that I've used (a lot) to repair sneakers. It wont last forever, and is difficult to level because it sticks to most anything when wet but it is a good quick fix. I've created a dam with a flexible piece of metal or cardboard covered with (sacrificial) saran wrap and squeezed the stuff into the area.

When this stuff is fresh, it flows quite freely. I bought two tubes of the stuff that were older, and more like toothpaste. Not good. The vendor refunded my money, however, and I threw the stuff away. Be forewarned. Btw, the smell of the stuff suggests that it is extremely flammable and probably should be used with plenty of ventilation.
 
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Hereford, AZ
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I have a pair of AlpineStar Grand Torino boots. I think I paid $300 there about for them over four years ago. Last summer the soles finally gave out and I had to resole the boot. I found a local cobbler that does this type of shoe repair it was a $100, if I get another 2 to 4 years it is well worth the money over buying new boots.

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JQL

Growing old disgracefully :)
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Essonne, France
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The AlpineStar boots are designed to be re-soled and re-healed. Some other makes are not...

If yours are AlpineStars, take them to a cobbler.
 
Joined
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Cleveland
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The AlpineStar boots are designed to be re-soled and re-healed. Some other makes are not...

If yours are AlpineStars, take them to a cobbler.
In the old days, soles were sewn to the shoe (boot) uppers along a seam on the outside of the shoe. This narrow strip of fabric/leather/stitching is called the welt. The heel was glued and nailed to the sole. Today a lot of cheaper boots are made by gluing the shoe top to a molded sole that includes the heel. These are usually not repairable. Your best bet is to check with a cobbler.
 
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Svrdhd
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Dahlonega, Georgia
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2020 Africa Twin DCT
The melted boot is actually a Redwing and is a glued sole, not sewn.
I rotate out my old work safety boots every 2-3 years to become my riding boots, and this particular pair is the most comfortable I've ever had. I've been building up layers with Shoe Goo for the past week as it takes forever to cure with that much depth, but not optimistic that it will last very long once completed.
 
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Svrdhd
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
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Location
Dahlonega, Georgia
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2020 Africa Twin DCT
Update: took SMSW's advice, used cardboard to make a dam and built up over several days with Shoe Goo to fill in the missing chunk. Almost a year later I'm happy to report that the repair is holding up well. In fact I leveled the other heel where it had begun to taper and that is also holding up well.

Totally understand others recommending dedicated M/C boots, but when I transition a pair of work boots to motorcycle boots I still may ride to a job site where steel toes are mandatory. Plus the ability to immediately hop off the bike and walk into a boardroom or nice restaurant is a bonus.
 
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