Tire Repair

[PmodelinUS]

I left my house this morning thinking wow my bike feels sluggish. About 2 mins later a gentleman in a utility truck pulled up along side and mentioned my rear look low. I said im 56 so deal with it! I thanked him and pulled into the nearest gas station. Put my bike up on the center stand and started looking. A nice fat nail right in the middle of my tire. Really couldn't be in a better place. dead center nice meaty area plenty of rubber to work with. So if this was my car i'd plug it in a second. My question since I have never flat on a tubless bike until now is can i plug it the same way I would a car tire? I seem to remember some people talking about that. Thanks

Brian

 

[Mellow]

Yup, plug it the same way. Some do that and ride out the mileage and some are not confident with that repair and replace a tire.

If the tire has a lot of mileage might as well replace it... but I have no problem using typical worm style plugs.

 

[Larry Fine]

Agreed.

 

[GGely]

I recently posted regarding a small nail off to one side in my rear tire. One wiggly worm with some adhesive later, and no problems at all with leakage.

One more vote for the worm!

 

[core-aggie]

Can't tell how many times we've pulled over and I've fixed a puncture ... and then back on the road ... yep, two-up - and just me.

I'm surprised you didn't notice the air loss - I can feel the bike wiggle (at whichever end deflation is occuring), and pull over immediately.

A plug kit and portable compressor always occupy space in the side case (plus all 4 wheel vehicles).

 

[PmodelinUS]

It's a slow leak. Bike just felt heavy and unresponsive. Never a wiggle which surprised me. Must not have been that low. Lol

 

[Sadlsor]

It's a slow leak.

Well, if you just HAVE to have a leaky tire, that's the BEST kind to have.
A tire going *BANG!!!* and the immediate wallowing and flopping in a milisecond is more excitement - or at least the wrong kind of excitement - than I want to deal with, these days.

 

[mortenk]

Well, if you just HAVE to have a leaky tire, that's the BEST kind to have.
A tire going *BANG!!!* and the immediate wallowing and flopping in a milisecond is more excitement - or at least the wrong kind of excitement - than I want to deal with, these days.

I've had both types of leaks. The slow ones are always picked up by my TPMS before they are truly noticeable. I had a BANG once which made me pull over very quickly - change of underwear and then off to get a new tire.

 

[Erdoc48]

I used a Slime gummy worm in my Silverwing rear tire many months ago (actually ~ 1 year ago)- it worked fine until one day, the TPMS notified me the pressure was low on a ride (losing ~ 1 PSI every 10 miles)- when I got home, I was able to easily pull out the gummy from the hole in the tire (so I should not have been able to pull it out so easily)- then I used a Nealy kit plug (so rubber) and that sealed the hole really well and is supposed to be a permanent repair, so I rode on my merry way for a long time and checked the pressure regularly…until nail #2 in the rear tire on a diagonal path in the tread (for that I used a Dynaplug as the path was really small diameter but enough to make the tire leak)- after that I didn’t trust the tire and replaced it. I guess the actual right way to repair the tire is an internal patch, but that’s a fair amount more work.

 

[SMSW]

My auto mechanic once told me to use rubber tube cement (some are cold vulcanizing) on the gummy worm, put it in after reaming the hole (cleaning it) and then cut off the excess flush with the tire's tread. Then ride....

 

[Larry Fine]

I like to add an extra step: after prepping the insertion tool, I ream the hole again with the reamer coated with glue, then immediately insert the gluey worm, adding a twist as I pull the tool out.

 

[Al st1100]

I have seen the inside the tire that the plug was lit on fire after installing. The gummy stuff makes a ball inside the tire. I have plugged tires and burned a few and just plugged them. Have not had a problem either way

Then there is fortnine

 

[Pop-Pop]

On my first tour i had five plugs in the rear. Sidewall finally blew because i had a pump that didnt work. I dont iunderstand why so many plug makers use lube instead of rubber cement, but i used the cement. Let the tire sit for a little while and blow it up. Check preass a few mikes later.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I have seen the inside the tire that the plug was lit on fire after installing. The gummy stuff makes a ball inside the tire.

They do that anyway, no fire needed. Burning the plug on the outside of the tire isn't doing anything to plug on the inside of the tire, the flame isn't hot enough for that.

Stop & Go Mushroom Plugs (Product Review) | Tires/Wheels

For years I have used the Nealey Tire repair kits. It is basically a much better type of gummy made of silicone and rubber. It also makes a good inner type of patch the way it is applied. Here's a video and link: https://www.nealeytirerepairkit.com This is what I’ve used successfully for...

www.st-owners.com

 

[STumped]

A tire going *BANG!!!* and the immediate wallowing and flopping in a milisecond is more excitement - or at least the wrong kind of excitement - than I want to deal with, these days.

Like this?





I was doing about 80mph in a right hand sweeper when all of a sudden the bike turned to Jello! I stood it up and coasted ever so gingerly to the shoulder. To this day I don't know how I kept the bike upright without dropping it!

I have had plenty of slow leaks go flat from punctures on the rear tire but never had the tire come completely off the bead like this. When I later changed the tire I found a HUGE puncture but I never found what caused it.

But back to the topic at hand, as many others have said, plug it with a worm and keep a close eye on it.

 

[Jethro]

Are they the new style steel wear indicators?‍‍

 

[Sadlsor]

Like this?

Yes.
Just like that.
No bueno.

 

[SupraSabre]

I had my share of slow leaks and fast ones! Slow are the best, if you have to have one!

I plug them and then when I could, I'd pull off the tire and use a plug/patch. I would then replace the tire around 10K, instead of the 11K I would normally get out of a set of tires.

Yes, I always replaced both tires at the same time.

 

[STumped]

Are they the new style steel wear indicators?‍‍

Haha! That was the result of the flat at high speed, not the cause. We had just stopped to get gas (Well, my riding buddy got gas. Being on the ST, I got gas every other stop.) about 20 minutes before, and I had noticed that the tire was getting pretty worn. About at the wear bars but definitely no cords showing.

 

[Kevcules]

Like mentioned , if the tire was getting close to it's service life, I would probably replace it also.
I've used many worm plugs in my vehicles tires, but never in a motorcycle tire yet. I would feel better about using a T style plug from the inside on my bike. Using a worm to get me home is fine but soon after that, off the tire would come to patch it from the inside.
Good luck