To Plug or not to Plug

[Kirkster]

well after 300 miles on the new to me R1200R I have managed to hole the rear tire around an inch and a half off of the centerline. I have plugged the tire to get me back on the road. My dilemma is the fact that the tire has 6/32s of tread depth left (8/32 from the factory) so it is basically a new tire and I feel bad about just throwing it away...

That being said I have a new tire on the way but I wanted to get a bit more riding out of the old one since there is so much life left in it...

My feeling is to monitor the rear tire for pressure changes and just ride it.

Anyone????

[mogu83]

It really stinks to have to trash a good tire. BUT IMHO that's a call you'll have to make, depends on your risk level.

[jkhomes]

Motorcycling is risky enough. Something very similar happened to me and it took a couple days before my frugal side let go and I replaced the tire.

[Bamblys]

If it was me I wouldn't change the tire for riding just around the town. I really don't see a need to trash it. Just keep some tire plugs handy in case you need to replug it.
Of course if you plan to travel long distance that's a different story.

[roger l]

If you can get thie tire off the rim you can patch the tire from the inside with the patch/plug listed below. I have used these on a friends back tire and it is as good a new.

http://www.stopngo.com/categories/Inside-Out-Repairs/

Roger L

[David R]

I plug a tire to get home. Then I remove the tire from the rim and use the patch/plug like shown above.

The tire gets a good inspection from the inside and repaired from the inside where the air is.

I trust a plug/patch as a good repair and continue using the tire.


Do as you wish.

[Marcin]

If you can't decide between two things plug or inside out patch, choose the one that YOU feel most comfortable with and this way you will have peacfull mind and there will be nothing to worry about
IMHO inside/out plug is best way to go if you still want to get use out of that tire.

[objectuser]

Too bad there's not a lot of reliable research on this. From reading other forums (advrider) it seems like the sticky rope stuff works great, and other methods too. Rationally, I think patches are usually fine.

But I don't want to worry about it. I'd get a new tire. I had a brand new tire get a nail on one of my old bikes. I patched it to get it to the shop and chucked that sucker. The worry sucks my joy, so it wasn't worth it to me.

[Don C]

I've ridden thousands of miles on a professionally plugged tire. No issues.

[deilenberger]

I've used the patch-plugs, and when the tire finally passed on due to wear, I attempted to pull the plug out or otherwise make it so it might leak. Could not do. Once properly installed the plug/patch is there until the tire goes to the trash.

That said - if you're nervous - replace it. No use worrying while you ride. Takes the fun out of it.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Don't remember where I read this, but this is what I found when I tried to research this issue.
I originally was in favor of patching from within, and maybe even plugging. I felt plugging was probably a temporary measure, but there were testimonials out there of people who rode thousands of miles and just as many who swapped the tire out immediately. No real experimental nor control groups.

But, think of car tires. The FLAT part of a car tire is the part than can be plugged. No one plugs a puncture on the sidewalls, and why? Because the sidewall flexes. And as it flexes it is rounded, changes shape and puts traction and stresses on that wall that would likely disrupt any plug or patch located there.
Now, think of motorcycle tires. There are NO flat tread areas, the entire cross section of the tire is round, and the whole tire flexes. Because of the flexing that will invariably occur as the tire was designed to do just that, flex,this was used as an argument to get a new tire if a puncture occured.
This was the first argument that made sense to me. When you're going through sweepers or twisties, that tire is flexing on a rounded edge to keep contact on the ground. That flexing can loosen a patch on the inside. It can loosen a plug and POOF. Or it seems very possible that could happen.

Obviously that doesn't happen to many people. Or maybe they never have the opportunity to report it, but the rationale to NOT plug or patch because of flexing is hard to dispute, at least in my mind. It changed my mind about the advisability of doing anything but replacing the tire at the earliest opportunity. Plugging is still an option, but only temporarily. You may think differently, but that argument made sense to me and changed my mind.
I am reminded of a comment the chief of LSU Surgery used to say in his Saturday 7am "pit" rounds, "You can walk blindfolded across Tulane Ave (a very busy street in front of Charity Hospital) and you may not get hit by a car, but that doesn't mean you should do it every day."
John

[snag]

I holed a brand new PR 3 rear with less than 20 miles on it. The piece of steel was about 2mm in diameter, so the hole was very small and about an inch off center. After talking to my mechanic, I plug/patched it; making sure that all of the mold release compound was completely off of the patch area and remounted the tire. That was 5,000 miles ago and the tire has been fine. My experience only, but so far, so good.

Doug

[SF_Hooligan]

I used to have a 110+ mile commute (each way) that I did on my VFR. I got a nail in a pretty new tire (PR2 something or other) at one point and plugged it. I was like some of you, thinking I'd replace it pretty quick, but I got over the nervousness and just rode it. I put another few thousand on it with zero issues. In my opinion, a proper plug job or patch is fine for most street riding. If you really push things on a regular basis, I suppose that could be different - but I know guys who ride like that and occasionally ride on plugged rubber.

[David R]

I've ridden thousands of miles on a professionally plugged tire. No issues.

I install about 100 of those rope type plugs in automotive tires a year. I leave them as a permanent repair.

If the hole is bigger, or at an angle or anything else, I dismount the tire and install a patch/plug or "Minicombi" or
combination plug patch. What ever you call it.

Sidewalls cannot be repaired. Tread area can.

I picked up a piece of wire in a new tire on a new bike. 1200 miles on the tire. I plugged the tire, got home.

Removed the tire to make a proper repair inside and saw the wire was U or L shaped and had torn up the tire on the
inside from moving back and forth as the tire went around. This had happened before I pulled the wire out and made
the temporary plug. I then discarded the tire because the integrity of the tire was ruined even if it would hold air.

I have also removed tires off my bikes that are worn out and had 2 or 3 of those combination plug patches in them with
no trouble. I do not leave a rope type plug in for long. Just enough to get home. When I do, I can pull the plug
out from the inside with ease.

Motorcycle tires are thin by nature. A thin flexible quality patch applied properly inside will become part of the tire.

This IS on the front of my 2112 R1200R. Its a metzler Z8 that is Original thire. The bike had about 5,000 miles on it then
Its now up to 6400 miles. I plugget that tire, went home and installed a proper repair inside the tire. Still riding on it, but
the set of tires gets replaced in another 1,000 miles.


Like some one said above, try and remove a properly installed patch from inside the tire.
Plugs I can pull out so I am nervous they can come out on their own or from heat and flex of the tire.

If it makes you nervous or money is not a problem go buy a new tire.

I am not trying to convince anybody of anything. Just my way of doing it. I"m a 52 year old mechanic that has been riding al my life.

David

[Bill Stevenson]

You need to evaluate the tire and depending on the location, size and amount of damage make a decision. There is no single answer. An internal patch will not prevent ply separation. A plug can get cut up by steel belts. In my past I have plugged and ridden to end of useful life any number of bias ply tires on various Beemers. But previous Beemers did not have as much power as our R1200Rs do. Steel belts that have been compromised by holes are very unforgiving things. For this rider, on this modern bike, a compromised tire is not worth the risk.

Bill