Hello fellow 54 riders, i have a dilemma. About two weeks ago I bought a new front tire for my bike on a saturday. It was nice out so i basically broke it in the same day(and my wife was out of town). Now here's were the bs starts, I have a great day saturday then ride pretty much all day sunday. Then before I head home a buddy calls and wants to do a quick run around the city, and I of course said cool. Get out on the main highway and pick up some speed and have the damn rear tire catch a nail and go flat. Now comes the hard part and my overall ? Its a tire with more than half life left, and the nail went in right down the center almost. People tell me to have it patched from the inside and of course dealership says don't do it and let them put on a new one. What do you all think?

 

If it were me i would replace it. However i know a lot of people that have patch/plugged tires and been fine. I guess the other thing you can factor in is how much is it gonna cost ya. I know some places seem to charge a ton for changing and balancing a tire, if ya gotta pay 50-70 bucks to get it taken off, patched, and re balanced then you may just say F it and get a new one. Get that one patched anyhow and keep it for a spare.

 

well the same thing happened to me but it was with a brand new tire and an industrial size staple. i of course plugged it for the simple reasons, tires are not cheap, the same thing could happen if i was to replace it as i was leaving the lot, now i have about 1500 miles on the plugged tire, its done worn in so well that you cantthat you cant even see where the plug went.

i know alot of people say that its a bad idea to plug a tire but if you do it right you should be fine.

and if it was such a bad idea why would they make kits for just such an occasion?

 

I myself, along with a few other pepole I ride with, have ridden on a plugged tire. I can get the tire removed, plugged from the inside, re-installed on the wheel, and balanced for $15-20 depending on where I take it. I like to get the most life I can out of my tires, however if it were anywhere near the edges I'd be a little more uneasy. Since it's right down the middle, I say have it patched if you think it's going to be cost effective to do it. If you do a lot of hard and fast cornering, or wheelies I might re-think it a little more, but I still think that as long as it's in the middle of the tire, you should be ok.

 

You can get the plug/patch style (like the MiniComby)that are ZR rated after the fix. They do require removal of the tire to install and rebalancing, and there's a lot of requirements for their safe use (where on the tire, etc).

So...I'd go for the fix if it meets the requirements. One advantage I have, though, is a manual tire changing machineat my house, so switching around tires is easier than taking it to the dealer.

 

I have rode both patched and plugged tires and never had a problem. But everyone i know says that they would never ride a repaired tire unless they repaired it themselves, a good repair or a bad repair can be the difference between a good time and a trip to the ER.

Personal opinion- If you ride fast and hard, get a new tire, might cost a little more but it would be worth the safty to me..

If you joy ride like me, plug it and ride it.

 

My last rear tire had 2 plugs in it. 1 dead centre and the 2nd just to the right a fraction.

Cost me $10 AUS at a tyre place and it was fine.

All i was told was not to ride more than 180km/hr (dunno what that is in m/hr) and I never had a dilemma.

Even when I changed it I did some bad assed burnouts and the plugs held like they should.

 

180km/h is ~112mph, That is a safe rule of thumb, i never took my repaired tires over 100mph as recomended by a friend, and never had any trouble.

 

i appreciate the remarks from everyone who responded. i guess my best bet is to get a new one mainly because i only havejust short oftwo months before myrtle beach bike week. and i'm not at all trying to have any tire issues while down there, but i will be sure to keep my old tire and have it patched for spare. once again thanks

 

I support your choice