Nail in Tire

[R100R Rider]

Got a nail in the middle of tread of rear tire. Would any of you plug and then ride the tire?  Not ready for tires yet.

[dirtrider]

23 minutes ago, R100R Rider said:

Got a nail in the middle of tread of rear tire. Would any of you plug and then ride the tire?  Not ready for tires yet.

Evening R100R Rider

 

Personally (I) would plug & ride it as long as a tire cord wasn't cut. 

 

Some riders don't feel comfortable doing this so it is kind of a personal thing based on past history & risk assessment.  

[Rinkydink]

42 minutes ago, R100R Rider said:

Got a nail in the middle of tread of rear tire. Would any of you plug and then ride the tire?  Not ready for tires yet.

For just putting around town yes but 80mph on the freeway kind of worries me. 

[9Mary7]

I would plug it and ride......done that with a couple road tires. Had that happen to a supersport race tire years ago....and I wore the tread off and that plug never leaked.

[MichiganBob]

No easy answer. For me, exact location, quality of plug, and tire life are considerations. Also, on long trips,  say 2k or more, I would put on a new tire just for peace of mind. Needing a new tire on the road can ruin a well deserved outing.

[Lowndes]

Easy answer for me:  PLUG IT.  But, .....use the right kind of plug.  

 

I've plugged my tires, car, truck, and bike tires numerous times through the years.  I've had plugs leak (the WRONG kind of plugs) but never had any tire failures, blowouts, separation, disintegration, nuclear explosions, or virus epidemics caused by a right or wrong kind of tire plug.  Sorry.  

 

The WRONG type of tire plug is the "rope" type that is covered on the outside in black, red, or green sticky stuff.  If you look at the ends of the plug and see ANY fibers in the center, that is the WRONG type.  If they are black, red, or green all the way through, NO fibers visible in the center, then THAT is the right kind of plug.  

 

I saw an add for a new and slightly different type of plug several weeks ago.  ReXpair has a slightly different type of plug: a solid, 3 ply strip that is soft (very flexible, but strong).  It made sense to me and I ordered it from WallyWorld, $25.  Comes in a PINK pouch, complete with the prep tool, insertion tool, 20 ml of "Vulcanizing Fluid", seven plugs (13 x 100 mm), instructions, and a nice set of snips for pulling nails and cutting off excess "plug" after the install.  All in a nice little pink purse.  Youtube it to see it in action:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0n_NCbt8ZCw

 

About 5 years ago I bought a 2000 K1200RS, the Flying Brick in checker cab livery from a Russian truck driver up in South Carolina who needed cash.  Only had 30 K on the clock.  Got it home and started taking weekend day trips to get used to it.  After a week or two I noticed a very slow loss of pressure in the rear tire, a Bridgestone that was hard as a bowling ball but had plenty of tread left.  Finally found the leak in an old plug so I replugged it.  Still had to air it up before every weekend, 3-4 pounds.  After a while I got tired of that (and looking for the leak) and decided to wear that tire out as quickly as I could.  Did everything but burnouts but could not wear it out, got tred of that, too, and bought a new Michelin.  After an epic struggle in the basement with that tire, got it off the rim and threw in on the trashcan where I caught a glimpse of a green plug on the inside.  I had used a black plug so it caught my attention.  After counting several times I found SEVEN (7) PLUGS in that tire.  The Russian must have worked in a junkyard.  Wish I'd kept it, might be Guinness record.

 

If you have too much money or just don't want to take the chance on breaking a fingernail, or worse yet, ohmygodno getting some dirt underneath one of those fingernails, or you scare easy, or are tortured by dreams of cataclysmic calamities then please, please, PLEASE: GO BUY A NEW TIRE.  Or two or three to carry along incase you have a flat on your way home from the tire store.  

 

I had to put two brand new Michelins on my K bike last week just before START cause the other tires were very dirty.

 

 

 

 

[MichiganBob]

What do you folks think about those mushroom plugs?

[King Herald]

I've only had 2 punctures in the last 20 years... both last year, both in rear tyres, both on my Oilhead. 

First was a nail on an almost new rear tyre, which could not be repaired, too close to the sidewall, so the tyre shop told me.

 

A new tyre was put on.... and 1000 miles later it is going soft. I found a very slow leak in the centre of the tread, so used my 'worm' kit to ream the hole out and put a wriggly worm in, with the glue on it. That lasted perfectly until I changed the tyre 7000 miles later. 

 

Lots of people use them, and are perfectly happy to ride on them. 

[eisenwal]

9 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

What do you folks think about those mushroom plugs?

I removed a screw in center area of rear tire and replaced it with mushroom plug and rode another couple of thousand kms with no problem.

[Joe Coastie]

Middle of the tire, patch it on the inside then wear out the tire.

I've done this a couple of time and never had a problem.

But I also worked in a tire shop for a number of years and learned the correct method of patching.

 

.

 

 

[9Mary7]

11 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

What do you folks think about those mushroom plugs?

Those are ideal. Michelin used to sell what they called a "Plug Patch" which was done at a tire shop from the inside......dunno if those still exist.

[ADulay]

Have never owned a motorcycle in the last 50 years or so that didn’t have at least one plugged tire on it at some time.

 

Once you’ve actually plugged a tire properly, you’ll get a nice smile on your face when the air pressure holds and in the morning the pressure is still good!

 

I have no problems with riding on a plugged tire and several of them went full mileage until replacement.

 

AD

 

[szurszewski]

Nealey rope repair and ride until you are ready for a new tire. Used them many times on bikes and cars/trucks - no problem. You've got a particularly good spot to repair in the tread on the rear. 

 

https://www.nealeytirerepairkit.com/shop

[TEWKS]

13 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

What do you folks think about those mushroom plugs?

Love my Stop & Go kit. 

 

[wbw6cos]

How do you get your GoPro out once you plug it and air the tire up? 

 

Or do you leave it in there to see how it holds while you ride?

 

Enquiring minds.   

 

 

My used-up tire with a Nealey plug in it.  The 1.5 turns you make, once inserted, look like that.  I ended up picking up a screw after a few hundred miles on my new Metzeler rear tire.   I ran it until cords showed about 4,300 miles later.  Yeah, you read that right.   

 

 

 

The red arrow indicates the tire plug.   

 

 

 

 

So, yeah, I would plug it and ride it out until I get cords, which is my helpful wear indicator.   

 

[R100R Rider]

Got the plug in and it is holding air.  thanks for all of the tips.

 

 

[Lowndes]

20 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

What do you folks think about those mushroom plugs?

If it's a text book puncture, i.e., a Made in the USA nail or an SAE screw (won't work on metric screws) at a perfect 90° to the tread surface and dead center, and it's not too big or too small, and the moon is in the second house, you're good.  

 

Here's one NOT to fall for:

 

 

It might work on a No. 9 sewing needle puncture if conditions are perfect.  The little plugs are way too small and the CO2 cartridge, well, you'll get more pressure and volume from a medium popcorn fart.  In marketing terms it's what's called a "separator"; it is designed solely to separate you from two $20 bills.  If by chance it happens to do something usefull it was an accident.

 

Here is a real-world puncture, happened to me coming home from 200 miles in the North Georgia mountains, Sunday, Feb 5, 2:43 PM.  The TPMS sounded off just as I pulled into the garage.  Notice the offending item did not even have a California Prop 65 warning label on it.  My attorneys are begging me to file a claim against the State of California but CA is broke.  What's the use.

 

 

Plenty of tread left but it was just too dirty.  Got a new cover.

 

[WRP]

My "stop and go" kit (m'room plugs)  has saved me a few times (friends too). Once on a new Metz with ~300 mi on it, rode 'till the wear bars were well worn. Would have changed it before a road trip tho.

The last time I used the kit it only held air long enough to get home, ~20 mi, but after the tech found this (see foto) in the carcass I guess I'll forgive it!

596EA63E-79E4-4667-9682-C5B4FFC1EC25.heic

[WRP]

dang, supposed to be a foto there!? my bad