Question about patching tire

[dbozroz]

While my R1200RT was in for maintenance at BMW dealership they found a staple had punctured my rear tire - their policy was to not repair the tire so I had them replace it with a new one. A new Michelin PR3 with not more than 500 miles on it!! This puncture was almost directly in the middle of the tire, not on the side. Is this tire a total loss or can it be patched safely?

[ElevenFifty]

Patch it. If the tire is off you can do a proper patch.

[HeliMark]

Had a nail on my PR2 rear at 400 miles. Gumby patch to the tire shop and had a patch put on from the inside. Rode it 11,000 after that with no problems.

 

-Mark

[RAMBLIN RED]

I punctured a new tire with 27 miles on it. I was advised to replace it, but being a poor s.o.b. I patched and rode it for another 6500 miles. It began losing about 10 psi in a 24 hour period, so I replaced it then

[OoPEZoO]

I would patch it. Take it to a tire shop or a small independent bike shop and have a proper patch installed from the inside of the tire. If it was a large nail that tore up the carcass of the tire, I wouldn't mess with it, but a clean staple puncture should be easily repairable.

[donbmw]

From working in a bike shop 90% of them are going to replace a tire than patch due to liablity of the repair. It is bad enough even after you tell the owner after replacing a tire be care full the first few miles that the tire is slippery. I have had the pull out of the parking lot and gas it hard and spin out and come back bitching we did not get all the tire lube off. I personally will plug or patch my own and not had the first issue with this but that is my butt on my bike. I did change a tire on youg kids sport bike and that weekend heard he had gone off the road and was killed. Was expected a law suit by the way he and his father acted we they came and picked up the bike. Found out latter he had been chasing some girls when he went off the road. There could be alot of liablety in just touch tires and wheels.

[Bologna]

A good tech can patch that with no worries!

[donbmw]

I agree but it is not the normally the tech you have to worry about.

[Skywagon]

I had a similar event happen at 1000 miles. I wrote Michelin a nice note about being a bit disappointed. They told me to buy a new tire, send them the receipt, and they reimbursed me for 1/2 of the tire....

[g_frey]

I have never had a patch fail in 45 years of riding. I did work for Firestone Tire and Rubber for awhile and saw patched tires come back in though, but none I patched. I prefer the sticky rope however for ease of use. As for Firestone they used to hire people who just did not give a darn about their workmanship sometimes and nearly all the problem repairs were traced back to these people time after time. Of course with the "give a shit" attitude at headquarters of "steel belted 500's defective? Sell them off as fast as possible AND CHARGE THE CUSTOMER FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN TREAD DEPTH WEAR???". (direct quote of headquarters team sent from Akron out to boost productivity) This was prior to the 500,000 tire recall forced on Firestone by the Feds.

[Bologna]

I have never had a patch fail in 45 years of riding. I did work for Firestone Tire and Rubber for awhile and saw patched tires come back in though, but none I patched. I prefer the sticky rope however for ease of use. As for Firestone they used to hire people who just did not give a darn about their workmanship sometimes and nearly all the problem repairs were traced back to these people time after time. Of course with the "give a shit" attitude at headquarters of "steel belted 500's defective? Sell them off as fast as possible AND CHARGE THE CUSTOMER FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN TREAD DEPTH WEAR???". (direct quote of headquarters team sent from Akron out to boost productivity) This was prior to the 500,000 tire recall forced on Firestone by the Feds.

Gum Dipped veteran here, where did you work?

[myshkin]

Patch it. The dealers are just trying to sell you a tire. Some dealers won't touch the tire. Find a dealer that will and get him to explain how he is going to fix it and if it makes sense to you go for it.

[Mister Tee]

I have never had a plug fail on me in 30 years of riding.

 

Well, once, when I ran over some object that put a half inch slit in my tread. I made it to a gas station, and attempted a plug repair in order to get home (this was on a Friday evening and all the tire shops were closed) but it just didn't take. That ended up being a very expensive tow home.

 

Nail or screw hole, plug no problem. Gash like that, I doubt a patch would have worked for very long either.

[tchap]

In 2009, a buddy and I (both on R12RTs) were 12 miles into a 6000 mile trip when he picked up a drywall screw in his rear tire. Fixed it with a Stop & Go plug and finished the trip without a hitch.

[Antimatter]

I've always (well, twice) dismounted the tire and patched it from the inside with an automotive patch. Both times the tires were ridden to the wear marks without incident. I generally won't do a track day on a patched tire (had to replace one at the track - $$ouch), and consider any patched tire to be reduced one speed rating. If you have to do 'on the road' repairs, I prefer the sticky rope type as opposed to the plug type.

 

One of the advantages of doing your own tire changes is that you can make these sorts of decisions. No dealer that I know of will patch or install a patched tire for liability reasons.

[randy]

dismount tire and complete an inside patch the use. as noted above will not patch a track day tire, but for daily commuter tire I have patched a number of tires

[RTinNC]

Some time ago the folks on this site turned me on to Nealey's tire repair kits. So taking the word of the experts I bought one. Had to use it about a month ago. It worked like a charm on a tire with only 1000 miles on it. Thanks!!

 

http://www.tirerepairkit.com/

[pmottaz]

I have never had a plug fail on me in 30 years of riding.

 

Well, once, when I ran over some object that put a half inch slit in my tread. I made it to a gas station, and attempted a plug repair in order to get home (this was on a Friday evening and all the tire shops were closed) but it just didn't take. That ended up being a very expensive tow home.

 

Nail or screw hole, plug no problem. Gash like that, I doubt a patch would have worked for very long either.

 

+1, I've used sticky rope plugs (for nail/screw punctures) on my bike and cars for years and never had problems.

[malcolmblalock]

Ditto.

[Jaguar]

I've used sticky rope plugs (for nail/screw punctures) on my bike and cars for years and never had problems.

 

+1

 

[rabbibgr]

If you cannot get an internal patch, you can put in a tube. Just make sure that there are no sharp edges inside the tire. An ideal repair for a large hole or small slit would be an internal patch and a tube.

[g_frey]

Bologna: I worked in Columbia, MO at the Firestone place out by the Mall. It was a learning experience and I have never bought anything from Firestone in the 40 years since.

[RTJohn]

Makes me wonder why Bridgestone bought them out a few years ago...?

[Bob_Minor]

Makes me wonder why Bridgestone bought them out a few years ago...?

 

Try 24 years ago!

[NCStephen]

Like others, I have used the sticky rope type plugs. I have them on the bike and they have come into use 2x on the road and 1x in the driveway at home. All uses were in the main 1/3 middle of the tread. Two were on tires within the first 1/4 of their life. Those tires finished service without another problem. One was on a tire just past the wear bars and to be replaced the next day. That one I was worried about. It got me home but there was just a very few mm of rubber for it to bound to.

 

If I was on the road and came across another who needed help with a flat. I would offer instruction of what could be done, what I had that might help, a short discourse of the pros and cons and let the other person decide and perform the repair if that is what they chose.

 

Where I have seen this repair fail is when the object penetrated the tire at a very flat angle instead of going in near vertical. It seems then that the repair is forced to undergo lots of movement of the various layers of rubber and belts and the seal it initial creates is forced back open.

 

NCS

[malcolmblalock]

+1