Dang..100 miles from home and a flat tire

[Skywagon]

I put this post under gear because I want to mention the on-board gear I had.  I took off today, destination no where.  I was out about 100 miles from home on a lonely country road.  I really honestly wasn't sure where which is how I like to ride. Well low and behold I hear a thunk.  Hey I must have hit something.  Can't believe I didn't see it....oh well.  Within 5-10 minutes my dashboard lit up like a Christmas Tree.  There was red triangle flashing and a couple of other yellow lights going.  I starting through the thumb wheel to see if I lost oil pressure or an alternator.  I look at my tire pressure and my rear that started out at 44 is now at 22.  I found a space to pull over and went to work.  Now I know what that red triangle is for.

 

I learned about these three products here over the years.  I pulled out my Neely plug kit - which was probably 10 years old.  I had never used a plug kit before.  I pulled out my little pvc t-handle and my slime air pump which has never been used but probably 15 years old.  It still had the receipt in the box for $15 from AutoZone.  I followed the Neely instructions exactly, plugged it up, air it up, checked for leaks, and rode home.  It never lost any air.

 

So....whomever taught me about Neely, Slime airpump, and the trick to use a pvc tee....thank you.  While I was rolling around in that dirt lot fixing it, I was thinking this board saved me a lot of grief today.

[TEWKS]

Might’ve been Eddd on the T handle IIRC.  Only a flat but man, didn’t it feel like you conquered the world when it held air and you could ride home...

[Dave_in_TX]

I do not remember who first recommended the Nealy repair kit but mine has saved me multiple times over the years.

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

What is this T-handle you speak of?

[TEWKS]

1 hour ago, Danny caddyshack Noonan said:

What is this T-handle you speak of?

Here ya go. 

[Skywagon]

Tewks... yes it did feel good. I had visions of a 100 mile tow and having to finance it

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

One thing I learned when I got a mid-trip flat in 2014: firing up your engine brings system voltage up to 14+ volts, which makes the Slime pump spin a LOT faster.  

[Scarecrow]

23 hours ago, TEWKS said:

Here ya go. 

Thanks for adding that link.  I have the slime pump but didn't know about the t-handle or ever think about replacing the plugs.  Mine have been under the seat for 16 years now!  I'll also add in a small tube of the rubber cement.  

 

S

[Dave_in_TX]

46 minutes ago, Scarecrow said:

Thanks for adding that link.  I have the slime pump but didn't know about the t-handle or ever think about replacing the plugs.  Mine have been under the seat for 16 years now!  I'll also add in a small tube of the rubber cement.  

 

S

With the Nealey kit you do not need cement.

[Rinkydink]

25 minutes ago, Dave_in_TX said:

With the Nealey kit you do not need cement.

The rubber cement is used as a lubricant to make it easier to insert plug. Uh, think KY jelly 😳 to get you started. 

[Hosstage]

36 minutes ago, Rinkydink said:

 Uh, think KY jelly 😳 to get you started. 

I think that depends on what your end goal is...

[MikeB60]

On the way to FART in 2018.  I've had a ton of rear flats, this was the first front.  Cant beat the Nealey kit.  

[realshelby]

I am so pleased with the Nealy kits that I have them in every vehicle. The "NO CEMENT" is the key as even new cement tubes go bad ( only found out when needed...).

I did have one tire that failed to seal with a Nealy plug. Actually several of them in the slice in the tire on another riders bike. Someone had some mushroom plugs that sealed up....better but it still had a slow leak. 

 

Someone took that trip knowing the tire was bad, had "patched" it previously. I wouldn't stoop to naming that person that lives in TEWKSbury. 

[John Ranalletta]

10 minutes ago, realshelby said:

I am so pleased with the Nealy kits that I have them in every vehicle. The "NO CEMENT" is the key as even new cement tubes go bad ( only found out when needed...).

I did have one tire that failed to seal with a Nealy plug. Actually several of them in the slice in the tire on another riders bike. Someone had some mushroom plugs that sealed up....better but it still had a slow leak. 

 

Someone took that trip knowing the tire was bad, had "patched" it previously. I wouldn't stoop to naming that person that lives in TEWKSbury. 

 

I think that was the same day Bob was offering healing services in the parking lot.

 

[Dave_in_TX]

14 hours ago, Rinkydink said:

The rubber cement is used as a lubricant to make it easier to insert plug. Uh, think KY jelly 😳 to get you started. 

The Nealey kit is made to be used without cement. I'm not sure if it would help or hinder sealing but I have had success multiple times without cement.

[Skywagon]

I ordered a new kit.  I'm a receipt packrat.  My last kit cost $10.  This one cost $17.95.  That is probably a clue how long ago I bought mine and it still worked great.  I thought the ropes were a little stiff so time to update.  The last time I ordered they sent them to me and said when you get them, send us a check.  This time paypal which I hate for security reasons.

[TEWKS]

Same as far as the relaxed nature of the order years back. I’m thinking the creator of the product may have passed ( just a guess) and now business is business. 

I’ve been converted from a Nealey fan to a Stop & Go fan. Just an option to consider.

 

[Skywagon]

I have a stop and go too...never used it, but I carry it also.

[Dave_in_TX]

4 hours ago, TEWKS said:

Same as far as the relaxed nature of the order years back. I’m thinking the creator of the product may have passed ( just a guess) and now business is business. 

I’ve been converted from a Nealey fan to a Stop & Go fan. Just an option to consider.

 

I went the other way because the Stop and Go is sometimes difficult to use and if you read the fine print, the Stop and Go is a temporary patch while the Nealey is a permanent patch.

[eddd]

I carried a Stop and Go as well as a Dynaplug kit for a while before I decided to tried the Nealey.  I found the Stop and Go to be tricky to use properly and only suited for punctures that were "ideal" like a roofing nail straight in in the center of the tread.  The Dynaplug was OK for a small hole, but it wasn't the easiest to use on the side of the road and came up short if you needed a second plug due to the size of the hole.  The Nealey's small size makes it easy to carry.  It is easy to use, and you can add extra strings as needed for hard to plug holes.  I sliced a tire on my ATV on some sharp granite 30 miles into the backcountry of Utah.  It took 3 or 4 Nealey strings to close that hole.  It got me back home and I ran with that repaired tire for hundreds of leak free off-road miles.  

[TEWKS]

Yeah the Stop & Go is not a real intuitive product to use. Takes a refresher video about every six months to be proficient at using it. (takes less training to use an AED)  

 

Kind of kidding but, breaking the S&G out of its packaging for the first time on the side of the road will have you scratching your noggin.

 

Posted this pic before but it’s a good visual of the failed rope plugs and the three S&G mushroom plugs that saved my cheap butt. 
 

Not dissing Nealey’s kit, it worked very well in other situations.

 

[realshelby]

Tewks, as I recall, the problem we were running into when patching your tire was the nealy plugs were slipping. There was so much cement involved from the multiple attempts to patch with other types. You can see that in the pic.  Had that not been so messy, I still think the nealy plugs would have worked well enough. Regardless, none of the external patching methods are really intended for any hole not more or less round.