Discovered a carpenter's nail in my rear tire (Michelin Pilot, 170) and was wondering how safe/effective patching it would be? Unbelievably, I've never had a flat tire on a motorcycle in 15 years of riding (hope I didn't just jinx myself). Would hate to replace the rubber since they are barely halfway through their lifespan. Thoughts?
Nail in rear tire
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I just went through that: about 2100 mi on a Pilot Road. Like you, I hated to ditch it.
So I called my local bike place and the guy agreed to "help" me put a plug-patch in. I had to get a patch (not easy to buy that type).
We did the job. It leaked. I bought a new tire after all. Lost a week of riding because of dicking around with it.
In principle, I feel ok about a plug-patch. That's what I used to do to my Alfa Romeo tires which saw track time. I would not feel confident with a normal fiber plug. Frankly, I feel a lot better now knowing I have a new tire. It sux to drop the cash, but in the big scheme of things.....
So I called my local bike place and the guy agreed to "help" me put a plug-patch in. I had to get a patch (not easy to buy that type).
We did the job. It leaked. I bought a new tire after all. Lost a week of riding because of dicking around with it.
In principle, I feel ok about a plug-patch. That's what I used to do to my Alfa Romeo tires which saw track time. I would not feel confident with a normal fiber plug. Frankly, I feel a lot better now knowing I have a new tire. It sux to drop the cash, but in the big scheme of things.....
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3,931 Posts
I'll toss in my experience with patched tires, for what it's worth.
I ran over a nail or something a few years ago and punctured my Michelin Macadam 90X rear tire that only had about 2000 miles on it. The leak was slow enough that I was able to ride a few miles without it going completely flat. I took the wheel off and took it to the local Ducati dealer to get patched. I think it was like $40 or something to get the repair done.
Once it was patched, I rode the bike over the same road, ran over some unseen object that stuck in the tire, tore a chunk out of the rear hugger, and made the tire go flat within a mile. That particular road was so narrow where the tire went flat that I had to ride nearly a mile on the flat tire to get to a point wide enough that I could park the bike. By then the tire was totally wasted, so I used that as a hint that I should just replace a punctured tire rather than patching it.
After parking the bike, I bummed a ride with the next motorcyclist to come through there. Went home and grabbed my pickup truck to retreive the wounded Monster, and promptly ran out of gas on the freeway. I'll blame my kids for never putting gas in any of my vehicles when they drive them. Eventually my wife came with more gas, I fetched the Monster, ordered a new tire, and all was well.
I ran over a nail or something a few years ago and punctured my Michelin Macadam 90X rear tire that only had about 2000 miles on it. The leak was slow enough that I was able to ride a few miles without it going completely flat. I took the wheel off and took it to the local Ducati dealer to get patched. I think it was like $40 or something to get the repair done.
Once it was patched, I rode the bike over the same road, ran over some unseen object that stuck in the tire, tore a chunk out of the rear hugger, and made the tire go flat within a mile. That particular road was so narrow where the tire went flat that I had to ride nearly a mile on the flat tire to get to a point wide enough that I could park the bike. By then the tire was totally wasted, so I used that as a hint that I should just replace a punctured tire rather than patching it.
After parking the bike, I bummed a ride with the next motorcyclist to come through there. Went home and grabbed my pickup truck to retreive the wounded Monster, and promptly ran out of gas on the freeway. I'll blame my kids for never putting gas in any of my vehicles when they drive them. Eventually my wife came with more gas, I fetched the Monster, ordered a new tire, and all was well.
"a few years ago?"
Care to put a number on that?
You'll be hard pressed to find a shop that wants to plug a M/C tire. They're all terrified about liability. If they sell you a new tire, it's the manufacturer's problem if something happens. If they plug a hole and ANYTHING happens to the tire, and subsequently you, they have a huge legal mess on their hands.
So you may have no choice unless you know someone who will work with you on it.
Care to put a number on that?
You'll be hard pressed to find a shop that wants to plug a M/C tire. They're all terrified about liability. If they sell you a new tire, it's the manufacturer's problem if something happens. If they plug a hole and ANYTHING happens to the tire, and subsequently you, they have a huge legal mess on their hands.
So you may have no choice unless you know someone who will work with you on it.
i appreciate the feedback, gents. all signs point to new rubber. i agree with the plug. i try to avoid those with my car's tires so i don't think i could ever put them in a bike tire-even if some shady shop offered to do so. a new tire it is.
hey-what size tire you guys running in the rear? i currently have 170s and was thiniking about 180s, since i'm shopping anyway... any feelings on the issue?
hey-what size tire you guys running in the rear? i currently have 170s and was thiniking about 180s, since i'm shopping anyway... any feelings on the issue?
G
Guest
·over the past 6 months I got 4 nails in a Dunlop 208. All of them came before 1000 miles, so I just kept wanting to save the tire. So I did. I just bought some pluigs at wal-mart and Plugged them in the parking lot. Never had a leak. I check my air pressure about once a month, ride everyday to school. And fortunatly live on a great rode with alot of turns, so I get even wear on a tire. I just replaced the tire with 4500 miles on it.
But the point is $5.00 at walmart, and about 10 minutes in the parkinglot. Never lost a plug, never had a flat. Saved some money.
But the point is $5.00 at walmart, and about 10 minutes in the parkinglot. Never lost a plug, never had a flat. Saved some money.
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