Admin Jaap Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 At the moment I have a small nail in my rear tyre and am looking into reparing the tyre. What's your opinion on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Minnaert Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 ask a tyre specialist, I suppose air goes out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhansen Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 ask a tyre specialist, I suppose air goes out? Yes, I would agree. Still, an experts opinion should be sought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeve Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 At the moment I have a small nail in my rear tyre and am looking into reparing the tyre. What's your opinion on this? General consensus stateside is the following: The gummy worm patches work better than anything else, short of dismounting the tire & doing a vulcanized patch from the inside. Unfortunately for the latter route, by the time you pay for dismounting/patching/remounting the tire, you might as well have gone ahead & put on a new tire for the minimal added expense [unless you like particularly expensive tires.] Patches should only be attempted on punctures occurring in the center 1/3rd of the tread; the outer 1/3rd on either side is too critical to your well-being [altho' notorious cheapskates like me will stretch it to the center 1/2 of the tread on the rear tire, since most of my miles are commuting & the outer edges of my rear tires hardly see use... ] Reduce the maximum speed-rating of the tire by at least one level, ie: Z rated tires (up to 150mph) reduced to H (up to 130mph), etc. Again, this isn't much of a concern for most of us... but if you wind up patching it again [same handyman's truck dropping nails on your route every day?..], reduce it another level. Pretty soon you're looking at M-ratings (do not exceed 79mph) and it's just not worth it any more... Remember that you're riding on a patched tire & be ready to swap it out early; no riding til bald, keep an eye on the TWI! Most riders I know will replace the tire if it gets a second puncture [why is it only rear tires seem to collect nails?], whereas car can get away with multiple patches on all four corners. C'est la vie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alevfr Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I've repaired my rear D208 RR about 2000 km ago whit this kit http://www.carpimoto.it/images/products/zoom/t/tt_REA_Z2.jpg works fine !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Jaap Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 The nail is still in and the tyre keeps its pressure. I don't know what will happen if I take the nail out. The tyre dealer said not to use a repair set, but to change the tyre. I expected this answer from him of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchCityBallabio Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 Replacing the tire = sleeping better at night. I don't know about you, but at 100+mph, I just don't want to worry that maybe, that plug isn't quite right. I've used plug kits to get home and to the shop to have it replaced, but never driven any real distance on a plugged tire. IMO it's just cheap insurance to get rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badmotogoozer Posted March 29, 2007 Share Posted March 29, 2007 I've used plug kits to get home and to the shop to have it replaced, but never drove any real distance on a plugged tire. IMO it's just cheap insurance to get rid of it. Painful, but in the scheme of things, just a very small drop in the bucket you've already poured into the bike... Funny how most of us won't hesitate to drop $$$ on bling bits or go fast bits but when it comes to a puncture, nobody wants to spend the $200 on peace of mind and safety. Rj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ratchethack Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 ...why is it only rear tires seem to collect nails?... I came up with a theory a ways back that goes like this: Nearly all nails, screws, bolts, etc. encountered by motorcycle tires are encountered first by the front tire, the front tire "running interference", as it were, f'er the greatest portion of the contact patch of the rear tire. I figure a huge percentage of such nasty little road devils are run over "flat" and safely kicked out of the way of the rear tire, or again safely run over "flat" by the rear tire. A certain small percentage, however, will be lifted up by the leverage of the front tire's pressure on it, and in the relative vacuum of the air swirl behind the tire, they get kicked up "end over end" -- setting it up f'er a perfect "through the uprights" trajectory, whereby it ends up pointy end on rear tire and other end on pavement -- the perfect field goal. SUPPORTING OBSERVATION: I've had many many many many -- WAAAY too many flats on the road -- NONE in the front tire. Next rear tire change, I've got a left-over old black front fender from my big single trailie that I've shortenend up to about 8 inches and whittled into shape in preparation to hang in front of the rear tire aft of the crossover shock mount on the Guzzi. It will be all but invisible unless you put y'er head under the bike. My theory is that this will act as a LITTLE ROAD DEVIL DEFLECTOR and keep that nice brand spankin' new Metzeler Z6 happier and healthier -- longer. That's my plan, and I'm stickin' to it. FWIW, I appreciate the rules o' thumb on plugging tires (thanks, Skeeve!), but I can't say I follow 'em all 100%, and probably never will, quite. I use only the very best tires and plug them regardless of where the puncture is, although I can't remember having more'n maybe 1 or 2 outside of the center 1/3 of the tread. I've never had a failure of a plug (or as much as a slow leak), never had a puncture much larger in diameter than about a 16 penny nail, and always get full mileage out of a plugged tire. DISCLAIMER: I never -- EVER -- ride faster than ~90 mph on a plugged tire. BAA, TJM & YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crooz Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 I don't know about you, but at 100+mph, I just don't want to worry that maybe, that plug isn't quite right. I've used plug kits to get home and to the shop to have it replaced, but never driven any real distance on a plugged tire. The valve stem is nothing more than a plug... but we never worry about those huh? Pull the nail, plug it and ride! I once pulled a large U staple (like your grandfather used on barbwire fences) out of my rear tire on a ZX12r. Plugged it and rode for a couple thousand miles afterward without problem or leaks. Plug the sucker, and ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikkanen Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Plug and play? No way in hell!! You only have two wheels and you better trust them at all time. Remembering fixing my old Honda with 'fix-it-foam', worked like shite and was a mess to clean up afterwards. Nail in tyre = new tyre (E=mc2) Søren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchCityBallabio Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 The valve stem is nothing more than a plug... but we never worry about those huh? Pull the nail, plug it and ride! I once pulled a large U staple (like your grandfather used on barbwire fences) out of my rear tire on a ZX12r. Plugged it and rode for a couple thousand miles afterward without problem or leaks. Plug the sucker, and ride! Yeah, except that the valve stem is plugged into steel, aluminum or magnesium which has much less flex and heat than a tire under load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Barrett Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 This time last year I picked up a puncture on a set of Avons with only 500 miles on them. Took about 7 miles of riding to drop to about 15psi. Limped from air line to air line to my local bike mechanic. We put Ultraseal in it, blew it up and took it for a spin. No problems. A bit arse about face in application but it worked. Later in Scotland I got another puncture, the Ultraseal couldn't quite hold it - a small split - but with a get you home road side kit was able to plug it. Held, probably a combination of the two products working together. Was supposed only to be good for 40 miles at 40mph, but held for over 400miles till got home at normal speeds. I agree with Ratchet on why it's always the rear. If it's a new tyre and a small nail I'd try the Ultraseal ( they say up to 6mm dia), a do it yourself fix. If you change your own tyres opens up the opportunity to plug from the inside. Otherwise you're having to add in cost of having some one do it for you and then you're in the realms of a new tyre Unless you go for a new tyre you will always have some doubts in the back of your mind until your fix lasts out the life of the tyre and only then will you trust that method. A complex algorithm of cost/life of tyre/confidence. I put Ultraseal in my next set of tyres and will do again. Will you still be on this set of tyres when you come to Scotland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonio carroccio Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Replacing the tire = sleeping better at night. I don't know about you, but at 100+mph, I just don't want to worry that maybe, that plug isn't quite right. I've used plug kits to get home and to the shop to have it replaced, but never driven any real distance on a plugged tire. I agree 100%!!! Change tyre Jaap. Get a new one. Tyre is the only contact with the ground, you don't want loose it, won't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Barrett Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Yeah, except that the valve stem is plugged into steel, aluminum or magnesium which has much less flex and heat than a tire under load. My valve stem lock-nut has corroded away ala BFG's this gives me more concern than the Ultraseal and punctures - I'm due new tyres any day now and it will be new stems this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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