Puncture in tire.. Replace? Or Plug?

[propwash]

Hey again, sorry if it seems like I'm hogging the forum. I'll try not to have any further concerns with my max, lol.

So low and behold I spotted this on my rear tire.

New tire? Or a plug will work ok? I'm kind of paranoid about the idea of a rear tire disintegrating from under me at speed (granted I've been mostly low n slow, but still)

 

[Lotsokids]

New tire? Or a plug will work ok?

I'm at work and the pictures are blocked. But I have plugged a rear tire before. That was a temporary fix until I could locate, purchase, and install a new one. It held perfectly for me for about a week. I would not hesitate to do it again. But you must be mindful hard acceleration will pull on (or move) the plug, so best to take it easy with a plugged tire.

 

[Fire-medic]

That looks like a pretty-clean puncture. A look inside, tire dismounted, will tell you if you can patch it. As easy as you ride, your chances of having it fail if you patch it are probably minimal. It's right in the center of the tread, so any patch should live. I once got a holed tire on a KZ1000 after a week from installing a new tire. I patched it and got normal use out of it. I found a Craftsman allen key sticking out of the tire, I noticed the tire was flat as-soon as I approached the bike from the rear. In the dark, you might not notice it until you felt the deteriorated handling.

Also 'plug' vs 'patch' matters. Often a plug is to get you home whereas a patch is considered more of a long-term fix, & requires dismounting the tire for the inside patch.

 

[Hamkaas]

I would have no problem to fix my car tire with a plug. But on my VMax ..... no way.

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[Falaholic]

I have recently plugged a rear tire. Assuming; caught it in the emergency lane when traffic was diverted due to an accident on the HWY. Woke up, went for an early morning ride, and before I left my driveway, the bike was moving forward, sideways. 15mins later plugged, and I was on the road again.

I lucked out though. Tire was in need of being replaced, but I wanted to ride that day. Needless to say, plugged tire stayed around for about two weeks. No detrimental factors noticed while plugged. Shortly there after, it was replaced.

 

[propwash]

Adding to the discussion...

- The tire's been like this for 3 days (I should have noted this in my post)
- No loss of pressure during this time

Could it be the damage is superficial enough that a plug isn't required? All is pointing to new tires for me, but question is how soon. I'm sure that puncture isn't going to get any smaller over time.

 

[sdt354]

Adding to the discussion...

- The tire's been like this for 3 days (I should have noted this in my post)
- No loss of pressure during this time

Could it be the damage is superficial enough that a plug isn't required? All is pointing to new tires for me, but question is how soon. I'm sure that puncture isn't going to get any smaller over time.

Tires are cheap. Get the piece of mind and ditch that one, imho. I have plugged tires on the road to get home. But ordered new ones soon after.

 

[[email protected]]

No hole? Keep riding!

How old is that tire? For some reason it looks like a candidate for replacement just because of age.

 

[Redbone]

Some of the LD guys on ADVRider will tell you to plug it and ride it until it's worn out and they normally are running a lot more weight than we do.

 

[Bill Seward]

I plugged an almost new rear tire on the Max, and got full life out of it. There was no abnormal pressure loss, either. That's the benefit of tubeless tires, you can do a roadside repair if needed.
I had a flat on the rear of the Roadstar on July 3rd. Spoked wheels = ride on a flatbed to the shop.
$80 later, I was back riding, with a new Michelin inner tube.... 4 days later, another rear flat. Seems the tube got pinched when being installed, and leaked down very slowly. Tim at Motion Craft came and got the bike, and put in another Michelin tube. So far, no problems.. There was a period of time where guys on the Road Star Forum were trying to actually seal up the spoked rims to use tubeless tires. I believe they were having success, but that is definitely NOT something I'd ever consider doing. Have thought a bit about dark siding the Roadie, though..

 

[KDIMD]

Plug it. And if your still concerned. Put a tube in it. Or add Ride-on, balancer and sealant.

 

[Zeus36]

Plug it, but also apply a tire patch over the plug from the inside for peace of mind -although that means dismounting the tire.... But for $83 and free shipping, I would put on a 170 Shinko.

 

[Falaholic]

Plug it, but also apply a tire patch over the plug from the inside for peace of mind -although that means dismounting the tire.... But for $83 and free shipping, I would put on a 170 Shinko.

Don't see tire/plug combo possible.

 

[Fire-medic]

If you're gonna plug it, that's it. A plug. See the 'Stop 'n Go' tool, below.

If you're gonna use a rope seal like you'd use on a car or truck tire, that's what I would consider a stop-gap to get you home, and then you replace the tire.

If you could totally-remove the rope seal, then you could plug the hole, but the process might be problematic. For the cost of a tire, you probably should replace the tire if you use a rope plug to get home.

Here's a product that's been used for years for bike tires. Of course, it can be used on cars & trucks. See the specific products for them.

https://www.stopngo.com/

https://www.stopngo.com/tubeless-puncture-pilot-for-motorcycles-scooters-atvs/

I think the choice for me if I decided that the tire could be saved, would be to dismount the tire, inspect the penetration, and then use an inside-the-tire patch over the hole, no other plug inside the hole.

Your best recourse is to replace the tire. Nothing to worry-about, though I have used inside-the-tire patches and used the tire until I replaced it, many miles later, not just after getting home.

 

[sdt354]

Don't see tire/plug combo possible.

That was the preferred method for Car tires at one time. Plugs work well ON CARS. With your life on the line, and if you question it at all, a new tire puts you on the safe side of doubt. That tire looked like it was almost done anyway.

 

[Fire-medic]

The bottom line, is replace a tire if you are worried about longevity. As 'std354' says, that would be your longevity.

I just mounted a set of Shinko Tourmasters and last night, I took the bike out for a short ride, it had been raining heavily earlier, and the streets were wet. The Shinkos seemed to work OK, and the price is right. Certainly cheaper than Metzelers or Dunlops, which is what I usually buy for the VMax. Since I have radials on one bike, I use Michelins, the bias ply bike got the Shinkos, and I don't have any negative comments. They seemed to do OK in the wet.

 

[RaWarrior]

The tar strips do not work well in MC tires- trust me. They'll hold long enough to limp home, assuming you drive easy and no high speeds. MC tires flex in a way car tires really don't, and the cords/belting in a MC tire is much much thinner than in a car, so there's less for the tar rope to "grip". But while they can be considered a permanent fix for a car tire, they are an emergency, get-you-off the shoulder fix only for bikes. The mushroom style plugs (Stop n Go) do work better, but still to me are an emergency fix only. I would not ride aggressively or assume it is permanently fixed. Don't combine a sealant (Slime) with the external plugs- the lubricant properties of slime will let the plug pop out in no time.

If you ask the tire companies, there is NO "safe" way to repair a MC tire and replacement is the only option. Then again, if you ask insurance companies, there is no such thing as a "safe" motorcycle, and you should probably just take a car everywhere. However, if I get a nail on a nearly-new tire, I will generally dismount it and use an internal patch. I have had 100% success with these. No leaks for the life of the tire. Including on sportbike tires that were ridden very aggressively on. If the tire is almost worn out, I'll probably just suck it up and replace it. Not worth the hassle of a dismount/remount/rebalance for a tire that's only got a few weeks left on it.

Was there an object in that little tear? I have found nails/staples/ect that went in at a very sharp angle, so they didn't actually puncture the tire and just tore the tread a little. If it's not losing air (put a dab of spit on it and look for bubbles), I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Redbone]

I run Dyna beads in my radials(Shinko Verge) my choice would be run the plug (rubber stop-n-go type) until I could get a replacement.
I wondered about the goop to install the plug catching the beads, so I carry a couple ounces of beads with me on long trips in case the beads clump up on the goop.

 

[greimers]

Adding to the discussion...

- The tire's been like this for 3 days (I should have noted this in my post)
- No loss of pressure during this time

Could it be the damage is superficial enough that a plug isn't required? All is pointing to new tires for me, but question is how soon. I'm sure that puncture isn't going to get any smaller over time.

If it's not actually leaking, I would just keep an eye on it and continue riding. If you want to make extra sure, spray some soapy water on it and look for bubbles.

 

[firebolt]

I had a hole in my front this summer, and the bike shop told me they wouldn't not plug or patch it:
- because they've seen me ride
- because tires expand and contract with heat / cold, and the chances of it lasting are minimal
- because it's not worth losing your ass over a tire