Small nail in tire

Just wanted to say I plugged the tire at 1017km, I'm now at 2915km and have forgotten all about it. My daily speed ranges from 0-120kph usually. Going to run the tire with the plug until it either fails or I replace the tire due to wear. For reference I used the Victor plugs with the orange rope (Canadian Tire on sale for 7$), and I added my own cheapo contact cement.
 
Last edited:
Don't add to the conflicting dialogue by buying a cheap kit. Might as well use bubble gum. The PA ones are useless IMO.
 
JP0160 said:
I seem to have picked up a small nail in my rear tire last night. The tire has just over 1000km on it and shows no sign of needing replacement due to wear, so I would like to patch it if I can. The nail is about 1/8" thick and directly in the center of the tire. Pressure dropped about 4 psi overnight so I know it punctured.

I've called 4 tire shops around me, none of them will patch a motorcycle tire. Anyone know a good shop preferably close to keswick/newmarket that will patch a tire. Sorry for some reason my question mark key isn't working today lol

I picked up one of those "gummy worm" rope patch kits and I will stick that in later today, hopefully its enough to get me to a shop!
Click to expand...

Shops refuse to do it because of the liability issue - what you do on your own is up to you. As to whether or not its a 'long term' safe repair, no opinion...
 
JP0160 said:
Just wanted to say I plugged the tire at 1017km, I'm now at 2915km and have forgotten all about it. My daily speed ranges from 0-120kph usually. Going to run the tire with the plug until it either fails or I replace the tire due to wear. For reference I used the Victor plugs with the orange rope (Canadian Tire on sale for 7$), and I added my own cheapo contact cement.
Click to expand...

Don't jinx yourself...

Anyways, there may be a higher risk of failure to the rope plug once temps rise. Roads are still somewhat cool so far. With the E Nino / El Nina weather, it may be only a couple of weeks to blistering temps - you may wish to consider replacement early than later.
 
FLSTC said:
Don't jinx yourself...

Anyways, there may be a higher risk of failure to the rope plug once temps rise. Roads are still somewhat cool so far. With the E Nino / El Nina weather, it may be only a couple of weeks to blistering temps - you may wish to consider replacement early than later.
Click to expand...
Sometimes I get more flavour in life by living in the danger zone
 
dip-a-toe-into-the-meme-stream-see-how-it-feels-33-28.jpg
 
LOL, that was good! But in all seriousness if the plug fails I'll just end up with a leak rather than a blowout. Any evidence to support hot temperatures being worse for tire plugs than cold temps? In my mind I'm thinking the expansion of the tire and plug from the hot temps would actually help seal it even better
 
Has anyone tracked a patched tire? I have a tiny puncture in the center tread of a brand new Q3 and it'd be a shame to replace it. Personally, I'm not that worried about a proper mushroom patch failing but maybe there's more to be considered if subjecting the tire to track stresses which I plan to?
 
af4ik said:
has anyone tracked a patched tire? I have a tiny puncture in the center tread of a brand new q3 and it'd be a shame to replace it. Personally, i'm not that worried about a proper mushroom patch failing but maybe there's more to be considered if subjecting the tire to track stresses which i plan to?
Click to expand...

don't do it !!!
 
AF4iK said:
Has anyone tracked a patched tire? I have a tiny puncture in the center tread of a brand new Q3 and it'd be a shame to replace it. Personally, I'm not that worried about a proper mushroom patch failing but maybe there's more to be considered if subjecting the tire to track stresses which I plan to?
Click to expand...
To be honest, even though I am riding my plugged tire on the road, I don't think I would use it for a track. There might even be some track rules about that, but I'm not 100% sure. I wouldn't risk it with the stress that (I assume) track riding puts on your tires.

BTW up to 3351km on my plug now :D I have a feeling this bike is going to see a LOT of use over the summer!
 
I wouldn't use a patched tire on the track. ON the road, you're not putting the same stress as you would on the track....nor are you going the same speeds.
 
Riceburner said:
I wouldn't use a patched tire on the track. ON the road, you're not putting the same stress as you would on the track....nor are you going the same speeds.
Click to expand...

And on the road you're only a danger to yourself, on the track you're a danger to all around you.
Not to mention, if the organizer found out you'd immediately get the boot and a bad rep.
 
Thanks for the replies. I understand the trepidation. Is anyone aware of any actual cases of catastrophic failure due to patches? The puncture I've got is literally pinhole sized. I'm looking for facts in an attempt to do my due diligence.
 
AF4iK said:
Thanks for the replies. I understand the trepidation. Is anyone aware of any actual cases of catastrophic failure due to patches? The puncture I've got is literally pinhole sized. I'm looking for facts in an attempt to do my due diligence.
Click to expand...

If theses pics come out you can see the ball of plug inside a tire I had kicking around.

There was a small nail in the tire and to be honest it was caught on a walk around. It wasn't leaking.

However the tire was older and I replaced it. The pictures show the tire now at over ten years of age and the pic of the outside of the plug shows cracking of the tread area.
 
Was the plug originally rusty in colour or is that something else? After 10 years I'm not surprised to see the cracking. I've had tires half that age which cracked all over.

I ended up having my tire patched. It was such a tiny hole that it wasn't even worth reaming out to put a mushroom on it. Just vulcanized and patched on the interior surface.
 
frekeyguy said:
Some people will say those rope type patches suffix, but I think a mushroom patch is the safer way to go. It has a patch from the inside, but also a plug.....
Click to expand...


People saying that are not professionals. You can use a kitchen knife to make paper cutouts and it may work too. Nevertheless, scissors were designed for the job.

The ONLY proper way to repair a tire is a patch and plug combo as mentioned. Either 2pc or 1pc. Puncture needs to be drilled out as well to remove the raptures and fissures. Inner liner sealer needs to be reapplied.
 
AF4iK said:
Was the plug originally rusty in colour or is that something else? After 10 years I'm not surprised to see the cracking. I've had tires half that age which cracked all over.

I ended up having my tire patched. It was such a tiny hole that it wasn't even worth reaming out to put a mushroom on it. Just vulcanized and patched on the interior surface.
Click to expand...

The plug was red.

One problem with learning on ones own is that there is a tendency to skip steps because they don't appear to be relevant to the situation. In some cases that is true but more often a person with more training knows the importance of following every step.
 
~4250km on my plug now. What kind of mileage can you expect to get from a set of tires on a 300? I'm guessing 10k ish? I have a feeling I will be replacing by mid-summer!
 
nobbie48 said:
The plug was red.
Click to expand...

Ah...

One problem with learning on ones own is that there is a tendency to skip steps because they don't appear to be relevant to the situation. In some cases that is true but more often a person with more training knows the importance of following every step.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the patch job? I had Ted @ Rosey Toes do it because a couple of nearby shops told me they don't patch MC tires. I watched and I don't think any steps were missed. It's just a different type of patch than a mushroom.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom