screw in my tire

[epofHouston]

I rode 400 miles this weekend and when I took the bike out on monday, the rear tire is flat with a screw stuck in the middle of the tread. I have ~4000 miles on the tire and it seems to be in good shape.

Do I fix it or get a new tire?

 

[joshfz6.2008]

I have a plug in my rear tire, its close to center of the the tread. I plugged it with mushroom type plug that you use a little gun to install. But my tire was new with less than 200 miles on it at the time, if I had more miles on it i'd probly replaced it.

 

[lomax]

As there are only two pieces of rubber between your ass and the pavement I recommend a new tire. I have ridden with a plug but only long enough to get home.

Marc

 

[mrphotoman]

i would just plug it if there is a lot of tread left in the tire.

 

[CHEMIKER]

For what it's worth, I got a flat rear tire today on the way in to work, and I'm going to plug it. The nail is in the middle of the tire, and I have good tread left. You just have to keep it under 200mph for safety reasons, because the structure of the tire has been compromised.

 

[kdburtch]

I would say replace the tire. But I had a ninja zzr 600 with a screw in the tire and I used Slime, and it worked great for about 1000 miles until the bike was stolen, So I hope it only worked for 1001 miles.

 

[chuckfz6ryder]

I plugged my rear tire, then rode another 500-600 miles with no problems, but I was always wondering about it. I also had 10,000+ miles on it. You just need to do what feels right to you. Like riding without gear, it's all about what risks you're comfortable taking.

 

[fazil]

I had the same question in my mind after i found a screw in my back tire 2 years ago. Then i took of the tire and took it to a tire repair shop to patch it from inside and for two years and 10t km's now i ride it without any issue.

So you don't have to change it, just repair it and it will serve as it was before.
Nothing to worry, i still use the same tire. :thumbup:
But, the key word is "patching it from inside" i guess.

 

[epofHouston]

Apparent this is not a black and white issue... I posted it in another forum screw in the rear tire - MotoHouston.com and get various opinions too. They even tell me that no motorcycle shop would patch/plug a tire, interesting....

 

[Spideyrex]

I had a nail in my rear and found a shop that patched from the inside. A year later, it is still holding up with no problems. But it was in the center of the tread and a newer tire. But I had to look around to find a place that would do it. Most dealerships won't take the risk so I went o an independent repair shop (better prices too)

 

[epofHouston]

I went o an independent repair shop (better prices too)

Did you go to the motorcycle shop or just a tire shop?

 

[MHS]

I would get a new tire, but that's because I'm looking for a reason to get off the stocks and onto PR2s.

...lets not confuse that with "I want something to happen to my tires" though - no no.

 

[marke14]

These threads always turn out the same, in my experience. I am unsurprised to see that your poll is split roughly 50/50 as of today (May 19, 2011).

I have personally gone from the "always replace the tire - it's too important not to" to the "if it's in the middle of the tread and you have a lot of wear left in the tire, plug AND patch it" school. I switched because of a couple of reasons, namely:

1) I have picked up a nail in my almost-new rear tire twice now (replaced the first one, plugged/patched the second one, my current rear tire).

and

2) Many of my riding friends recommended that I plug & patch and get some good wear of of my tire.

A local friend (Wavex) recommended a moto tire shop that is willing to plug & patch. I removed my wheel and took the wheel/tire in and had them do it since it was practically a new tire.

Now that I have a track bike, I know that I will not be running my FZ6 street bike (and tires) on the track in an ultra-aggressive environment, so I am comfortable with the concept of plug & patch (they remove the tire, plug it, and then patch over the plug from the inside).

Nonetheless, and this goes for non-plugged tires as well, I always feel the tires with my hands before I hop on the bike. Track and street. If you push down hard with the heel of your hand (especially on the rear tire), if you are dramatically low on pressure, you will feel it. This doesn't work so well with the front tire, as the tire itself is much sturdier ... try it with a new, unmounted tire sometime.

Good luck! Posting a picture would get more votes on your poll I bet.

 

[champion221elite]

If the tire still has plenty of tread left, I wouldn't hesitate to remove the tire and properly patch it from the inside.

IMHO, I would not feel comfortable using a plug on a motorcycle tire. I'm sure it's been done in the past, but not this hombre.

 

[Spideyrex]

Did you go to the motorcycle shop or just a tire shop?

An independent motorcycle repair shop, that also sells tires.

I also want to say that I religiously check my tire pressure with a gauge before every ride to be sure all is good. Some tires have stiff sidewalls and may look feel ok but may be low on pressure.

 

[UHcougarJohn]

I would fix it. I have a friend that fixed his and rolled it till it was time for a new tire.

I don't remember hearing anyone say they repaired their tire and it failed.

 

[CHEMIKER]

I don't remember hearing anyone say they repaired their tire and it failed.

Excellent point.

Coincidentally, I had to plug my tire this morning. I was wondering while plugging it, how could a plug cause a tire to fail, or in other words what would physically happen if a plug went haywire?

I know with car tires (from working on hundreds of them), the plug or whatever caused the flat damages the bond between the internal layers of nylon and steel belts and rubber, causing air to get between the layers. Eventually the air between the layers results in a large bubble on the tread. This protrusion explodes at some point, shredding the tire. There is definitely a warning sign before the thing catastrophically fails, tire separations are very noticeable visually and by feel.

I'm thinking if motorcycle tires fail in the same way, I'll be able to keep an eye on the plug to see (or feel) if it's going downhill. Any motorcycle tire experts out there who actually know?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

An alternative, a combination plug/patch:

 

[afpreppie04]

An alternative, a combination plug/patch:

Those are what we use at work to patch (car) tires. They work fine on them, but whenever I get a flat on the bike (have been through three tires due to road hazards) I replace the tire for peace of mind. I have been told even with the patch plugs the tire shouldn't be run at high speeds, and tire rack concurs.

Disclaimer: It is important to note that speed ratings only apply to tires that have not been damaged, altered, underinflated or overloaded. Additionally, most tire manufacturers maintain that a tire that has been cut or punctured no longer retains the tire manufacturer's original speed rating.

For this reason I always buy my tires from Cycle Gear and get the Road Hazard Protection.

 

[Powerman]

If you do track days replace the tire, no track days plug it.