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Tire punctures


joeb

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Morn all.

I've been having issues with punctures lately and would like to hear some of your thoughts on the subject. I've ridden for 40 years with never a puncture, then since I've switched to the Michelin PR's I seem to get at least 1 or more puncture per set. Coincidence ???? The last one was a piece of wire about the diameter of a sewing needle. 1/4 inch long. My tires are near their wear limits, not yet at them. probably 1500 Miles left on them. They are not steel belted and have a very thin carcass, probably needed to give them the flexibility required for the good road holding that I appreciate. Would switching to a steel belt tire offer more resistance to puncture. I realize I can't guard against the odd spike that may work it's way between belts, but patching every set of tires is getting real old. Right now I'm test driving the Slime ropes to see if they hold up as a Repair. Last night I inserted one rope and rode 25 Miles , when I got back I checked the Repair and had a pin hole leak. Removed the rope and inserts 2 ropes per their directions . No leaks over night. Now I'm riding and checking on this Repair. If you don't see anymore posts from me, you can assume patch didn't hold.

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Not to sure about the PR's vs. puncture issue but I do think that a lot of the punctures not sealing is due to the silicone mold breaking compound in the inside walls of the tires we use.

Talked to an automotive tire guy who says the only way to seal and defeat the silicon compound is with an old fashioned "hot patch". You guys know that most shops will not do a patch job anymore due to liability issues. This leaves us with the only option of purchasing a new tire.

Been there and done that. I do carry a Neely patch kit and a Slime mini compressor to squeeze out the 25 to 50 miles I need for shop service. Hate to be stranded...........

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Yup. I try to be careful where I ride (don't we all?!), but particularly when turning around or in parking lots and lesser traveled areas ie shoulder where debris tends to accumulate. Construction zones, roads in front of a building or remodel site tend to have nails etc just waiting to catch a ride in tires.

 

Don't think it's to do with your PR tires.

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Since im writing this you can tell that the patches held. I have a local dealer that will patch tires, they use a patch / plug installes from the inside. A real permanent patch. Went to a few auto supply stores to see i could get that type of fix but ao far no luck.i know the nealy ropes are highly regarded by this group. How do they differ from the Slime ?

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Since im writing this you can tell that the patches held. I have a local dealer that will patch tires, they use a patch / plug installes from the inside. A real permanent patch. Went to a few auto supply stores to see i could get that type of fix but ao far no luck.i know the nealy ropes are highly regarded by this group. How do they differ from the Slime ?

 

Nealey ropes are thinner than any other rope I've seen/used. The thinness make insertion much easier, but when you follow the directions you will end up with a four rope thickness repair to plug the puncture. If you haven't already seen it this link will explain more.

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Since im writing this you can tell that the patches held. I have a local dealer that will patch tires, they use a patch / plug installes from the inside. A real permanent patch. Went to a few auto supply stores to see i could get that type of fix but ao far no luck.i know the nealy ropes are highly regarded by this group. How do they differ from the Slime ?

 

Nealey ropes are thinner than any other rope I've seen/used. The thinnest make insertion much easier, but when you follow the directions you will end up with a four rope thickness repair to plug the puncture. If you haven't already seen it this link will explain more.

 

+1 for Nealy repair kits. This site turned me on to them and they are the best!

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Did that ' permanent' patch from the inside of the tire life lesson. Even after burnishing the inside core to secure the patch and using plenty of patch cement it began to leak after 25 miles. Found a BMW dealer in Santa Rosa using my Navigator and had a new tire on the bike in 45 minutes after arrival. The guys at the Beemer shop flat refuse to do any patch work but I know some of the lesser shops will. My ' permanent' patch was from a Mom and Pop Honda dealer in Petaluma.

And yes, the trip up Hiway 1 and on through Guernville and into Santa Rosa was a real treat as I watched the dash indicator tell me my rear tire was going flat. Don't trust the patch jobs.............

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You don't want just a patch,you want what is known as a plug/patch(has been mentioned before).

 

I'm very happy with the Nealy kits,have used then for a number of successful repairs.

 

In the past had one tire with large road debris caused defect that two big sticky ropes would not repair,had the get a new rear tire(THANKS and a shout out to Ozzies BMW in Chico,CA!),patch plug would have not repaired this.

 

JR356

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Have used the Stop&Go plug kit with great success. Had three punctures at one time in a back tire, had to fix, installed three of their mushroom plugs, then road 200 miles at speed without problems. No loss of air. Got a new rear tire as I still had 700 miles to home.

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Since im writing this you can tell that the patches held. I have a local dealer that will patch tires, they use a patch / plug installes from the inside. A real permanent patch. Went to a few auto supply stores to see i could get that type of fix but ao far no luck.i know the nealy ropes are highly regarded by this group. How do they differ from the Slime ?

 

Nealey ropes are thinner than any other rope I've seen/used. The thinnest make insertion much easier, but when you follow the directions you will end up with a four rope thickness repair to plug the puncture. If you haven't already seen it this link will explain more.

 

+1 for Nealy repair kits. This site turned me on to them and they are the best!

 

+2 on the Nealey!

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Morn all.

I've been having issues with punctures lately and would like to hear some of your thoughts on the subject. I've ridden for 40 years with never a puncture, then since I've switched to the Michelin PR's I seem to get at least 1 or more puncture per set. Coincidence ???? The last one was a piece of wire about the diameter of a sewing needle. 1/4 inch long. My tires are near their wear limits, not yet at them. probably 1500 Miles left on them. They are not steel belted and have a very thin carcass, probably needed to give them the flexibility required for the good road holding that I appreciate. Would switching to a steel belt tire offer more resistance to puncture. I realize I can't guard against the odd spike that may work it's way between belts, but patching every set of tires is getting real old. Right now I'm test driving the Slime ropes to see if they hold up as a Repair. Last night I inserted one rope and rode 25 Miles , when I got back I checked the Repair and had a pin hole leak. Removed the rope and inserts 2 ropes per their directions . No leaks over night. Now I'm riding and checking on this Repair. If you don't see anymore posts from me, you can assume patch didn't hold.

 

I've been riding for nearly 50 years (over a half million miles). I've had a few punctures; one as far back as about 1970. If you haven't had a puncture until now, you are either very lucky or don't ride much.

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No tyre brand is immune to punctures.

I just bought a 2013 RT in Denver which had almost new Z 8's on it.

Rode it home across the plains at Italian speeds. Only when I got

it home did I discover a brown rope plug in the rear tyre. :cry:

Previous owner obviously plugged it. Lucky me, I have spare wheels

so I just put them on. Now which tyres to replace the Z8's with? :dopeslap:

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I've repaired three auto tires and four motorcycle tires with the sticky strings. Only one ever leaked.

 

Mounted a brand new rear PR3, rode a half mile to an empty church parking lot to practice slow speed turns and scuff the tire a bit. It was flat the next morning, with a drywall screw through the center tread, which is when I remembered the dumpster in the lot for the church remodeling work.

:dopeslap:

 

The string had a slow leak that lost about 5 psi a week. But that leak only started 9700 miles later, after I had worn the tire below the wear indicators. After I removed the tire, it took a pretty hard tug to pull the string out of the hole from the inside.

 

YMMV

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Morn all.

I've been having issues with punctures lately and would like to hear some of your thoughts on the subject. I've ridden for 40 years with never a puncture, then since I've switched to the Michelin PR's I seem to get at least 1 or more puncture per set. Coincidence ???? The last one was a piece of wire about the diameter of a sewing needle. 1/4 inch long. My tires are near their wear limits, not yet at them. probably 1500 Miles left on them. They are not steel belted and have a very thin carcass, probably needed to give them the flexibility required for the good road holding that I appreciate. Would switching to a steel belt tire offer more resistance to puncture. I realize I can't guard against the odd spike that may work it's way between belts, but patching every set of tires is getting real old. Right now I'm test driving the Slime ropes to see if they hold up as a Repair. Last night I inserted one rope and rode 25 Miles , when I got back I checked the Repair and had a pin hole leak. Removed the rope and inserts 2 ropes per their directions . No leaks over night. Now I'm riding and checking on this Repair. If you don't see anymore posts from me, you can assume patch didn't hold.

 

I've been riding for nearly 50 years (over a half million miles). I've had a few punctures; one as far back as about 1970. If you haven't had a puncture until now, you are either very lucky or don't ride much.

 

Not quite your 500,000, but, no punctures/flats/etc.

"Lucky"?

Probably.

Carried repair kit, air compressor, and more, for tire repairs.

Fortunately not needed for my bike, did help some other riders.

 

I've seen people ride out on new tires and road hazard got them within a mile...

Luck?

I've always been paranoid about road hazards and scrutinized the road surface diligently.

Do the same in driving my other vehicles.

Often maneuvered around potential tire damaging items, but, some luck involved?

 

Advise anyone who hasn't to practice using their repair kit on a tire that is being replaced.

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Great comments all. So far i have put 200 hard driven miles on tbe slime patched tire. Check it after each ride and no leaks. Ive seen several comments from those who carry a Slime pump. Which model seems to be the smallest with the best capacity ? Right now i carry an oversized craftsman which takes up way too much room .

Thanks all.

Edited by joeb
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Had many flats. I own a garage and tires get flats much easier when they are close to worn out.

 

I use automotive rope plugs made for radial tires to get me home. I then remove the tire from rim, pull out the temporary plug and use a plug patch. Zero problems with this method.

 

to each his own

 

David

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The seem to come in waves for me. I had three in a row within 6 months on my Bergman 650's rear tire, then nothing. I'm an advocate of a sticky rope to get you home, followed by an internal patch. I have some patches that actually have a stem that's pulled through the hole and cut off, and those have held up will for me. That said, I generally consider a patched tire to have lost one speed rating, and I'll never take one to a track day. I do try to avoid construction areas, as well as the roads leading to the big metal recycle outfits in my local area.

 

A long time ago there was a discussion about some sort of brush that would hang down, maybe at an angle, to deflect things away from the rear tire. I think the front tire actually makes things stand up before they hit the rear tire. Something to knock stuff back down or deflect it away would be good. There was also a run-flat liquid for motorcycles that was marketed a few years ago, but since I do my own tires I would prefer not to deal with the mess.

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Great comments all. So far i have put 200 hard driven miles on tbe slime patched tire. Check it after each ride and no leaks. Ive seen several comments from those who carry a Slime pump. Which model seems to be the smallest with the best capacity ? Right now i carry an oversized craftsman which takes up way too much room .

 

Morning joeb

 

A few points on carrying a small 12v air pump. On most you can remove the large outer plastic case & end up with a much smaller motor/pump assembly.

 

Next, shorten the air hose as much as you can but then lengthen the wires to allow the pump to reach both tires. (much easier to pack/store longer thin wires than to pack/store a fat longer hose)

 

When it comes to the air pumps themselves some of the newer/cheaper entries have plastic pump pistons & those tend to melt if used for longer on-time pumping tasks.

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Morn all.

I've been having issues with punctures lately and would like to hear some of your thoughts on the subject. I've ridden for 40 years with never a puncture, then since I've switched to the Michelin PR's I seem to get at least 1 or more puncture per set. Coincidence ???? The last one was a piece of wire about the diameter of a sewing needle. 1/4 inch long. My tires are near their wear limits, not yet at them. probably 1500 Miles left on them. They are not steel belted and have a very thin carcass, probably needed to give them the flexibility required for the good road holding that I appreciate. Would switching to a steel belt tire offer more resistance to puncture. I realize I can't guard against the odd spike that may work it's way between belts, but patching every set of tires is getting real old. Right now I'm test driving the Slime ropes to see if they hold up as a Repair. Last night I inserted one rope and rode 25 Miles , when I got back I checked the Repair and had a pin hole leak. Removed the rope and inserts 2 ropes per their directions . No leaks over night. Now I'm riding and checking on this Repair. If you don't see anymore posts from me, you can assume patch didn't hold.

 

Just went through my first flat in over thirty years the shop wouldn't repair it and everyone I've talked to said the same thing "no one will repair a tubeless mc tire" the repair would have to be volcanized and there is no way to determine if it would affect the newer tire compounds so they just don't do it. My tire(PR4s)had less than 3,000 miles on it and the replacement set me back $277. Kind of wish for the old tubed tire days when repairs could be made :( .

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This is the inside view of a Nealy plug. The repair can be seen from the outside of the tire after a few hundred miles. Tire pressures were stable until I was able to have the tire changed. The plug was very firmly stuck to the inside casing. After my first experience with a plug repair, I would not hesitate to run the tire longer until tread wear necessitates replacement.

 

Interestingly enough, given the OP's experience, this puncture was caused by what looked like a piece of steel wire...very thin.

 

gDN1Vfh.jpg

zwhPsdu.jpg

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I have the Nealy, but I haven't used it. I have the Stop and Go kit with the mushroom heads on my bike at all times.

 

I tried to use the sticky rope (some generic kit) on my car tire in the driveway when I had a screw in one of the tires. I couldn't get it to stop leaking with the ropes. I used the stop and go and it worked as expected. Hence, I carry the Stop and Go with me along with about four CO2 cartridges and a better CO2 adapter.

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... Kind of wish for the old tubed tire days when repairs could be made :( .

 

You could probably run a tube in a tubeless tire, assuming you can find the correct size. I had tubeless tires on my airhead but ran tubes in them with no problems. Might be worthwhile to consider, esp. for a nearly new tire.

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Back to the original post for a moment.

 

....then since I've switched to the Michelin PR's I seem to get at least 1 or more puncture per set. Coincidence ????....

 

Before we were married, my wife moved to a new apartment. Then she had a rash of flats. Seriously, it was like one a month. What the hell???

 

Then I saw it. Some carpenter with flatbed went by, with nails, small bits of lumber and other debris abandoning ship. He lived just up the road.

 

Anyway, weird stuff happens.

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I just had a pinhole leak on the rear roadtec 01. I am on a cross country trip in Wyoming and was 300 miles from a dealer. I repaired the tire with a stop&go plug and pressure held overnight. About 150 miles into the trip to the dealer the tire started leaking again. After a couple stops to pump it back up, it was leaking so bad I had to repair it again. The plug was almost totally disintegrated and I was easily able to push it into the tire with the probe kit. I had a Nealey kit in the tool bag and plugged it with a cord plug. No problems after that and I safely made it the rest of the way to the dealer. The pump in the stop&go kit crapped out after 2 uses too. I'm taking it out of the bag when I get home.

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I just had a pinhole leak on the rear roadtec 01. I am on a cross country trip in Wyoming and was 300 miles from a dealer. I repaired the tire with a stop&go plug and pressure held overnight. About 150 miles into the trip to the dealer the tire started leaking again. After a couple stops to pump it back up, it was leaking so bad I had to repair it again. The plug was almost totally disintegrated and I was easily able to push it into the tire with the probe kit. I had a Nealey kit in the tool bag and plugged it with a cord plug. No problems after that and I safely made it the rest of the way to the dealer. The pump in the stop&go kit crapped out after 2 uses too. I'm taking it out of the bag when I get home.
Look into getting the Cycle Pump from BestRestProducts. It is well built, not inexpensive, but will work when it is needed. Have used mine several times, bikes and car, with no problems.
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... Kind of wish for the old tubed tire days when repairs could be made :( .

 

You could probably run a tube in a tubeless tire, assuming you can find the correct size. I had tubeless tires on my airhead but ran tubes in them with no problems. Might be worthwhile to consider, esp. for a nearly new tire.

 

Can't be done with stock 14RT rims, if there was any way it could be done I'd be $277 richer :) .

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... Kind of wish for the old tubed tire days when repairs could be made :( .

 

You could probably run a tube in a tubeless tire, assuming you can find the correct size. I had tubeless tires on my airhead but ran tubes in them with no problems. Might be worthwhile to consider, esp. for a nearly new tire.

 

Can't be done with stock 14RT rims, if there was any way it could be done I'd be $277 richer :) .

 

Interesting. What makes it not doable? Not disputing, just curious...

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Kwik update. Slime ropes holding up beautifully. Now have about 500 miles on repair . High speeds and hard cornering in the mix. No worries about patch at this time.

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... Kind of wish for the old tubed tire days when repairs could be made :( .

 

You could probably run a tube in a tubeless tire, assuming you can find the correct size. I had tubeless tires on my airhead but ran tubes in them with no problems. Might be worthwhile to consider, esp. for a nearly new tire.

 

Can't be done with stock 14RT rims, if there was any way it could be done I'd be $277 richer :) .

 

Interesting. What makes it not doable? Not disputing, just curious...

 

The valve stem is screwed into the rim ( one of the spokes ) not the removable rubber stem like on my 04RT , there would be no way to inflate the tube, check one out at your dealer and you'll see what I mean .

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Kwik update. Slime ropes holding up beautifully. Now have about 500 miles on repair . High speeds and hard cornering in the mix. No worries about patch at this time.

 

I've been using ropes to seal my tires for about 13 years now. I won't leave home without them. I even did my SS1K on one. :)

 

Shawn

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Kwik update. Slime ropes holding up beautifully. Now have about 500 miles on repair . High speeds and hard cornering in the mix. No worries about patch at this time.

 

I've been using ropes to seal my tires for about 13 years now. I won't leave home without them. I even did my SS1K on one. :)

 

Shawn

 

:thumbsup:

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