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Plug vs. Patch

  • Thread starter Thread starter etravis2
  • Start date Start date
E

etravis2

Guest
Does anyone know if it is OK to plug a rear tire or do you have to patch them? It is a tubeless tire.
 
Wouldn't recommend a plug, except to get you home. They will work & would probably would be ok, but why chance it. Best fix is a patch plug.
 
IMHO if you need a plug or a patch, replace the tire. You only have two that's keeping you from eating asphalt.
 
I have to agree don't chance it. The cost of a new tire is not worth putting your health at risk.
 
Replace. Or..BECOME a patch...


"Nah o'er yander is whay-er yer cousin's tah-er on his motorcickle blowed up and that patch is whats left of heem..."
 
etravis2 said:
Does anyone know if it is OK to plug a rear tire or do you have to patch them? It is a tubeless tire.
Click to expand...

REPLACE the tire! Plugs may work to carefully get you home a short distance.
Plugs are only safely allowed on car tires between the tread lines and not anywhere near the sidewalls. On a bike, when you are cornering the center part of the tread essentially becomes the sidewall and would you trust your plug to hold pressure during flexing of the tire?
Same idea with a patch.
Why risk it especially when you can get a good Cheng Shin HiMaxx rear tire for $45.
 
A little common sense anyone. Don't pay a bike shop $25 to fix a $15 worn out tire. But a $100 tire is another thing. A patch plug is both a plug & a patch made together. The plug fills the hole from the inside, & the patch seals it from the inside. Each of us should do whatever we feel comfortable with. I'm comfortable with a patch plug. Never seen a problem from one, but I'm suer someone has. If anyone is scared of the patch plug, replace the tire, & everyone should be happy. But please, a little common sense.
 
Sure. Everyone needs to do what they can live with. In most cases advice is just opinion. There are millions of motorcyclists around the world who do things I'd never dream of (look at the helmet vs. no helmet controversy, or the way they haul freight on little bikes in Asia:eek:).

Personally, I never scrimp on tires.

It also depends on what kind of riding you do. I had a rear tire go on a local byway at around 45 mph and it wasn't bad, but I wouldn't jet around on the interstate without knowing I had as good a set of tires on as I could practically afford.

Just 2 cents!! :D
 
I've used string plugs a few times to get home and beyond, and they've always worked fine.

I've also used a Stop-n-Go tire plugger a few times, and learned that despite it's impressive weight and bulk, the Stop-n-Go plugs don't work worth squat. Every last one of these I tried in motorcycle tires worked its way out. I patched one tire six times in two days before I could get a replacement.

I also installed an interior patch once, more out of curiosity than thrift, and it worked perfectly well for a couple thousand more miles.

The point is, your tire isn't going to blow up and strike you dead with poisonous rubber shrapnel if you plug a simple puncture and the patch fails for some reason. The tire will simply slowly go flat again. Stay tuned for any low tire wiggles, carry an air pump and more plugs and glue, and get where you're going. Don't let it ruin your trip.

There's no need to treat a plugged or patched tire like a loaded gun, fer Pete's sake.

Of course, if the puncture is ragged, large, in the sidewall, or is causing the layers to delaminate, your trip definitely is over.
 
rphillips said:
A little common sense anyone. Don't pay a bike shop $25 to fix a $15 worn out tire. But a $100 tire is another thing. A patch plug is both a plug & a patch made together. The plug fills the hole from the inside, & the patch seals it from the inside. Each of us should do whatever we feel comfortable with. I'm comfortable with a patch plug. Never seen a problem from one, but I'm suer someone has. If anyone is scared of the patch plug, replace the tire, & everyone should be happy. But please, a little common sense.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, anyone with a modicum of common sense must see the logic in the fact that even spending $200 on a tire is CHEAP INSURANCE on your life. In a car you have four tires to keep you right side up, and even if one blows up the wheel will still help prevent a rollover. On a bike you have only two very small patches of rubber that must perform several tasks at once, and if either one fails at any speed it could be potentially disasterous. Is your life REALLY worth less than an expensive $200 tire (not to mention the many less expensive alternatives)?

Now I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't or can't use a plug or patch to safely (and cautiously) get your bike home after a blowout - I certainly WOULD use one for this purpose. However, to continue riding on a tire that has been compromised is like putting a ticking time bomb under your seat and hoping it goes off while you're not sitting on it. It's just not worth your life or the pain that goes with even a minor accident...

My .02

Regards,
 
Planecrazy said:
With all due respect, anyone with a modicum of common sense must see the logic in the fact that even spending $200 on a tire is CHEAP INSURANCE on your life.
Click to expand...
With all due respect, that seems like paranoia to me. The patch vulcanizes to the rubber tire. They become one. Do you have a $1k helmet or is your life worth less than $1k?
 
I think this thread is getting a little heated. Lets cool it down.

Like I always say, you can only change yourself, not others (edit: unless you beat them).
 
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I think it's a little overboard to replace a $200 tire just because of a puncture. IMO, it depends of the location and size of the damage and how new the tire is. If you have a brand new tire that gets a small puncture in the center of the tread, patch it. That's common sense to me.

But, to each his own.
 
Skyboy8950 said:
I think this thread is getting a little heated. Lets cool it down.

Like I always say, you can only change yourself, not others.
Click to expand...


*i just use fix-a-flat!! like they say, "fix-a-flat, and forget it!!" eliminates needing a tire pump, too!!

:p
 
p_s said:
With all due respect, that seems like paranoia to me. The patch vulcanizes to the rubber tire. They become one. Do you have a $1k helmet or is your life worth less than $1k?
Click to expand...

You're entitled to your opinion (and I take no offense to it). I wouldn't call my position "paranoia," though - remember I said I WOULD use a plug or patch to carefully get the bike home if a puncture occurred. Call it "an excess of caution" and I'll agree to that. Truthfully I did a lot of things that were less than safe when I was young and impetuous but as time went by I began to realize that the best way to enjoy my love of motorcycling was to reasonably do it as safely as possible. The fact that I have a wife and two young kids also guides the choices I make.

Regarding your helmet example I would argue that it's apples and oranges. I DO have a moderately expensive helmet (a Nolan N100e) that passes all the important safety tests, and I DID choose to go with this helmet based on the experience and advice of people who considered it superior in a variety of ways to some of the other choices.

Now, with regard to your position on a vulcanized patch, NO patch is going to bring back the structural integrity that's lost when the tread and tire wall are compromised, so whether it bonds together and holds as one unit really is irrelevant to whether the tire is as safe in its repaired state as it was before the puncture. I will grant you that chances are (as Brian already alluded to) that the repair will hold up just fine. I'm simply not willing to bet my life on it versus the relatively inexpensive cost of a new tire.

Regards,
 
flyingace said:
I think it's a little overboard to replace a $200 tire just because of a puncture. IMO, it depends of the location and size of the damage and how new the tire is. If you have a brand new tire that gets a small puncture in the center of the tread, patch it. That's common sense to me.

But, to each his own.
Click to expand...
On a car tire I'd agree with you 100%, but on a bike tire it's just not worth the risk. $200 is certainly NOT a lot of money to spend to be 100% sure you have the most important link between you and the road in perfect shape ... it's about the cheapest insurance you can buy to hedge your bet.

Ride Safe, and
Regards,
 
Planecrazy said:
I will grant you that chances are (as Brian already alluded to) that the repair will hold up just fine. I'm simply not willing to bet my life on it versus the relatively inexpensive cost of a new tire.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Too bad our bikes use different sized tires or I'd take care of your patched tire disposal problems. :) I bought a Shoei helmet but mainly because I like the contrast of expensive gear with a cheap increasingly-ratty bike. I think my last HJC was just as safe, just not as good.
 
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