I have ridden on a plugged tire before. It was a plug with an internal patch installed at a shop. It did not last long. Plus, I never felt completely safe on it.

For peace of mind, I suggest getting a new rear tire. Mine didn't have 1,000 miles on it when I replaced it. It's sad, but hey.. it is your safety.

NOTE: Standard Repost

Got a Flat Macadam?
Here's what you do:
(A) Pop by the auto parts store and grab a plug kit. Plug the rear tire before it gets unmounted.
(B) Take pics of both front & back while they're still on the bike.
(C) download the ebay sales descriptions for used macadams from my website:
Used Michelin Macadam 150/70ZR17 eBay write-up (html as a text file)
and

Used Michelin Macadam 120/70ZR17 eBay write-up (html as a text file)
and modify those two files as necessary to disclose the truth of the plug, wear levels and embed your pics.

Order yourself a set of Metzeler Z6's and when the tires get changed, you'll already have a buyer for the used ones
END of Standard Repost

You already plugged the tire. So far so good. But the reality is that you can never be 100% sure that any radial tire didn't get some kind of metal-strand damages in the process that could lead to a localized heat-build-up issue, followed by internal delamination and subsequent blow-out. Especially on Z-rated ones. For some places, there are even laws concerning this (it's illegal in the UK to plug/patch Z-rated radials); most manufacturers have similar policies because the risk (although low on a per-case basis) is too high as a group issue.

There have been many riders who've ridden their tires into ripe old age with plugs or patches (especially on bias tires). I've plugged many tires (including radials) on the road and then turned around an mail-ordered replacements, riding on the plug until the replacements arrived (1500-2k miles in some cases).

Since tires are cheap in the bigger picture (under $300 on the bike for a fresh pair - about $212-$220 for a pair of new Metzeler Z6's mail-order), and it's a good excuse to upgrade to a much better tire than what Suzuki put on there, take advantage of it.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Cyber.. I have seen you post this info time and time again. I have always wondered, who is buying up MacAdams so quickly? If they are crappy tires, who is dying to have them??

There are always people in podunkia who want exactly what came on their bikes -- these are the people who generally buy the ones I've listed up as close-to-new (like whenever I get a Kat with them on it or when I did the road-tests with 6 sets of new tires back-to-back for about 1k miles each). They don't have a dealer close by, or their dealer wants an arm-and-a-leg for a tire and they don't know about mail-order as such (nor KR it would seem)... I've gotten more for used tires than new ones cost me mail-order.

The second group (the I-don't-care-if-it's-plugged guys) are the ones who will shred the tire in front of their friends for kicks by spinning up the rear wheel and generating smoke. They are planning on destructo'ing the tire, so a plug makes zero difference to them. This is where my plugged and close-to-end-of-life tires go.

At least that's my experiences.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet