HAD TO PLUG MY TIRE...

[tdrcomm]

Picked up a nail somewhere between the Gap and Memphis. Had to plug the tire in Amarillo. Held up all the way back home. What's the longest anyone has riden a pluged tire? I was holding my breath all the way home.

[ZukiFred]

I have never riden with a pluged tire on my bike. I just don't trust them myself. So I have no idea how long they will last.

[ne-oublie]

I plugged the front tyre on one of my old Brit bikes about 3 years ago,still doing good.Then again it's top speed is 65mph,and i only ride that one a couple of hundred miles a year.

[md86]

Wow . I had a tire plugged in my car , and that tire lasted longer than the CAR did , but I never rode a bike with a plugged tire (watch me pick up a nail now ) . Again , I say "wow" .

[tdrcomm]

I was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was really late when I noticed it and I'm sure any bike shop was closed by then. I was wiped from the ride in from Oklahoma and needed to crash for a bit but since I was doing night riding because of the heat I ended up plugging it about 10PM and praying that it would at least hold till the first big city in New Mexico. Thank God it was right in the middle of the tire and not in the tread.

[mystahagy]

I picked up a nail awhile back and did one of those plug thingies you shove in there so I could get home. My Z6 was still new, so I had a shop back home do a "professional" plug as well as put a tube in there. No problems since, and it's not out of balance either.

[WildKat]

Was it the rear or front tire?

I had a plugged tire on my car for a good 4 months, no issues..just lost alittle air now and then. REcently replaced it and all is well again..but Im not sure I'd trust riding on a patched tire on my bike for any longer than I'd have too.

[SweetLou]

Tom, you could always get a new tire now that you are home, and sell that plugged one on ebay to get some bucks for it. Corey had a plug in his tire, and it held up great. We did a burn out with that tire right before he went to get a new one, it never busted or came out, held up till the tire tread ate all the way through. So it is really up to you. Seeings how it is in the middle (Same place as Corey's), I would give it a chance, but if you would have better peace of mind, then get a new, and then get a few bucks back for the used one.

[Selby]

I've been riding a professionally plugged tire for about 3 months now; no plans to replace it until the tread life gets low. Doesn't leak at all and it's barely noticeable. This is a rear tire, just off center of the tread.

I mostly commute on the kat, no speeds over 80, no railing. Frankly I'm not that concerned.

I called 3 bike shops here and two wouldn't plug tires; one would. It wasn't cheap; It cost $25 with the wheel off including dynamic wheel balancing.

:Shrug:

[mystahagy]

Was it the rear or front tire?

I had a plugged tire on my car for a good 4 months, no issues..just lost alittle air now and then. REcently replaced it and all is well again..but Im not sure I'd trust riding on a patched tire on my bike for any longer than I'd have too.

It was the rear, probably about a 1/2" from the center on the left side. I didn't trust a patch, not to mention it was one of those gummy worms you shove in from the outside. That's why I went and had the tube as well as a "professional" patch done.

[nitros222]

I would never trust a plug in a bike tire. You only have two tires holding you up why would you trust a little piece of rubber shoved through a hole in the tire. Most likely the steel belts in the tire will cut the plug or water will get in there and rust out the belts and cause it to fail. Now a days plugs are only reccommend to get you out of a jam so you can get somewhere to have it replaced. Most tire manufactures wont honor any warranties on tires if they are plugges as well

[The CyberPoet]

Picked up a nail somewhere between the Gap and Memphis. Had to plug the tire in Amarillo. Held up all the way back home. What's the longest anyone has riden a pluged tire? I was holding my breath all the way home.

The longest is probably about 7k miles, but that was pre "Z-rated" tires. I've done about 1500 miles on the Kat with a cheap plug in one, then the replacement one finally arrived; the old one was sold on eBay (there's always someone who wants a burn-out tire or who doesn't care about the plug). It's the best recycling there is.

I picked up a nail awhile back and did one of those plug thingies you shove in there so I could get home. My Z6 was still new, so I had a shop back home do a "professional" plug as well as put a tube in there. No problems since, and it's not out of balance either.

Mystahagy, if the shop told you they put a tube in the wheel, they almost gauranteed lied to you (and simply patched and/or plugged it). If they really did put a tube in there, then you are asking for hospitalization; neither your Kat rims nor your Metzeler Z6 tires are designed or intended for use with innertubes, and doing so is a recipe for self-destruction.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[mystahagy]

I picked up a nail awhile back and did one of those plug thingies you shove in there so I could get home. My Z6 was still new, so I had a shop back home do a "professional" plug as well as put a tube in there. No problems since, and it's not out of balance either.

Mystahagy, if the shop told you they put a tube in the wheel, they almost gauranteed lied to you (and simply patched and/or plugged it). If they really did put a tube in there, then you are asking for hospitalization; neither your Kat rims nor your Metzeler Z6 tires are designed or intended for use with innertubes, and doing so is a recipe for self-destruction.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

I watched them do the service. I try to do any work I can myself, but anytime a shop touches it I will watch as much as possible. As far as replacing it, I'll try to as soon as funding will allow.
Out of curiosity, what characteristics might a "tube" safe rim or tire have that ours don't? I understand there would be differences, why else would manufacturers advise for or against it...I'm just unaware of what these differences might be.

[The CyberPoet]

I watched them do the service. I try to do any work I can myself, but anytime a shop touches it I will watch as much as possible. As far as replacing it, I'll try to as soon as funding will allow.
Out of curiosity, what characteristics might a "tube" safe rim or tire have that ours don't? I understand there would be differences, why else would manufacturers advise for or against it...I'm just unaware of what these differences might be.

A tube-safe rim is one that is specifically designed for use of the innertube. With the exception of BMW, I know of no rims on the market for street bikes that can take your choice of either an innertube + tubed-style tire, or a tubeless tire by itself. Rims are normally made for one or the other.

A rim designed for an innertube will normally have miniscule air gaps in it to allow the air trapped between the rim and the innertube to vent as the innertube comes up to pressure (such as around the filler neck). The interior of the rim surface will be smooth, so as not to poke into the innertube, and the corners will have no extreme turns, so as not to strain the rubber of the innertube at the corner. Usually a rim designed for an innertube will also have a rubber sleeve that sits between the innertube and the wheel itself, to help ensure the innertube doesn't experience any rubber-to-steel abrasion as it slips (tiny amounts at proper pressure; more when low) within the tire/riim during hard acceleration, braking, etc. The rim intended for innertube use will also normally have a different vent-hole design for the fill-stem for the innertube to pass through without strain or damage.

By comparison, a tubeless rim will have zero leaks (must be airtight by definition), will often have pour seams within it from manufacture (no issue if it does, since there's nothing touching at the center), and the hole for the fill stem is designed for a pressure-fit stem.

Tires, similarly, are not normally designed for both roles, and this especially true for high-speed (H, Z, W rated tires). Tires like your Z6's are not designed to have anything physically pressing them from the inside except pressurized air. The innertube will want to take it's own shape, and in doing so, will push on the carcass of the tire in directions it's not designed to want to move, reshaping it. This can lead to localized heat build-up and subsequent delamination or catastrophic failure.

Good Luck with it!
=-= The CyberPoet