Got a Flat!!!

[Ythen57]

I went for my second ride of the year and got a flat out in the middle of nowhere. Flagged an old man down and he went to his farm and got the oldest trailer ever seen and used nylon rope to tie my baby on...and then drove 100kmph with my bike bouncing around. It was the worst ride of my life back to town...any who does anybody know if they will patch a bike tire...it has a little cut in the tread bar? Or should I just bit it and buy a new tire? Any thoughts

[The CyberPoet]

Well, here's the lowdown:

1. The on-the-spot-fix would have been a standard tire plug kit and some sort of air pump. This works on the main tire tread-face (not sidewalls) to get you up & going again. Basically remove the penetrating object (pliers), ream the hole with the reamer tool, then insert the sticky strip with the other tool, wait a few minutes and pump the tire up.
You can find kits under $10, plus some sort of pump to carry with you (I carry a very small combo CO2 and manual pump strapped to the rear frame rail under the rear fairings).

2. Of all the tire manufacturers on the planet that make Z-rated tires, the only one I know of that says patching a tire is feasible is Dunlop, who says that you can use a single plug-style patch for a hole up to 1/8" in the main tread area **for some of their touring tires **, but the tire's speed rating at that instant drops to 70 mph max. All the rest say "no plugging our tires for your safety". In the UK, it's actually illegal for any shop to plug a Z-rated motorcycle tire by law.
Now, I've ridden on plugged tires over the years, but have always ordered replacements as soon as I got home. The old tire I list up on eBay, disclosing that it has a plug, and inevitably someone always buys them, effectively helping me pay for part of the replacement cost.
Some people have no qualms about riding on a plugged tire (such as Mojoe), but personally, I will replace a plugged tire as soon as feasible. I value what rides on those tires too much to risk it.

3. What's the problem with a plug?
The real problem is what happens to the metal belts when the tire gets punctured initially and again when the reamer goes through it to clean up the rubber for the adhesive plug. Distortion & breaks in the metal belts can cause localized heat build-up that can lead to a tire delaminating on the inside and/or blowing out on the outside, something you never want to have any tire do on you while you're riding.

Hope that clears everything up. To recap, IMHO:
1. Plug the tire for now and order a replacement.
2. Install the replacement once it arrives and list the plugged tire up on eBay, to recover most of your cost of the new one.
3. Don't risk your neck trying to save $50 - $75 (the difference in cost between the new one mounted & balanced and the money you'll get off eBay for the old one).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Tsunami]

next time smack the old man up side the head and tell him to slow down

[Ythen57]

I have just ordered a new metzeler Z6 for the bike

[fixer]

the metal belts

which MC tires have METAL belts in 'em?

FWIW, there a MC tire plugging tool that uses a "mushroom" shaped plug. the head goes inside the tire and it needs a special tool to insert it. supposedly it's more resistant to being spit out than the standard plugs.

[The CyberPoet]

which MC tires have METAL belts in 'em?

Every motorcycle tire that I've ever examined that says Radial uses metal belt construction for the radial ply. Although a manufacturer could theoretically wrap plastic belts (like nylon or polyester) around a carcass in a radial pattern, every radial for the motorcycle tire market I've ever looked at used some form of metal belting... and conversely, every bias motorcycle tire I've ever looked at has used some form of plastic belting (although metal belts could be placed into a bias-ply pattern).

Additionally, because the metal acts as a heat-conductor in a way that plastic simply can't, normally any V, Z or W speed-rated motorcycle tire will be a metal-belted tire, and I haven't seen a tire yet in those ratings that doesn't follow that rule.

FWIW, there a MC tire plugging tool that uses a "mushroom" shaped plug. the head goes inside the tire and it needs a special tool to insert it. supposedly it's more resistant to being spit out than the standard plugs.

There is indeed, and I've looked at a kit of that sort. My local dealer uses that form of patch for their bias-ply based clients.
It's a good design, and good in theory, but with the tools, it took up more space under my seat than I wanted to give up, and it wasn't in the same under $10 price bracket. Plus the mushroom plugs tend to distort the metal belting in radials even more than the strip-form solutions, and they can't adhere to the inside of the tire properly if the inside isn't smooth & flat (as is the case on some of the Dunlop and some of the Metzeler radials I've owned).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet