Use of plugs on tires

[dorkburger]

Bwinger, thanks for the advice on avoiding the mushroom plugs. I got lucky I guess. As one who has logged more miles then I probably ever will, I always respect and appreciate your knowledge.

 

[bwringer]

I bought one of those on your recommendation for a trip about 10 years ago... I’ve never had to use it but the tube is a bit worse for wear but the threads still seem pliable.....

Good to know!

Ten years? What is this mysterious power you have to avoid punctures?

Please share your secrets, O Saline Sensei...

 

[bwringer]

Bwinger, thanks for the advice on avoiding the mushroom plugs.

I tried to make it work, I really did. The Stop-n-Stay kit was kind of expensive, and I carried it for several years and used it on at least five motorcycle tire punctures and a few car tires. Every one failed, except one I installed in a car tire. But the final straw was when I had a very simple, small, straightforward nail puncture about 50 miles away. By the time I got home, there were five plugs bouncing around inside the tire, and the tire went flat again just as I pulled into my driveway.

Going flat every 10 miles or so made for a slow, hair-raising ride home, and I replaced the tire rather than taking the chance it had been damaged by all the repeated deflation.

This is the crap I'm talking about: these plugs and the whole system are dangerous junk.
https://www.stopngo.com/

I think the root of the problem is that the soft rubber plug seems to easily and quickly get sawed in two by the tire belts, then the head works its way out soon after. I believe motorcycle tires flex more than car tires, so these plugs are doomed to fail even sooner in motorcycle tires.

Many of the plug/patches applied from the interior seem to suffer from the same flaw; the stem of the most easily available brand is just soft rubber, and is not reinforced. It can also be very difficult to get the flat inside patch part to bond correctly to the inside of the tire and withstand the normal tire flex.


Sticky strings, even the regular generic sticky strings you can buy anywhere, are extremely tough, and I've never seen or even heard of a failure unless the puncture is just too big or oddly shaped or angled. Obviously, there are some kinds of tire damage you can't or shouldn't repair with any sort of plug, but people have made effective repairs of some pretty appalling damage with multiple plugs in order to at least get out of the woods.

I've demounted tires that were repaired with sticky strings and ridden long distances afterwards. With heat, g-forces, and time, the string on the inside seems to agglomerate into a little lump that spreads out and bonds very strongly to the inside of the tire and the walls of the puncture. They're extremely difficult to pull out with pliers; overall it's pretty confidence-inspiring.

 

[fbody_mike]

I will second that the sticky strings are difficult to remove. I had patched one of my bias ply motorcycle tires with one, when I replaced the tire, I decided to grab the loop of the string from the inside with a pair of pliers and give it a hard yank. The tire started to fold itself inside out and I couldn't get the string to slip one bit. With the amount of nails I have pulled from my wife's tires when she used to work near the warehouses in downtown LA; I guess you can say that I am a bit of a pro when it comes to installing them.

 

[dorkburger]

I tried to make it work, I really did. The Stop-n-Stay kit was kind of expensive, and I carried it for several years and used it on at least five motorcycle tire punctures and a few car tires. Every one failed, except one I installed in a car tire. But the final straw was when I had a very simple, small, straightforward nail puncture about 50 miles away. By the time I got home, there were five plugs bouncing around inside the tire, and the tire went flat again just as I pulled into my driveway.

Going flat every 10 miles or so made for a slow, hair-raising ride home, and I replaced the tire rather than taking the chance it had been damaged by all the repeated deflation.

This is the crap I'm talking about: these plugs and the whole system are dangerous junk.
https://www.stopngo.com/

I think the root of the problem is that the soft rubber plug seems to easily and quickly get sawed in two by the tire belts, then the head works its way out soon after. I believe motorcycle tires flex more than car tires, so these plugs are doomed to fail even sooner in motorcycle tires.

Interesting. That?s the exact kit I have. You suspect the tire belts are cutting them which seems logical. I?m still in the dark ages run bias ply. I wonder if that?s why I got lucky.

 

[LAB3]

Caught wind of this stuff on here last year and put it in my tires for the 450 then after not being able to get the steel balance beads past the valve cores on the Goldwing I used it on those too. Supposedly balances and plugs leaks at the same time, can't complain about the way they ride that's for sure and pressure checking is almost a non-issue.

https://www.ride-on.com/

 

[salty_monk]

Good to know!

Ten years? What is this mysterious power you have to avoid punctures?

Please share your secrets, O Saline Sensei...

Yeah I got lucky I guess.... I've had two. One I had nothing & came home 10 miles on a flatbed. One was on the KLR & I was close enough to home to walk it back, the sidewall was stiff enough without me on it...

 

[Guest]

Caught wind of this stuff on here last year and put it in my tires for the 450 then after not being able to get the steel balance beads past the valve cores on the Goldwing I used it on those too. Supposedly balances and plugs leaks at the same time, can't complain about the way they ride that's for sure and pressure checking is almost a non-issue.

https://www.ride-on.com/

I use ride-on on both my bike and Spyder.