You guys have me paranoid about flat tires.....

[BanjoBart]

I rode 2,000 miles with a nail last year. I pulled it out and the air came hissing out so I stuffed the nail back in the tire. When I got home I had the corner gas station plug the tire. Don't worry about it with radial tires, just ride. If you get a flat, call a gas station and have them bring a plug and a portable air tank. You can buy roadside assistance so cheaply, why spend the money on slime and goo when for the same money you can buy roadside assistance for a year?

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Bart:

Isn't slime and goo the stuff that collects on your windscreen after an evening ride in the country......? I see you made it home okay last night. No deer visits.

 

[Baggage1]

Flip do you want to speculate or do you want to hear it form the source. I have had a total of 4 flats on the rocket rear tire. One on the original, and three on the second one. the first ran fine on the string plug until the steel started to show at 9600 miles. I put a patch on the next tire as it was used but needed a plug too. Then I put the green stuff in to make sure then got a big ole hole that a car tire place plugged for 5 bucks. their plug came out and the slime oozed out cause the hole was pretty big but a mushroom was used on one hole and a string on the other hole so be prepared for multiple holes on one occasion. For filling the tire after repairing get several of those stem extensions and screw them together to gain better access to the difficult stem location. From that point the filling is a personal preference. I have CO2 but Fix-a-Flat, or canned air or your favorite electric or mechanical pump works too. Don't fear it will happen, just get piece of mind that it will and be prepared.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Baggage:

Nothing like a First Article Test. I'll profit from your experience. I'm getting the plug and go tire plugger and I'll pack some string plugs too. For air, maybe I can employ some of the hot air from here but better yet, I'll get a Co2 inflator and carry my fold up foot operated tire pump. Bart told me that if you are real quick with the plugger you don't loose all your air. I'm positively dreading road shrapnel.

I'm an old string plugger from way back, like Rusty. I've used them on ag tires and car tires which have tread, unlike the R3 which has a bald tire even when new. Just looking at those acres of rubber invites disaster along side the road.

 

[wilbur-t]

I was a little skeptical about Wilbur. No more and mine was a car tire.

I love you too, Flip.

The company that makes the mushroom plug kit is Stop and Go. Comes with an extension hose to hook to your valve stem for ease of CO2 fill up. I'm not going to put any goo in my motorcycle tires, makes a hell of a mess when you pull that tire off later, not to mention the balance problems.

 

[TonyMac]

Flip,

If using CO2 cartridges doesn't appeal checkout cyclepump.com.

They have a good quality, small, battery driven compressor available for approx $100

Hope this helps.

 

[wilbur-t]

By the way, when that gravel went through my tire, it went flat in about 2 seconds. I was all over the road, even though I was only going 35 on the dirt road. Imagine that while you're pumping down the interstate at 85 mph.

Have a nice day.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

By the way, when that gravel went through my tire, it went flat in about 2 seconds. I was all over the road, even though I was only going 35 on the dirt road. Imagine that while you're pumping down the interstate at 85 mph.

Have a nice day.

I took my car tire about 1/8 mile to seperate from the rim. It was an oblong chunk of what looked like granite with a sharp pointed edge. The tire was junk. I got a used one for a spare. 85 would put me in the pucker bushes and ruin my vacation, oh boy.

 

[HeR3tic]

The Stop & Go Plugger kit with CO2 arrived yesterday; in a very stout vinyl bag. Looks to be #1. I can imagine 10 minutes (with practice) to plug'er, fill'er, and get'er back on the road. Granted, a sliced tyre will be another story. Maybe I two will git summa dem stringy thingyz as well. Road side assistance has, in my experience, been a PITA on every occassion for one reason or another. I sure hope Algore and his U.N. tax collector doesn't hear 'bout me adding to the CO2 build up.

 

[Toystoretom]

Has anyone shot CO2 into a tire? How many of those little dudes does it take just to make it ridable? I could see a Monkey Grip plug kit and a small electric compressor going into my empty air filter box.

Also... there are plug kits and there are plug kits. Go to a higher end auto parts store (Like NAPA or O'Rielly's) and find a kit that has a real reamer, meaning it has a T handle that you can put some muscle into. If you have ever plugged a tire you know that it is almost impossible to shove one of those reamers through the steel cord, especially on a flat tire. The way I plug car tires at the shop is remove the nail or screw, inflate the tire, ream the hole using a drill with a 1/4 inch bit, and push through the plug. I the usually set the plug on fire to melt it so it seals better and then check the tire pressure. Even in the shop it is a bear and not easy to do. On the side of the road it may just suck...

That also brings up a point, you will need something to pull the nail or screw out, usually a good pair of Dikes, and those don't come with the plug kit.