This tyre plug can kill you......allegedly

[Wintersdark]

9 hours ago, johnmark101 said:

Used the mushroom plug once.......it got me home but barely.  Have used the rope plugs twice with very good results.

I've never had to plug a motorcycle tire.  However, I've used rope plugs (interestingly, they've never been the type that need glue, same deal as the Nealy guy ones shown above but a different brand) on countless car tires and have never had one fail, even after years of use.

2 hours ago, Salish900 said:

I had watched this last night too and got a kick out of it. I carry an electric pump, but like the idea of a small bicycle hand pump for emergencies too. I've only used the sticky rope, and you can ride those things for thousands of miles if you have to. 

I average one puncture a year, it seems. Wonder what the punctures per mile average is for all of us? 

I average 15,000kms/year, over the last 25 years, and have maybe had one puncture?  Two flats in my life, one due to it being super old and crumbling apart, and another also of very questionable vintage.  Both being test riding old garage finds after I got them running.  

[betoney]

3 hours ago, Salish900 said:

I average one puncture a year, it seems. Wonder what the punctures per mile average is for all of us? 

I have had my FJ just over 4 years.  In 53k miles I have had 2 punctures, both of them within 50 miles of home, never had any issues while on a road trip.  🤷‍♀️

[HGP61]

Friend picked up a nail in the first five miles with a new tyre I remember that resulted in a few swear words.

I was following in a group ride a few years ago when the friend in front ran over a short length of spring with his rear tyre. I heard the pop and saw the instant deflation of air as it raised a small cloud of road dust. It was the first time I had seen the "string" puncture kit being used but that and the small compressor I had under the seat of my bike put us back on the road in about ten minutes. I went out and got a puncture kit the next day.

[bwringer]

I've had several punctures in motorcycle tires, and helped friends deal with quite a few. One of the guys I ride KLRs with regularly has had punctures at least three times; once we found both a piece of a broken off key and a screw in his tire. I think the key hadn't made it through the tube yet, but it was poking through.

After some gravel road fun in southern Indiana, I once pulled a huge heavily corroded square hand-forged iron nail out of my rear tire. It had to have been 100+ years old. Probably fell out of someone's Conestoga wagon or something.

On a bike with tube tires, you're in for a wee bit more effort... it's best to try and arrange your punctures for a shady location with a bit of a breeze.

Overall, I'd say a flat is a once or twice a year thing for me or someone I'm riding with, so I always, always, always carry the stuff to plug a flat and air up the tire afterwards.

BTW, I tried the CO2 cartridges... no bueno. You need a lot of them to fill up a motorcycle tire, and if the repair fails or has a slow leak (sometimes it's not just a clean puncture), you're stuck. Best to just carry an electric pump. A small hand pump wouldn't be a bad idea if you're headed way off the beaten path by yourself, or make sure someone else in the group is carrying a second pump.

[piotrek]

On 2/16/2021 at 1:01 PM, peteinpa said:

I've got this one. Compact, and an even better design of rope type.

Have you had to use this yet? Rope and goop works well, but this looks interesting.

[peteinpa]

Haven't used it yet.  Both a good thing and bad thing.🤣

[betoney]

On 2/16/2021 at 10:55 AM, 2and3cylinders said:

And since I also carry on tour a Antigravity jump starter anyway, I may get one of these because they're so tiny and fast; depending if their power hookup is universal and not proprietary.

https://www.advdesigns.com/mitiinairpub.html?scid=scbplpmitiinairpub&sc_intid=mitiinairpub&msclkid=a4a9efd15e411eff386d8ffd4e7c38d7&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SC - Shopping - General&utm_term=4581183926182470&utm_content=All Products

Enough said.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I just ordered one.  👍

[2and3cylinders]

2 hours ago, betoney said:

Thanks for the suggestion.  I just ordered one.  👍

BTW, I read that pump can also be powered off the bike's battery via SAE.  I also read it vibrates a bit and gets hot necessitating cool-down pauses.  Someone else said it took over 20 minutes to fill a rear tire.  So I hope you didn't buy on my rec only, as before I buy anything I do a reasonable amount of due diligence, and take everything with a grain of salt.

Now most small pumps have the above issues.  There's one, it's in a big aluminum case and heavy that's supposed to be excellent but it has a commensurate price tag.  Mine, which is branded by DynaPlug and air shot  https://www.motopumps.com is also very good, small and relatively fast.  I got the AirShot kit with all the accessories, though I don't carry them all.  Oddly they also sell FJ/MT/trader offset bar risers https://www.motopumps.com/shop/yamaha-fz-09-fj-09-mt-09-tracer-900-tracer-900-gt-offset-bar-risers-25mm and a neat GPS mount (https://www.motopumps.com/shop/gps-mount.  However, if you look at some of my photos of the heads-up display slotted cross bar, I use RAM balls that tighten into the slot, and can fit 3 devices.

 

 

[Dark&Stormy]

I made it home from the Yukon (1800mi) with a worn out rear TKC80 with two rope plugs in it. 

[mtneer]

I have both rope plugs and Stop and Go mushroom plugs, knock on wood haven’t had to use them, but a guy I work with had a screw in his tire on a bike he just bought and we plugged it with the mushroom(front), told him I would replace the tire. Being a cheapskate he ran that front on his cruiser bike till he wore the tire out, guess he lucked out.

[betoney]

8 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

BTW, I read that pump can also be powered off the bike's battery via SAE.  I also read it vibrates a bit and gets hot necessitating cool-down pauses.  Someone else said it took over 20 minutes to fill a rear tire.  So I hope you didn't buy on my rec only, as before I buy anything I do a reasonable amount of due diligence, and take everything with a grain of salt.

Now most small pumps have the above issues.

SAE connection is a great feature (I also use my SAE to power my heated vest) and I expect those issues listed with any compact pump, however Advdesigns claims a much quicker fill time -"Inflates a motorcycle tire in approx 2.5mins" - We'll see. 

[keithu]

Here's my current repair kit. The tube is a Neely rope plug kit purchased at the local moto shop, and the mini floor pump is from Nuetech.com. It has a built-in stick gauge and should be a lot less tiring than a standard bicycle hand pump. I put both of these items in my tool roll, but they are small enough that I think they'd fit under the Tracer seat. The deck of cards is shown for scale. 

Full disclosure: I haven't actually used either of these yet. I purchased them after my dismal experience with CO2 cartridges and my old plug kit last summer. 

 

[roy826]

I tote the tiny Aerostitch pump/repair kit on the Tracer. Never had to use it so far. My Tenere 700 a whole different animal with tube type wheels. So I tote the MP tire irons, tubes, CO2 inflator with plenty of CO2 16k cylinders. Had a flat on the T7 last summer but it was only 6 miles from my house. Bummed a ride back to the house and went back and picked up the bike with my truck and trailer. I hate tubes on anything. 

[bwringer]

15 hours ago, piotrek said:

Have you had to use this yet? Rope and goop works well, but this looks interesting.

Yes, I've used the Nealey plugs WAY too many times on cars and tubeless motorcycle tires. Fantastic stuff, truly next level sticky strings. And you don't need glue.

FWIW, the last usage was less than a week ago when my wife was stranded with a flat 40 minutes from home in the middle of nowhere. It was 7 degrees and late at night, and not a soul stopped to check on her until a couple of deputies stopped while I was inflating the tire with an electric pump.

The Nealey plug worked just fine in extreme cold.

We carry these Harbor Freight inflators in the cars; too bulky for toting around on a motorcycle, but they'll easily inflate a car tire in maybe five minutes:

12v 100 PSI High Volume Air Inflator

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12V 100 PSI High Volume Air Compressor

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by bwringer

[Waldo Jeffers]

This is the pump I carry. Gonna look into the Nealey kit.

CyclePump EXPEDITION Tire Inflator - Best Rest Products

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CyclePump® EXPEDITION Tire Inflator Here at BestRest we've made a...