What to do about a nail in my tire

[Trigger]

I have a 03 Sportster and just noticed I have a nail in my rear tire when I was checking the pressure. I don't know how long it has been there. It is in the tread, actually completely in one of the tread grooves. A friend of mine said it would be fine to pull the nail and plug the tire. Does anyone have any experience with either plugging or patching a motorcycle tire? It does still hold air fine.
I only have about 1000 miles on a new Michelin Commander 2, so I am not super excited about replacing the tire. I am even less excited about having a blowout or being stranded somewhere due to a flat. Any advise would be great.

 

[eljefino]

Motorcycle? Don't think anyone wants to touch that one.

 

[Chris142]

Ya a mc tire is a life or death thing.

 

[Barkleymut]

I have plugged a whole lot of auto tires over the years....and only 1 has failed. I just wouldn't risk it, I have seen a motorcycle wreck up close one time...and that was one time too many.

 

[oldhp]

I've plugged 2 motorcycle tires, front and back. Both were in the center tread. Never had a problem, back was used up bald, plug still holding fine.
Today if nail was in center of tread, and only in center tread, I would patch it and not worry one bit.

 

[yeti]

when I see a thread title such as this, I REALLY miss gary.
OP -- do nothing. go on a highway run, about 90mph.,and natural selection will fix it for you.

 

[flstffxe]

Tube or tubeless?

If tube, remove the nail(patch and plug?) and install a new tube.

If tubeless the choice is one you have to make. But here are your options after removing the nail.

- Rope plug
- Mushroom plug(I have had these fail, get cut)
- Patch(internal), I also like to use a plug
- Install a tube(after plug/patching, it is likely you would need one with a metal valve stem either offset or center position

Patching/plugging a motorcycle tire is something that many people and mechanics have personal issues/opinions with so finding a shop to do it may take some effort. Personally I don't mind plugging and patching a tubeless with the huge caveat that it depends on the damage and where it is located.

There are no issues with running a tube on a tubeless wheel. I still advise at a minimum doing a internal patch too so the rough area around the puncture does not rub through the tube.

 

[spasm3]

I agree. I have plugged lots of my car tires, but i would never never do that with my motorcycle. A patch seems reasonable but i would let a motorcycle shop make that call.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: yeti
when I see a thread title such as this, I REALLY miss gary.
OP -- do nothing. go on a highway run, about 90mph.,and natural selection will fix it for you.


That was uncalled for.

 

[Cristobal]

Originally Posted By: yeti
when I see a thread title such as this, I REALLY miss gary.
OP -- do nothing. go on a highway run, about 90mph.,and natural selection will fix it for you.



I agree that the above response is just not OK. There are a lot of us out there who do not have money to just throw away. Paying for that tire might be nothing to one person; it might be another man's rent money.

 

[skyactiv]

I plugged a tire on an old Kawasaki KZ750. The plug blew out. I attributed to the thin tire carcass. Plugged many car tires without a failure.

 

[Rolla07]

You need it patched from inside and a plug. Id go to a motorcycle shop and see what they say.

 

[StevieBoy]

+1 what Rolla wrote.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

THE CHOICE
The choice is yours but I'd start plugging because there is mounting
evidence that plugged tires work and are safe... I have yet to note
anyone armed with first hand knowledge to the contrary...

REPAIRS
Minor tire repair is limited to an area of three quarters of the
normal section width. The maximum diameter of penetration damage
and/or cracking at the base of the injury should be no greater than
3mm. The repair patches must not overlap.

For permanent repair,it is only recommended that small punctures
restricted to the tread area be repaired, using a rope type plug. The
current condition of a tire is important in determining whether a tire
is suitable for repair. Some damage limits include: if the tire has
reached its minimum tread depth as indicated by the TWI (tire wear
indicator); ply separation, separation of inner liner and or cutting
of ply cords by penetrating object; brittle or cracked rubber caused
by exhaust heat; broken or bent bead wire, damaged bead zone; damage
caused by under-inflation; softening or swelling of rubber due to oil
or chemical attack; punctures too close together; damage or previous
repair of a puncture outside of area specified for suitable repair.

MY EXPERIENCES
My screwed Rennsport... boo hoo...

My plugged Rennsport that covered 2K miles and not in moderation
either... it's seen over a 140mph more than once...

Inside the Rennsport for proof that the rope type plugs stay intact
whereas my mushroom type plug started to come unstuck

You can see by the diagram that Safety Seal plugs that are installed
properly establish an mushroom shape inside the carcass that holds
fast under pressure... you'd have more luck pushing the plug inside
carcass than you'll ever have it pop out under pressure...


I'm using the BMW tire repair kit with the rope type plugs

Nylon Rope type plugs found at any auto parts store...

I don't recommend the mushroom type plugs...

 

[Robenstein]

Had a nail in my Metzeler ME880 rear that had about 7k miles of tread left in it. Just swore in three languages and handed over the cash for a new tire. Safety is more important than cash IMHO when it comes to a bike. You can buy new tires, you cannot buy a new life.

 

[cashmoney]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
You need it patched from inside and a plug. Id go to a motorcycle shop and see what they say.


100% agree - plug and interior patch is required, tire should be fine then - but have it repaired and interior inspected by a quality motorcycle shop. Will cost a few bucks but you absolutely can't take chances with MC tires.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

Been riding since 1958. Have plugged a few tires along the way. I have never had a problem with any of them.

 

[cven]

What Rolla07 and cashmoney said.

Ride safe!

 

[ledslinger]

I think you'll be pressed to find a shop that will repair a motorcycle tire these days. I think it is a profit decision maybe more than or disguised as a liability/safety decision. Can M/C tires be safely repaired? It would be interesting to query all the manufacturers and get their response. I suspect a tire repair expert would repair some tires and scrap others. I'd be more likely to repair a rear than a front, and rears get the bulk of punctures anyway. Rumor is the front tire tosses it into a position where the back tire will pick it up. I've heard of installing a rubber or plastic deflector in front of the rear tire might decrease punctures.

The problem for shops is they don't have tire repair experts working there, which makes it even easier to have the blanket policy to not do tire repairs. I don't know anyone I would trust to do a repair on my bike tires except me. I'm not trained specifically to evaluate which punctures can be safely repaired, but my opinion is a simple puncture toward the middle of a rear bias ply tire.

I've repaired a rear bias simple puncture with a patch before and didn't have a problem. If it was a high horsepower sport bike with radials, I likely wouldn't recommend it. I like the plug/patch combination repairs but I am not a tire repair expert. Good luck finding a M/C tire repair expert who will answer questions about repair processes. There probably is very little information available on the internet about this topic.

 

[brave sir robin]

I have never heard of a shop saying its ok to patch a motorcycle tire. In my own experience I have patched multiple tires using the rope style plugs. They have never budged slipped or leaked. The first time I patched a tire was on my 600 ninja that rapidly deflated while taking my ex wife to my softball game. Thankfully It happened while going straight and not leaned over in a turn.

I have patched tires on all three of the bikes I have owned. My falco needed to be patched less than a week after installing brand new pilot rd 3's!
My own recommendation is that a patch is ok for regular road type riding but I would probably not want to do a track day on one.