I picked up a 2½" nail in my rear tyre today  
Repaired it ok with a plug and a couple of Co2 canisters and it seems to be fine. Small neat hole. These are supposed to be just a temporary fix but my tyre only has about 1 or 2k left and just debating if its worth repairing properly.

Just wondering if anyone has riden any great distance with a temp repair?

Kaptain Holister wrote:Just wondering if anyone has riden any great distance with a temp repair?

I would

Ive also got one of these babies stowed in the duck tail...have not had to use it yet. Foolishly, I have a pump but not a puncture repair kit! Must be remedied asap.

I can see why you'd need to Floyd. Me - I wouldn't (and don't) but it's a different situation. Mr. Nail got me again on Thursday too;
there he was, winking at me when I pulled up outside the office. There was about 3K left on the rear BT021R on the Bandit but when I pulled the bugger out, I couldn't be sure that it hadn't penetrated the inner carcass. I dumped my rucksack on my desk and rode straight down to the tyre depot for a new fitment; Mr. Nail then promptly relieved me of £86.

I seem to average a puncture a year. The most frustrating and expensive period was four in three weeks on two bikes (three rear, one front). One rear tyre was only ten days old (i.e. about 300 miles on it) when it was literally slashed by a piece of steel lying in the road and deflated completely in about fifty feet. One thing I can tell you from experience; punctures in tubeless tyres are a non-event. I still don't recommend them though.

I rode my K with a repaired rear tyre (with a plug) for 13,000 more klm, the tyre man was horrified when I went in to get some more gas canisters, says they are illegal to use and shouldn't be sold.
Went straight around to the bike shop and bought them over the counter. Who's right? I dunno but as I'm not the
fastest rider in the world (universe?) everything went ok by me.
(usual disclaimer applies, see your tyre care professional before you follow my advice, no recourse discussion
involving non professional jibber jabber)

Caution: The following is opinion only

Automobile drivers probably put a couple billion miles on plugged tires every year without drama.  I personally have put 40,000+ miles on a plugged radial tire on my car.  I understand that the only damage that makes a tire unusable is in the sidewall away from the belts.

For my bikes I carry repair kits that use mushroom plugs.  I feel these protect against air and plug loss better than the "worms".   I will admit that I haven't had the need to plug a tire yet, but if I did, for sure I would be rebalancing the tire ASAP, and keeping a sharp eye on tire pressure for at least the first month after the repair.  

If the tire holds air reliably, is not out of balance, and runs true with no lumps in the tread from the plug, I can't see any reason to bin it.

Thanks for that .75 I didn't even think about the out of balance issue but I do have dyna beads in the rear so hopefully they'll balance out.

I read in the Haynes manual that repair plugs are not recommended because the carcass of a m/c tyre is much thinner than a car tyre and would not be as secure.

I have no trips planned for the next month just commuting so I'll monitor pressure etc and see how it goes.

Kapt.  Yes it's true that the body under the tread is thinner and that's why I think the mushroom plugs are the best way to go.  The head helps seal the inside of the repair and helps keep the plug from pulling out.   

They need a special tool  to install, but otherwise aren't harder to use than the worms.  Bonus is that they work without needing glue.

I have one of these kits on each of my bikes. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stop-Go-Pocket-Tire-Plugger-for-Tubeless-Tires-1000-/181718837973?hash=item2a4f496ad5&vxp=mtr

I agree with 75 in the use of the stop & go kit its a very useful tool and certain kits are designed for bikes,
they do various size kits and I must say the mushroom style bung I feel is better than the worm [just my opinion]

I also carry a small additional air comp  and for one thing it's a lot easier than replacing tubes on the side of the road, if all else fails a smart phone.


BIG D

I agree that tyre plugs, especially the Stop n Go variety, can be used for many, many miles. But using reason and caution, plugs are so safe for cars because there's a wheel at each corner of the vehicle holding it up if one leg goes lame suddenly. That reasoning ain't true with a motorpickle, especially in a corner. You plugs yer tyres and you takes yer chances.

That said, I was once on a two week ride on my R1100RS with my sweetie. I took a large nail in a brand new rear Metzeler Z6 the first day out, a Sunday. I plugged it with the Stop n Go kit, aired it up with 2-1/2 cartridges, and was on me merry way in about ten or fifteen minutes. No motorbike shops open at the weekend so I watched the pressure carefully at each fuel stop and at night at the camp sites. Now I had some precious cargo aboard and wanted to be extra careful. But after four days I figured I'd wear it out that way.

When I pulled the old worn out tyre off the rim some months later I couldn't tell where the SnG plug was 'til I razored its little rubber head off the inside of the carcass. It had become a part of the rubber of the tyre. I carry the smaller kit with the Allen key installer under the seats of all of my bikes as well. They sell one with a caulking-gun-type of installer, and it's easier to force the bugger in compared to the Allen head screw type, but it's too big for most motorbikes.

I just put a new tire on the front of my K75.  Think I will put a hole in the old one and do a trial plug just to see how the Stop n Go works while I can watch what's happening from the inside of the tire.

One word of caution about Stop n Go plugs: as they're rubber-like they can be damaged by being cut by the metal bands inside of the tyre's carcass. Strips or worms are 'less susceptible' in that regard.

quite right TWB. In fact Stop & Go website do highlight this problem in their instruction sheet saying that you need to wrasp out the hole really well if you encounter wire from steel belts. I'm thinking that that would damage the integrity of the radial tyre even more. I've not seen one but watching the video demonstrating the application of the plug it looks very soft and pliable much like soft silicon rubber and I'd imagine if it came into contact with the jagged end of a severed wire as the tyre was under stress and flexing it may suffer damage.

They recommend that you only travel a maximum of 100 miles at a maximum speed of 50 mph. In another part of their site they say they agree with 'experts' who recommend that the tyre should be replace as soon as possible. Usual disclaimer stuff.

Do our tires have steel belts?  I thought the plies of motorcycle tires were polyester ie. dacron, or nylon.

I guess where talking radial tyres here which use a range of materials including steel. 
I have an Avon Azaro46 which has 2 polyester and 1 steel ply. Unfortunately no longer available.
Metzler make a 0° steel belted radial which run circumferentially in addition to the 90° belts.