Has anyone tried those tubeless tyre plugs for fixing flat tyres?

There are kits that have screw-in/snap-off plugs and small compressed air canisters.

Any experience using them out there? Other suggestions?

Here's my choice. I use 'em, always carry a kit under the seat cowl. The sort I use have the rubber 'mushroom' plug that get compressed in a screwdriver-like tool (they also have a larger gun & trigger version) and squeezed into the hole in the tyre with no glue. I got a flat first day out, brand new Metzeler radial tyre on one of my R1100RS', on a week-long tour. I took my chances and wore that tyre out, even after returning home. You're not s'posed to go further than your nearest dealership for repair or replacement. Hell, it never lost a psssst of air for the remainder of its sorry life. I also carry a miniature compressor that plugs into my 12V outlet on the side of the coil cover. The brand is called The Stop & Go. The compressor is a Cycle Pump from Best Rest Products north of Seattle in Amorica.

Here are links.
http://www.bestrestproducts.com/c-10-cyclepump.aspx


http://www.stopngo.com/motorcycle.asp

I carry one of those plug kits and also a small air compressor I have used one once [not for a long time touch wood] and I must say it did the job still had the tyre changed at the first opportunity mind.

BIG D

I'm looking at this.



Not suppose to go over 80kph after the repair and see a tyre place as soon as you can.

Cheap insurance.

Those work. I have not used them but have sold them and heard good things afterwards. They'll get you home in a pinch and are easy to pack away.

TWB, I think I'll get the pump and get some of the Cargol plugs.

Those CO2 cartridges just worry me a bit.

They sell the pump here in OZ for 135 biscuits, which is great value I think.

I bought my Cycle Pump back in '04, I think. It's the old version. The new version has a few nice features I wish mine had like fold-out feet to keep it off the ground, a longer cord for when you have to use a car's cigarette lighter, and a few adapters so it can be used in a BMW 12V plug, etc. I'll keep on using my oldie since it hasn't let me down once. I've taken it touring in Mexico, once in a Toyota ute for two weeks (for when you cross a lot of sand and finally get back on something that looks like a road) and for a month on a my '05 K1200S - didn't need to use it but it sure is a comfort.

I've inflated airbeds, tyre tubes for swimming and even ran a small airgun for grinding with it. The company that make it, Best Rest Products, have a stack of other useful motorbike goodies (mainly for BMW) and the guys who run it are top blokes, Dave Peterson and Steve Banks. The CO2 cartridges are fiddly at best. I tried to use them to inflate a plugged 160/60ZR18 tyre and all I could get in their was about 20 psi, which was enough to get me to the servo, good to have around, but.

I have used the cartriges and they work but only once and then they are out of gas so I got a small cheap 12 volt pump from an auto store and pulled the plastic case off don't put your fingers in it when it is running or you will get a very quick manicure) and made it about 1/3 of the size and fits in the ductail of the k100 easilly with all the rest of the junk. I haven't used it on my own bike but on anothers and it took about 5 mins and if there is still a slow leak then you just stop and give it a bit more air.

Thanks K Freak.
More info please: what auto store? How much? Does it come in different colours?...you know, the usual questions!

blakey wrote:Thanks K Freak.
More info please: what auto store? How much? Does it come in different colours?...you know, the usual questions!

The one got was a LION brand and came from an Auto One store but I think they are fairly common and at most auto stores. It was $15 but on special, I think $20 was the normal. Even if it only pumps up 5 tyres before it drops its bundle it is a good thing to have.

Thanks!

I bought the Stop & Go Pocket Tire Plugger from here in Oz.

Just over fifty clams (which included postage) so you've got to be happy about that.

For shits and giggles I also got some CO2 cartridges (I've been told I'll need about 3 or 4 to refill my tyre).

I don't know why, but I've suddenly become paranoid about getting a flat tyre. I've never given it a second thought up until now.

Now you'll not get one, like carrying a rain suit when you ride; sunny days for ever!

Since my "flat" I am now considering a kit. Any updates from people or your thoughts? Will those cartridges inflate a back tyre?

The cartridge will inflate a rear tyre it just depends on what pressure you want as to how many you use. 3=just get to a town slowly, thats why I bought a small cheap compressor and removed the plastic case which makes it about 1/3 the size and it inflates to 40 psi real easy and over again.

I had a nail in the tyre of my cat, and the breakdown company put the old green slime into the wheel. It got me home and a few more miles on top. To cover themselves they have to tell you that it's not a permanant fix. However he went on to say before they started carrying it in there vans they took a variety of vehicles one of the recovery vans, a high performance car and a motorbike to a race track and put nails into the tyres to replicate the worst case scenareo. All the tyres held up till the tread was below the UK minimum level.

I have a no-name kit plug kit with bottled gas, so that stays in the K.... Never had to use it mind!

I've been using Ultraseal (now called Puncture safe) in my tyres for several years, ever since there was a lot of discusion about it in the BMW Club (UK) journal.

It is a puncture preventative rather than a fix after a puncture, and you run with it in the tyres all the time.

Last year I had the back wheel out of the outfit to do some maintenance and I noticed something shiny in the tread. Grabbing the end with a pair of pliers, I pulled out a 1 1/2" nail.... no loss of pressure, nothing.

So it works for me and it's better than being carted home on the back of a lorry, Ainsjac!

Paul.

Hi there, around here we prefer the Motul Tyre repair (or equivalent). I've seen tyres repaired with it runing for the rest of their service life and I had used it two times due to bent rims on potholes, running more than 1000km before returning home, at speeds 80+mph with no problems.
Is very easy tu use and you dont need to remove the tire, check here
Best regards
JAP

Thanks JAP. I just printed the sheet off and will check with bike shops today.

Stop & Go rubber mushroom tip plug kit, 'Cycle Pump' and analogue tyre pressure gauge which attaches to the pump.



Had 'em for yonks (ages), only ever had to fix one flat since 2001. The rubber plug stayed in the rear Metzeler Z6 tyre for the life of the tyre I wore it out on tour - not recommended but easily done if watched for pressure loss - none! Compact, easy to use, and always at the ready. Always be prepared.

When I first bought my K it needed new rubber and on getting them fitted discovered the inside of the tyre had this ''slime'' puncture preventative stuff inside, the entire wheel rim had corrosion right out to the edge if the bead area. tyre fitter at bike shop said he has seen this on a regular basis once where the corrosion was so bad it had nearly eaten through the rim. he then said it should only be used as a temp fix for this reason. I carry a plug kit now and a small hand pump for a bicycle rated to 60 psi, it takes a while, but good for a work out, now looking at a 12 volt pump, must be getting lazy.

Regards Bushy

Ten years ago we were warned off that green slime stuff as it had (perhaps in an earlier chemical incarnation) a tendency to literally blow up in the tyre fitter's face when the bead to rim seal was broken. I have never stocked it in the motor bike shops I've worked in, since. Nuh.

Watch this gem:

I used one of the kits from a m/c shop, it has a small tube of gooey glue to plaster around the plug before you
stick it in. The tube was really small so just picked up a new bigger tube of glue. I fixed mine (rear) still on the bike, the only thing I would add to the kit is chalk to outline around the offending nail/screw before you pull it out. You can't see the hole again properly to plug it. Especially if its already flat.
Just got back yesterday so have done about 2,500 klm on it and no air loss. Works for me.
RT

I carry the tyre plugger, a bicycle hand pump and the gas cartridges and some dish soap.

I tried the cartridges at home when mounting a tyre once and was less than impressed at how much they fill.

I also carry a length of 1/2 inch wide climbing tape to cinch around the tyre if I lose a bead. Then the cartridges are very handy as is the dish soap.

We occasionally run a demo at the local club if someone is going to change a tyre out. We let the air out, drill a hole in it and plug it.


I got caught out one Saturday evening in the middle of Kansas - just as everything was shutting up for the weekend. And of course, bike shops don't open on Monday as a rule.

It was a small town and someone called the dealer back in on Sunday I was very happy but vowed not to be in that position again.

Obviously there are sealants and sealants, loads of them.
Since I have been using Ultraseal, I have changed (at least) 6 tyres and I have never seen any corrosion on the rims, nor have I experienced an explosion.
It is also water soluble, so it can be washed off rims and tyres easily.

Royal Mail, after extensive tests, use it in their fleet vehicles and claim a significant reduction in time wasted due to puncture repairs, so I'm not the only one who uses it.

But, as ever, it's a matter of choice and I choose Ultraseal over plugging a tyre at the side of the road, in the rain, at night (well it's always like that, isn't it?), assuming that I didn't get thrown down the road when the tyre went flat.

That's my opinion,
Paul

PS It's also 'reassuringly expensive' as they say in the Stella advert.