I have a new Monster 796 with about 900 miles on it. I was riding home today and got a screw in the middle of my tire and had it pluged to get home. Is it safe to ride with it plugged? I hate to bu a new tire after only 900 miles if I can ride safe on the plug if not Ill get a new back tire. Any advice/experiance.. Thanks, Sean
I'd ride it. If it continues to leak, you have little choice but I wouldn't replace a new tire because of a plug. Remember that this advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.l
Is it safe? Probably not, speed rating is shot etc. Would I keep riding on it? Yep [Dolph]
I plugged my rear tire and kept riding on it for a while. It would always leak a bit, but was otherwise OK.... until I decided to replace the plug and at that point it would not hold anymore and I just got a new tire.
So my $0.02 would be to keep the tire and keep it in check.
The tire should be plugged with a mushroom plug patch from the inside like this one:
http://www.slime.com/product/1062/Mushroom-Style-Plug-Patches-for-Tubeless-Tires.html (http://www.slime.com/product/1062/Mushroom-Style-Plug-Patches-for-Tubeless-Tires.html)
Not like this one:
http://www.psychedelic.com/plugs.htm (http://www.psychedelic.com/plugs.htm)
Yes, the tire still loses it's speed rating, but the plug is much less likely to fail. The negative is, unless you do it yourself this is not cheap repair so you might want to go for a new tire anyway.
I found a nail in my new (then) rear tire and had it patched. Seven thousand city miles later it holds air and I forget that it even happened.
I TRUST A PATCH BUT NOT A PLUG FOR MORE A FEW DAYS ...
My wife and I picked up holes in new tires within weeks of each other. They were both only weeks old. I wouldn't trust a plug so I replaced both tires. Expensive, but if the plug blows out your flat in an instant.