Flat front tire - Plug or replace??

[wiggsmeister]

Hi everyone. I picked up a screw in my front tire (bridgestone 003) a few weeks back on my 696 and plugged it. I just do canyon riding - no tracks with a plugged tire. Should I just replace the tire or stick with the plugged one? It had about 500 miles on it.

[DarkMonster620]

Out of necessity I ran my Dunlop D220 plugged for about 600 miles, didn't feel any ill effects but, in the back of my mind when, twisting the wrist a bit more, the thought of the plug was there . . . As said, I felt no ill effects on handling or other wise, but, if you can, replace it . . .

[SpikeC]

 I have put many many miles on plugged tires without an issue. You have to decide how you feel about it, tho.

[Scoober1103]

I bought a new set of tyres about 4000km ago and got a screw in the rear on the first ride after fitting the tyres!  There was no way I was going to throw away a brand new tyre so plugged it and as with Spike no dramas at all! I thought about it for the first few hard rides but have since forgotten and doesn't bother me.

[tbyte]

I just did my first rope plug today.  I spent more time getting to auto parts store than I did installing it.  I had done the mushroom plug on the same tire two years ago but was in no mood to pull the tire.  It always held pressure with the mushroom plug and I have read good reviews on the rope plug.  Why waste a good tire?

[wiggsmeister]

Thanks for all the input. Seems like the general consensus is plugs hold up well. I hit the canyons yesterday and the plug held up fine!

I'll be using this tire until there's no more tread

[Langanobob]

I've ridden lots of miles on plugged tires with no problems.   I usually replace a plugged tire sooner than I would an unplugged one.  Seems like as the tread wears the likelihood of a problem increases, and as OneTrack says, the thought of the plug is always there and tends to keep me on the conservative side which is probably not a bad thing.

If the puncture is toward the sidewall then I'd bite the $$ bullet and replace it now.

[silas]

I prefer to have it plugged from the inside when you find the time = peace of mind. Keep in mind a front tire failure could be more catastrophic than the rear losing air.

[Blackout]

First time it happened to me I was paranoid as hell coz someone told me I could not exceed 65 mph. After a few blasts up over 85 then 100 my fears were assuaged.

[Howie]

I prefer to have it plugged from the inside when you find the time = peace of mind. Keep in mind a front tire failure could be more catastrophic than the rear losing air.

Yep, the only exceptable repair is a mushroom plug (which is really a combination of a plug and a patch installed from the inside) according to motorcycle tire manufacturers.  To quote one:

13 - Tire Repair

Some punctures in motorcycle tires may be repaired.

Dunlop recommends only permanent plug-patch repairs of small (maximum 1/4-inch diameter) tread-area punctures from within the dismounted tire by a qualified tire repair shop or motorcycle dealer. Never perform an exterior repair and never use an inner tube as a substitute for a proper repair. Speed should not exceed 50 mph for the first 24 hours after repair, and the repaired tire should never be used over 75 mph. Advise your customer to check inflation pressure after tire cools for at least three (3) hours following run-in, or sooner if air loss is suspected. See the Dunlop Service Advisory for additional motorcycle tubeless-tire repair information. Follow the same repair procedures for tires on rims requiring tube replacement. The repairer is solely responsible for the repair and any instructions to the repaired-tire user.

Advise your customers that no form of temporary repair should be attempted because secondary damage caused by a penetrating object may not be detected and tire or tube deflation may occur at a later date.

Dunlop does not recommend the use of liquid sealants. These are a form of temporary repair, and they may adversely affect ply material and mask secondary damage caused by a penetrating object. Advise your customers that reliance upon sealants can result in sudden tire failure and accident.


If you bring it to a shop be sure to consider the cost of the repair and how much life is left in the tire you are repairing, you just might find the repair is really not cost viable.  Lots of people ride around with plug tires without incident, a few don't.  The real question is are you willing to be one of the few?

If the plug fails, more likely with a steel belted tire, loss of air is immediate, bad with a rear tire, worse with a front.

[Speeddog]

You didn't say how much you paid to have it plugged, if you did it yourself, or if it was an external or internal plug.

If we assume you paid to have it plugged internally, then the actual comparison on cost was between the plug installation cost and that of a new tire.

Locally, that tire is $122.
I'd imagine at least $20 to have an internal plug installed.

So you've saved ~$100, with the caveat that your tire may fail at any time.

That's not a tradeoff I'm willing to make for myself, nor for my customers.
But I'm not you.

[Langanobob]

...That's not a tradeoff I'm willing to make for myself, nor for my customers.
But I'm not you.

That puts a different perspective on it.  I've run plugs in my own tires without a problem, however; if I was running a commercial shop I don't think I'd plug other people's tires.

[ungeheuer]

What could go wrong?

Tyres are cheap.

All things considered.

[Rudemouthsky]

When I was a broke 18 year old I plugged the front tire of my V45 Sabre after picking up a screw almost up in the sidewall (worst place). Plugged it myself with a $5 gas station kit like this:



crashed, wheelied, crashed again, rode, wheelied, rode for 2 more summers, no problems with the tire.

Have put over 30,000 miles on a plugged tire in my cage as well.