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Post by stanwalton on Nov 1, 2009 22:31:52 GMT -5
Hello.
I just ran over a sheet metal screw (in my own garage) and am thinking of plugging the screw hole using the regular tire plug kit. (MC 13-250 scooter).
Is this safe to do on a scooter tire as it is on an auto? Also, what is a good choice of tire if it can't be repaired?
Thanks
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Post by chaz12 on Nov 2, 2009 1:01:00 GMT -5
I would use a plug, if I had a flat tire( pucture by a screw or nail) but only to ride it home on. The problem with leaving a plug in the tire, is eventually it will loosen and you never no if you will be going 55 to 60 mph, when this occures. The MC-13-250 has a 12 inch tire on the front and a 10 inch on the back. Roketa wants for the 12 inch tire $65 and $55 for the 10 inch. That does not include shipping and handling. Comes from UPS within a week. There maybe other sources that have a better price, but most places only deal with 13 inch scooter tires and not 12 and 10 inch tires. From viewing tires over the web, it is hard to tell by a photo, whether the tire is the same width. I don't trust ordering off the web, through other sources except for Roketa, because if you order it and it does not fit( even if the saleman garantees it) well they will try to screw one anyhow. Lets say it don't fit, well you have to ship it back and are out the money. Or they may have a non refundable policy. With Roketa, they have a non refundable policy also, but if you say MC-13-250 TIRE( REAR OR FRONT) well Roketa will not send you a tire for a 50cc scooter. It will be the correct tire. If it were me, I would order a new tire verses riding on a plug.
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Post by fufu2wheel on Nov 2, 2009 7:50:41 GMT -5
I have had a plug in my rear tire for over 4000 miles of usage. No problem whatso ever.
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Post by kz1000st on Nov 2, 2009 8:26:51 GMT -5
I plugged the rear tire on a 600 pound Kawasaki shafty and ran the tire bald without having the plug come loose. It had to be in there a good 6 to 7,000 miles. Of course I didn't do 100 mph on it but I sustained 65 mph all the time.
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Post by leo on Nov 2, 2009 8:36:21 GMT -5
Is this safe to do on a scooter tire as it is on an auto? i don't see any reason why it wouldn't be. two choices: 1. put an innertube in the tire. 2. buy another tire. |
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Post by "Big Guy" on Nov 2, 2009 9:02:43 GMT -5
The short answer to, "is it as safe as plugging a car tire" is no. If your tire goes flat on a car, you have three more to keep the car stable. The long answer is maybe, if it's the rear tire, but is your safety worth saving a few bucks? Yes, I know that many people will tell you that it's fine to use a plug, but I wouldn't, except to get home on. leo, you never put a tube in a tubeless tire! It is an old wives' tale! Yes I know wikipedia says it's safe to do so, but wikipedia also has millions of other misinformation articles as well! Tubeless tires are made differently (more dense) and depend on the air pressure to hold the sidewall out, while tube tires depend on the tube to do this. The tire manufacturer will tell you that putting a tube in the tubeless tire will cause great friction on the sidewalls and ultimately a blowout... don't do it, or at least don't advise others to! The bottom line is safety. Plugs meld into the tire and are usually safe for the rest of the tire's life, however, depending on the location of the plug, the tire is more prone to impact blowouts. So if you're safety minded, you'll shoot over to the Motorcycle Tire store and pick up a new one, or just take your chances with the plugged tire. -Rich |
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Post by kz1000st on Nov 2, 2009 9:22:56 GMT -5
OK, well if you're gonna buy new I'd go here. These guys have tires in every price range and delivered mine quickly. Plus they gave me an AMA member discount.
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Post by cruiser66 on Nov 2, 2009 14:00:02 GMT -5
There is a warning found in the instructions for Dynaplug tire repair kits. It says that repairs on motorcycle and scooter tires are temporary only and to never drive more than 20 mph with the repair. www.dynaplug.com/instructions.pdf66 |
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Post by stanwalton on Nov 2, 2009 14:18:32 GMT -5
OK, thanks to everyone for their input.. I stopped wondering if it was safe to plug the tire and ordered and Bopper tire...
Also, there's probably something that needs grease along the way..
Thanks,
Stan
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Post by earlwb on Nov 2, 2009 14:58:31 GMT -5
If the tires are the thin flimsy OEm tires, then forget the plug. it is a accident waiting to happen.
But if you have a set of the expensive quality tires, that have thick stiff sidewalls and a thick rubber core, then plugging is acceptable. For example I once wound up with a compass adjuster knob and shaft puncturing my Pirelli SL26 rear tire. i didn't know it for a long time. But once the way home, it felt soft and slippery like in the turns. I would stop and give the tire a kick or two, but it felt hard, so i rode on home. Later that evening i checked the tire pressure and it was zero on the guage. so i rode over 26 miles on a flat rear tire. Go figure. the Pirelli tire has a really thick and stiff center section with thick and strong sidewalls. but also the 13 inch wheels use a low profile tire design, and the tire barely fits on the wheel too. So the tire beads pretty much stay put without moving around.
But the thin flimsy OEm tire in the same situation would have been a quick crash. Also a high profile regular tire won't behave like the low profile tires either.
One really has to compare a OEm cheapie tire to the expensive brand name tire. You can see and feel the difference.
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Post by chaz12 on Nov 3, 2009 0:20:29 GMT -5
Well, that is your best advice Stan. A new tire, is a safe tire. And what you are riding, you can ride with confidence. All the tire plug manufacturers recommend for scooters and motorcycles, that you use the plug as a temporary fix until you get a replacement tire. They do not plan on scooterist or motorcyclist to ride 4000 to 7000 miles on a plug. Hard cold facts are you need a new tire after puncturing it. They work for a quick fix to ride home on. But many risk life or limb to save a few bucks, but the gamble isn't worth it.
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Post by rockynv on Nov 3, 2009 4:51:54 GMT -5
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Post by bugsplat49 on Nov 3, 2009 10:28:40 GMT -5
If you had put 'Ride On' in the tires when new, you probably would never had known you picked up a screw unless you saw it.
I use Ride On in all my MC and scoot tires. Great stuff, does not harden and helps balance tire as well as sealant for screw and nail holes.
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Post by scooteral on Nov 3, 2009 11:45:24 GMT -5
I don't know about plugging a scooter tire, but the tire shop I frequent will not plug any tire. They remove the tire and patch the inside of it, then reinstall and balance. The other thing I saw them do is remove and patch any plug someone else had put in.
Just my observations
Allen
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Post by jayhawk on Nov 3, 2009 12:49:45 GMT -5
I drove over 10,000 miles in my car with 4 plugs (3 in one tire). Modern plugs really are pretty darn good.
Now, I'm not sure I'd put such faith in a scooter or MC tire...as mentioned above, having 3 other tires if a plug goes bad is comforting.
Eric
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Post by WarrenS on Nov 4, 2009 10:06:42 GMT -5
Car tires have belts to reinforce the tread. This makes plugs work better. Motorcycle and scooter tires don't have belts so I wouldn't trust a plug in them as much. I would prefer an inside the tire patch.
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Post by 4back2 on Nov 8, 2009 19:36:06 GMT -5
I have plugged several MC tires and proceeded to run the tread off them. Never had a problem. But I don't ride hard either.
PR
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Post by anhoa on Nov 9, 2009 13:48:44 GMT -5
I used a plug tire kit from Dollar Store (Walmart costs 7$ = Made in China = Same Sh|t) and it worked fine in cars and motorcycle..even with my scooter and still running. I still have 1/4 tread left.
Anhoa
77xx miles and counting...diapers.
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Post by ariot on Apr 11, 2011 19:44:20 GMT -5
Whats your life worth? plugs work, but they can come out. If you need to plug it for a short distance to get a new tire fine, otherwise use a patchplug much safer and will last till time to replace your tire.
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Post by winchesterboy on Apr 11, 2011 23:46:16 GMT -5
This happened to me on a ride to a covered bridge, summer of 2009. I was about 60 miles from home.  I had lots of tire plugs with me, but they kept popping out after only a few miles. I even had to ride about four miles on the flat tire to Wal-mart to buy more plugs and rubber cement in order to get home. I ended up using between 20-35 plugs and stopping to plug about 10-15 times. I found out that the tires on the scooter are just not thick enough for the plug to bond with very good. By the time I got home I had very black sticky hands form the tire rubber and rubber cement. Boy was I thankful when I got home! Also very tired and stressed out! *As medman observed below, the hole did not start out this big. But after you plug, plug and plug again, the hole stretched quite a bit. I only plugged it to get home. The fastest speed I went on the plugged tire was about 40 MPH. Then I put the OEM (Hongdou) tire back on until I got a new one, just last month. |
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Post by Bluefront on Apr 12, 2011 8:14:00 GMT -5
^^^^^^That last picture shows a monster hole the size of a pencil. There simply aren't any tire plugs designed for a puncture that big......car tire or cycle tire.
If the puncture is from a small nail.....not even visible when the nail is removed, a properly installed plug from the outside will normally hold up just fine on the tread area of the tire, not on the side-wall.
If you want to try to save an expensive new tire.....having a plug installed from the inside would be even better, and would probably outlast the tire.
But this is one of those "you just never know" things. YMMV.
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Post by chaz12 on Apr 12, 2011 12:29:52 GMT -5
I think, safety first. A plug may work fine, but you really should buy a new tire. Plugs are good for 4 wheel vehicles but when you depend on just two tires, well you want them to be as good as possible.
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Post by medman1952 on Apr 12, 2011 15:24:05 GMT -5
Winchesterboy had to put a lot of plugs down one hole, that may have made the hole a lot larger. I've never had good luck with plugs they only slow the leak down for me, perhaps because I do something wrong. If I were to repair a tire I'd prefer a patch on the inside.
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Post by rockynv on Apr 12, 2011 16:00:07 GMT -5
Some people have also played Russian Roulette and are still alive to talk about it. How many would really think it wise to put a 45 caliber catridge in one cylinder of a revolver, give it a spin, put the barrel to your head and pull the trigger.
The rule in my family has been for as long as I can remember "No plugging tires on two wheel vehicles classified as highway motorcycles."
Brudgestone puts it this way:
"•Repairs of all tires (radial and non-radial) must be of the plug and inside patch type. Using plugs alone on any type of tire is not a safe repair.
•Never repair a tire with a puncture or other damage outside the tread area. Such tires cannot be properly repaired and must be replaced.
•Any tire repair done without removing the tire from the rim is improper.
•Tubes, like tires, should be repaired only by a qualified tire service person.
•Never use a tube as a substitute for a proper repair.
A tire's speed rating is void if the tire is repaired, retreaded, damaged or abused, or otherwise altered from its original condition. Thereafter, it should be treated as a non-speed-rated tire."
We are all worth many times more than the price of a tire so this is a no-brainer. Plug it in an emergency so you can limp slowly to safety and get it replaced. Even a pro repair is not considered a speed rated repair so if you are going to be riding on anything but a 20 mph side streets get the tire replaced.
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Post by rallyrrr on Apr 13, 2011 21:15:39 GMT -5
If you do use plugs use the gooey brown ones and not the Dollar Store black ones. They hold much, much better since they are made more from pure rubber. Also if the hole is on the large side try using two at a time.
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Post by rockynv on Apr 14, 2011 18:39:37 GMT -5
Most stores do not sell patch kits that meet DOT/NHTSA requirements. It is not a matter of the color if it does not meet the guidlines for patching tires as laid out in the NHTSA tire safety brochure at the link below: www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/TireSafety/ridesonit/brochure.htmlAroun the middle of the page you will find the following: "Tire Repair The proper repair of a punctured tire requires a plug for the hole and a patch for the area inside the tire that surrounds the puncture hole. Punctures through the tread can be repaired if they are not too large, but punctures to the sidewall should not be repaired. Tires must be removed from the rim to be properly inspected before being plugged and patched." |
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Post by saoul on Apr 23, 2011 21:03:50 GMT -5
I carry plugs and a can of FIX A FLAT with me. It isn't to ride on except to get home. I value my life too much to depend on them. I understand that they may hold forever, but I am paranoid of something nasty happening at 60 mph on State Route 11 on my way home.... If it gets a hole and I use FIX A FLAT, I toss the tire and don't bother.
I never had a plug come out in a car tire, but as someone said, they have belts intertwinde to hold the plug better. I have seen my father take a Harley tire off and use a patch and plug system that is from the inside of the tire. It was a set up he had from the 60s when he was working in a garage... the inside patch actually fuses to the tire. Very nice.
I guess my opinion is... field expedient repairs only.
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