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WTF--you can't fix flats on a motorcycle?

6K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Millennium Vulcan 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So I took my baby for a ride 3 Saturdays ago after all the rain we got left me without being to ride for a few weeks. Came back, parked it. On Monday I notice something's not quite right with the bike. Look down on the rear tire and it's kind of flat? Put some air in it. Next day, flat again? Have my son look at the rear tire while I slowly walk it in the garage. Tells me to stop and I see a nice drywall screw sticking straight out.

So start calling around some moto shops. And they are like we don't fix moto flats? You have to replace the tire!!!! Excuse me? I call around, the tire is $160---just for the tire!!!!! That doesn't include installation. So I call the service manager @ the shop I bought the bike from. I expressed my shock. He said it's a liability, blah, blah. He said I should patch it myself with a kit. Basically walks me through it. I go to autozone and buy slime kit for $9. My flat patch job and all it cost me was $9.
 
#2 ·
Happened to me in January- nail in the rear C2 after only 8k miles. You only have 2 bits of rubber touching the road- won't be fun if that patch/repair gives way at 60+mph. IMHO safety first, curse then replace the tyre.


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#3 ·
I bought a Dynaplug pro kit in case I get a flat and need to get home. I keep it in my saddle bags with a small hand pump and a CO2 kit with about 6 bulbs.

Here in Australia we dream about being able to purchase items as cheap as you guys in the USA are able to get.

I'm up for my 3rd rear tyre for my Vulcan S after 28,000 km and it will be another $300 for a Michelin Road Pilot 4. That price does include fitting balancing and old tyre disposal but I need to remove the wheel myself and take it in otherwise they charge me $100 per hour for the labour.
 
#6 ·
Also have the repair kit in the pannier should I need it.
A$360(USD265) fitted for the Pirelli Night Dragon I put on the Nomad- the CII cost about the same 12 months ago


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#8 ·
I just found a screw in my front tire, the tire pressure doesn't seem to be affected by the screw, should I pull it out? Do I need to patch it if it's not leaking air? I understand the risk of patching a tire, and would definitely rather replace the tire if I have the money, but I just bought the bike and simply don't have the money to replace the tire at the moment. Hopefully it'll be fine for a while since I only ride local.
 
#9 ·
That's a bit of a dilemma, but I would carefully extract the screw. If left in the tire it will cause possibly irreparable damage since it will flex and will widen the damaged area. If there isn't any leakage afterwards I wouldn't take any further action. But if the tire leaks and it is tubeless one can patch it from inside, using preferably a hot patch. If a tube tire the tube can be patched if the hole is small, otherwise it is best to buy and install a new tube.
 
#10 ·
If your gonna patch I would pull the screw close to a shop like outside lol. I've been know to pull screws and nails from my car with no ill effects. Just didn't go deep enough. If it's a tiny screw maybe the hole is small enough to patch with no loss of integrity. Like I said, I wouldn't trust a shop that would patch a front tire. Especially in Miami!!!!! Just my opinion.
 
#16 ·
Alright, I pulled the nail out and it was deep enough I had to patch it with a Slime tire plug kit. Looks like the plug is holding fine, but need to bring it back to recommended PSI and do another soapy water test tonight.

By the way, how many miles did you guys get out of your factory tires? Any recommendations on tire that would be a good match to the factory Dunlop tire if I NEED to replace only my front tire? What about recommendations if I were to replace both tires?

TIA!
 
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