Help ! -Urgent punture repair advice please..

[sprinter885]

Blow me-bike's only 15 mths old with 1660 miles on & I was outside having a nicotine injection at work & (luckily)saw a mark on back tyre in middle of tread. The "mark" is actually a flat nail head & of course rest of nail nicely stuck into tyre (tubeless).
So.. question is how safe is a plug repair on bike tyres (ZR-rated)? My Kawasaki dealer says perfectly safe to plug & will last life of tyre BUT a local bike workshop/dealer says they won't plug ZR rated tyres as they won't take responsibility- apart from Michelin which manufacturer says are OK to plug. Of course mine are Dunlops so that knackers me there.

So whats the views please anybody with genuine knowledge? Who is right?

Annoying as I was going to see the Lancaster bomber running tonight but don't want to risk a run with nail in.

Edited by sprinter885 on Wednesday 25th June 09:59

[lawrence567]

You'll probably be alright to be honest.
But the local garage won't want the "if" factor to come into play.
Basically if they say it'll be fine which is more than likely it would be alright (as long as your not doing stupid riding on it) & by some freak accident it causes abig accident and you get seriously injured they're in theory liable!

[sprinter885]

Yep-that's what I'm finding. I even rang Dunlop Tech line & they quoted BS policy on ZR tyres as "NO repair" & the guy said due to liability. Think I might ring my breakdown cover people & see if they'll do a plug (temporary-!) repair. A pal of mine said he had a plug in ZX7R rear & ran it (quite hard) for a few thou miles before selling bike without problem.
Maybe the World Rally type mousse might help.

[lawrence567]

I've had a quad tyre & a bike tyre done the same way and they were both fine.
Admittedly not a ZX7 tyre though!
I'd say in that case get it plugged as a temporary then get a new tyre.
As if something did happen your insurance company might use it as an excuse not to pay out!

[Busamav]

I wouldnt be concerned with running a plugged REAR tyre for normal road use

[sjtscott]

sprinter885 said:

Blow me-bike's only 15 mths old with 1660 miles on & I was outside having a nicotine injection at work & (luckily)saw a mark on back tyre in middle of tread. The "mark" is actually a flat nail head & of course rest of nail nicely stuck into tyre (tubeless).
So.. question is how safe is a plug repair on bike tyres (ZR-rated)? My Kawasaki dealer says perfectly safe to plug & will last life of tyre BUT a local bike workshop/dealer says they won't plug ZR rated tyres as they won't take responsibility- apart from Michelin which manufacturer says are OK to plug. Of course mine are Dunlops so that knackers me there.

So whats the views please anybody with genuine knowledge? Who is right?

Annoying as I was going to see the Lancaster bomber running tonight but don't want to risk a run with nail in.

Edited by sprinter885 on Wednesday 25th June 09:59

I'm the King of rear tyre punctures caused by riding on the s****y streets of london. I've never ever had a problem with getting ZR tyre of any manufacturer professionally repaired at my favorite tyre place. I had my third puncture in my rear diablo just this week, i.e. it was already running with two pro repairs.. basically on advise from the tyre shop I binned it as it was almost worn out too and had to buy a new tyre, this is at least the second tyre I've had to bin now as its picked up its third. I've had loads of others too in 8.5 years of riding pretty much every working day.

Edited by sjtscott on Wednesday 25th June 11:58

[sprinter885]

Many thanks guys-comments welcomed & V. helpful. Looking to get plugged methinks .

[Dunc B]

If it's all done properly they are very safe, i've done loads.
But i think the prob' is as lawrence says, getting someone to do it.
Dunlops state "no repair" so anyone doing it automatically shafts themselves if there is a subsequent problem/accident etc.
Blame the "where there's blame there's a claim " clan for that.
Everyone having to cover their aes

[sprinter885]

Sorted!-Gave breakdown insurers a ring-bike collected inside 1 hour & took bike (& me) to get it repaired. Funnily enough the ONLY people who would do it (that I trust)was my Kawasaki dealer & with no hesitation. It's obvious the "liability" issue scares off a lot of other bike shops & tyre specialists. Crazy.
Did a little 80-90 mile run (more on another thread) last night & all was fine of course.

[Hyperion]

The problem is liability IF something goes wrong...Which it won't, but they still have to cover their asses.
Most places will do it cash in hand though - don't expect a receipt or anything.

[jon-]

You think you're unfortunate, second ride on my 675 last night and I found a huge nail straight through and bent over about 1.5" from the centre. It's a Dragon Super Corsa too with only 900 miles on... not exactly a cheap tyre.

[sprinter885]

..bit of Blu-Tak needed ?

That was tough luck Jon. The consensus of opinion amongst most bikers "in the know" is that a plug seems to be fine. Finding someone to do it can be another issue depending on where you are as said above..
Good luck

p.s provided it's on the rear tyre. I wouldn't choose to plug a front.

Edited by sprinter885 on Thursday 26th June 13:38

[jon-]

I can't work out why people would plug a rear and not a front? The rear will be under just as much load as the front, and either end failing is going to hurt...

[sprinter885]

Braking forces? Narrower section front tyre plus ultimately the ability to "hold it" if the rear deflates as opposed to a front (maybe?).
Just my own thoughts....

[sjtscott]

jon- said:

I can't work out why people would plug a rear and not a front? The rear will be under just as much load as the front, and either end failing is going to hurt...

I had an instant front deflation on my old R6 coming up to a set of traffic lights and the AA guy who came out tried in vain to plug it with a temp repair, even attempting to file down the steel cords in the hole!!!!! etc. and trying two plugs.. I flatly refused to ride on it was very dodgy, in any case it simply would hold pressure at all so they had to recover me - hence me falling out big time with the AA.
In any case front punctures are very rare in my experience. The front usually runs over the offending article in the road and flicks it up for the rear to run over and puncture.

[Rach81]

I got a nail in my rear tyre yesterday too popped down to the bike shop, he said they'd try ultra seal first, run it a bit, and if that failed then replace the tyre and give me a bell to let me know.
Rang at lunchtime, ultra seal worked £12 bill, yay

[jon-]

Rach81 said:

I got a nail in my rear tyre yesterday too popped down to the bike shop, he said they'd try ultra seal first, run it a bit, and if that failed then replace the tyre and give me a bell to let me know.
Rang at lunchtime, ultra seal worked £12 bill, yay

Ultraseal on a cbr600 tyre?? Isn't that a sealing gel??!? Even if someone offers to repair I might just throw on a new one (fortunately through my website I can get ok prices), I wouldn't feel confident throwing it into a corner on a plug. I know it's probably technically very safe but still... it would both my mind.

[Rach81]

jon- said:

Rach81 said:

I got a nail in my rear tyre yesterday too popped down to the bike shop, he said they'd try ultra seal first, run it a bit, and if that failed then replace the tyre and give me a bell to let me know.
Rang at lunchtime, ultra seal worked £12 bill, yay

Ultraseal on a cbr600 tyre?? Isn't that a sealing gel??!? Even if someone offers to repair I might just throw on a new one (fortunately through my website I can get ok prices), I wouldn't feel confident throwing it into a corner on a plug. I know it's probably technically very safe but still... it would both my mind.

It would be in his interest to put on a new tyre if there was even a hint of it not being safe, bill of £12 or £90....thats my reasoning :s

Any other opinions?

Edited by Rach81 on Thursday 26th June 18:14

[sjtscott]

Rach81 said:

jon- said:

Rach81 said:

I got a nail in my rear tyre yesterday too popped down to the bike shop, he said they'd try ultra seal first, run it a bit, and if that failed then replace the tyre and give me a bell to let me know.
Rang at lunchtime, ultra seal worked £12 bill, yay

Ultraseal on a cbr600 tyre?? Isn't that a sealing gel??!? Even if someone offers to repair I might just throw on a new one (fortunately through my website I can get ok prices), I wouldn't feel confident throwing it into a corner on a plug. I know it's probably technically very safe but still... it would both my mind.

It would be in his interest to put on a new tyre if there was even a hint of it not being safe, bill of £12 or £90....thats my reasoning :s

Any other opinions?

Well a proper tyre place would remove the tyre inspect the damage and most likely plug it with a proper fix from the inside. This would have been my preferred choice.. as I've had done many many times. I usually pay about £20 for this to be done.

Edited by sjtscott on Friday 27th June 10:13

[sprinter885]

^^ Mine cost me £35 !!!
BUT big for Green Flag recovery service.