Got Nailed!

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BlueMark
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Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:29 am
Location: Toledo, OH

Got Nailed!

Post by BlueMark »

I rode the Blur to work yesterday.

Today I started to. But for some reason my instincts kicked in just in time. My visual inspection of the scoot while it was on the center stand showed no problem, but for some reason I went to the extra trouble of checking the rear wheel after I started the engine, geared up and took the bike off the stand.

Rear tire was all the way flat.

Shut it all down. Put it back on the center stand, and rotated the tire - a big old roofing nail was puncturing it. Almost no wear on the head, so I didn't ride on it much at all.

With tears in my eyes I took the cage to work.

After work I pulled the nail and plugged the tire. Inflated it, took it for a short ride to seat the plug and check that it kept pressure. All good.

Unfortunately I'm an expert at plugging punctured tires. There was period of several months a few years ago when I had to pull a nail or screw out of one my car tires every week. Some days you could go down our street and see 5 cars with flats.

No garages on our block - we all must park on the street - except for my Blur which is in my front entryway converted to a scooter port. I'm hoping that nail with the unworn head was picked up while riding, and not pushed in overnight.

My car tires run great with plugs in them. But I understand you have to consider a cycle tire repair as temporary. I can't get to my out of town Genuine Dealer until Saturday - and I don't know if they have the tire in stock. Besides, I don't have a truck or trailer available, so I'd have to ride the Blur. I'm hoping the local Honda dealer will be able to replace the tire for me after work Thursday.

So am I risking mayhem by riding on a well plugged tire for a couple of days? Or is it a manageable risk since the leak should be slow and I can keep a diligent eye on the pressure?

-Mark
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

From what I've heard, you can ride on a properly plugged tubeless for quite a while before replacement, even at speed, as long as it's keeping pressure. (This was discussed in another thread, I think, you may be able to find it via search.) The Honda dealer may have the right size tire; it's 3.5 x 10, which is also used on the Elite 80.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
jgalar
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Post by jgalar »

I only had around 1K miles on my front tire for my Katana when I picked up a nail. I plugged it and drove it for 500-600 miles before I replaced it. I still have the almost new, but plugged tire - I may take it in to get repaired and use it when the replacement fails.

Here is what Dunlop has to say about it:
http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/infocen ... ?id=30#tip
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