Front tyre puncture!

hil6367

Joined
Mar 10, 2024
Messages
3
Age
63
Location
Colchester
I have a 2015 Pan European ST1300, it's a fab bike.
However today it picked up a screw in the front tyre and now has a slow puncture!
Particularly galling, the tyre is only about 2 weeks old!
My question is it safe to repair? The screw is roughly in the middle of the tread.
Many thanks.
 
The manufacturers say no, but it is widely assumed that is because of liability. Your Colchester is probably on the other side of the pond (not CT or VT) so liability issues are moot. A lot of guys have plugged their tires here and run them for the balance of the tread life.

For me it would depend on the answers to a few questions. What kind of riding do you do? If aggressive, with a lot of accelerations and hard stops, fast corners, etc. I'd take extra precautions. Do you check the tire pressure before riding off in the morning? Do you have a tire pressure monitoring system? I don't push my bike, and am a conservative rider. I do check tire pressure and bring it up to spec if it's a pound low, and I have a TPMS. For those reasons, I would plug it. I also carry a tire plug kit and a compressor aboard.
 
Al st1100 said:
It's not that the patch/ plug doesn't work from what I understand it lowers your tires speed rating. So if you have a Z rated tire I would keep it under 149 mph (239 kph) :doh1: :law1::rofl1:
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But downhill, when there is more weight on the front of the bike. Uphill, you can go faster. Wheelies, no speed limit. :biggrin:
 
SMSW said:
The manufacturers say no, but it is widely assumed that is because of liability. Your Colchester is probably on the other side of the pond (not CT or VT) so liability issues are moot. A lot of guys have plugged their tires here and run them for the balance of the tread life.

For me it would depend on the answers to a few questions. What kind of riding do you do? If aggressive, with a lot of accelerations and hard stops, fast corners, etc. I'd take extra precautions. Do you check the tire pressure before riding off in the morning? Do you have a tire pressure monitoring system? I don't push my bike, and am a conservative rider. I do check tire pressure and bring it up to spec if it's a pound low, and I have a TPMS. For those reasons, I would plug it. I also carry a tire plug kit and a compressor aboard.
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Thanks for the reply,
I'm based in Colchester, Essex, UK.
Whether the tyre is safe or whatever has proved to be immaterial.
I can't find anybody prepared to repair a puncture on a bike this size!
So it's a new tyre for me.
Thank you to you and everybody else for the replies.
Cheers John.
 
hil6367 said:
I can't find anybody prepared to repair a puncture on a bike this size!
So it's a new tyre for me.
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is there no one in your area to assist?
Changing motorbike tYres is not that difficult, and I would be loathe to discard one as new as yours.
A fancy machine is not needed, only some levers after you break the bead. Given that you can remove the wheel, of course. A patch or plug kit costs a lot less.
 
hil6367 said:
Thanks for the reply,
I can't find anybody prepared to repair a puncture on a bike this size!
So it's a new tyre for me.
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Are not gummy worms and tire patching kits (sorry, tyre) available over there? On this side of the pond, virtually everyone I know carries a patch kit of some kind and many guys have a small compressor to inflate their tires aboard. The gummy worms (rope like infused with sticky rubber) seem to be extremely popular, though a lot of guys swear by the mushroom shaped rubber plugs. A year or so ago I stopped to help a rider with a flat tyre on the side of the freeway. I plugged his tyre, inflated it and he rode off to Canada.

I admit plugs are not the best way to patch a tyre. Installing a patch on the inside is the gold standard, but plugs have proven to last the life of the tread.
 
docw1 said:
I've had plugs that have lasted and plugs that have failed. I'd plug it until I could gt it patched from the inside.
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Yeah, I’ve had more success with patching from inside, 100%. But have had plugs fail. Although plugs have improved tremendously in past several decades. The self-vulcanising ones with red uncured rubber works particularly well.

hil6367 said:
I can't find anybody prepared to repair a puncture on a bike this size!
So it's a new tyre for me.
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It’s liability issue with shops having less skilled labour than ever. There was famous case in U.S. while back where couple on cruiser was killed due to tyre repair that failed. Considering how litigious we are, that pretty much scared all shops out of doing moto tyre repairs.
 
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I kind of clued in that the couple died due to poor patch repair, rear tire fail is scary, but is controllable. Not sure about how the front can be controlled. Although most failures are slow leaks, Wonder how to tell what cords have been damaged when punctured or during patch. Or if the tire squirm is anyway affecting the patch.
Not arguing against patching, But offering somethings to think about such as which part of tire should or should not be patch since we use most of the tire as a contact point as well as a sidewall when cornering.
Would not want to depend on one on the front myself, which is my personal choice. I do believe the amount of failures due to patching is infinitesimal, I don't want to be the exception for me or a passenger who is with me.
But I want to be very clear, this is my opinion, no more.
 
I suspect part of reticence is due to pretty much all tyre-manufacturers stating somewhere that punctured tyres cannot be repaired and should be replaced. Given large numbers of tyres they produced, it's not unlikely there are bad batches here and there. Goodyear's OEM Dunlop tyres seem to be particularly bad compared to their retail aftermarket products. Adding uncontrolled QA/QC over independent shop's repair quality just makes things worse for manufacturer.
 
motornut said:
Although most failures are slow leaks, Wonder how to tell what cords have been damaged when punctured or during patch.
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Once patched, I would monitor the air pressure every time I took the bike out for a ride (in the AM). As said, I also have a TPMS and would expect a failure of a patch or plug to be a slow leak. Then comes the tough decision - new tire or just keep adding air.
 
Uncle Phil said:
I'd plug and ride it like I stole it.
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This. I've plugged a car tire twice (different punctures) and they held up perfectly to the wear bars. A brand newish bike tire got a screw in it and friends plugged it for me. It held air perfectly overnight but was later replaced out of an erroneous abundance of caution. I wish I'd never had it replaced knowing now what I didn't know then.

If no one will patch your tire (certainly a better if more involved procedure) you can plug it yourself with a proper kit. There are several threads here about doing so. I use gummy worms with a lot of glue and let the the vehicle sit over night if possible. But I've plugged my car tire at work and drove home with no loss of air.
 
Thinks. If I was trying to get a rubber plug out of a rubber hole, what would I do if I had no access to tools? I think maybe a little heat, perhaps some stretching and squashing of the tyre to change the shape of the hole and break the adhesion of the plug, a bit of repetitive bouncing on the ground or with a rubber mallet, perhaps a little air pressure and some centrifugal force.

My problem is that I think too much. I'd change the tyre again. Hell, it'd be only 5,000 miles earlier than my last change, and buy a lottery ticket since the odds are in my favour.

Yes - I'd repair it and ride home more slowly. I wouldn't go out on it again though.
 
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