On-Trail Tire Repair Question

RCinNC

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worncog said:
I carry a Motopump compressor, at least ten tire worms, a large tube of glue, three or four round tire patches, long tire irons, MotionPro Bead Pro set, Motion Pro combo 27mm tire wrench, and a spare tube. Also have redundant towing plans. Seems like a bit much, but I wander the country, typically solo, and have been known to have a flat or two.

Attached pic was during the BigTex Rally, where I picked up a circus tent size nail on the C10 and dnf'ed just forty miles from the finish. The tire laughed at the five plugs I put in it, and the small Slime compressor was not up to the task.

All that said...if you ride legally, stay out of the median and off the shoulder, keep your pressures up to spec, replace tires when worn down, and don't run over things, you could ride decades with zero tire issues. BUT, the one thing that can leave you stranded, is a cut tire. Coming from a cycling background, I learned that you can repair tire cuts with a strong backer material. My emergency tire kit on the Tenere, for long hauls and off piste adventure riding, includes a 600 denier cordura tent floor mat that can be cut to fit and reinforce a tire cut as well as providing a working surface for tire removel/installations. Again, an extreme scenario, but I ride BDR's and intend on riding the new Mackenzie Highway up in the Northwest Territory next June. Gotta plan for the worst. YMMV.
Holy crap, that looks more like you ran over a hand grenade.

I come from a cycling background too. I've actually repaired a blown out sidewall (enough to get home, anyway) using a couple of dollar bills laid up against the rip from the inside of the tire. It wasn't perfect, but it got me home. It got me to thinking whether or not a tire ripped up as bad as Limey's could be repaired enough to keep rolling by using one of those speedy stitcher sewing awls (the kind they use to sew leather and canvas). If you could take the tire off, you could use the awl to punch through the rubber and sew the opening back together. That waxed cord they sell with the awl is damn near unbreakable, and the heavy duty needle on those things can punch through 9 oz leather. The steel belts in the tire would keep the waxed cord from pulling through the rubber. If you got the edges sewn tight enough together you wouldn't need a boot inside the tire. Once it was sewn, you could put a tube inside. Maybe run a bit lower pressure in the tire, and not throw it too hard into a turn. It would be an interesting experiment to see if it worked. It wouldn't be ideal, but maybe it would get you home if you were in the middle of nowhere.
 

worncog

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That flat was eye opening. It was in Texas, and lucky for me the Cycle Gear store in Plano was open on Sunday and had a fella working that could swap it out. After I got towed there...again :) Luckily I had two towing plans for the back to back tows.

I'm with ya RCinNC. I used to carry a one and a twenty in the seat bag. The one for the tire and the twenty for emergencies...or food.

In a lot of instances, it is a matter of assessing the problem, then comprising a solution. Case in point: A friend of mine slashed his radiator with the fan being a little too rambunctious on a bumping jeep road. After pondering on it...I cut up an old flip flop and packed the gash with the rubber strips, effectively plugging the hole. He drove sixty miles home and to the radiator shop the next morning. Lotsa photos at the shop. Anyhow...

In my mind, the cordura mat can be layered and backed up with duct tape to isolate the tube, zip ties on the outside, and even bailing wire if the carcass needs support. All in my spare parts/tool kit. This wacky repair would only be meant to limp to a real repair. Just imagine being half way on the Dempster or Dalton and slashing a tire. $$$ and lost time. We could beat this one silly, but the big things is being prepared and thinking the problem through.

The simple problems are normally solved with a single worm plug, a little glue, and an air pump. The last flat I got during a rally was a quick repair and less than 10 minutes total down time. Oh, and practice at home on an old tire. THAT will make a big difference out on the side of the road.
 

limey

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RCinNC

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I've never been a big fan of the CO2 cartridges, even for flats on a bicycle. Once you expend them, they're done, which can suck if you're in the middle of nowhere with a slow leak that you just can't get stopped. I always have a compressor on the bike; in order to make a nice compact package I rebuilt the compressor into a smaller housing, and built a tool tube specifically designed to carry the compressor.
 

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Nikolajsen

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::008:: job well done, and thought about everything :)

I have never (so far), been in the need for "airing down"
But correct about the CO2 cartridge...use once and throw in waste..
 

RCinNC

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Nikolajsen said:
::008:: job well done, and thought about everything :)

I have never (so far), been in the need for "airing down"
But correct about the CO2 cartridge...use once and throw in waste..
Me either...then again, I don't often ride on the terrain that some of the members do, where airing down a tire is beneficial. As far as carrying the compressor, one nice benefit is that you can help out the guys who don't carry one. I think carrying an air compressor might be more of an ADV rider thing than other kinds of bikes; I know I never carried one in my Harley days, and I doubt if there's much space on the average sport bike to even put one.

I even have a pair of small jumper cables in that tool tube, though I think I'll replace them with my Instaboost portable jump starter.
 

mebgardner

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So far, no one mentions the mushroom tip like tire plugs.

I use these in a kit from the "Stop & Go Pocket Tire Plugger", and carry the portable compressor with it.

These work well, but I think not as fast as the rope repairs. Those mushroom tip rubber plugs are "fiddly", too. I know what you're thinking! No, not *that* fiddly...

The plugs have to be positioned inside the insertion tool just so, or it goes sideways instead of in, and then you start over with it.

They require practice to use correctly, and who want *that* kind of practice?

I'm buying a rope kit tomorrow, and carry both.
 

Cycledude

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Those mushroom plugs are much more difficult to install, takes a lot more force to install, I actually know a guy that pushed his bike off the center stand so it fell over and had to be picked up again. If your going to use mushroom plugs be sure to secure the center stand so it can’t collapse.
 

EricV

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limey said:
Not the friendliest place to be stranded , I even went to the local bump to look for a used tire with no luck.
I hear you. My next step after that would have been trying to scare up a 17" car tire. 205/50-17 or narrower. But I've already run CTs on Motorcycles, so know the drill and how to fab a new brake caliper tension bar to get clearance. Still, in that area, I'd be very lucky to find even that option. It's pretty deep into nowhere.

@mebgardner - Stop & Go mushroom plugs are intended to just get you to somewhere where the tire can be replaced or repaired properly. It's not vulcanized to the tire like a sticky string. Even if you use glue. It's just a temporary repair. Just keep that in mind. Can be used together with sticky strings on a big hole or cut, so not completely useless. They do work, I just don't consider it worth carrying for me, since I'd just have to re-do the repair later. Might as well fix it permanently the first time if I can do so on the road with a sticky string.

@Nikolajsen - How much weight is worth riding home? Most CO2 kits won't fully inflate a moto tire. If you've never used your CO2 repair kit in the wild, I suggest you listen to what we're telling you. You can buy a cheap compressor and take it out of the plastic 'box', remove the fan with a dremel or other cutting tool, then use some electrical tape to tidy it up a bit. Then just a boot lace or leather cord to hang it from the handle bar. (it gets hot) I did this years ago for about $10 USD. I carry a slightly bulkier compressor now, but have more room in my pannier than I did back then.
 

mebgardner

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EricV said:
I hear you. My next step after that would have been trying to scare up a 17" car tire. 205/50-17 or narrower. But I've already run CTs on Motorcycles, so know the drill and how to fab a new brake caliper tension bar to get clearance. Still, in that area, I'd be very lucky to find even that option. It's pretty deep into nowhere.

@mebgardner - Stop & Go mushroom plugs are intended to just get you to somewhere where the tire can be replaced or repaired properly. It's not vulcanized to the tire like a sticky string. Even if you use glue. It's just a temporary repair. Just keep that in mind. Can be used together with sticky strings on a big hole or cut, so not completely useless. They do work, I just don't consider it worth carrying for me, since I'd just have to re-do the repair later. Might as well fix it permanently the first time if I can do so on the road with a sticky string.

@Nikolajsen - How much weight is worth riding home? Most CO2 kits won't fully inflate a moto tire. If you've never used your CO2 repair kit in the wild, I suggest you listen to what we're telling you. You can buy a cheap compressor and take it out of the plastic 'box', remove the fan with a dremel or other cutting tool, then use some electrical tape to tidy it up a bit. Then just a boot lace or leather cord to hang it from the handle bar. (it gets hot) I did this years ago for about $10 USD. I carry a slightly bulkier compressor now, but have more room in my pannier than I did back then.
OK, Thanks. I saw the "from the inside" type plug you carry. Do you ever attempt to push them in from the outside, thru the hole you're attempting to patch? Or, do you always dismount the tire and use it?
 

Nikolajsen

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@EricV
"In the wild", hmmm I don't think that I ever really have been in the wild. :D
I do 99% of my driving, where there isn't more than 30 miles the nearest gas station... :) And I have only once been out of cell phone area....and that was very shortly in France.
The last 1%, is when I drive on summer trip, when I drive north (Norway or Sweeden), or maybe down to Dogdaze area (in the Alps, (Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, and of course getting there, also Germany)).
There can be more than 30 miles to nearest help. But as long there is cell phone cover, I can call my paid roadside assistance..

But I understand what you tell me, and will consider a compressor, thank you.
 

EricV

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mebgardner said:
OK, Thanks. I saw the "from the inside" type plug you carry. Do you ever attempt to push them in from the outside, thru the hole you're attempting to patch? Or, do you always dismount the tire and use it?
LOL, no. They are not intended to be used that way. The 'head' of the patch is over an inch in diameter. The tail comes in different diameters as well as being tapered, larger at the base. I don't think it would reliably seal if pushed in from the outside and glued to the thread, and would likely wear quickly. Depending on the hole size in the tire, you might not be able to get it flush with the tread w/o breaking the bead and pulling from the inside anyway.

They pull thru large holes from the inside to the outside, seating the large flap against the inside of the tire. First you rough the area around the puncture on the inside, then apply some glue, let it set up, then peel off the protective backing and pull the tail thru the hole until it flushes up agains the inside of the tire. Smooth that out and ideally, apply some more glue over the whole thing or at least the edges, just for extra measure. I've used these twice. Once at home, where I had the tire completely off the wheel and another tire mounted, so basically repairing what would go back on when I wore out the tire then in place. The other time in the field where the bead had already come loose and I pulled it off one side w/o dismounting the tire. (I carry a pair of Motion Pro T6 wrench/tire spoons). Lots of fun digging in there and then getting the bead back on. A short ratchet strap I carry for this purpose was then placed around the circumference of the tire and tightened to allow my mini compressor to inflate the tire.

@Nikolajsen - Point taken. Here you can be a lot more than 30 miles from the nearest help, and that 30 miles can be lonely and desolate. In some places I ride you self recover or there is a real possibility that you could die. That sounds more dramatic than it is. Spot satellite tracker, cell phone and letting people know where you're going minimizes that, but all of those can fail to work sometimes.
 

Nikolajsen

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EricV said:
@Nikolajsen - Point taken. Here you can be a lot more than 30 miles from the nearest help, and that 30 miles can be lonely and desolate. In some places I ride you self recover or there is a real possibility that you could die. That sounds more dramatic than it is. Spot satellite tracker, cell phone and letting people know where you're going minimizes that, but all of those can fail to work sometimes.
:)
I knew there was something VERY different in the area you and me, normaly drive in ;D
 

Checkswrecks

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I remember riding in some pretty isolated places in mid Norway. Didn't check our phones there.


 

Nikolajsen

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I normally check my phone, on every stop. And I have not seen missing signal at any time in Norway. And we (me and my riding frinds) kind of try to have coffee break, where we can enjoy the nature, rather than the city.....
That being said, we can of course have been without signal, while riding.
 

mebgardner

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limey said:
I think it’s 27mm



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Look carefully at the lower left corner of this picture. See the protruding "lip" on the spoon? I *love* these tools for that little lip. They work really well to keep the tool in place, while working the tire back onto the rim.

These are the best spoons.
 
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