Nail in the center of the tire tread. Do you pull it?

[Pigeon Roost]

Faced this twice now. Similar situations:

First time was on a ride to my brother's camp ground way out in the middle of no where in southern West Virginia. Maiden voyage or nearly so for my son's new bike and at the camp ground we noticed the partly worn head of a Phillips screw inbedded into the center of his rear tire tread. I have my on-road repair kit and air pump with me. There are no bubbles when tested with soapy water and tire is hard. Should we remove the screw?

Second time, last night, in my garage at home. Plenty of tools and too cold and rainy for any fun rides anyway. Avon Venom R Valk/VTX tire on rear of my GL1800 being inspected by me. Tire has 13,000 miles and is getting close to wear bars (time to order the replacement). Notice a very small metalic glint recessed into an small irregular hole right dead center of the chicken strip. Looks like a medium sized staple or finish nail with no head. Tire is holding air, no leak with soapy water. Pull the metal object or ride it till the new tire arrives?


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In the first case, we took a Phillips screw driver and simply removed the screw. It turned out to be fairly short and would not have penetrated until the head wore off and allowed the shank to creep inward. No leak, tire was sound for use.

In second case, I took my shop knife and used the blade to pry and dig and work at the object to get it to finally creep outward. When removed it looked like the shank of a rather short thumb tack whose head was worn off and the shank was migrating toward the center of the tire. It was only about 1/8 inch long and the tire has no leak with it removed.

I figure riding with such objects in the tires is just asking for a deflation at speed. Since I carry tools, air, and sticky rope plugs with glue I'd rather chance the flat upon removal than when under way. If you get caught out in the middle of no where'sville without tools or repair supplies; then I would not advise removal since the tire may well go flat and strand you; ride slowly and alertly to the closest source of help or supplies.

prs

[artmann]

I regard it as a necessity to carry a compressor and tire repair kit with me at all times. I have had situations similar to yours on two occasions, and both times I would have had to walk 5 or 10 miles to get help. I also carry a cell phone but, there are still lots of places where there is no coverage.

Art

[TedGamble]

You'll get various opinions on this one I'm sure. I always remove the offending object and patch it as soon as possible.

I had a nail in a car tire one one time and could not immediately change it because my spare was flat (don't go there), so I drove on towards my destination. About 100 miles down the road, I heard the nail fly out and hit the inside of the fender. Within about a mile, the tire deflated. The moral of the story is two-fold: (1) Always carry a good spare (or in the case of motorcycles, a good tire repair kit) and (2) Fix it as soon as you possibly can.

[Bob, N0XPL]

After a recent experience with my pick-up truck, I'm not too hopeful regarding the emergency tire plug systems. I found one of the rear truck tires flat one morning, and after removing the offending object (a very small broken drill bit)) I attempted to plug the hole with a rope plug. The rope plug was so much larger than the hole that there was no way that the ream supplied with the rope plugs would go through. I needed to drill out the hole to a larger diameter in order to get the rope plug to fit.

As I don't normally carry a cordless drill on the Gold Wing, I don't see the emergency plugs working too well with small tire holes. Any suggestions for this situation?

[oldturtle]

I also have had problems inserting plugs into pickup tires. However, I have never had problem inserting plugs into motorcycle tires. I suspect this could be due to difference in construction of tires. I have used Walmart sticky rope plug with cement on rear Dunlop D250 and worked fine, in fact I rode with plug on short runs for several thousand miles. I have used Stop & Go plug gun twice on non-radial tires on 1200 with success.
I would advise riders to test your tire repair system on next worn out tire before replacing. You should have confidence that your repair will work. Walmart sells two different plug insertion handles. I bought the T-handle after I had some difficulty inserting plug with the smaller L-handle. Smaller and lighter is not always better.

Speaking of sealing small punctures, has anyone got any experience with this "Tire Slime" stuff?
Harbor Freight sells it: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=34116

[markj]

I have used tire slime on my atv, tractor tires but not on anything aluminum. There is also an industrial foam that is put into bobcat tires etc that works great but is expensive. I see that Michelin is developing an "airless" tire.

[artmann]

Here is an interesting thought. Most people are not willing to ride for any distance on a tire that has been repaired because they don't trust the patch job. On the other hand, the people who use the tire sealants are willing to ride a tire that has been punctured and then sealed with that stuff until the tire wears out. (How will they know it was punctured?) If they get a puncture, they will never know it. Why is it assumed that "Tire Slime" is a better repair mechanism than all other types? I don't see that stuff as being any better than just using a can of Fix-A-Flat when you get a flat.

Art

[The Toolman]

After a recent experience with my pick-up truck, I'm not too hopeful regarding the emergency tire plug systems. I found one of the rear truck tires flat one morning, and after removing the offending object (a very small broken drill bit)) I attempted to plug the hole with a rope plug. The rope plug was so much larger than the hole that there was no way that the ream supplied with the rope plugs would go through. I needed to drill out the hole to a larger diameter in order to get the rope plug to fit.

As I don't normally carry a cordless drill on the Gold Wing, I don't see the emergency plugs working too well with small tire holes. Any suggestions for this situation?

If you have a N.A.P.A. auto parts store close, they carry the ropes in 3 different sizes (dia).

Ronnie

[The Toolman]

I have used tire slime on my atv, tractor tires but not on anything aluminum. There is also an industrial foam that is put into bobcat tires etc that works great but is expensive. I see that Michelin is developing an "airless" tire.

I have the High$$ foam in my Bobcat tires, and it makes them almost solid. Not good for M/C riding.


Ronnie

[Big-E]

I have used Slime in equipment & trailer tires with very good results.