Nails and tires and really far from home..............

[axledeep]

So, I'm working on breaking in my 500R and take it for a several hundred mile trip, made mostly of speeds where I can keep it at or below 4500 RPMs (close enough to the specs IMO). Enjoy about 200 miles of biking and am at a gas station refueling.....begin briefly checking bike over.....and GREAT...see a nail head sticking out the rear tire. Nail is about halfway between sidewall edge and main tread path of tire. I'm 100+ miles from home, it's getting dark, and I have nail in my tire....could've been a lot worse I know, but I wasn't real happy considering the bike has 500 miles on it and I've only had it about 3 weeks.

So, long story somewhat shorter (BTW, there will be a quiz at the end). I call a bike shop that's local and they are closed. Turns out there is an Advanced Auto right up the street. So, I pick at the nail a bit, deem it only somewhat life threatning and putt up the street wishing my '04 had hazard lights . Get to the auto store, ask them what they think...doesn't help my situation, and proceed to buy a tire plug kit, rubber cement etc. I have everything ready and start pulling the nail out and notice the thing has to be at least 1 1/4" long! Finally, the nail pops out and I am getting ready to jab the plug in the hole and see that there is no air coming out of the hole. So, I poor some water over the hole, no bubbles, I put some weight on the tire, no bubbles, I pinch and flex the tire, no bubbles. So.........I decided to risk it.

I don't know how, but that 1 1/4" nail must have run down the length of the tread and avoided actually puncturing the tire itself, though it looked like it was straight in. I drove it home, in the dark, very carefully at first....waiting to feel any wandering of the bike, checked it several times and still is good. I've now put 130 miles on it....most at high speeds and it seems ok.

My Question - Is It Safe? I know about the importance of the tire of a motorcycle........ But, if it hasn't leaked at all in 130 miles, is it ok? Frankly, I'm not worried if it leaks....if it does, I'll replace it asap. I am only worried about a blow out. If this increases my chances of a blow out, I'll replace it asap. Money is tight, but my life is worth it. The bike is due it's first service visit, so I'll have them look at it, but I wanted to tell my story here (I know it was a long one) and ask you all. Whatcha think?

[bikeaholic]

wow-that's wierd,but as for advice,REPLACE THE TIRE

i never take chances with tires,its just not worth it,its the only thing between having
a great ride and taking a long dirt nap

[axledeep]

Does anyone know if bike tires are treated like auto tires when it comes to patches etc? If internal patches are acceptable, I may have the shop break the tire down and patch the area the nail went through just as reinforcement. Does this sound doable?

[michiganarft11]

Sounds too risky to me. You only have 2 tires, so if 1 goes you're pretty much dead. IMO I'd just buy a new tire.

[Bulinu']

I think a patch is more than enough. If it doesn't leak it meens the reinforcement is not punctured

[Dave 96TA]

I've always been a fan of the "might as well" train of thought. You know there is a problem, but you don't know just how serious it is. You won't get a second chance to make things right. So you might as well purchase a new tire and avoid nails in the future

[Uncle Bob]

I'd probably go for the why risk it option.

It might be fine for a couple hundred miles or even a couple of thousand but there is a known breach of the integrity of the tire so why risk your life over maybees.

Good excuse to have a little fun with a rear wheel smokeout ( of course the font wheel smokeout is very tricky).

[bikeaholic]

good idea uncle bob --smoke the ole one and get the camera out

[axledeep]

I do agree with everyone that says replace it. That is my guy instinct as well. I talked to the shop today and have scheduled my first service visit and while it's there, they are going to take a look at the tire. The part I hate is that the tire (and bike) only had 500 miles on it....and if luck has it that I run over a nail every 500 miles.....I'm going to be broke just replacing tires. Hopefully that won't happen. This initial "should I replace it" is compounded by the fact that I really dislike the stock tires and if I do replace the rear, I'm gonna replace the front also with something better. No doubt safety is #1, so I'm leaning towards replacing the tire(s), but if the shop says all is well......then, I'm not sure what I'll do. They charge nearly $50 to break the tire off the wheel (with wheel on bike) and before I pretty much blow $50 just to have them look at the inside of the tire, I might as well get new ones and have that $50 go towards the mounting of the new tire.

Burn out....good idea , but being a total noobie and with the bike having really low miles still, I'll probably pass on the idea. Would be fun to pulverize the tire though.

[ZX-2R]

My wife would be a little upset with the spending for new tires, but life insurance is something that she doesn't want yet...so I'd be getting the NEW better than stock Tires!!! Therea re a lot of decent tires out there especially for your 17" wheels! Freakinout is now using the Diablo's

[Imposter]

Have any of you actually smoked your tire. If so, can that be done safely (for a newb)? I was wondering about how you do it correctly. I always thought you might get some kind of side-slip and lay your bike down trying to do it.

[bikeaholic]

yes

not advisible for new riders

there are a couple of different methods for burn outs,and yes it can get away from you
if your not used to the feeling

[Imposter]

So what are the methods?

[axledeep]

legs bracing firmly against bike sides as you stand over it, front brake pulled firmly......good amount of go juice and rather quickly but smoothly releasing the cluch - is what my guess would be . probably important to keep clutch covered in case you need to stop it real quick and probably good idea to make sure you have good footing and are on flat ground. does this sound about right?

[Aikata]

only thing that would make more sense to me is holding that front brake with two fingers and having two on the throttle. But maybe that's because my bike could be more likely to "launch" than burn out

[Imposter]

Originally Posted by Aikata

only thing that would make more sense to me is holding that front brake with two fingers and having two on the throttle. But maybe that's because my bike could be more likely to "launch" than burn out

I've kinda half-way done it. Not actually letting the bike peel-out. Just letting the pressure from the back tire put weight on the front, thus compressing the front shocks a bit. I actually thought it looked pretty cool. Like the bike is mad and ready to go!

[Aikata]

hehe, closest I've gotten to is spinning a bit of gravel around at the end of this one highway. Well, it's not really the end since it continues on with gravel. But I'm not terribly interested in working on my gravel riding skills with a ninja

[Tim-]

Originally Posted by axledeep

I do agree with everyone that says replace it. That is my guy instinct as well. I talked to the shop today and have scheduled my first service visit and while it's there, they are going to take a look at the tire. The part I hate is that the tire (and bike) only had 500 miles on it....and if luck has it that I run over a nail every 500 miles.....I'm going to be broke just replacing tires. Hopefully that won't happen. This initial "should I replace it" is compounded by the fact that I really dislike the stock tires and if I do replace the rear, I'm gonna replace the front also with something better. No doubt safety is #1, so I'm leaning towards replacing the tire(s), but if the shop says all is well......then, I'm not sure what I'll do. They charge nearly $50 to break the tire off the wheel (with wheel on bike) and before I pretty much blow $50 just to have them look at the inside of the tire, I might as well get new ones and have that $50 go towards the mounting of the new tire.

Burn out....good idea , but being a total noobie and with the bike having really low miles still, I'll probably pass on the idea. Would be fun to pulverize the tire though.

What you could do is save that tire. Then, when you replace the tires again, you can have two tires to pulverize!

[Tim-]

Originally Posted by Aikata

only thing that would make more sense to me is holding that front brake with two fingers and having two on the throttle. But maybe that's because my bike could be more likely to "launch" than burn out

Nothing wrong with that. I'd rather "launch" than spin my tires. On a car, it's fun. If you're replacing the tire anyways, it's fun. Just seems stupid otherwise...

[1Adam12]

Replace the tire - Although it did not puncture the tire, It certainly weakened the wall where there is a puncture.

Simply put, How much is your life worth? At least a $100.00 right?