Tire Plug Procedure with pics

[919]

So I looked through STn and there was no tire plug procedure thread.  I know it's not that difficult but I had a tire to plug and thought I'd post up what I used and some pics in various stages.  Might give some other people who have never done it some peace of mind.  Feel free to critique my method or add some suggestions; this is the first time I have ever plugged a tire.

I also wanted to put this together so that I could write up a review on this particular plug kit and mini compressor below.  The bike was on the center stand throughout the procedure.

Using the spray bottle with soapy water method I found my leak.

Here is the offending nail that attacked my rear tire:


The rescue team, purchased at Wal-Mart this morning:


Slime brand Tire Top Off; small air compressor, runs off 12V.  I had hopes that it would fit under my seat but no dice, YMMV.  Oh well, it is small and won't take up a lot of room in the tank bag or saddle bags.  $9.97

Slime brand Tire Plug Kit, comes with T-handled reamer and insertion tool, rubber cement, and 5 sticky string plugs.  Never having used a straight handled plug tool I cannot comment on them however after realizing how much force it takes to push the reamer and insertion tool through and pull them back out; I'm glad I bought the T-handles.  $7.24

I used a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the nail, then let the air out using the back side of my tire pressure gauge to speed up the process a bit:


Using the reamer tool per instructions, I cleaned the puncture by pushing it in and pulling it out a bunch of times.  This report is going to be so full of innuendos....  I am shaking my head as I type it..


I threaded the plug through the 'eye' of the insertion tool and centered it.  Coated the plug with cement and plunged it in to the puncture so about 1/3 of the plug was still sticking out.  Then rapidly pulled the insertion tool straight out without twisting it.  (I have seen other procedures on other sites that say you twist the handle before removal but my instructions on this kit specifically told me not to, so I didn't.)



Instructions say to cut off flush with tread but I don't want to damage my tire with a razor so I left a little hanging out.


I did let the plug sit for a little while before adding air, long enough to wash the sticky rubber and cement from my hands (fast orange soap worked fine) and clean the insertion tool (used an alchohol wipe). Here is the tire pump removed from the packaging (still won't fit under my seat though), nice long power cord, short air hose though.


I do not currently have a 12v socket on the bike but I will be adding one soon.  I could have used my shop compressor but I wanted to test the little one at my house instead of finding out it sucks on the side of I-90.  I pulled my car next to the bike to use that 12V.  I started my cell phone's stop watch and started filling the tire


Tire took 11:53 to fill from 0 psi to 42 psi.  The first part went fast then it seemed to hang up around 30psi, long enough that I was worried that was the max psi of the pump even though the gauge goes up to 50 psi.  No maximum listed on the packaging or the instructions but it started slowly climbing after that.  The gauge on the compressor seemed spot on, I shut it off right at 42 psi and double checked the tire pressure with 2 different tire gauges.  Both read 42 psi.

The plug kit is straight forward and I will need to wait until I can get some mileage on the tire before I can review the plug.  I do not plan to replace the tire until it is worn out.

The slime compressor is definitely worth the $10 I payed: long 12V cord, accurate pressure gauge, built in LED flash light, threaded air hose so it screws right on to the valve, comes in a zippered reuseable pouch, it's small and it works.  I would recommend this pump.  The air hose is a little short so even with the tire rotated so the valve was as close to the ground as possible the pump still didn't reach and vibrated quite a bit.  I placed a rag between the pump and the rim so that it wouldn't be too noisy and give it a cushion; that seemed to work fine and I didn't have to hold it there for all 12 minutes.

(Edited to fix photo links.)

[viffergyrl]

This is extremely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to take pics and post up.  

Did the air compressor get hot at all during the 12 minutes it took to fill the tire?

[919]

This is extremely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to take pics and post up.  

Did the air compressor get hot at all during the 12 minutes it took to fill the tire?

You're welcome.  The compressor did heat up, not extreme.  The instructions do say do not run continuously for more than 14 minutes or it will overheat.  It then says to wait 25 minutes between uses to allow the unit to cool down.

Luckily it only took 12 minutes to fill a 180/55 x 17 from 0 to 42 psi, so I don't think the heat would be an issue for any MC tire.

[veefer800canuck]

While gummy plugs are good to get you out of a jam (I carry them on my bike too), the preferred and permanent method is the radial plug/patch, installed from inside the tire.

[shawn and gwyn]

thanks for the post.. we are getting ready for our trip.. and i have a plug kit with the CO2 things..  hopefully i wont have to use it..  where did you get the little compressor..

shawn

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Nice write-up! Thank you for taking the time to document it so nicely  

While gummy plugs are good to get you out of a jam (I carry them on my bike too), the preferred and permanent method is the radial plug/patch, installed from inside the tire.

My personal preference for plugging is the mushroom plugger:

[Mrs. DantesDame]

thanks for the post.. we are getting ready for our trip.. and i have a plug kit with the CO2 things..  hopefully i wont have to use it..  where did you get the little compressor..

shawn

Pssst!

The rescue team, purchased at Wal-Mart this morning:

[shawn and gwyn]

Pssst!

LOL thanks.. missed  it.. will check our walmart ..

shawn

[919]

My personal preference for plugging is the mushroom plugger:

How do those work?  Do they need to be installed from the inside?

Just did a quick 70 miles checking the tire pressure 4 times during the ride and once after.  No highway but I was doing 50-60 mph on a few of the side roads.  Holding air fine and I really need to look to find the plug, it's just a slight raised bump.  Left the bike off the center stand in the garage so the tire will be under extra pressure; I will check it again in the morning.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

How do those work?  Do they need to be installed from the inside?

No, they're installed while the tire is on the rim. Ream out the hole like you did for your worm plug, then use the enclosed "gun" to shove the wide "mushroom head" into the tire. Then cut off the excess, again, just like you do with the worm.

We got to use my kit when I got a flat at one of the WCRMs  

[veefer800canuck]

I bought and used the Tire Plugger.

The plugs all ended up working their way inside the tire, so it didn't work for me.  

[919]

.

No, they're installed while the tire is on the rim. Ream out the hole like you did for your worm plug, then use the enclosed "gun" to shove the wide "mushroom head" into the tire. Then cut off the excess, again, just like you do with the worm.

We got to use my kit when I got a flat at one of the WCRMs  

cool, are they sticky like the string?

I'm pretty sure that the string type plug mushrooms out pretty well on the inside of the tire when I yanked the insertion tool out.  There is quite a bit of string in there.  It also seems like the kit I have would take up less space in the bags.  It would appear your storage capacity is slightly bigger than mine.

When I go to replace the tire I will definitely check out the inside of the tire and snap a pic

[919]

I bought and used the Tire Plugger.

The plugs all ended up working their way inside the tire, so it didn't work for me.  

Were you using rubber cement?  I have heard other people complain of that same thing but they weren't using rubber cement with the string.

Because I left some of the plug sticking out of the tire and didn't cut it flush the plug has mushroomed out on the outside as well so hopefully that won't happen to me.

[veefer800canuck]

No problem with the gummy worms, I was referring to the mushroom style plugs that the Den Mother showed above.

That product is called The Tire Plugger.

And they do not call for rubber cement during installation.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

No problem with the gummy worms, I was referring to the mushroom style plugs that the Den Mother showed above.

That product is called The Tire Plugger.

And they do not call for rubber cement during installation.

FYI, I don't recall using cement of any type upon installation and the (mushroom) plug held. YMMV, apparently  


And 919 - the GS, when ready to travel, has scads of packing space. I can afford the room for the plugger and compressor, as well as numerous other tools and spares  

[duoderf]

Ive used this kit a few times and for the $$$ its totally worth it, but I find that I always need to use more than 1 plug.

Also the compressor has never hung at any psi for me it just keeps pumping. I am thinking that there was an air leak at 30psi and it eventually sealed itself from increasing pressure

[919]

Ive used this kit a few times and for the $$$ its totally worth it, but I find that I always need to use more than 1 plug.

Also the compressor has never hung at any psi for me it just keeps pumping. I am thinking that there was an air leak at 30psi and it eventually sealed itself from increasing pressure

When you say more than one plug, do you mean you have to plug the same hole on 2 seperate occasions or use 2 strings once?

You're probably correct on the air leak that sealed itself.  That makes sense, I didn't think of that.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Nicely done. I did a video of this for The Pace recently (it's on our YouTube channel) and follows the same basics.  

^^^ He's plugging his own show.







     Get it?  

[919]

^^^ He's plugging his own show.







     Get it?  

     

Thanks for showing me up Frenchy.  Post up a link right on here so that we can all enjoy!

[Guy]

I've had a motorcycle mechanic friend tell me to use the string type plugs. They are made of rawhide, and are less likely to be cut by any belt movement in the tire carcass. The mushroom ones are less robust and can more easily be sliced