Found a screw stuck in my rear tire. Seemed to be stuck in at an angle, somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. I unscrewed it, and pulled it out. It is not losing air. Rode around for a while, took it on the highway, brought it home, still not losing air. Okay to keep riding on this tire? or replace it? The tire is not that old, so if there are no real safety concerns, I hope not to have to replace it. Thanks!
Very simple answer here. For the sake of a couple hundred guinnies, buy a new tire. The risk is not worth the savings.
Just a few days before leaving on a four day trip I discovered (by accident) what looked like a minor cut in the rear tire. Upon closer inspection it was down to the steel belts. Didn't think twice about it, new tire.....
terry, You have a lot to worry about out there on the mean streets with GOOD tires, Do yourself a favour and get a new tire and you won't have that worry about the tire grenading when carving a hard corner or when taking 'er for a warp drive run. I found a screw in my tire last summer and put a plug in it.I couldn't handle not knowing if the integrity of the tire had been comprimised so I got a new one a couple of weeks later. The piece of mind is worth the expense. (piece of mind.....couldn't help it):rockon:
If it went past the about of tread rubber you might think about another tire. If it only went tread depth you may be ok. When in doubt, pout and buy a new tire.
Stand by for a "fence sitting" answer: Replacing the tyre is the logical sensible thing to do... But, just to cast doubt into your mind, over the years I've been riding, I think my personal tally stands at: 3 plugged tyres, 1 replaced tyre. (the last time this happened was 2002 - so I don't know if tyre plugging is still legal, or getting better with newer technology.) In each case, I think the best decision was made... (i.e. find a tyre shop you trust and listen to the advice they give you). From my experience, the professionally plugged tyres lasted as long as they would have had they not got a screw/nail into them in the first place. The most important lesson I learnt was - that if you discover a screw in the tyre DON'T REMOVE IT YOURSELF! Put the tyre under the least amount of stress possible and take it to a shop ASAP. (If possible, take the wheel off the bike and transport it so you don't even have to subject the tyre to any stress) The first time it happened, I was new to motorcycling and quite frankly too inexperienced as a rider to notice. By the time I found it, the tyre had been running dead-flat and undoubtedly had been stressed way too much to be safe. At the other end of the scale, one of the tyres I had plugged would have been less than a month old. (I could have cried!). At the time I noticed the screw, the tyre still had good air pressure, but - using the good ol' spit test, I could see it was definitely leaking (slowly). I guess the moral of the story is: Peace of mind will come with a new tyre, but decent plugs aren't as bad as you might think. If you're a hard riding / tyre shredding kind of rider, I'd probably replace it. If you're more a mellow laid back rider, plugging may be a good option. Talk to your dealer and get their input too... How's that for a non-commital answer!?
