How far can you drive on a goo-repaired tubeless?
 

I get conflicting impressions about tubeless tyres. Some say that a roadside repair with the goo/reamer kit is just enough to get you to your local shop and then you need to buy a new tyre. Others seem to say you can run this repair until you wear out the tread...

Is it possible, having 'gooreamed' the tyre, to then give it a more permanent repair with a patch on the inside?

Thanks

"Is it possible, having 'gooreamed' the tyre, to then give it a more permanent repair with a patch on the inside?"

Yes, did exactly that with mine. I plugged one puncture somewhere in Peru and eventually got round to putting in a permanent repair in Costa Rica. The tyre started splitting around the repair so a little air was getting out by that point so just got a mushroom type patch put in from the inside.

I think it's something that depends on too many factors to give one pat answer. I've met one fellow who supposedly rode coast-to-coast on a goo-patched tire with his Gold Wing, and other folks who couldn't ride five feet on it because it didn't work at all.

It probably depends on the tire, the weight, the temperature, etc. and "your mileage may vary"...

Goo is really unpredictable and can do an amazing job for one rider, but the same goo in the same tyre with a similar puncture and a different rider will barely get him to the next town.

Dealers & tyre manufacturers will usually say any repair is temporary and you should change the tyre asap - in reality a good plug can last for a very long time but I wouldn't trust goo to do the same.

all the best,
Lee

Meant to add - patches often don't work well where you have gooreamed a tyre as they just don't make a good bond. Temporary at best IMHO.

Mushrooms, Reamers, Plugs, Patches...
 

What is the difference between mushroom plugs and mushroom patches?

People seem to be suggesting that plugs are more permanent than goo and that goo makes it more difficult to follow up with a permanent repair?

Could someone please give me links to a good place to buy the various types - mostly so I'm clear on which is which?:confused1:

Thanks!

G

This thread does seem rather confused. Maybe some common terminology will help?:

Goo; Liquid sealant injected into the valve. The liquid sets to form the whole plug. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. The limit is about a single 6mm hole or many small holes adding up to the same area. Could also include cans of foam that rarely work. These repairs are indeed only designed to get you to a tyre shop. Pre-fill the goo and you only find out it's stopped working when it's past fixing at the roadside.

External plug; rubber pushed in from the outside. The plug seals the hole, liquid adhesive (another goo) holds the plug in. Usually works, varies in how long it stays working.

Internal plug; Near permanant repair done from inside a removed tyre, the plug is mushroom shaped. The head is pushed harder into the hole by the air pressure, so the adhesive (goo) is only a back up and assembly aid. Should last the life of the tyre, but a small number will fail. Rip off tyre shops will refuse to fit these and try to sell you a tyre. Only on sidewall damage do they really have a point.

And no one mentioned tubes. Put a tube in a tubless tyre and it will run hotter. This scares many tyre people yet never stopped them using this as an OE solution on F650's and others. This will last tens of thousands of miles at real world speeds, but get another puncture and you are well and truely stuffed, no roadside repair could remotely be described as easy so you are back to putting goo in through the valve.

Andy

I guess a lot of the confusion was me using 'goo-reamed' to mean an external plug :oops2:- I meant the goo(p) you smear on the 'rats tails' as you plug the tyre with the reamer.

I guess nothing is too ideal. I guess the internal 'mushroom' plug sounds like the best approach, depending on how hellish it is to break the bead and get inside the tyre while at the roadside. Do you need to get the tyre off completely or just one bead? How do you do this? (There's probably a thread for this, but I can't find it!)

If this is impractical, then I guess I just have to go with the external plug complete with rats tails, reamer and goop, and then use my judgement as to how long I feel I can ride on it before replacing/internally fixing the tyre.

Is there a way to test whether the external plug is solid - could you over-inflate the tyre to some higher pressure and see if it leaks, for example (please excuse my ignorance!)

And can you repair the repair, if need be?

Thanks for any more thoughts!

I had a sticky string repair in my last rear Tourance for over 5000 miles, when I took the tyre off the loop of string inside the tyre was very firmly stuck to the tyre, I had a front puncture repaired using a mushroom type patch applied from inside which has done another 7,000 miles. both tyres punctured when almost new.

Stewart H - did you avoid high speeds after those repairs or did you feel there was no need?

Normal usage.

I've never seen an internal plug fitted "roadside". You need to break both beads which on some wheel and tyre combo's can be done with bars, G-clamps or a mates side stand, but on others is impossible. The tyre doesn't need to come off, but you need it far enough into the well to get your hand in. Reseating could be done using some compressors, the Icelandic lighter-fuel trick or a bicycle inner tube, but the shop air line is easier.

Andy

Hi Andy

What is the 'Icelandic lighter-fuel trick'?! And how do you reseat using a bicycle inner tube?

Thanks

I think he means using a controlled explosion to pop the tyre up onto the rim. It involves spraying butane or propane into the tyre cavity, then lighting with a lighter, the explosion draws in oxygen with such a force that it pops the tyre up onto the rim and extinguishes the blast. Just need to search YouTube for this, there are lots of videos out there, but I haven't yet seen one for a motorcycle tyre...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3y9sqaK1M

That's the one. I've seen it done as a party trick by 4x4 guys, it didn't look a great idea to me.

The other way is to carry a bicycle tube about the diameter of the rim. Inflate this and push it into the gap between tyre and rim. Don't let it get trapped. Push down and you create enough of a seal to build up a bit of pressure in the tyre. This starts the tubeless seal so you can keep pumping until it pops into place. I've only seen this done sucessfully on 4x4 tyres once. The shop air line getting 2-3 bar in there despite the unseated tyre leaking is by far the best way.

Andy

As long as you have some WD40 and a decent compressor, you'll get the tyre to reseat. Sometimes takes a couple of go's to get it to work.

If there's a problem with the plug repair you've done, you'll normally just get a slow leak. As I said earlier, mine lasted a fair distance and when it was leaking, it was only minimal, nothing like a tubed tyre blowing which is pretty instantaneous.