Originally Posted by Perch

I have an '08 Street Bob. Only about 1800 miles on it. Got a nail in the rear tire. Dealer wants obviously to sell me a new tire. My tires have tubes. I figure I only want a new tube - the tires are barely used. They say sand will get in tire and rub on tube and cause another flat. I say put something in the hole then, so no sand can get to the tube.

Basically, is there really a reason, safety wise, that I should buy a new tire when I have a practically new tire?

UPDATE!!! >>>> Dealer replaced the tube - BUT when I went to pick it up and said, "well, you DID patch it, right", the guy looked at me like I had 3 eyes. I said, you know, hot patched, or sealed it somehow on the inside? And he said they aren't allowed to plug tires. I repeated "PATHCHED ON THE INSIDE, not PLUGGED!!", and he said he had never heard such a thing, and something about it's not done in the motorcycle industry. AAARRGGGH. I was home sick with a nasty sinus infection. He got an earful, and I walked away with a new tube, and an $80 bill!! ($30 something for the parts, $39.50 for labor, plus tax.). Once our maintenance agreement is up (which does NOT include tires, I found out), I will not go back there for service.