While trying to avoid a bunch of shiny things in the road with my front tire, I guess I got one with the back tire. I didn’t notice it until a few days later on my next ride. Took off and as we were getting back on after our first stop, Damn the tire was almost flat. Drove into town to air it up, which was a fun ride with about 15lbs of tire pressure. Put air in and noticed it leaking out as fast as I put it in. Had someone pick me up a plug kit at the local auto parts store and it’s been fine ever since.
My question is how long will it last? I’ve had people tell me they have ridden thousands of miles with a plug. This one only has a few hundred. How long until it wears the plug completely flat?

 

there are some safety ****'s that will tell you to replace the tire immediately or risk going to hell... I have plugged a few m/c tires and rode them till they were wore out without any incident. if it were mine I'd just ride it and forget about it, but you have to do whatever you are comfortable with.

 

It will hold as long as you did a good job plugging it and you used a quality plug kit. I put 11,000 miles on a plugged tire but most people don't recommend to do that. If you can afford a new tire, then you should replace it rather than plug it. I just replaced the original rear tire on my '09 Ultra Classic with less than 5k miles because of a nail. Fortunately, I was at my local dealership. The only thing I didn't like was the $249 for the replacement tire.

 

It's all in what you are comfortable with. I mean the cost of the new tire is better then getting killed or badly hurt. Your bike your call.

 

Don't let the paranoids get to ya.

I had a screw in my back bike tire and plugged it. I had no problems with the repair and rode the tire until it was bald. Even if it did start to leak, it would be a slow leak and not an instant blowout and all you would have to do is replug it. I recently plugged a tire on my SUV and it's been holding air perfectly. The plug will wear down even eventually but you shouldn't notice it.

 

I would chance plugging a rear tire but not a front one,

 

Best idea I have read in this thread. A plug is nothing to be afraid of. I like to leave the plug in overnight with no air in it. It allows the plug to expand, the hold will keep it tighter in the middle, and it will last forever. I have plugged 10 ton forklift tires. Have twisted 3 or 4 plugs together and patched 1000 dollar tires with large bolts or rebar holes in them. (off road stuff, low speed).


Don't let it worry you. Plug it and ride it.

 

No problem with plugging the tire, a patch in the inside is much better IMO.
What I do worry about is running a few miles on an under inflated tire, the inside of the side wall becomes compromised and can cause an issue down the road. Saw this many of times and the only way to tell is by pulling the tire off the rim and inspecting it, you will find a bunch of tire "dust" and rubber floating around. from the outside you would never know.

 

Would neer patch a front, But have recently patch a rear. Patch a tire now makes it a regular maintenance issue. Keep the pressure correct and watch. Also I did not go any faster that 85 Mph. That is just me.

 

A tire blowout on a cage is one thing but don't think I'd want to try that on a bike going 80 down the Interstate. Don't even want the remote possibility of it happening on my mind so I'd probably change out the tire. No science behind the choice, just paranoia I guess.