I went into the shop Saturday to pick up my bike after some warranty work and the Service Manager tells me I have a nail in the rear tire, so I tell him to plug it and I'll wait.

His response kinda threw me - "we don't repair tires, you only have 2 and it's a safety issue. We will only replace." I asked if the nail was in a sidewall and he says no, center of tread, "but we still will not repair." The tire was holding air so I rode it home, put a mushroom plug in it, and a bottle of Ride-On tire sealant.

I know emotions run high on this subject, but to satisfy my curiousity, I started googling when I got home. I ran searches using different combinations of "motorcycle", "tire", "repair", "failure", and "accident" but I couldn't find a single reference to an actual accident attributed to a failure of a motorcycle tire repair.

So, I'm asking, has anyone ever experienced or heard of an actual accident caused by the failure of a tire repair? Or is this the industry running scared from lawyers?

 

Can't comment on the legalities but I had a totally different experience. I had a dealership replace my tires and noticed my rear tire was losing about 1 p.s.i. a day. I returned to the dealership, they found a nail in my tire. The mechanic, who was a long time friend said, the nail probably came from one of their crates and he'd replace the tire with a new one. He said they'd use the tire with the nail hole in it on a bike with an inner tube. They didn't charge me an extra dime. Still I don't buy my tires there anymore.

 

FWIW, Dunlop's website has a recommended procedure and criteria for repairing a flat in a tubeless motorcycle tire:

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/info...tips.asp?id=30

A key point is the repair procedure requires the tire to be removed from the wheel.

Carl

PS: I know the reply is not responsive to the OP, but thought the information on Dunlop's recommended procedure and criteria for repair useful to post.

 

You asked that dealer to guarantee and accept responsibility for the integrity of a tubeless motorcycle tire that has been punctured, damaged and repaired. I wouldn't if I was him. And who has a data base of every repaired tubeless motorcycle tire failure? I'd do local, solo riding on a repaired tire but not long distance two-up touring. I like the peace of mind that new tires bring.

 

I run em patched all the time, use plugs to get to a point where i can hot patch it.

 

I've run plugged tires until worn out with no problem. The last one was only about a week old when I got a screw in it and was told the same thing. No frikin way was I goina throw away a $200 tire to buy another $200 tire that could get a screw in it . A plug kit is part of my tool kit and have used it twice on my bike and three times on my truck. Of course all the holes were in the tread and not the sidewall.

 

Ive plugged several for myself and my old service manager for our personal bikes.........BUT as far as a dealership doing it, if they DID and you crashed and died due to anything that had to do with that tire, your family would own the dealership.

Its a HUGE liability and not worth the financial risk to any business owner.

Plug away on your own stuff, we all know plugs work just fine.

 

and it has already paid for itself. Brand new rear and tube after they found a nail in it while doing the front tire replacement. I'll never have to pay for a tire unless I wear it out.

 

 

$afety i$$ue, my a$$...they ju$t want to $ell you new tire$.