Reply With QuoteWOW, you are crazy for running a plug in a tubeless sport bike tire! I personally think my life is worth considerably more than $120 for a new tire, just me though...
ANY tire combination is safer/better than that!
My plug in my rear tire is finally starting to fail...takes it about a week to drop from 36-37psi down to ~28. Glad it lasted as long as it did...plugged it when it was almost brand new (damn screw in the road...) and now have just over 5.2k miles on it.
Anyone see any problems running the michelin pilot road 2 rear with the stock pirelli diablo front?
WOW, you are crazy for running a plug in a tubeless sport bike tire! I personally think my life is worth considerably more than $120 for a new tire, just me though...
ANY tire combination is safer/better than that!
Why?WOW, you are crazy for running a plug in a tubeless sport bike tire!
because of the way a contact patch is along with the tire "flexation"
a plug does not give you good traction so when half of your postage stamp of contact patch is a plug you can have issues.
a plug does not flex so when the tire flexes on the road the plug just wiggles around instead
your tire and plug do not heat up and cool at the same rates and cause problems as well
large possibility of it getting ripped out causing a rapid loss of pressure while going down the road potentially causing major issues or a crash
any mixed match in tires front to rear of either brand OR wear (example 5k on a front and a new rear or the other way around) is never recommended but it has been done by many and continues to be done.
those that do it on the track have tires that SHOULD be similar if not the same profile (example power one front and power race rear)
I tend to wear my fronts nearly as fast as my rears and change them at the same time, maybe I could squeak another 1,000 or so out but why wear in a good rear to match the profile of a worn out front? it will decrease the life of your rear and cost you just as much in the long run.
also sets of tires can be had cheaper than buying each tire one at a time.
YMMV
Ok, I could see concern with a plug toward the edges of a tire, or anywhere on the front tire, but mine is in the center of my rear. With the amount of plug material on the inside of the tire that has been pushed with centripetal force against where the hole was I seriously doubt that it'll just pop out. I guess I could be wrong though...are there accounts of accidents caused by plug ejection or failure?because of the way a contact patch is along with the tire "flexation"
a plug does not give you good traction so when half of your postage stamp of contact patch is a plug you can have issues.
a plug does not flex so when the tire flexes on the road the plug just wiggles around instead
your tire and plug do not heat up and cool at the same rates and cause problems as well
large possibility of it getting ripped out causing a rapid loss of pressure while going down the road potentially causing major issues or a crash
A few years back I was riding my old Yamaha Venture down I90, about 75mph w/ the bike fully loaded on a 90 degree day on a plugged rear tire - and it decided to let go abruptly. Not a fun experience although I was glad it wasn't the front. Anyway, had to have my wife have the neighbor hook up my utility trailer and then drive 2 hours out to get me.
Convinced me - they may be ok to get you home in a pinch, but get rid of them as soon as you can. You're riding on borrowed time. Doesn't mean I wouldn't consider having a fairly fresh tire properly patched from the inside, but one bad experience with a plug is enough.
plugs can also pop IN on motorcycle tires as well as lead to a rip and a blow out (I have seen tears in dirt bike tires that wrap half way around starting at a plug), like swamp said go with a patch. plugs are like doughnut spares, they get you where you are going but not recommended for sustained use or speed.
swamp2 did yours blow out on you or just deflate?
Yikes, guess I need to make getting a new tire a little higher on the priority list, thanks for the info!
delta - I'd say the plug blew out - but it was a very heavy bike (800+ lbs) w/ another 100 of gear and me on it - so it was a VERY rapid deflation. A bit disconcerting at highway speeds...
you can run any set of tires that have proper geometry together
I know a number of people who sport tour that run a cheaper tire in the back and a much more expensive sticky tire in the front (a lot of my buddies are fans of the pilot powers up front), as long as you are buying tires to match the recommended measurements you'll be fine mixing tire brands
Posting Permissions