Picked up a nail on the rear tyre yesterday, RAC man repaired it by plugging a piece of rubber to fill the hole. He said it's good for up to 203 miles and up to 40 mph, and advised me to take it to a tyre shop to either have it permanently repaired or replace the tyre, saying that the permanent repair involves inserting the rubber plug from inside out (as opposed to outside in like he did), and apparently it will make the repair longer lasting. Is there any truth to what he said or he only say it to cover RAC's back (on the mileage limit / mph limit and repair method)?
Depends on where in the tyre and how old the tyre is. I know loads who run a plug until tyre wears out, doing 140mph or more, as the plug welds into the hole and becomes part of the rubber. Can be hard to spot them once they are bedded in
Is your tyre steel belted or canvas....this makes a difference as steel belts can apparently chew up the plug! I put a plug in a brand new tyre and I've done 3k miles subsequently. It's probably going to bite me, but I just could not throw away a brand new tyre! on the other hand I've had plugs put in car tyres ( in countries where h&s is not written in capital letters) and they've lasted to the end of the tyre life!
used one of these once, it lasted the life of the tyre but if you have rac rescue I would have insisted that they recovr the bike back to a proper repair shop and have done a proper repair in the first instance
Is the answer your looking for in this instance..... The permanent plugs fitted from the inside are ok tho, I had one fitted in a week old tyre on my RSV and forgot about, it was fine for the life of the tyre.
For the sake of £10 (loose wheel) is get a proper repair done, which will be permanent, if only because its cold and inconvenient to be stuck at the side of the road with another puncture if it fails again. Another angle - if it does fail in 500 miles will the RAC repair it again ad you will have gone against their advice....
Will take it to the bike shop for a permanent repair tomorrow. I've done 5k miles on these tyres (less than 1 year old) and tempted to switch to Michelin pilot road 3 for better wet grip / confidence, but ideally only when it worn enough for replacement, I think it's about half worn. So it all depends on whether or not a permanent repair is possible. If not, do you suggest PR3 as the best replacement option?
Dude, it's up to you. Pr3 are supposed to be pretty good. That bit of rubber is one of the main things that keeps you upright and out of hospital or worse. Me, I'd be happy with 5k out of a tyre and for peace of mind swap them.
The discovery of yet another nail on the rear tyre resulted in the bike recovered to the dealer in the afternoon and a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3 duly ordered to be fitted next Monday. At the same time have the 7500 mile / Desmo service carried out for £500 - is it excessive?
Presume you're getting the valve shims checked? I think my first year service at that mileage came in at around that at a main dealer.
Good to know I am paying a fair price. Paid around £150 for the first service (@600 miles) so the 2nd/7.5k service is a big one. It's my first Ducati so no idea about servicing cost, sounds like it's generally more expensive than Japanese bikes, which I guess is in line for an Italian performance marque?
Its the belt, about £80 just parts from memory, which add up to £180 fitted that makes the bills bigger
Replaced the (nailed 3 times) 5k miles Diablo Rosso 2s with a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3 yesterday - instantly feel more planted on the wet journey home, giving you the confidence to corner faster. Hope it will last longer than 5k miles this time:wink:
