Tire Balancer/Sealant

[Snake Ranch]

Originally Posted by denny 606

I'm believing you man , I heard a bunch of other folks using it with good success.

I don't know how it works but it remains somewhat fluid and moves around inside the tire, just like the dyna beads do and I don't understand that either . If it works good enough. I have heard good things about Ride on Sealant.

The only warning I would give you is ,don't put it in a tire without removing the dyna beads first, that's just a mess that will for sure cause a balance problem.

You have that right.

I pulled my rear wheel, broke the beads so I could vacuum the dyna-beads out that were in the tire before putting the Ride on Sealant in the tire.

Was going on a long trip and wanted the sealant protection.

[Kawalski Rider]

I was on a ride with a group of friends and family, this last August. My cousin had a low rear tire one morning. We couldn't find a puncture, but air it up and moved on. A later check revealed it was still leaking. Closer inspection found the puncture. We plugged it and moved on again. The next morning the tire was still leaking, although not as bad, but leaking just the same. He decided to replace the tire. While in the motorcycle dealer he spots this beautiful (to him) Jupitor Orange Goldwing... After the smoke cleared and the dust settled, two weeks later he's riding it home...

The moral to this story.. Flat tires can be more costly than you can imagine!

Cheers, David

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by hammer

True story about an HD rider I pulled over to help. Their group had left them behind? Hubby did not know he needed to start his bike in order for his 12 volt air pump to work.

Why? I had a flat on my Nomad and did not need to start the bike for the 12 volt air pump to work

[cactusjack]

I won't put that crap in my tires. I carry a plug kit and an inflator.

Tim, maybe the ignition needs to be on to power the 12v plug? I think the one on my Harley is only live when the ignition is on.

[cnc]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Why? I had a flat on my Nomad and did not need to start the bike for the 12 volt air pump to work

Originally Posted by cactusjack

I won't put that crap in my tires. I carry a plug kit and an inflator.

Tim, maybe the ignition needs to be on to power the 12v plug? I think the one on my Harley is only live when the ignition is on.

As Scott says just depends how it is wired.

[Top Cat]

I didn't think of that, the one I put on my Nomad I wired direct to the battery with an in line fuse.

[hammer]

Why? I had a flat on my Nomad and did not need to start the bike for the 12 volt air pump to work

Yah, that's the way his bike was wired. It seemed to me the guy was pretty clueless about his own ride. You would heave thought he might have tried starting the bike up at some point. I wanted to make the longer story shorter.

[Navigator]

I have had to plug three or four tires over the years and used Slime once. And yes, it is a mess for the guy who changes the tire so you need to tell the dealership. On two of them I had to use Slime with the plug both because of the size of the nail and the plugs I was using. I have since changed.

The "conventional wisdom" from the MC industry was that a plugged tire is a dangerous tire and should be changed as soon as possible. I have found that not to be true though because I've ridden many miles on a plugged tires.

Last year I had a long conversation with a Washington State Patrolman about plugging tires outside of one of our more popular breakfast places. I asked him if he changed his tires after a flat and he just laughed, saying he'd be changing tires all of the time. He showed me that he had 8 plugs in his rear tire alone. He showed me what kind of tools and plugs they carry. It is the brown sticky worm looking ones that I now carry.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by Navigator

Last year I had a long conversation with a Washington State Patrolman about plugging tires . He showed me that he had 8 plugs in his rear tire alone.

What the hell does he patrol, and auto junk yard with all kinds of scrap metal and shards of glass on the ground

[cnc]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

What the hell does he patrol, and auto junk yard with all kinds of scrap metal and shards of glass on the ground

Forgetting his co-workers laid down police spike strips to stop the car he is chasing might be the issue.

[Navigator]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

What the hell does he patrol, and auto junk yard with all kinds of scrap metal and shards of glass on the ground

No, he said they get a high number of punctures because they are on the side of the road a lot where all of the nails, broken glass and assorted other sharp objects are. Also because they ride every day, all day rain or shine.

I will pull onto a highway road shoulder only in the event of an emergency. It is where I got my first flat after pulling over to check something on my 1150GS. I didn't see the roofing nails until it was too late and one penetrated my rear tire.

Oh and a correction to the my post. I've used Slime twice as a follow up to plugging when I still had a slow leak and was hundreds of miles from home. Some riders put it in the tires as a precaution but I do not.

I also use the T-bar reamers and pluggers and not one with the screwdriver style handle. I carry a bottle on all of my bikes

[Scootergptx]

Picked up a nail on my old bike about 100 miles after I put a new tire on it. Was lucky and saw it while it was parked in the drive and just slowly leaking air. Took the tire off the rim and had a truck tire shop put a patch/plug in it. Road on it for another 8k. Never gave me any problems.

[Navigator]

Originally Posted by Scootergptx

Picked up a nail on my old bike about 100 miles after I put a new tire on it. Was lucky and saw it while it was parked in the drive and just slowly leaking air. Took the tire off the rim and had a truck tire shop put a patch/plug in it. Road on it for another 8k. Never gave me any problems.

That's the best way to do it, remove the tire and patch it from within. Problem solved.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by Navigator

I have had to plug three or four tires over the years and used Slime once. And yes, it is a mess for the guy who changes the tire so you need to tell the dealership. On two of them I had to use Slime with the plug both because of the size of the nail and the plugs I was using. I have since changed.

The "conventional wisdom" from the MC industry was that a plugged tire is a dangerous tire and should be changed as soon as possible. I have found that not to be true though because I've ridden many miles on a plugged tires.

Last year I had a long conversation with a Washington State Patrolman about plugging tires outside of one of our more popular breakfast places. I asked him if he changed his tires after a flat and he just laughed, saying he'd be changing tires all of the time. He showed me that he had 8 plugs in his rear tire alone. He showed me what kind of tools and plugs they carry. It is the brown sticky worm looking ones that I now carry.

I think that's the "conventional wisdom" of the motorcycle TIRE industry.

[a340driver]

I can't remember the name of the sealant I used, but was marketed as a sealant balancer. I think that's what your referring to. The add showed a chap riding over a plank full of nails, and then they showed you the sealed (from the inside) punctured holes. Originally it had a military / police application. Anyway, I bought the stuff ( in Canada it runs around $40.00 a bottle. I don't think I've had any punctures ... I just put it in the front tire, and one thing I noticed right away is, the reduction in vibration to the handle bars. The tires were new Mich Pilots and balanced. So I would say the stuff works, and I at least enjoy piece of mind that maybe my front tire won't blow right out.