Things I learn in my driveway

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
Ever learn anything about motorcycling in your driveway? I noted that my wife's old beater car tire was loosing air in its leaky tire faster than normal so I decided to plug the two holes for fun (she never drives the car except to keep it alive).
The tires are so worn a shop wont touch them. Anyway, I know where the nail was and the screw was so I took off the tire and pretended I was besides the side of the road with my NT tire kit. The first thing I found out was I really didnt have any dish soap or a dedicated zip lock bag to hold soapy water, so I made note of that. I pushed the small nail into the tire as I couldnt dig it out without lots of effort and quickly put in a Dyna plug, my go to plug kit for small holes. Next I tried to dig out the screw but that wouldnt come so I just pushed it into the tire, leaving a nice 2/16-3/16 hole. I removed the valve to take out the air more quickly (but I am here to tell you the tire looses its air pretty quickly through a 2/16 -3/16 hole!) and use the "Stop and Go" plug kit to put in a nice big mushroom plug. I found out my needle nose plyers are in my tool bag so I decided to make another note to put a small cheep set in the Stop and go kit. Along with a valve tool. I then blew in a can of Slime "Quick Spair" (sic) that I carry on the bike and found out that there isnt really that much air in the can so its important to have two other ways to pump up a tire (CO2 and electric pump) . I also carry gummy worms with a graduated set of tapered rat tail files (small version) so it the plug doesnt hold, I have a backup.
All these years and I never thought to include a tiny bottle of soap in my tool kit. Yes, I carry a bar of soap in my shaving kit and a bottle of water so that would have done ok to find a leak, but a small squeeze bottle of soap the size of an eye drop bottle (or a motel freebee small bottle of shampoo) is going in my flat kit. I am thinking about a standard water bottle cap with a hole in it to convert a water bottle to a soapy water dispensor, too. Most nails are easy to see but not always....

FYI Just so you know, if this heap were MY car, and I wanted it for a back up, it would get real tires.......
 

mikesim

Site Supporter
Joined
Jun 7, 2011
Messages
3,330
Age
74
Location
Union, MO
Bike
NT700, Red, #989,
Wal-Mart has the mini squeeze bottles in their travel dept. Get one of those and a small bottle of kids bubble solution to fill it with, and you are set!

Mike
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I'm at a loss for why you needed soapy water...

You knew where the nail and screw were, so that wasn't the reason. It's easy to use spit (properly known as saliva) on a suspected leak, so that wasn't it. Was it so you could wash your hands???

The Wet Chris
Chris, the idea was to simulate a flat tire on the road. And to learn from the experience. Most of the time, its easy to see the nail, but not always. For instance, in this car tire, I origninally didnt know there were two punctures till I used the soapy water trick. Only the small metal shaft was left in the tire....the head was off. Depending on light conditions, spinning the wheel and putting on soapy water might be the best way to quickly find the puncture. (I dont make enough spit to cover a tire! ;) )
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
Wal-Mart has the mini squeeze bottles in their travel dept. Get one of those and a small bottle of kids bubble solution to fill it with, and you are set!

Mike
That would work all right, but I am in the "save space and weight" mode....hey...my enema bottle!!!!!
 

DirtFlier

Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
3,331
Location
Troy, OH
Bike
2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
Last summer I rode to VT to attend the MSTA national rally, called STAR. On Day 3, while we were at the event hotel, my bike which had been on the sidestand fell over and damaged the Civic parked in the next space. People who were outside at the time blaimed it on the wind but I thought that was rather farfetched since it was between two cars! Then, someone noticed the head of a nail in the rear tire so I got a few strong backs to help me muscle the NT onto the centerstand. It was a 3-1/2" framing nail and it went into the tread at an angle but fortunately well away from the sidewall.

I took out my road tools and cleaned the wound as best I could then put a sticky worm onto the insertion tool, put it in, twisted the tool and pulled it out. One of the "watchers" told me to slather plenty of glue onto the sticky worm but my kit lacked glue....oh well. Using my compressor, I blew it up to 50 psi in hopes it would still show the same the next morning and it did so I rode that day but at a reduced pace, and periodically during the day I'd recheck the pressure and found it was holding OK. Departure day came so we took off and rode into central PA four our overnight stop and the tire was still OK. The next morning it was down by a tiny amount but not enough to worry, so I made it all the way home without any problems. My Good Karma must have been working that week!

Once home I put the bike onto my lift and ordered a new Pilot Road. The old rear tire was an Avon Storm Ultra. Rechecking the pressure after about 5-days, mainly out of curiosity, I found it'd lost 5-6 pounds so apparently the heat build-up from riding had helped the plug seal. Oh...and just as normal practice I use Ride-On sealant whenever I mount a new tire.

Every situation with flats is a little different but that one worked well for me!
 

Warren

2
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
2,332
Location
O'Fallon, MO
Bike
2019 Yamaha XMAX
So the Ride-On sealant did not work in sealing the hole with the framing nail?
 

DirtFlier

Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
3,331
Location
Troy, OH
Bike
2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
The puncture wound was elongated because of the angle of the nail going in so I didn't trust Ride-On to do the work on its own. And I already had the sticky worms and tools in my saddlebag, so I picked the sticky worm as the primary repair. My guess - only a guess - is that the Ride-On did help the final bit of sealing since it held 50 psi overnight. And it got me home so I didn't have to pay lots and lots of money for a tire bought under emergency circumstances.

I'm not saying this would work in every situation but it worked for me!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
998
Location
Maryland
Bike
Honda NT700V
That would work all right, but I am in the "save space and weight" mode

I found out my needle nose plyers are in my tool bag so I decided to make another note to put a small cheep set in the Stop and go kit.
:rofl1:Bwaa-hah-hah! So yer gonna save weight and space by carrying two sets of needle nose pliers? Ya need to change your handle to Jed Clampett.:smile:

The real problem with that tire was all the "loose" air in it.

Sorry, wasting time looking out the window at the ice storm.
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
:rofl1:Bwaa-hah-hah! So yer gonna save weight and space by carrying two sets of needle nose pliers? Ya need to change your handle to Jed Clampett.:smile:

The real problem with that tire was all the "loose" air in it.

Sorry, wasting time looking out the window at the ice storm.
Red Green! Red Green! Not Jed Clampett. I lust after his daughter as it is....:wink:
My emergency tools are packed away in a shaving kit VERY CAREFULLY sized and shaped that just fits into the pass through and tail section. I do have other minor ingeniously shaped tools sprinkled here and yon on the bike to deal with little issues so that I dont have to disturb the forces of nature that keep the main pack intact. Evil things can happen if I have to disturb the sleeping monster at dusk by the side of the road....have you seen Gremlins? The tiny needle nose plyers stay in the plug and go kit! :rofl1:

Looks like your storm is fizzling...good luck with the wind!
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
If he's including an enema bottle in his comments, maybe we don't want to know.

Chris
LOL! Wait to YOU get to be old...enema bottle and metamucil go on the packing list....
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
Last summer I rode to VT to attend the MSTA national rally, called STAR. On Day 3, while we were at the event hotel, my bike which had been on the sidestand fell over and damaged the Civic parked in the next space. People who were outside at the time blaimed it on the wind but I thought that was rather farfetched since it was between two cars! Then, someone noticed the head of a nail in the rear tire so I got a few strong backs to help me muscle the NT onto the centerstand. It was a 3-1/2" framing nail and it went into the tread at an angle but fortunately well away from the sidewall.

I took out my road tools and cleaned the wound as best I could then put a sticky worm onto the insertion tool, put it in, twisted the tool and pulled it out. One of the "watchers" told me to slather plenty of glue onto the sticky worm but my kit lacked glue....oh well. Using my compressor, I blew it up to 50 psi in hopes it would still show the same the next morning and it did so I rode that day but at a reduced pace, and periodically during the day I'd recheck the pressure and found it was holding OK. Departure day came so we took off and rode into central PA four our overnight stop and the tire was still OK. The next morning it was down by a tiny amount but not enough to worry, so I made it all the way home without any problems. My Good Karma must have been working that week!

Once home I put the bike onto my lift and ordered a new Pilot Road. The old rear tire was an Avon Storm Ultra. Rechecking the pressure after about 5-days, mainly out of curiosity, I found it'd lost 5-6 pounds so apparently the heat build-up from riding had helped the plug seal. Oh...and just as normal practice I use Ride-On sealant whenever I mount a new tire.

Every situation with flats is a little different but that one worked well for me!
So true....every situation with flats is a little different.....I have an old NT front tire I use to test various plugging kits...that's how I found my old hands were too weak to use a rasp without having graduated sizes of tapered rat tail files to open the hole so I could get whatever type of plug in. I kind of like the glue on the gummy worm but I have modified the insertion tools for more of an EZ in/EZ out experience....
I will look into the Ride On sealant as I am putting on new rubber on the FJR....
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
Last summer I rode to VT to attend the MSTA national rally, called STAR. On Day 3, while we were at the event hotel, my bike which had been on the sidestand fell over and damaged the Civic parked in the next space. People who were outside at the time blaimed it on the wind but I thought that was rather farfetched since it was between two cars! Then, someone noticed the head of a nail in the rear tire so I got a few strong backs to help me muscle the NT onto the centerstand. It was a 3-1/2" framing nail and it went into the tread at an angle but fortunately well away from the sidewall.

I took out my road tools and cleaned the wound as best I could then put a sticky worm onto the insertion tool, put it in, twisted the tool and pulled it out. One of the "watchers" told me to slather plenty of glue onto the sticky worm but my kit lacked glue....oh well. Using my compressor, I blew it up to 50 psi in hopes it would still show the same the next morning and it did so I rode that day but at a reduced pace, and periodically during the day I'd recheck the pressure and found it was holding OK. Departure day came so we took off and rode into central PA four our overnight stop and the tire was still OK. The next morning it was down by a tiny amount but not enough to worry, so I made it all the way home without any problems. My Good Karma must have been working that week!

Once home I put the bike onto my lift and ordered a new Pilot Road. The old rear tire was an Avon Storm Ultra. Rechecking the pressure after about 5-days, mainly out of curiosity, I found it'd lost 5-6 pounds so apparently the heat build-up from riding had helped the plug seal. Oh...and just as normal practice I use Ride-On sealant whenever I mount a new tire.

Every situation with flats is a little different but that one worked well for me!
Do you use 8 oz or 16 oz a tire? The 8 oz looks like it gives marginal coverage although I suspect that with the bike continually leaning this factory pic might be too conservative for pic one and three.
 

DirtFlier

Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
3,331
Location
Troy, OH
Bike
2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
I've been using 3/4 of the small bottle in the rear and 1/2 a bottle in the front. When I've removed worn tires, the Ride-On is spread as a band inside the tire about the width shown in their promo. And if you have to clean it out to apply a patch or something that uses glue, it can be easily wiped off with paper towels.

They now tout it as a "sealer/balancer" but originally it was just a sealer and I'm still using metal weights to balance my tires. One time, I put the correct amount in a new tire, then went for a ride and noticed a mild vibration. It went away after about 5-minutes so it was probably the Ride-On in a puddle at the bottom of the tire!

ps. I share your sentiments about Ellie May. :)
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I've been using 3/4 of the small bottle in the rear and 1/2 a bottle in the front. When I've removed worn tires, the Ride-On is spread as a band inside the tire about the width shown in their promo. And if you have to clean it out to apply a patch or something that uses glue, it can be easily wiped off with paper towels.

They now tout it as a "sealer/balancer" but originally it was just a sealer and I'm still using metal weights to balance my tires. One time, I put the correct amount in a new tire, then went for a ride and noticed a mild vibration. It went away after about 5-minutes so it was probably the Ride-On in a puddle at the bottom of the tire!

ps. I share your sentiments about Ellie May. :)
OK, that's very good info.....it sounds like it has a very heavy viscosity, but not heavy enough to allow it to move and "dynamically" rebalance. It also sounds like my theory of bike lean (at slow speeds)spreading the sealant is all wet. Bike lean at speed would tend to keep the sealant in the center due to the typical centrifical (centripital?) forces created by the wheel rotation. Hence, what you saw when you took off an old tire.
Here are some pics from "ride on" using the prescribed amount on their website. Would you say this is a fair acessment of the coverage area?




Chris who still dreams of "Jeannie" Barbara Eden. "Jeannie, would you please change those tires?" "Yes Master!"
 
Last edited:

Tonydtiger1971

Guest
I've never heard of this. Where has it been hiding?

Kinda been Bewitched myself by a certain Samantha.
 
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I've never heard of this. Where has it been hiding?

Kinda been Bewitched myself by a certain Samantha.
Yeah, she was cute too! Can you believe that show lasted 8 seasons?

Ride-on Used to be called by another name, but its been around for quite awhile...you can watch youtubes and read forums about it till the cows come home.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
4,386
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I've used Slime before. It's similar and much easier to find than Ride-On.

It works.

Chris
Depending on which YOUtube you watch, its great or junk. For me, it really works wonderful in my tube type tires of my lawn tractor as I run over lots of thorns....
If you google slime vs Ride On, you will get a plethera of opinions. Slime is corrosive, Ride ON is not....some shops wont change tires unless you clean up after Slime....
Ride On doesnt work well on tubes....yada yada yada. I have no correct answer but with the cheep prices for Ride-On on Ebay and Amazon, I might switch to carrying a bottle.
 

DirtFlier

Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
3,331
Location
Troy, OH
Bike
2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
I've been using Ride-On for 12-15 years and started when I first read about it in Motorcycle Consumer News. For a while there, it was off the market because the military was buying their entire annual (?) production during one of our desert wars, then it came back after that. And I'll freely admit it's difficult to find but luckily they carry it at Iron Pony in Columbus OH, where I buy my tires. Prior to that I was buying it via the internet and paying for shipping.

ps. I have nothing bad to say about Slime because I've never used it. :D
 
Top Bottom