Best puncture repair

[Steve398]

With 4 weeks to go until our Greek tour I thought it might be a good idea to try out the ‘Stop and Go’ puncture repair kit that I’ve been toting around on the bike for a few years. Now I’ve been lucky I guess in not getting a flat tyre in over 40 years of touring, but I always fit new tyres before our month-long trips which has always seemed a good plan.

So out I go and drill a nail-sized hole in an used PR4 rear tyre that I’ve meaning to dispose of for some time, and then fight to get the supplied reamer into the hole. What an absolute pig, I heaved and struggled for ages, resorting to a work glove (not supplied) to protect my hand, but finally reamed and enlarged the hole. In accordance with the instructions I then attempted to insert the plug tool, 10 cursing minutes later it’s in. Again following instructions I screwed down the supplied Allen key that’s meant to force the mushroom plug into and through the hole… absolutely no chance! This kit’s about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. If I’d have been in the arse-end of Greece and hoping to fix my tyre I’d be plumb out of luck!

So… who’s used a kit that works please?

[burridge01]

I use,erm,,,,,,,,Stop n Go.The 2 times I've used it was without a problem.Very easy,better than string.

As an aside,the two times I did use it I blew the tyre up with a small compact RAC type of pump,always struggled as it got to the necessary pressure so I invested in 1 of the Desert Fox jobbies.

https://superbike-news.co.uk/battle-fla ... esert-fox/

Not had to use it yet,should do the job with ease

[Steve398]

I wondered if the lube had dried out despite it being in a sealed pack, so I used a new plug and repeated the process using red rubber grease as the lubricant … nope, the plug refused to go down through the end of the tool and just folded up inside instead.
However, I checked out a You Tube video and noticed the tool had changed since I bought it (I did say I’d had it years), but what was confusing is that it came with a paper set of instructions and a smaller laminated set, useful but they were showing different tools

[burridge01]

This is the kit I have Steve
https://www.mandp.co.uk/products/stop-a ... ion-554658

I find it very easy to use.I will say the 1st time I used it,I inserted the plug and pulled the excess out and cut it,it promptly shot inside the tyre Lesson learned

[MikeS]

Had my first puncture last year in Scotland. Used the sticky string repair kit. Very easy using the supplied tools, didn't have to use the Co2 cannisters as somebody had a portable compressor.
Lasted a 1000 miles until I got home and changed the tyre.
The kit must have been 10 years old but the strings were still pliable and the unopened tube of rubber glue was fine.

[Steve398]

I’ve gone for the Two Tyres repair kit, let’s give the sticky string a go.

https://www.twotyres.co.uk/product/moto ... epair-kit/

Thanks for the replies guys

[MikeS]

Presenter can get a bit irritating.

[Steve398]

The most frightening repair I’ve heard of is to fill the hole with a self-tapping screw.

[Doctor T]

Over the years ive tried most puncture kits. I used to attract nails and screws a lot while dispatch riding. The foam in a can never worked for me, Slime in tubed tyres did the trick but then tubeless tyres came along. I was stuck on the A13 on a Friday with a rear flat, as i could fix or bodge most things back then i never had recovery. A tipper driver stopped to offer help. Told him what the problem was and he said no problem. Back then when it was legal for lorry drivers to carry a tyre repair kit. Thought he was having a laugh when he pulled out a screw and started to make the hole bigger. He inserted a red stick piece of string and blew my tyre up with a pipe from his air tanks and i was back on the road within ten minutes. That stayed in there until the tyre was worn out. It never lost any pressure.
Ever since then ive always carried a string tyre kit. I know tyre shops are not allowed to fix any ZR-rated tyres but if my bit of string will get me home i will use it.
If you ever run out of the string in the kits. Blue nylon builder's rope strands with loads of contact glue will do the same job. This got me back from Italy years ago.

[Stu]

Reading this and watching the video I am contemplating getting rid of my stop and go kit and buying the string ones!

[Doctor T]

The only neg about these puncture kits is the bike tyre carcass has got tougher meaning it's harder to ream a hole in them nowadays. I would love to use slime again. Not only because i have 2 full bottles but because it's so simple to use and balances the wheels at the same time. If i didn't have TPM fitted i would use it ASAP.

[simbo]

I hit a rock in the pyrenees and had to use two strings to fill the hole (well, Michael did ) it lasted the duration of the tyre.

[Steve398]

The only neg about these puncture kits is the bike tyre carcass has got tougher meaning it's harder to ream a hole in them nowadays. I would love to use slime again. Not only because i have 2 full bottles but because it's so simple to use and balances the wheels at the same time. If i didn't have TPM fitted i would use it ASAP.

I’ve used Slime before and it did the job satisfactorily, and it had crossed my mind to use it again in an emergency but I’d completely forgotten about the TPMS… Now that would be a very pricey mistake!

Simbo - Excellent job . That’s exactly the result I was looking for!

[SimonD]

I've struggled with the strings in the past so bought a stop and go kit. I've repaired many car tyres with it with a 100% success rate. The repair has always lasted the remaining life of the tyre without losing any pressure. I got a puncture on my bike a couple of years ago but found that the tyre carcass was too soft for the mushroom to make an effective seal (Michelin PR4 I think). I now carry both with me.

Ryan's Kluftinger's video is interesting too - if you haven't seen the rest of his videos give them a go - they're excellent. I'll have a practise next time I have to change a tyre with the strings.

[Doctor T]

Thinking about slime again. The rotation of the wheel flings the slime to the outside of the tyre carcase and when at stop the liquid settles at the bottom of the tyre. So in theory there shouldn't be any contact with the TPM inside the wheel.