Tire Repair Kit

Can anyone recomend a good tire repair kit to take on long distance moto-camping trips??? I was thinking of doing some long rides up in maine, nh and vt and also was thinking it would be a good idea to have one. considering i have never had to emergency repair a motorcycle tire (i have changed a car tire or 4 in my time). any tips or tricks.. thanks all..:thumbup:

I can't recomend a tire kit (curious myself though) but let me know when/where you're riding, I've been wanting to check out New England myself! I plan on doing a long weekend in Maine sometime. I might want to check out Nova Scotia too, why not. That would be an extra long weekend.

I got this kit for mine right after I bought it just in case I ever get a flat or anyone I'm riding with gets a flat or heck even if a rider anywhere I see has a flat. It comes with everything you need to fix most minor tire damages. You can fit the majority of the kit in the bag that is included and slip it under your seat. Haven't had to use it yet, hope i never do.

Genuine Innovations Street Inflation Kit :: Tire :: Solo Moto Parts

LERecords said:

Can anyone recomend a good tire repair kit to take on long distance moto-camping trips??? I was thinking of doing some long rides up in maine, nh and vt and also was thinking it would be a good idea to have one. considering i have never had to emergency repair a motorcycle tire (i have changed a car tire or 4 in my time). any tips or tricks.. thanks all..:thumbup:

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You really shouldnt plug a M/C tire.if the plug comes out at hwy speed you will be in trouble!but any automotive plug kit and a portable 12v pump will let you limp it to a tire dealer to get it replaced.(I really cant stress enough that if you do have to plug your tire get it replaced promptly its no longer safe to ride on.)

Yeah but I'll plug the hell out of it if it gets me home.

Yamaha makes one that's great. It comes with everything you would ever need. Not too much money if I can remember correctly. I've had it for a couple of years and not had to use it thank God. You can get them at probably any Yamaha Dealer. If I need it I will use it. :thumbup:

mpb218 said:

I can't recomend a tire kit (curious myself though) but let me know when/where you're riding, I've been wanting to check out New England myself! I plan on doing a long weekend in Maine sometime. I might want to check out Nova Scotia too, why not. That would be an extra long weekend.

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Ill let you know. I am planning to basically outline around maine and then do the tops of NH and VT. (friday to sunday).. should be fun.. probably around the first or second week of june:thumbup:

shreveport1 said:

You really shouldnt plug a M/C tire.if the plug comes out at hwy speed you will be in trouble!but any automotive plug kit and a portable 12v pump will let you limp it to a tire dealer to get it replaced.(I really cant stress enough that if you do have to plug your tire get it replaced promptly its no longer safe to ride on.)

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oh i know not to over due it on a patched tire. but most of the kits tell you not to go faster then like 40 mph if you repair your tire yourself. I would probably do no more than 35 just cuz i can only imagine how bad a fall would hurt at speed :thumbup:

shreveport1 said:

You really shouldnt plug a M/C tire.if the plug comes out at hwy speed you will be in trouble!but any automotive plug kit and a portable 12v pump will let you limp it to a tire dealer to get it replaced.(I really cant stress enough that if you do have to plug your tire get it replaced promptly its no longer safe to ride on.)

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Just to balance the argument in this thread, as there are already many posts about plugging tires...

Generally if you are in the US it is frowned upon and if you are in Europe it's common place. I guess tires must be cheaper in the US.

The European opinion...
There is nothing wrong with plugging tires as long as it's a hole not a slash and it's at least 1 inch away from the side wall.

I've normally have to plug a few times a year (I commute to work on the bike) I would not have been able to replace the tires 3 times a year.

I've had a road-side repair pop out on me and nothing bad is going to happen, the tire does not disintegrate, it goes down at a slow rate, you feel it in the handling straight away and you have plenty of time to pull over to the side and sort it out.

I carry a kit very similar to this, it has everything you need for a quick safe repair at the road side. Then once I'm back home I'll take the bike to the shop where they will take the tire off the wheel and do a plug from the inside of the tire which is impossible to force out at high speed.

bluenova said:

Just to balance the argument in this thread, as there are already many posts about plugging tires...

Generally if you are in the US it is frowned upon and if you are in Europe it's common place. I guess tires must be cheaper in the US.

The European opinion...
There is nothing wrong with plugging tires as long as it's a hole not a slash and it's at least 1 inch away from the side wall.

I've normally have to plug a few times a year (I commute to work on the bike) I would not have been able to replace the tires 3 times a year.

I've had a road-side repair pop out on me and nothing bad is going to happen, the tire does not disintegrate, it goes down at a slow rate, you feel it in the handling straight away and you have plenty of time to pull over to the side and sort it out.

I carry a kit very similar to this, it has everything you need for a quick safe repair at the road side. Then once I'm back home I'll take the bike to the shop where they will take the tire off the wheel and do a plug from the inside of the tire which is impossible to force out at high speed.

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I agree whole heartedly. After I bought my bike I got a monster landscape spike about 2" from the side of the rear it was in the flat part of the tread and a pretty good hole/tear. Had that tire replaced. About 500 miles later I got a heavy duty wire staple in the new one. Just one hole and barely the size of a needle. The hole was in the tread sipe so I plugged it using plenty of cement to seal it up. 5,0000 miles later it is still fine, doesn't leak and I have not been easy on it in the slightest....burnouts, hard corners, triple digit speed you name it. That tire is now due to be replaced and when I do get new ones I am going to cycle gear and get both and the Road Hazard warrenty.

If you use common sense and know how to plug a tire correctly plugged tires can last just fine. With sidewall puntures, rips, tears I would rather replace it. But with small punctures a plug can and will hold just fine. I am a little skeptical about plugging one on the contact portion of the treat when it's dead center just because over time the plug can work itself loose but I have ridden many miles on them and never had a catastrophic failure of a plugged tire like so many swear will happen. When the plug comes out they just leak down just like when you get the puncture to begin with.
Oh yea and in answer to your question I carry a standard auto plug kit with couple of the small tubes of cement and a CO2 quick inflater. I have a buddy who does tires on semi's and I get my plugs from him which are the self vulcanizing kind. I highly reccomend them over the standard plugs and the come about 8" long so you can cut them in half and double your usage.

Good question. I follow the Long Distance rider listserv and this topic comes up a lot.

The consensus seems to be that the cheap repair kits sold for car tires work best (the string ones). There are lots of people who suggest the Stop n Go tire plugger as well (mushroom plugs), although apparently it doesn't work in quite as many situations as the strings (strings supposedly plug unusual-shaped tire wounds that a mushroom plug won't seal).

I recently practiced plugging an old car tire I had sitting around. Things I learned:

(1) It's hard to put a screw or nail into a tire! (for the purposes of practicing repairs of course)

(2) You should carry a pair of pliers with you to remove objects stuck in the tire. This is easily overlooked and it doesn't matter what plug kit you have if you can't get the nail/screw out first!

(3) Buy a plugger kit that uses a T-shaped handle to ream out the hole. It takes a LOT of force sometimes to do this and the ones with a screwdriver-type handle are harder to use for this purpose. Reaming out the hole seems to be the toughest part of the plugging process.

(4) When putting in a string plug, don't be afraid to push it in a lot before pulling out the insertion tool. If you don't do this the string seems much more likely to come out. YMMV.


As for inflators, I bought a portable one that has an SAE plug attached to it. It plugs into into the same plug that my battery tender uses to connect to the battery (I have a lead permanently connected to the battery).

any more recomendations for typs of kits??? looking to buy one today and kinda lost on which one...

As a long distance rider I can tell D-Mac has it right, VERY good advise! I carry both the Stop n go tire plugger ( good tool )and the string plugs from auto parts store with a small 12v air comp. with a plug on the end to fit my battery tender plug off the batt

LERecords said:

any more recomendations for typs of kits??? looking to buy one today and kinda lost on which one...

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I just bought the same tire kit as Latin25 the other day at Cycle Gear during their after hour sale. It was on sale for $49, and I got an additional 10% off ontop of the sale price. I've been meaning to keep one on hand just in case, no I have one.

This is just a kit to get me home or to get me to the next cycle shop if I'm out on the road away from any goods and services.

You might try the search tab, as I recalled another major thread regarding tire repair kits.

I got this setup for under $50 all together on amazon. Not tested it yet but they had good reviews on Amazon.

LERecords said:

Can anyone recomend a good tire repair kit to take on long distance moto-camping trips??? I was thinking of doing some long rides up in maine, nh and vt and also was thinking it would be a good idea to have one. considering i have never had to emergency repair a motorcycle tire (i have changed a car tire or 4 in my time). any tips or tricks.. thanks all..:thumbup:

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Add some ride-on to your tires and skip the kits

I've had this kit under my seat for over a year. Great thing about it, is it comes with a back up hand pump and is compact. $39 Cycle Gear - GENUINE INNOVATIONS: SecondWind MTB CO2 Tire Inflation and Repair Kit