Tire patching on sidewall

[Eric Robinson]

I do not have much experience with quads yet and I have a question. My wifes 250 Ex has brand new tires and this weekend she got a flat on a rear tire. There is a small puncture on the sidewall and we tried to put a plug in it and it leaks very slowly. I was wondering if I could take it to a shop and have them patch it from the inside. Does that hold up with all the flexing the sidewall does? Maybe the patch with the slime will hold? I don't know and am up for suggestions, I just do not have 70 bucks for another tire right now. Thanks in advance, i learn alot form you guys.

[JOEX]

Maybe a tube, I don't know if there is one available though.

Are they stock tires? Used ones are easy to find also and fairly cheap either on this site or Ebay.

Joe

[L.Vegas400]

to do a plug right you need, a rasp, inserter, plug and rubber tire cement. if you have those and is still doesnt work, put in 2 plugs. i had 11 plugs in a gash in my rear sidewall, worked fine for several months. it finally ripped through my bead and i decided i needed a new tire.

[LazeR]

I had a slice in my rear tire on my sidewall, wasnt leaking air, but i know it was close....took it to les schwab and they patched the sidewall with this weird lookin patch on the outside and its held up great so far that was about 6 months ago and i do alot of riding

[tprender]

If the hole is less than the size of a pencil it can be plugged with no problem. Go to the store and get the plugs that look like a piece of twisted rope. This the good kind. If you take it to a tire store and have them plug it they will do the same thing. There are a few, very few that still know how to patch a tire the old way by putting in a boot(patch) inside the tire. They are going to be happy if you have used slime or fix a flat . There are tubes made for that tire. Any M/C or ATV place can order them if they don't have them in stock. On the 250ex the tube will not be any problem. And it is cheaper than a new tire.

[Eric Robinson]

They are not the stock tires, they are the Holeshot tires if that makes a difference. If I was to use a tube, do you take out the existing valve stem in order to push the inner tube valve stem through the hole?
Thank you all for your replies

[blp0605]

The Holeshots may have a stiff enough sidewall to plug. The stock tires are way to soft for plugs.

[wilkin250r]

The tire pressure isn't very high, you can patch the sidewall from the inside. Since the sidewall DOES flex so much, I would recommend getting the thin patches made for bicycle tires, rather than the heavy-duty patches for auto tires. You want something that will flex with the wall. The WORST that could happen is that the patch will eventually peal due to the flexing, and you have to patch it again in a few months.

[muff]

tube will be the easiest fix i think, the other ways just seem to sketchy, i'm not really fond of plugs :(

[F-16Guy]

You'll have to patch and tube if the hole is any bigger than a pencil, otherwise, the tube will start protruding through the hole.

[ewalker302]

Trust me man----especially for a small sidewall puncture.

You need to go with the plug, not a patch or tube.

The kit costs maybe 7 bucks.

For a tube or patch you gotta have the tire taken off the rim.

The plugs are made to hold permanently at 30psi on a car tire puncture.

For an ATV tire with 4-10psi its a piece of cake.

You can get a kit anywhere with two tools, One looks like a thick rough chainsaw file & the other has a sorta hook on it, both have like screwdriver handles.

The better kits has a little tube of glue stuff in it.

Really, just follow the instructions & the plug will still be there after the tread is gone.

Don't worry about the plug sticking out, after it cures you just snip it off with about 1/8 sticking out.

On a long ride or weekend, I usually carry one of these sets & a little mountain bike pump just in case of an emergency.

I had maybe 10-15 plugs like this in my stock 86 250sx front tire & it went bald before it leaked.

:bandit:

[muff]

to patch or tube you only need to break the bead on one side :rolleyes:

[Fat Possum]

Slime makes some "Level 5" type brown goopy sticky plugs with glue, rasp and tool for like 8 bucks. I have 12 plugs in my right front sidewall and 7 in my left front sidewall. I accumulate a few more every ride, and as long as you clean around the hole, rasp it out and glue the punk stew out of it; its as good as new. (Sometimes takes 2 or three plugs per hole.....trick is to hold the first plug with wire cutters when you push in the following plugs.) I always cut off the excess leaving only a quarter to half an inch sticking out to lessen the chance of a root "unplugging" me.
I've been tempted to swap out for some brand new Ohtsu and Dunlops I have laying around, but honestly figure that the 6 ply razrs with plugs will hold up better in the woods than the 2 ply stockers. The only times I get to ride are MSWS harescrambles, WestPoint, and the like but have no concerns once I've put my plugs in right. I also run about 1/4 the amount of slime for mountain bikes (liquid) that the manufacturer recommends. This helps with the tiny thorn and locust tree holes, but isn't enough to imbalance the front tires at warp speed. The trick with liquid slime is to make sure you get all the lil fiberglass slivers out of your valve stem before you reinsert the little plunger thingy, or you'll have slow leaks forever.
No experience with patches, but I assume that it's MUCH easier to plug, since you don't have to break beads and all.

[hondarider2006]

I have a pretty big gash in my front right side wall, and it has like 8-9 plugs in it, and it has been holding air for about...5 months now, and still doing good. I would plug it before taking it off to patch.

[PhilMoore]

I got a sidewall puncture on my 400EX when it was brand new. It tried a plug and slime, but the only way I could fix it permanently was to take the tire off the rim, clean it up and patch it from the inside. It held up fine until I got some new tires.

[DamageInc]

Originally posted by muff
to patch or tube you only need to break the bead on one side :rolleyes:

That's only true for the tube, you have to pull the tire off the rim to patch it properly.