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Ok so I was out cruising on my V-Star this weekend when I ran over a bolt (not a screw or nail, a bolt) and now I have a flat rear tire. It's a tube-type and the cheapest tire I can find for it is in the $100 range. My problem is the tire is an almost new Bridgestone that costs about $150 just for the tire. Can I simply replace the tube and put a good patch on the hole in the tire to keep debris out? Is it not worh the safety issue it could cause?

02custominfl wrote:Ok so I was out cruising on my V-Star this weekend when I ran over a bolt (not a screw or nail, a bolt) and now I have a flat rear tire. It's a tube-type and the cheapest tire I can find for it is in the $100 range. My problem is the tire is an almost new Bridgestone that costs about $150 just for the tire. Can I simply replace the tube and put a good patch on the hole in the tire to keep debris out? Is it not worh the safety issue it could cause?

It would be a safety issue IMO. I doubt you'd even find a shop that would remount a tire that had a bolt rammed through it.

It's one thing for a small nail or something of the sort.. but a bolt is a different matter. A ragged hole punched through the rubber will be much more likely to continue tearing than a hole punctured by a sharp object.

JMO of course.

Torn belts is not a good thing at high speeds. That's what you would call a, "Catastrophic" tire failure...

That's kind of what I was thinking. I know a little about centrifugal force and I was thinking if there were belts or cords broken that a rapidly spinning tire could eventually cause it to just come apart, which probably won't happen while sitting at a red light. Thanks for the advice, guess I better look through my phone book.

I had a penny nail puncture my rear tire at 5600 miles. It went 2000 miles on a plug/patch without any issues. If it was me I'd replace the tube and patch/plug the tire.

Ninja Geoff wrote:I had a penny nail puncture my rear tire at 5600 miles. It went 2000 miles on a plug/patch without any issues. If it was me I'd replace the tube and patch/plug the tire.

A penny nail and a bolt cut a whole different amount of material as they puncture a tire. I would ask a pro before thinking about running on that tire...

I called a guy last night that a buddy of mine recommended for tires. He wants so see my tire today, I told him what happened and even said bolt, not nail or screw, and he says odds are if it just made a hole and not a rip or tear, he can replace the tube and patch the hole and be fine. I asked if he was sure and he said yeah, it happens all the time, especially when the tires have plenty of tread left. So I'll update this afternoon after I go see him.

do you really want to trust your life to that compromised set up. Its an accident waiting to happen. Its not like a car where you have 4 wheels and metal sides. I've been on a few rolling flat tire situations and there frightening, especially with the rapidly shaking uncontrolible vibrating handle bars.

So...what did you do about the tire?

Just an update... I was looking for inexpensive tires such as Kenda and the like, when I went on Ebay and found a slightly worn Dunlop K555 for $20 plus shipping. I asked my local shop about it, they said even a half used K555 is better than a new Kenda, so I bid and won. I've had it on for about a month now and have put several hundred miles on it. Of course I had a new tube put in, but the shop here says it's a good tire at a good price.