Emergency Tire Repair Kit - ThumbUp Brand

[kboehringer]

XS11 Friends,
Recently, I ran over a nail (or something) and punctured my front tire. I was actually tanking a quick fresh air break from work during my lunch break and was in a rather remote area.
Luckily, a very helpful member of JeffH's Air Force Team () stopped to provide assistance. Very very thankfully this trustworthy individual went to a local store (~10 miles away) grabbed me a plug kit and a can of fix a flat. He refused to allow me to buy him and his wife lunch or take even a cent for his trouble or assistance.

I'd not like to be in that situation ever again. Hopefully, I never will be! But just in case, I purchased several of these:



Complete with plugs, the necessary tools to install them, glue, and CO2 cartridges to inflate the tire. This kit is rather small and fits nicely in several of my bikes' little compartments including the small roll bags I have on the forks of all my XS11's, the under compartment of my FJ, Under seat storage on the SECA, etc.

This kit costs about $25 on Evil-Bay.

I've purchased several, hopefully, I never need one but if I (or a fellow biker) needs one I'm prepared to be able to get home or return the favor the USAF Vet provided to me. Makes me feel better knowing I have one of these.

Sincerely,

[motoman]

Actually Kurt, if you'll purchase a bottle of Motion-Pro Ride-On and put 4oz. in front tire and 4oz. in rear tire via valve stem with stem removed then add necessary air pressure, neither tire will NEVER go flat for life of tire! Myself, have had only one occasion to test. This product not only IMMEDIATELY stops loss of air, but also balances tire immediately. Have watched it tested at a local bike dealership, when a long 2"x10" (approx. 16ft.) was hammered full of nails its whole length. A motorcycle was ridden across the full length of board after which tire air pressure was checked on both front and rear tire. 2lbs. of air loss was documented when checked while I was watching. Also, while riding at highway speeds, tire temperature is reduced. I highly suggest looking into this product at one of your local motorcycle dealers, as majority of motorcycle dealers use this product when installing new tires INSTEAD of old-school balancing using weights. I believe Soccer4me and several others on the site here use this product after I had mentioned it here many years ago. BTW, you can also see it demonstrated and explained on the Motion-Pro Ride-On web site.

[Bonz]

https://www.ride-on.com/

I did a search and here's the link for Ride-On. It's not a Motion-Pro product (unless it was previously to this but looks like an independent company) so you won't find it if you include that in the search.

Up front, this sounds like a great preventative safety measure and I see no reason not to use it for that reason.

With that said, the Ride On website for car tires states clearly to begin with dynamically balancing any tire first, using their product as a supplement. It doesn't say that specifically for motorcycle tires however the motorcycle part of their site is much more brief in its description. With that said I could not see the recommendation being different for motorcycle tires.

Had a new tire put on my ZRX this week. It was dynamically balanced and I was never asked permission to put this stuff in my tire. If the majority of dealers use it, I would assume most dealers in my area would use it as well. They don't, otherwise no one would have a dynamic balancing machine anymore which would open shop space for another mechanic to do more work. As well liquid sealants inside tires create work for the mechanic to clean the rim so the new tire will seal properly, and the ones at motorcycle shops and tire dealerships have said as much. I don't see them recommending something at a dealer that creates more work for them on the back end. Not that a dealer wouldn't put it in if you requested but it is not a general practice.

Ride on does say it keeps heat down in the context of the maintaining correct pressure. Consistently aired tires are going to run the proper temperature and extend tread life so I do see some benefit there as this may prevent the normal slow air loss that occurs over time. And we all sometimes get sloppy with checking pressures before every ride.

When air is added or removed to adjust cold pressure, this will come out the valve stem just like it will fill a hole if there's a puncture.

If you've ever used Fix-A-Flat and added or removed air at some point before the tire is changed out you know what I mean. It's a sticky gunk. If this product seals holes that quickly, it will certainly come out the valve when it is opened to check pressure and add air or remove air. That would be a trade-off if you adjust tire pressures as needed to keep them where they should be on cooler days versus warmer days, IMO.

A liquid or gel inside of a tire is going to rise to the same temperature of the tire itself when on the road, it would have no cooling effect based on that principle. Other than to prevent slow air loss over time which if not noticed would cause tire temperature to rise if the tire was under inflated.

I have a "Stop and Go" repair kit that has a small compressor which I prefer over CO2 type inflation. A simple hook up with alligator clips to the battery will give reliable inflation. I have a cigarette lighter wired to my battery so Iuse that attachment to plug in and use the compressor. Should be easy to wire into an XS as well. I had a tire pick up a nail on Interstate 80 in the middle of nowhere west of Rawlins, Wyoming. On a 100-degree July day a cord plug and this air compressor did the job.

https://www.stopngo.com/motorcycles/

[kboehringer]

How would I know my tire was damaged?

Motoman & Bonz,

I'd heard of this stuff but never used it. After Motoman's post I went looking for information. In all honesty, I was looking for problems. I was unable to find any information indicating drawbacks.

HOWEVER, if this stuff is as good as advertised... How would I know my tire has been damaged and then healed with this stuff?

Personally, once my tire is punctured, the bike is headed for a parking spot in the garage until the new tire is on. Obviously, last week when I was stuck on the top of Pine Mountain the auto-healing feature would have been really nice. Also, a flat tire can be a very dangerous event. Fortunately, I wasn't moving very fast when I realized something just wasn't right pulled over and found the front flat.

I mount, balance, and install all of my own tires for all my bikes (70cc to 1300cc). I have a static balance stand and now have enough experience to change a tire is very minimal time. Having had SEVERE problems with the local dealers (TT tires on a tubeless rim (without a tube), tires mounted backwards, tires not balanced properly, etc.). I have to do them myself to assure it is done CORRECTLY!!~

I may give this stuff a try.... But, when I removed that tire that was full of "Fix-A-Flat" it was absolutely the biggest freaky mess I have ever been a part of. That crap went everywhere!!! IF this stuff is anything like that.....

[Bonz]

Hi Kurt, you named the drawbacks, the freaking mess it makes, and you won't know if your tire has been compromised. As well, they recommend dynamically balancing the tires first on their car website which I cannot imagine would not be recommended for motorcycles as well. To my mind given the option, it does not replace dynamic balancing.

Also it was claimed in a post to lower tire temperatures which is not accurate. The tires will get the same temperature when properly inflated whether this stuff is in them or not. And the majority of dealers do not use it to balance tires these days.

It has advantages that have been shown to tires hopefully won't go flat when your ride over something- Slime has been doing it for years- and for a home do-it-yourself guy who doesn't have a balancer it would be helpful as well. With that said, Slime would behave the same way and go to the areas that need the balancing most. 4 oz of just about anything inside your tire that can move around would accomplish it.

This is just another way to skin the same cat where it gets marketed as more than just the safety benefit in order to get people to buy it, IMO.

[motoman]

Bonz, Ride-On has no relation to Fix-a-Flat, chemically or otherwise. It will not come back out of valve stem when airing tire. When a tire is removed from rim, just wipe out inside of tire with a clean rag to remove Ride-On....easy-peasy...BTDT. After mounting tire on rim, leaving valve stem out, out of the squeeze bottle that has the nipple on end, just squeeze half the bottle(4oz.) through valve stem, installl valve core and inflate tire to reccomended pressure shown on sidewall of tire.

[Bonz]

Sounds like some good stuff! Maybe I'll give it a try. But to say the majority of dealers use it is not accurate and it does not lower tire temperature. Tire temperature is what it is when they're properly inflated regardless of what's inside...

[motoman]

Interesting......all bike dealerships from Durango to G. Junction have used Ride-On for some ten years now. Maybe some on the east side of the 'hill' near your location will see its shop-time savings and give it a go. Yes, it does lower tire temps a few degrees as I have checked using my infa-red temp sensor.

[Bonz]

Sounds good Brant, you got this covered! These guys and this product are able to reverse the rules of science by lowering the temperature of a tire without the presence of any way to actually get rid of the heat that gets transferred to the inside of the tire that is using their product.

[3Phase]

Bonz: It does have water in it but I have no idea how it behaves in a spinning tire.

If it does really lower the tire temperature, perhaps the stuff isn't held in a static location inside the tire while the wheel spins but 'circulates' and as a side effect it also moves some heat from the tread and sidewall, then transfers it to the rim.

I. Have. No. Idea.

If it just glops down off the upper part of the tire to the rim, then oozes down to the lower part of the tire at stops it wouldn't do much at all to shed heat.

Aside from temporarily sealing a leak so you can get off the road and replace the tire, sealant also prevents tire plug adhesive from gluing tire plugs in holes so you can get off the road and replace the tire.
(Gallic shrug)

[Bonz]

I'm not sure on that Scott. If it is spinnging at road speed there's none of it touching the rim it's all slung out the tread carcass, IMO. Basic physics.

I really believe this is a good safety product. However reducing tire temperature in a properly inflated tire still doesn't compute at all. It's very specific in that it reduces tire temperature because it keeps tires from losing air, which would be at a de-facto representation the tire was set to the proper pressure. So yes, temperatures won't rise to the level of an under-inflated tire. Is that really reducing temperatures when the tire they are comparing to has to be under-inflated to begin with for this to be accurate?

I keep repeating this but I'm not budging that their website for cars says dynamic balancing needs to be done first before installing this product. I cannot agree a motorcycle tire would have a recommendation different from any other vehicle tire. If that is the case, every motorcycle shop in the majority of shops that apparently now use this, should not have a dynamic balancer on the.garage shop floor.

Have any guys experienced the majority of motorcycle shops in their area using this product like Brant has out his way instead of a dynamic balancer?

[kboehringer]

Up selling

Have any guys experienced the majority of motorcycle shops in their area using this product like Brant has out his way instead of a dynamic balancer?

Bonz,
I have little real experience with local shops as the few experiences I've had were ALL BAD. However, before I started doing my own, I had two done locally at two different shops. Neither of them used this product on those ocassions.

Looking at it from the dealer/shop perspective, It's kinda like an "UP SELL" for them. Like going to AutoZone for a battery and they just naturally add those stupid foam rings (+$3) and contact lube (+$3). Every time I have to tell them NO I don't want or need that crap take it off the sale. I have a friend that's a Manager at AutoZone, the employees are REQUIRED to encourage various UP SELLS. The Manager's performance is rated on how much of these up sell products are purchased at POS (injector cleaner, etc.).

If I'm a motorcycle shop and I can UP SELL you $10? for RIDE ON (or a similar product) as an adder.... How many people actually question it? It may be the greatest liquid on the planet, but it's in most of those tires (in my opinion) as a $$$$ adder for the shop/dealer.

Sincerely,

[Bonz]

I agree I don't know any shops here that use this product, or in 15 years of having dealers do my tires as a way to stay in front of them and keep my face familiar, have they ever tried to upsell me.

Here's the quote that has me hung up on this.

'I highly suggest looking into this product at one of your local motorcycle dealers, as majority of motorcycle dealers use this product when installing new tires INSTEAD of old-school balancing using weights."

[3Phase]

The ThumbsUp kit looks pretty good to me, it's less expensive and doesn't need special plugs like the Stop n Go plugger.

I always carry a Slime 12V compressor but CO2 cartridges like the ones in the Thumb kit are faster and need less space.
I have mounted a tire on the rim using my Slime compressor but I haven't tried it with cartridges because I'm chea... frugal.

I don't fully grok the heat reduction with a liquid sealant/balancer but I do carry a Stop n Go tire plug kit that I'm not 100% happy with.
The biggest advantage for the Stop n Go plugs is they don't need glue so you don't have to replace it every X number of years when the glue dries out.

What? You didn't check the glue in your tire kit before you left the house? Tsk, tsk, tsk. The kit won't work if the glue dries out. DAMHIKIJK.


I mount my own tires unless I'm out on the road so I do static balancing when I mount the tire but I stopped worrying about dynamic balance.
The center tread on my tires has never lasted long enough and I cannot ride fast enough to get my knickers in a twist about dynamic balance or tire longevity.
It'd be a different story if I had something like a ZRX or another zip-splat bike instead of my old Yamahas and my Harley.

I did not like the mess when I tried RideOn, maybe shops have an easy way to clean up.

For heat... the wheels are not just spinning, they are also getting whacked by the road, bouncing up and down and leaning to one side or another all at the same time so nothing liquid inside the tire would stay slung out to the tread.

I suppose that if it was just water and not the consistency of a sealant then it would probably make a semi-liquid-steamy mist, sort of like how oil in a crankcase gets mystified.

Edit RideOn uses ethylene glycol, not water. Oops.

[Bonz]

I posted the link for the stop-and-go kit however I bought the stop and go compressor and use the rope plugs.