Warning to Motorcyclists - RAC/AA Tyre Repairs.

Keith

This is a common problem for motorcyclists, the dreaded puncture. It can leave you stranded at work, at the side of the road or outside of your home.

I've twice now suffered this, last summer the RAC placed a temporary plug inside the tyre so that I could get home and have the tyre permanently repaired the following day. The following day their work had left the tyre beyond repair.

Last week, I suffered another on the motorway, the RAC man kindly towed me to the nearest service station and offered to fit a temporary plug to the tyre, as the traffic would take us two hours on the tow truck. Guess what, his work has again damaged the tyre beyond repair.

Now this may not sound too bad, but a tyre for a motorbike can cost £150, a repair at a tyre shop is £35. Yet the RAC has now cost me £300.

I'm tempted to get the dealership to write a note on their receipt that poor fitting of their temporary plug has rendered the tyre useless and seek a refund. :mad:

So motorcyclists, if you suffer a puncture insist on being towed to a garage do not allow them to fit there temporary repair as they are normally so badly fitted they damage the tyre.

dieselglider

As a matter of interest, and I'm not sure if it affects you, but are you aware of the following;

"CAN MOTORCYCLE TYRES BE REPAIRED?"

"Motorcycle tyres have to be repaired within the limits of British Standard BS159F. Unfortunately, this does not allow repairs on tyres with a Z speed rating or above. Most of todays sportsbikes of 600cc upwards are all fitted with Z or W rated tyres, therefore, these cannot be repaired within the British Standards. A temporary repair can be carried out to get you home or to a local garage, but the tyre would have to be replaced, the use of sealants is not recommended by tyre manufacturers and their use voids any warranty on the tyre."

Markyt

dieselglider wrote: »

, the use of sealants is not recommended by tyre manufacturers

... as it eats into their profits.

i've done 2,000 miles on a sealed tyre before now - the tread wore out before the seal did.

Bob63

I would never trust anyone else to plug my bike tyre at the roadside. I have had a couple of punctures recently and both times I fixed them with a superb piece of kit I carry on the bike called the Stop N Go Pocket Tyre Plugger. There are two versions I would recommend, one with CO2 cylinders to reflate your tyre and one without - just in case you carry a pump anyway, which I do. Either way, it takes less than 5 minutes to plug a tyre using this piece of kit. I've had the plugs in my rear tyre for 1500 miles without a problem.

Pocket tyre plugger with CO2 £29.95 - http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=SGTRK
Without CO2 £19.99 - http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=561467

If you have a very fast bike then you might want to think about whether you want to ride around with a plug. You might also want to think about a plug if you have a sidewall puncture. Bottom line is plugs really should be thought of as temporary on a bike (i.e. get you home or to the nearest tyre repair shop) and therefore you should consider buying a new tyre whenever you get a puncture. So I think it's a bit hard on the RAC to say they ruined your tyre.

Mike

Keith

I'm going to do the unthinkable and post the resolution to my problem

I took the bike to another two dealers who agreed with the first that the "temporary" repair had damaged the tyre beyond repair. They all blame it on the size of the needle used.

The hole was just off centre so was easily repaired from behind if the RAC had not touched it.

I ended up opting to have the tyre replaced, at a cost of £110, I'm going to send a copy of the invoice to the RAC and see if they offer a contribution but I'm not hopeful that they will.

Cheesy.Mike - No Point going to "the nearest tyre repair shop" if the RAC or AA have touched it!

I did save £40 by phoning various tyre fitters though!

Bob63

Why are you warning people about the AA when it was RAC who killed your tyre? Seems a little unfair to me.

iceicebaby

Yeah should not mention AA if they werent involved, they may have different procedures of dealing with this to the RAC

fido-dido

Hi Keith, did you get anywhere with this. same happened to me saturday.

i have since found out most tyre places will use a 3mm tool to make the hole, when i watched the RAC man do mine it looked more like 6mm tool.

I plan to get the issue in writing from my local tyre shop and then see what RAC will do.