Nail in tire. Honda dealership.shop says sorry due to liability have to replace tire

[C.S.Drums10]

Ok am I getting played by the dealership/shop? The other day I was riding home from a lovely long tour and heard a loud bang crack. Looked at tires and saw nothing but it sounded like I had either run over a rock or something. Well today found a nail right on the side between the tread and starting on the sidewall. Given its location I wanted to have them look at it since it was so close to sidewall. On the phone they told me sorry they will not plug a tire I can only have it replaced due to liability with street tires versus ATV tires. I brought it up to them and he said it will take a week because of the off size of the tire so I am down a bike for a week and the cost of a new rear tire. Thoughts? Am I being played or is this normal?

 

[JDE]

Totally normal. If you do a search on the forum you'll find this has been discussed quite a bit before.

 

[drdubb]

Plugging a tire is a temporary solution. If on the sidewall, don't plug.

 

[wildeone]

you don't go with flat tyre to dealership...
I plugged mine at local shop 2k km ago and no problems.

 

[itlives]

I'm different. I'd plug and ride it carefully until you get the other tire. I did it.
To be honest though, in the side wall is a bad spot. Ultimately, your call.

 

[LM15]

I had the same type of event a week or so ago. I ran over a 2.75" screw/nail that entered on the top of the rear tire, but at an angle. I managed to set it plugged with 3 DynaPlugs, but it only held air to get me the 4 miles home.

I ordered another PR4, had it within 3 days and proceeded to pull the rear wheel off with advice from OCR and Fuzzy and anyone else who would take my calls. I printed out the excellent step by instructs from OCR's thread and copied a couple of pages of the manual. It took a couple of hours with the bike on the centerstand and tied down per OCR instructions. Took the wheel and the new tire the Honda dealer and they took the old one off and mounted and balanced the new one. Cost me $27.00.

Getting it back on was much faster. I learned a lot about taking off the rear wheel and believe the next time I do it I will have a faster time.

Car tires can be better plugged than moto tires, I did have the expense of a new PR4, but better piece of mind.

 

[670cc]

It's normal that a dealer will not plug a motorcycle tire. It is not normal to have to wait a week for an "off size tire". These tires are common and you can have one shipped to your door easily within three days.

 

[johnakay]

post a picture up of the damage ,then we might be able to advise whether to plug or not.
some guys over here put that gloop stuff in the tyres and ridden their bike for a week or two not knowing they had a nail in the tyre.
only when they notice a slow puncture.

 

[tew47]

Call around to different car tire dealers and see if they will put a boot on the inside of the tire. We have one hear that will boot it for 35 dollars if you bring them the tire. Rode for years with either a plug or a boot in tires with never a problem.

 

[anglachel]

"liability issues" are rarely about liability.

As a knee jerk reaction to "I can't let you legally drive out of here." or "We can't do it because there is a liability issue." I offer to sign a waiver. It isn't like I was going to be able to hold them accountable for anything that happened anyhow.

If it's in the tread is can be patched.
If it's in the sidewall, or between the tread and the side wall, a patch isn't going to work so well.

Patches are temporary solutions... but temporary might mean something different between individuals, for some it means until you can get home, for others it means no more than a few thousand miles... technically a tire is a temporary solution, dozen K miles down the road you'll just need another one.

 

[C.S.Drums10]

If it's in the tread is can be patched.
If it's in the sidewall, or between the tread and the side wall, a patch isn't going to work so well.


Thanks for all your comments. I live out in the boondocks where the dealership and motorcycle repair shop are pretty much the same thing. The car tire places won't touch the tire. Pretty much everyone confirmed that location was in a really bad spot so I am off my bike and will nag the stink out of them to get new tire on as I am going into withdrawals as I type.

 

[L.B.S.]

Sorry to hear of your predicament man

Is something like this a more than likely common occurance as far as tire availability? I would have thought our tire sizes were amongst the more popular of choices, but who knows in some places.

Is there any way you can order a tire online and have it sent to you quicker? It would be a darn sight cheaper too, I would imagine. That might be a worthwhile thing to do anyway, while you are waiting for the shop to do it, so at least you have a back up plan in case they order the wrong tire, or something bizarre.

Plus then, you'd at least have a new tire ready to go when the time comes to need it again. If it takes your dealer that long to order a tire, and they don't even have a single one in stock...well I would try to avoid being at their mercy for some of the more common, simpler things, if at all possible.

Things to think about anyway.