Question Stop & Go Tubeless Puncture Pilot

[GLC]

I purchased a Stop & Go Tubeless Puncture Pilot kit (see photos), which uses the mushroom type plugs. I chose this kit because a) it comes with a small electrical air pump with built in pressure gauge for accurate reinflation of the tire after repair, and b) it doesn't require the perhaps messy application of glue as used with the strip type repair kits. Able to pump up to 50psi I thought it can also do double duty for my car tires too. I got this from Amazon and it promptly arrived, but on inspection I found that the nozzle, which does double duty, first on the tire probe tool and then on the plug insertion tool, would not screw on to the latter. I put this down to a one-off bad thread on the plug insertion tool, and rather than send the whole thing back, I called the number clearly posted on the packing and spoke to John in Illinois, asking whether he would send me another plug insertion tool rather than me return the whole thing to Amazon for a replacement. He agreed and a new insertion tool promptly arrived. Unfortunately this replacement has exactly the same thread issue, in that the nozzle will not screw on to it more than a quarter/half turn. Clearly something is amiss here. I will be back on the phone to John on Monday morning, but meantime the point of this post is to see whether any other forum members have had the same experience with this kit. The materials, made in Taiwan according to John, seem of good quality steel, not plastic, so it is a shame about this thread issue.

 

[670cc]

I have 2 Stop & Go kits and they have always worked as designed. Nonetheless I checked them today and the threads are all compatible and threadable as intended. I bought these kits at different times 5 to 20 years ago so that doesn’t prove anything about what is being sold today.

 

[dduelin]

I used a Stop N Go once but thereafter have used rope (gummy worm) plug kits maybe 10 times on the road. FWIW the rubber insert was used to plug a slit and the round cross section of the plug did not conform with the slit adequately and both ends of the slit leaked. Gummy worms appear as if they would better seal an irregular puncture. That may not be true but I go with it from experience. I once used 3 gummy worms to seal a large puncture made by a piece of bone. It leaked 1-2 PSI per minute but it got me slowly to the nearest motorcycle shop and a new tire. Rubber cement both seals the plug and serves as lubricant to insert the plug. When a tire sealed with a gummy goes through a few hot and cold cycles the inserted part has flattened out in diameter and is amalgamated to the inside of the tire similar to an inside tire patch. Finally, I take the pump out of the plastic case to reduce the size in order to fit it into a small unused space found on just about any bike. Combined with a t-handle rasp and insert tool almost any bike has room to hide the kit. An NC can carry it in the frunk of course and space is not as much of an issue.

 

[the Ferret]

I also use gummy worms. The ones I use don't need glue, but the glue makes them easier to install.

 

[670cc]

The Stop & Go kit has it's place. Using it, I quickly plugged a motorcycle tire of a fellow rider at the Hillbilly Hangout, and off we went continuing our ride. I plugged a minivan tire quickly without removing the wheel and drove on it 20 or 30 thousand more miles until the tire wore out. Depending on the puncture type, there is still a place for gummy worms for sure, and especialy internal plug/patches (also sold under the Stop & Go brand), but I always have a Stop & Go mushroom plug kit in the NC frunk and another in the Goldwing trunk.

 

[Alias]

I also have multiple Stop & Go kits that I've had for many, many years. The parts on mine are interchangeable.

 

[GLC]

Thanks for all the comments. The people at Stop & Go (namely John) were very helpful and after receiving 3 separate plugger tools it was finally determined that the nozzle was at fault. Bizarrely, the original nozzle would screw onto the insertion tool, but none of the three plugger tools that they sent me. A new nozzle was sent that would fit all the tools, so problem now solved. How the same nozzle could fit one tool but none of the other three, all of which supposedly have the same thread and made by the same manufacturer, is a mystery to me and one for John to solve.