best tire plugging kit & portable compressor

[SIR REAL ED]

For those of you who carry a tire plugging kit, what is your favorite?

For those of you who carry a portable compressor, what is it?

Enquiring minds want to know!!

[kingoffleece]

Ask farmers, snow plow drivers, and rural delivery drivers.  None better.

https://www.nealeytirerepairkit.com/

[Clifton]

Nealey string plugs now after having a bad experience using Plug n Go.
I replaced my old Cycle Pump with a Fanatic X9 Pro Inflator. It's smaller and faster and is powered by its own rechargeable lithium battery. It has a light and you set your desired pressure.



 

[wirespokes]

I, too, had a failure with plug and go mushroom system. The plug was slippery and popped into the tire upon inflation.  Or, attempted inflation. Then I found the Nealey and have gone with that. Cheap, easy and flat out just works.

Clifton -  will the Fanttik X9 pump up a totally deflated rear bike tire?

[Clifton]

Clifton -  will the Fanttik X9 pump up a totally deflated rear bike tire?

Oh yes it'll fill a car tire.

[Bulldog9]

For those of you who carry a tire plugging kit, what is your favorite?

For those of you who carry a portable compressor, what is it?

Enquiring minds want to know!!

Stop and Go.... Best plug kit I ever used. It's a rubber mushroom plug that once inserted mushrooms inside the puncture of the tire. Most of the problems people have with them is improper installation.

I one have one in every one of my vehicles. I initially bought the motorcycle kit that has the compressor and plugs with tool, but for all the others I just have the small pouch with the tool kit and now that I have a couple of those battery powered compressors keep them on hand.

[Clifton]

Stop and Go.... Best plug kit I ever used. It's a rubber mushroom plug that once inserted mushrooms inside the puncture of the tire. Most of the problems people have with them is improper installation.

I one have one in every one of my vehicles. I initially bought the motorcycle kit that has the compressor and plugs with tool, but for all the others I just have the small pouch with the tool kit and now that I have a couple of those battery powered compressors keep them on hand.

Many (including me) disagree with you on the soft mushroom plugs. First they caution they can't be used on tires with steel belts so I checked and Anakee Adventure doesn't have steel belts they have aramid so I proceeded to use my Stop n Go (I mistakenly referred to it as Plug n Go) to plug the puncture on my GS rear. I did it exactly as instructed, rasping the hole thoroughly, inserting the plug completely, pulling the stem out 2" to seat the mushroom inside, release and cut flush. Easy peasy and the tire held air.

The next day I check before taking a short ride and it's still at 40psi so off I went, returned and put it away. Next morning the tire was flat, something failed during the short ride. Looking at it the plug stem was gone from the hole so the mushroom cap must have separated and be inside the tire. I did an internet search and found many people had the same result, had stopped using them and went back to sticky string (in particular Nealey) so I went back to them as well. TBH I don't know why I tried Stop n Go because I never had a problem with the string plugs?

[Perazzimx14]

Nealey tire strings are the tits. No glue, self vulcanizing and super easy to use. Thread the tire string into the tool. Insert string into puncture. Give tool  1-1/2 turns and pull out. Cut of excess strings off inflate and ride.

Tire inflators there are 100's to choose from corded or battery. My go to is a Dyna Pump micro inflator

1. Compact design about 1/4 the size of most small battery tire inflators.
2. Corded to run off the bikes power supply. As long as I have fuel in the I can run the pump.
3. Long duty cycle. Most small tire inflators have a short duty cycle to keep from overheating and burning up something like 5 minutes of run 15 minutes of cool then repeat.  With short duty cycles it could take you an hour to fill up a rear tire. The Dyna micro inflator has a 30 minute duty cycle or in layman's terms it will run for longer than it takes to inflate a tire.

The newcomers to the tire plugging game are the screw in plugs. I read good and bad about them but nothing about them or any other type plug has me wanting me get away from the Nealey's.

YT video of the Dyna micro inflator:

https://www.google.com/imgres?q=Dyna%20micro%20inflator&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FoYbGML5Ko_M%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoYbGML5Ko_M&docid=HDHyn4fVnvr2gM&tbnid=m6xJIQcZHjzKqM&vet=12ahUKEwjP-qGSiKaXAxWON1kFHZT6BKcQnPAOegUIvQMQAA..i&w=1280&h=720&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwjP-qGSiKaXAxWON1kFHZT6BKcQnPAOegUIvQMQAA

[Dirk_S]

Holy long URL, Batman.

Just an FYI, the (or some) Dynaplug inflator(s) are the same as MotoPumps AirShot inflator. They’re quite compact. I’ve had one for a couple years, and it’s what I’ll be taking with me on any future international travels; I learned the fun way why rechargeable battery inflators shouldn’t be relied on—if you can’t do a tire/tube repair because you don’t have an axle wrench, because the bike rental company doesn’t want to lend you tools, even though you’re riding a dual-sport/ADV bike and traveling around in a country known for large rural areas with long distances between towns and gas stations, and you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere, well…you realize that a 12v powered inflator is more useful than a battery-powered one to get you to the nearest town. Save the lithium battery power for your jump starter / battery bank combo.

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

I too carry an inflator that runs off the bike's battery via SAE connection, a DynaPlug Micro Inflator, unless I'm riding one of the 6V bikes, in which case it's an Airmoto pump and a replacement tube in the kit. The MotoPumps comes with a better tire chuck than the DynaPlug, which you need to plan on overinflating quite a bit since it screws off. On my V7 it may only lose half a PSI screwing it off quickly and carefully, but on my mini motos with smaller and lower volume tires, it'll lose a few PSI, on tubes with a relief cut in the valve stem thread - as much as 5 psi. For those I overinflate, then check with a digital tire pressure gauge (Topeak SmartGauge has been my go-to) and bleed out the extra air.

The small DynaPlug plugs are very small and I prefer the cheap and bigger rope plugs found in any gas station kit (often Slime or Stop n Go) as a temporary repair. For a permanent tubeless repair, unmount the tire and install an inside-out patch/plug combo. Some tire manufacturers consider that a permanent repair so long as it's not in the sidewall, others don't. Rope plugs and mushroom plugs are generally not considered permanent by the tire manufacturers. Either way, by the time it gets to unmounting a tire for the permanent repair, IMO may as well just replace it. Tire failures aren't worth the risk to me. Lost a friend, Charlie "Schultz" St. Clair, organizer of Laconia Bike Week, earlier this year to catastrophic tire failure. Losing a tire at highway speed can kill riders more skilled than any of us hope to be... do what you can to reduce that risk (including protective gear!)

Photo series of one of my buddies installing a gas station rope plug to patch a screw hole in another friend's tire this year at Sturgis. The repair made it the 1,000 miles back home to Chicago for him and then he got a new tire.

[Bulldog9]

Many (including me) disagree with you on the soft mushroom plugs. First they caution they can't be used on tires with steel belts so I checked and Anakee Adventure doesn't have steel belts they have aramid so I proceeded to use my Stop n Go (I mistakenly referred to it as Plug n Go) to plug the puncture on my GS rear. I did it exactly as instructed, rasping the hole thoroughly, inserting the plug completely, pulling the stem out 2" to seat the mushroom inside, release and cut flush. Easy peasy and the tire held air.

The next day I check before taking a short ride and it's still at 40psi so off I went, returned and put it away. Next morning the tire was flat, something failed during the short ride. Looking at it the plug stem was gone from the hole so the mushroom cap must have separated and be inside the tire. I did an internet search and found many people had the same result, had stopped using them and went back to sticky string (in particular Nealey) so I went back to them as well. TBH I don't know why I tried Stop n Go because I never had a problem with the string plugs?

That's good feedback. I've only needed it 4X over the last 4-5 years. One on my motorcycle (rear tire on 1200 Sport - Pilot Sport Tires) one on my Mustang (High Performance Summer Tires) my SIL's Pickup, and one on a friends motorcycle. All held for the normal life of the tire. YMMV? Good feedback though. Had no idea they weren't recommended for steel belted radials.

[SIR REAL ED]

Had no idea they weren't recommended for steel belted radials.

Proper repair of a steel belted radial would require either a TIG or a MIG welder.  Too much baggage to carry for most riders.  Especially the Argon bottle.

For safety's sake, deflate the tire fully before starting an arc. 
Any more than a 4 PSI Argon purge inside the tire will simply blowout the molten metal you are trying to deposit.
If the tire remains on the bike, it is good practice to disconnect the battery cables before striking an arc to keep from frying the electronics .

[Perazzimx14]

I too carry an inflator that runs off the bike's battery via SAE connection, a DynaPlug Micro Inflator, unless I'm riding one of the 6V bikes, in which case it's an Airmoto pump and a replacement tube in the kit. The MotoPumps comes with a better tire chuck than the DynaPlug, which you need to plan on overinflating quite a bit since it screws off. On my V7 it may only lose half a PSI screwing it off quickly and carefully, but on my mini motos with smaller and lower volume tires, it'll lose a few PSI, on tubes with a relief cut in the valve stem thread - as much as 5 psi. For those I overinflate, then check with a digital tire pressure gauge (Topeak SmartGauge has been my go-to) and bleed out the extra air.

The small DynaPlug plugs are very small and I prefer the cheap and bigger rope plugs found in any gas station kit (often Slime or Stop n Go) as a temporary repair. For a permanent tubeless repair, unmount the tire and install an inside-out patch/plug combo. Some tire manufacturers consider that a permanent repair so long as it's not in the sidewall, others don't. Rope plugs and mushroom plugs are generally not considered permanent by the tire manufacturers. Either way, by the time it gets to unmounting a tire for the permanent repair, IMO may as well just replace it. Tire failures aren't worth the risk to me. Lost a friend, Charlie "Schultz" St. Clair, organizer of Laconia Bike Week, earlier this year to catastrophic tire failure. Losing a tire at highway speed can kill riders more skilled than any of us hope to be... do what you can to reduce that risk (including protective gear!)

Photo series of one of my buddies installing a gas station rope plug to patch a screw hole in another friend's tire this year at Sturgis. The repair made it the 1,000 miles back home to Chicago for him and then he got a new tire.

I think this is a more of over exaggerating so much as a need for overinflation for compensation of air loss. Unless a arthritic 3-toed sloth that took a handful of barbiturates is removing the screw on chuck the pressure loss under normal human operation is about 1/10th of a second or equal to the valve stem going psst!

At any rate I'm not using the Dyna micro inflator to prep a F1 car for Monaco. If my tires are within a pound or 3 of setpoint, I'm good. In and emergency situation where I plugged a tire and refilled it I give'er the old two thumbs pushed into the  center of the thread. All I care about them is is there enough air pressure in the tire to get moving again. I'll adjust the pressure when I an safely at a gas station or home.

[SIR REAL ED]

Photo series of one of my buddies installing a gas station rope plug to patch a screw hole in another friend's tire this year at Sturgis. The repair made it the 1,000 miles back home to Chicago for him and then he got a new tire.

If that was a steel nail and the tire were steel belted radials, he could have just welded the nail in place.  A proper purge takes forever though.

[Clifton]

....I learned the fun way why rechargeable battery inflators shouldn’t be relied on—if you can’t do a tire/tube repair because you don’t have an axle wrench, because the bike rental company doesn’t want to lend you tools, even though you’re riding a dual-sport/ADV bike and traveling around in a country known for large rural areas with long distances between towns and gas stations, and you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere, well…you realize that a 12v powered inflator is more useful than a battery-powered one to get you to the nearest town. Save the lithium battery power for your jump starter / battery bank combo.

Compared to my old 12v DC Cycle Pump the Fanttic 9 Pro (one of the smaller ones) is *much* faster and fully charged it can inflate 3 car tires from 0 to 35psi. How much more capacity does one need for just filling even a few completely flat motorcycle tires on the road? And it charges anywhere via USB-C, even from my motorcycle.

[Motormike]

I've had the old 12V pumps for years.  They are a pain to use because these days, with some bikes, the battery terminals on a bike may not be readily available for the wires to the pump. Even Harley, which used to have the battery readily available right under the seat, now bury them under the ECM or deep in a side cover with a crap-load of wires and brackets in the way.  Don't even get me started on where Ducati has been known to stash a battery!  I have a Fanttik on order.

[Dirk_S]

Compared to my old 12v DC Cycle Pump the Fanttic 9 Pro (one of the smaller ones) is *much* faster and fully charged it can inflate 3 car tires from 0 to 35psi. How much more capacity does one need for just filling even a few completely flat motorcycle tires on the road? And it charges anywhere via USB-C, even from my motorcycle.

Sorry, bad forum etiquette on my part for not spelling it out more obviously.

If you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t have the means to repair the tire/tube, solely relying on an inflator to get you somewhere, you may need to stop multiple times to re-inflate the tire. For me, the tire went flat every 5 km (3.1 miles). The nearest town was 25 km away. You can only re-inflate so many times on a lithium-powered inflator, and you can’t connect the inflator into a USB port with the bike running, thinking it can quickly charge in mid-operation. It would take quite a while to charge it back up to half-capacity. I had one of those Fanttikks, or however it’s spelled (I think the Chinese manufacturers simply take a product and send it out to the market under 10 different names that they pulled out of a hat full of oddly spelled, clichéd English sounding ‘words’ they came up with on state-sponsored drinking benders).

Anyway…moral of the story—if you have a tubed tire, carry a dang axle wrench, or a 12v inflator. Once we got to town, I had the pint-sized irritable tire repair dude make me an axle wrench from a short piece of rebar welded to a metric bolt whose head matched the inner hex socket of the axle:

 

…man, I need to learn how to weld (legitimately)

[Dirk_S]

I've had the old 12V pumps for years.  They are a pain to use because these days, with some bikes, the battery terminals on a bike may not be readily available for the wires to the pump. Even Harley, which used to have the battery readily available right under the seat, now bury them under the ECM or deep in a side cover with a crap-load of wires and brackets in the way.  Don't even get me started on where Ducati has been known to stash a battery!  I have a Fanttik on order.

They sell SAE connectors that you can leave attached to the terminals. I have one on all my bikes, as well as an EC5 connector for a jump starter. That way I don’t need to carry alligator clips…though I guess it’s not too helpful for rescuing another rider you might come across.

[Littlefield]

I’ve had good success on several occasions with auto parts store sticky rope kits.

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

I think this is a more of over exaggerating so much as a need for overinflation for compensation of air loss. Unless a arthritic 3-toed sloth that took a handful of barbiturates is removing the screw on chuck the pressure loss under normal human operation is about 1/10th of a second or equal to the valve stem going psst!

At any rate I'm not using the Dyna micro inflator to prep a F1 car for Monaco. If my tires are within a pound or 3 of setpoint, I'm good. In and emergency situation where I plugged a tire and refilled it I give'er the old two thumbs pushed into the  center of the thread. All I care about them is is there enough air pressure in the tire to get moving again. I'll adjust the pressure when I an safely at a gas station or home.

Not really, just the reality of the few turns it takes to unscrew the inflator from this design of Schrader valve stem on a low volume tire & tube (80/90-17)



Easy enough solution though, overinflate and recheck pressure after unscrewing the inflator.
On my V7s though, it's not enough loss to bother with, even with the valve stem being hard to access between the twin rotors on the Sport. As you say, not an F1 car. Half a PSI is no biggie on a 100/90-18 like a few PSI are on a Honda Cub's narrow 17" tires, less volume than most ebike tires these days.

For rechargeable inflators my concern lies with their longevity more than their capacity. Most have a non-replaceable battery that is likely going to be the eventual failure of the unit resulting in its disposal and replacement. My DynaPlug inflator has been used regularly since 2018 and has held up well. Time will tell for the Airmoto rechargeable unit. As for the battery connection, I run an SAE pigtail off the battery of all my 12V bikes to be able to connect a battery tender, that same plug can be used to run the inflator. For new motorcycles, many dealerships have been installing them for years as an added value to the buyer, and so they can maintain the batteries of bikes in their inventory. It also helps them to sell you a battery tender! $$$. Some shops of course don't install them, an others install proprietary plugs like CTEK has instead of an SAE one.

If that was a steel nail and the tire were steel belted radials, he could have just welded the nail in place.  A proper purge takes forever though.

For a puncture in need of easy repair that was just about the best one could hope for, other than none at all!

[azccj]

One of the first mods I do to any bike I buy is install a Powerlet Power Plug to power things like a small compressor. A good 12 volt compressor is made by Motopumps, https://www.motopumps.com/ . The pumps aren't cheap, but they are advertised as being made in the USA and are compact. Used mine several times after getting a punctured rear tire.

[Clifton]

Sorry, bad forum etiquette on my part for not spelling it out more obviously.

If you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t have the means to repair the tire/tube, solely relying on an inflator to get you somewhere, you may need to stop multiple times to re-inflate the tire. For me, the tire went flat every 5 km (3.1 miles). The nearest town was 25 km away. You can only re-inflate so many times on a lithium-powered inflator, and you can’t connect the inflator into a USB port with the bike running, thinking it can quickly charge in mid-operation.

Anyway…moral of the story—if you have a tubed tire, carry a dang axle wrench, or a 12v inflator.

In your example you needed to travel 16 miles (25k) and your tire went flat every 3.1 miles so it needed puffed up 6 times which is a pretty extreme case. Even so the Fanttic X9 should be able to do this on a full charge. Even more easily if connected to the bike to charge both while inflating and riding. I'm not arguing the advantage of a 12v charger that connects to your battery's pigtail in an even more demanding scenario but the smaller, lighter lithium charger would have worked in your situation inflating faster. Even if the distance was further the worst would be having to wait while the battery recharged.
But for 99% of the time an inflater is required the new lithium units are more than capable while inflating faster and being smaller and lighter to pack. I've yet to use mine on the road so haven't had to charge it when traveling but if so it's same as my iPhone which I do every evening or so.

[DC950]

the brown plugs you can buy at any NAPA are great. I've had one in for about a 1000 miles and many 95-101 degree days since August zero issue and no more air loss than before.

[Wayne Orwig]

Use the 'gooey worms' for plugs. They just work.

I have some no name 12 volt compressor I got off of Amazon in the V85. Used it a couple of times to let the air down for gravel road riding, and air it back up later. Worked.
I got a battery powered one for my lawn mower and such. Works fine for that. I used it to top up the motorcycle tires a couple of times. It worked. It may pump a flat car tire, if fully charged, but that is asking a lot. I maintain the 12 volt motorcycle battery, I don't want to add another battery to the list to maintain, so I'll stick with the 12 volt compressor. Just plug in to the SAE charger connector.

[PeteS]

After reading this I started looking. I like those tiny pumps for the bike but as far as internal battery or 12 v bike battery,
jeff has a few that work on both. One uses a Makita style 18v or can be plugged into a cigarette lighter. Downside is
Its about the size of a sabre saw.

Pete

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I bought this one for my trip to the Oregon National in '24. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQG747ZP

[SIR REAL ED]

Excellent information!  Thanks to everyone who contributed.

[Pescatore]

I think I jinxed myself by reading this thread.
I ordered the Nealy kit but hasn't arrived yet.
Then this morning this



I patched it with a kit from Autozone.
I'm wondering if it's too close to the edge.

[PeteS]

I think I jinxed myself by reading this thread.
I ordered the Nealy kit but hasn't arrived yet.
Then this morning this



I patched it with a kit from Autozone.
I'm wondering if it's too close to the edge.

You are OK as long as its not in the sidewall. I ordered Nealey kit as well. Reading this forum can get expensive.
First you start buying Guzzis, then all the doo dads that go with it.

Pete

[TN Mark]

A $4 repair strip kit from WalMart works perfectly and takes up very little space. I think the last one I bought their was a Slime kit. Tools, strips, cement. No muss, no fuss. Easy peasy.