So I'm getting ready to saddle up for a ride through the Francis Marion National Forest today and I notice that my rear tire pressure is down to 25 psi. Hadn't ridden in well over a week, since picking it up from the 5k service, due to rain. Checked the tire and sure enough there was a nail dead center.

Needless to say, I didn't take the ride. I spent the morning searching the forums, the Dunlop site, etc. Of course, no service dept's are open on Sunday. Even if they were, I understand many won't to do a patch or plug due to liability, and I really cannot afford a new tire at this point.

I decided to try and plug it myself. Pulled the nail out (screw nail), reamed the hole and got the plug in and trimmed. Pumped it back up to 40 psi. Let it set up for a bit, then went for a (nervous) test ride. The plug seems to be holding fine, but I haven't leaned hard into any turns yet, either.

It's down to about 39 psi right now, but that's because I keep going out to the garage and testing it :) I guess I'll see how well it holds after it spends a night and a day sitting there. Hope the thing holds because a new tire isn't in the budget for a long, long time.

Can I buy a Life insurance policy on you?

Ok, No more sarcasm here. If it were a car, I would not really worry that much, but not Motorcycle tire, never ever plug one.
It tears the cord up inside and will in time cause it to separate.
It would be a better Idea to run a tube inside it, But the best thing is to replace it.

One of the local dealers is having a tire sale this month, I believe the rear Dunlop is going for 76.95, no sales tax here, but you would have to pay shipping.
There are many places on the web that can sell you these Dunlops for about the same price, and maybe your local dealers can get close to it to.

Either way, even if it costs 150.00 bucks, it still far cheaper the an Emergency room visit, and a Funeral.

Heres the link.....
http://www.latus-harley-davidson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=40565%2D91B&cat=297

OOOOOPS.
I did not look to see what year you have, I see now you have a 2004, so here is the right link to the tire for your bike.

http://www.latus-harley-davidson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=43264%2D02&cat=297

It's 91.95, But I have seen other places that sell them for less then this.

BTW, if you got the extended warranty, the tire maybe covered, the one I got with mine covers the tires if they get a nail(Not worn out).

Can't hurt to look into it.

The mushroom plug which is installed from the inside would be a permanent fix, or so explained by a tire swapper for a major tire mfg at the track. I've used generic plugs in rear sportbike tires as a permanent repair without incident several times, as have many of my friends. As confident as I am in their use, I still wouldn't keep one in a front tire. Where’s my logic…I have no logic. I just figure I can ride out a low air rear leak and I've easily survived rear flats. No air in the front and it’s fall down go boom time.

Oh, and to mix threads with the other post about bike mishaps; I had the pleasure of dropping a crescent wrench off my work bench onto the front fender of my bike yesterday. It took two finger tip sized chunks of paint off. I hate when I do stupid sh*t stuff.

Money is *tight* here right now, so I guess I'll be limiting my riding. By the time you factor in mounting and labor......

I was hoping to have the 10k service done via my pre-paid. That runs out in February.

Before making the decision to plug I read all the pro and con posts here on the forum and they seemed to be pretty evenly divided.

No need mention I won't be taking any long and/or high speed rides for a while :(

That paint thing got me too when I was installing the mounting plates for the sissy bar. Coupla minor scratches that only I can see.....still bugs the hell outta me, though.

I've ridden plugged tires for 11,000 miles on the rear before replacing it. It wuz on my old Gold Wing, so it was 15 years ago, before cell phones were common and I never even gave it a second thought.....a buddy of mine just rode his E-Glide for 9,000 miles with a plug. His plug was on the rear also.
Both were relatively new tires (mine had less than 500 miles) and were nail holes.

Upside/downside - as I said before, evenly divided. The fact that it was dead center of the tire, on the high portion (not in the valley portion) led me to the decision to plug. The tire has about 5300 on it and it hasn't been ridden very hard.

Dire predictions of my impending death vs. experiences like Krayven's. Either way, I'm stuck with what I got for now. Thanks to all for your input, though :)

Replace that tire... NOW!

I see this as a good opportunity to get all the burnouts and frustrations out and smoke that tire, just wait till you get your new one and ready to change it.

I haven't looked at the manual yet (I do have one) to see how difficult it would be for the mechanically uninclined (read: ME) to replace a tire at home.

I picked up a screwdriver end in my rear tire at about 3000 miles. A Indy put a tube in it for me. 5,500 miles later everything is just great. Cost was about $26.

rider thats a great idea, i never thought about a tube. i was gonna suggest to have it patched from the inside, maybe we can find one on ebay cheap