Ride-On evaluation...

[Daniel Meyer]

Y'all might remember...over a year ago I was given a Ride-On tire sealant motorcycle kit. I think it was shortly after I had to plug the same tire three times on the way back from California...that last time...in the west Texas desert...I had to squeeze two plugs into a slice.

Anyway, I figured I'd give it a try. The kit was three doses...at the size our Valk tires are the theory is one in the front and two in the rear.

I run darkside...which are easy to plug and/or get fixed so I didn't put any Ride On in the rear tire. Late in 2008 I installed a new Avon Venom R on the front, and I added the Ride On.

I did not get many miles in over the last 18 months or so...this is, I think...the first time I've had a tire on this machine for more than a year...

You might be able to tell...as far as riding/trips go...the last year or so has pure-D sucked. It's the standard...work and the economy. Money's tight and work takes advantage. It'll bite them back...sometime soon I expect...but that's another story.

Anyway, I'm usually a two-front-tire per year kind of guy. I keep them in stock! 18 months on a tire. Wow.

Anyway, back to the Ride-On. I AM a skeptic...What I wondered was whether the Ride On would be effective at all, particularly after 10,000 miles of crispy-critter Texas heat and searing roads...

So...definitely time for a new Avon...I was slipping and sliding in the incredible downpour and flooded streets yesterday...a disconcerting experience with a thousand pounds of man and machine. When you start riding the Valk like a dirt bike you are in EXTREME conditions...water over the tops of my boots is pretty extreme.

Also I'm leaving for Inzane (several thousand miles) in a few hours so yeah...this one needs to go...or I guess...has already gone enough.



Back to the Ride On...does it work?

I suppose...I mean, I put it in, and then never ran over anything with this tire...a new experience for me!

So it works as a nail/screw repellant...

But how about as a sealer?

I wanted to try.

So, I screamed a bloodthirsty cry (something about bloodsucking heathens) and stabbed the tire.


The neighbors took their kids inside. Seems to happen a lot around here...

Then I pulled out the murder weapon...and rolled the tire around a bit...

And yes, it sealed.


It's hot and humid here in Texas at the moment...and my wife...the quintessential southern girl...has an endless supply of iced-tea...so it was time for a break.

An hour later the tire still had air in it.

Then I removed the tire.

Ride On works...but it is NOT "easy soap and water cleanup" as it says in the instructions.



NOTE: This is NOT corrosion. The rim is fine. The black goop is viable Ride-On. The white and brown is dry-crusty Ride-On (on the rim ridges).


The black washed right off. The dried crusty stuff took some serious scrubbing.

If you have chrome/aluminum rims, I would not use this or any other sealer...typically chromed aluminum has a layer of copper or other metal first...and if you scratch it inside the tire area (easy to do mounting or dismounting a tire) the wet environment and layers of metal will set you up for some electrolysis...which has the same result as very aggressive corrosion.

For standard aluminum rims though...it works fine.

Plus:
--I never had to add air to this tire...not for a YEAR...other Avons have typically needed air added at least monthly.
--It DOES seal. I could have ridden on this tire...and I stabbed a 1/4" awl though it.
--Balance...I've always had balance problems with the avons...some needing excessive weights and rebalancing a couple times throughout the life of the tire. With the Ride-on...they seemed to stay smooth right to the end.

Negative:
--A little harder to clean up than advertised.
--Cost. I think the kit is something over $30...although since I'm not doing the rear I can do three fronts with one kit.

Anyway, I'm fresh out of Venom R's. Time for a new Cobra. A few minutes with a couple tire-irons, a bucket of sweat, and a good gallon of iced-tea and I was done.


So, the Ride-On...will I use it again? Yes, I added it to the Cobra. And I'll use the next dose too. Will I spend $30 for a new kit after that? The jury's still out. We'll see after I use up the next two doses.

[R J]

But Daniel, ya'll got the tire on backwards......    LOL

That got your attention didn't it.

[Valkpilot]

Daniel,

I've used Ride-On for a couple of years now.  I got more miles out of my last Avon front than on any front tire in the last 50k miles I've ridden, probably 16k or so vs 10k to 12k previous.

I've never had a chance to experience its sealing properties, but I am a believer in its ability to dynamically balance the tire.  My current DS threw a wheel weight the other day.  No noticible change in the ride as the Ride-On compensated.

I also haven't seen the mess you experienced.  My Ride-On compound stayed in a nice viscous layer out at the circumference of tire, directly under the tread.  The tire guys at Discount Tire and the Honda shop didn't even notice it was there.

I plan to keep using it.

[Daniel Meyer]

But Daniel, ya'll got the tire on backwards......    LOL

That got your attention didn't it.

Heh heh...if you don't think I check that...like 15 times during the process...LOL! (nope, never done that nope never ever ever...)  

[Printer Mike]

Thirty bucks and some extra time cleaning the inside of a rim sounds like a good trade off for less worries about being stranded  with a flat in the middle of nowhere...

[Oss]

+1  got much more life out of the metzler also

[Michael K (Az.)]

But Daniel, ya'll got the tire on backwards......    LOL

That got your attention didn't it.

Heh heh...if you don't think I check that...like 15 times during the process...LOL! (nope, never done that nope never ever ever...)  

Made me go back and look!

[LadyDraco]

Been using Ride-On for 9 yrs. now ..
We use to sell it...
I swear by it.. I have never had any problems with cleaning up the rims ..
It always seems to be nice and moist.. So it wipes out ...

We also use it in just about everything on the farm ...

Yuppers  love the stuff....

[RLD]

+2 Great stuff. Wouldn't ride without it. But I wonder, why not in the rear with D/S? I've used it in a car tire for many, many miles.

[Hotrodwing]

Ditto on the Ride On.  I just added it last week to my new Avon Cobra front and it seemed to be smoother. I will be adding it to the New rear Cobra this week.

[fudgie]

I was thinking....dont you still have to plug the tire? Surely you wouldnt pull out a nail and not plug it, do you?

[RLD]

Just pull the nail and go for a short ride, then check your tire pressure. Per ride-on's instructions.

[fudgie]

Wow really? From what others say on here not to run tire plugs this seems odd. Where can I get some?

[Oss]

fudgie go to ride-on.com  get the 3 pack of motorcycle formula
(unless you have a car tire in which case you need the car formula  they are different according to the engineers at ride-on)

If you call them they can give you the vrcc-voai code for 10% off that I got them to do about 5 years ago   I dont want to guess but the code may be valkyrie something.  I dont make a cent off this product, just wanted to help my brothers and sisters out

Oss

[RLD]

"Ridingworkshop" is the code I've always used for 10% off.

[Jabba]

I hope you remounted the brakes before you tested it.   

Jabba