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.
