Can W-rated tyres be repaired?

[roxburd]

I picked up a puncture this afternoon - rear Metzeler Roadtec 01 180/55 ZR17
It's done about 2,000 miles.



The entry point is about 1cm left of the centre-line and it's on a proud part (not hidden in a tread channel). You can see a 5mm-long line where the tyre has been damaged.


The garage who fitted it says "Ooo, you can't repair W-rated tyres, no, that'll be ker-ching for a new one".


The other fella down the road says "Some manufacturers say 'No repairs' and others say 'Yeah, fine' and there's no rhyme or reason. If it's a nice neat hole like a nail has gone straight in and out then it should repair just fine. If it's more of a cut then no."


What's the deal? I'm tending toward getting a new tyre for the obvious reasons but I'm also thinking "I've had so many bike tyres repaired over the decades, are tyres suddenly not repairable any more for some reason or are people just more risk averse / grabbing?"


Has anyone had a workshop-fitted repair fail??


Dave

[robbo]

Got a puncture in my rear Roadtec last year going to the Peterborough bike show. Repaired it with my stop'n'go tyre kit, then had it professionally repaired a few days later, no problem at all. The firm I used are in Essex,Kent and Surrey, Universal Tyres.

[agricola]

I think the Claim Game plays a hand in this scenario. A manufacturer may feel at risk if they say yes, and the subsequent repair fails causing injury to man or machine. Same for anyone who repairs the tyre. Its down to you to weigh up the risk at the end of the day

[Trebus]

Personally I’d repair it, the rating is kind of irrelevant  assuming you’re not going top speed everywhere.

[Gnasher]

Yes it can but they're limits BS AU 159 sets it all out if you're interested, from how you describe your puncture it sounds repairable using a mushroom plug repair.  This repair requires tyre removal.


Just about all tyre manufactures don't recommend repair, some will state no repair and when they're, withdraw their product performance guarantee. Forces you to buy another tyre!  Some insurance companies will also try and use a tyre repair as a way of not paying out if say you had a blow out, in these cases you have to prove it was repaired to BS AU 159 standard. 


All that said it all depends on the damage, a simple, nail/screw/wire puncture going in at less then 45* in the repairable area should be perfectly repairable.  I've had the same on my old Busa and ZX10R both tyres punctured less than 1000k, lasted to the end of their road life 3- 4 k.