I'd personally replace that tire. It's seen it's better days.

 

If you feel there is plenty of miles left, I would plug the hole from the inside and keep riding.

 

A small nail? I'd put a sticky string plug in it and ride. Then I'd order another tire, not because of the plug but because that one is used up. Start shopping now to find a tread pattern you're more comfortable with. Shinko Verge 2X comes to mind.

 

If the hole is dead middle in the smooth part of the tire, a plug will work but may not stay. Best just put a patch on the inside rather than reaming a hole for a plug. You'd have to do this yourself as I think tire places will turn you down.....

 

Not sure where you're located but here in Pennsylvania no dealer will patch or plug a motorcycle tire anymore. I've plugged a few and now that I have the equipment to do it at home don't sweat using a plug patch from the inside. That tire does look like it's about done but to keep riding until your new tire arrives, I'd plug it for a few days to keep riding.

 

Thanks for the replies! Having owned only a KLR 650 before this bike I know zero about street bike tires. I searched the site for Shinko and found a thread recommending Shinko Ravens. Definitely a good price, the rear is only $106 IIRC. I've run Shinko's on the KLR and been happy with them. Anyone have any intel on the Ravens?

 

..... Anyone have any intel on the Ravens?

a little short search reveals

The Shinko that won’t die! Continued….

I mentioned this tire in part of another thread awhile ago (Raven 009). The count is at over 10,100 miles of sun, rain, touring, day trips, all while absolutely flogging it in the twisties. I’m beyond impressed😆. And it’s still good enough to get groceries! That center easily has another 2500 in...

www.fjrowners.com

 

Opinions on everything, including tires, run the gamut from elation to horror. If you think you might like it, buy it and try it. It's the only way to find out. Here's a couple good threads to start with -> Tire Help Please

 

What he ^ said.

I've tried many tire brands over the years and really there was only one I didn't like, while I've seen others say they like them. Some of the best were soft compound as the grip is great the only draw back being in a little over 2k they were toast and generally weren't that good in the rain. In my limited experience with the FJR (only 2 yrs, 3 months) it uses the front faster than the rear at about a 3-2 ratio. Of course riding style, road condition, etc., will factor into that.

There was a recent post on a high mileage front from Shinko, that might coerce me to try one for the front.

Although the brand my FJR came with was the same I ran last on my previous bike, so I was comfy with the rain traction, grip, and mileage, so I just replaced the rear with the same. The front was replaced last year.

 

Looks like there are not too many miles left on that tire to justify the effort of a removal/patch/reinstall.

The least hassle route I would suspect would be removing the valve core and adding a bottle or two of Ride-On sealant, reinstall valve core and re-inflate if the hole is small enough.

This has worked for me in the past on a rear tire til it was used up, but it reportedly has not worked for another member here. YMMV.

 

I have had Raven's on the ZRX Kawasaki and the FJR. They will do more than my skill set and have never given me a reason to not like them. Take in mind it does not take much to be above my skill set but dry road and a small monsoon did not scare me when the Raven's were on the FJR. Playing in the Tennessee mountains and tires were sticking to the ground with no worry on my part. Lots of better tires out there but if one is on a tire budget these are more than worth their price.
Remember that this is my opinion only since they do more than work well for my style of riding which is NOT aggressive

 

I got some Kenda KM1's in August, a week after getting them mounted the rear developed a small leak from something right in the middle of the tire. I plugged it and it's been good since, 5000 miles and the tires still look good.

 

You have to be able to enjoy the ride. If that tire is a source of uneasiness with your new ride... which it clearly is... unload it.

Personally I've ridden on tires that are far, far, far, far.... far more gone than that and for straight-line travel, haven't experienced any issue with hydroplane. I suspect it's just the curved profile of the motorcycle tire that naturally makes it more resistant to the phenomena. After all, hydroplane resistance is just a function of how fast the water be evacuated from beneath the tire. Slowing down helps because there's less water to evacuate and more time to do it. I've had car tires that limited my speed to 60MPH once they hit the wear bar. I got into one car tire set far enough that that with a 50MPH top speed, I simply stayed off the highway until I could make time to replace them, the following weekend.