Triumphrat

08-16-2005

Happened to me today.

Knew my front tyre was leaking slightly - no visible puncture, and I recently had a new front wheel under warranty i.e. in effect a tyre change..

Used my compressor to get it back to 36 psi. Steady (no loss) overnight, so I made a booking to have this sorted and rode the 45 miles to the dealer.

All fine at reasonable speed. Then about 6 miles from destination the steering started to feel a bit stiff. Reduced to 50 mph, kept an eye on it: still not right but....Then suddenly, front wobbling like fury. Impossible to steer without making it far far worse: like being in tramlines. Braking, front or back, even decelerating, made it far worse. Juddering and shaking. Managed to keep feet on the pegs and coast, with increasing side to side, to a final standstill.

Very glad to be in one piece.

As reported elsewhere, the tyre had worn asymmetrically, more on the right than the left. No contest now: new front tyre (at 10, 700 miles).

All done. Rocky is MUCH happier with a new, symmetrical front tyre (I must have gotten used to the effect of the abnormal wear)., and ride home very good.

I thank my lucky stars that it finally "went" only at 50, and not higher speeds.

If this ever happens to you:

i) try and keep the wobble down (feet on pegs, not in the air)

ii) do not touch the front brake at any price. Braking using the rear will in any event put weight on the front, but the one tiny moment I touched the front brake it was nearly curtains.

starman · 08-16-2005

take a second to thank your guardian angel LOL, you had a lucky escape, friend of mine ran over some debris with his ducati front wheel on the motorway years ago and suffered a sudden deflation-he was on his ass sliding along the road before he knew what was happening, bike a mess but thanks to full leathers and good helmet he was O.K.-got up and walked away.
saw an add for tyre valve caps that give a visual indication if the pressure is down, $11 a pair, anyone use them????
safety caps
they would'nt prevent his type of misshap, but how many of us check our pressures before every ride??? marty.

Ugarte · 08-16-2005

Quote:

On 2005-08-16 13:06, starman wrote:

saw an add for tyre valve caps that give a visual indication if the pressure is down, $11 a pair, anyone use them????
safety caps
they would'nt prevent his type of misshap, but how many of us check our pressures before every ride??? marty.

I use them on all my bikes. They work great, make it real easy to check pressure without the hassle.

Jamie · 08-16-2005

Some hi-tech tyres reportedly have a tendency to do that, i.e. to start deflating without any puncture or any visible trace of external damage, as if, all of a sudden, the rubber --litterally-- turned porous. This has just happened to me, i.e. to my rolling cage and not to the RIII (destiny CAN wait) , first gradually and then, quite suddenly, right AFTER pumping air back into the flabby-looking tyre (which only had 3000 k's on it, like the 3 other OEM-installed units) . Still no evidence of puncture or external damage whatsoever, after the re-inflated tyre's final collapse in Geneva's evening bumper-to-bumper traffic. But an inspection revealed that INSIDE, the tyre had kind of disintegrated, with plenty of small flakes of rubber detached from it and adhering to the rim. Cause or effect? No one could (or wanted to-) tell me, but that has been a weird, somewhat scary, experience. The car OEM denied any responsibility. So did the tyre brand importer.

My Italian neighbour who runs a little "Fix It Again Tony"- type garage says: " If IT starts losing ah-pressure, no matta what, REPLACE it right away" . And, no, he does not make a living selling tyres. :hammer:

cooperman · 08-16-2005

Lol might be a case for some ULTRASEAL to be added to the Rockets. A puncture at either end is not pleasant but I bet you can't pick up one of those rear tyres easily if you are touring anywhere. Well done for stopping on. Will discuss further on Saturday all being well.
Cheers Steve

Aussiebikerdave · 08-16-2005

Good save Lol. I've had a few bad experiences over the years with suddenly deflated tyres and it ain't good!

As we were saying by Skype, the difference with a new tyre is fantastic... suddenly the bike becomes sweet to ride again

Davo

JoeyF · 08-16-2005

Glad you still have all you skin..you did good!!

Try to stay on the pegs and steer with your weight and forget ya have brakes.

The very best Stuff I have found to use for preventing slow leaks and sudden flats is called " Ride - On " tire protection for motocycles.

A friend the does a lot of Iron Butt Rides turned me on to this stuff. He just did the 48 +, that is 48 states + AK in less than 10 days

It is good stuff

Joey

08-16-2005

Have used both Ultraseal (approx. £10/$18 per tyre) and I also use the colour indicators on the valves on my Kawa - intend to get them for the Rocket having found recently that my rear tyre pressure was very low ..

I suspect the former would have prevented Lol's crisis and it is claimed that the product extends tyre life ...

I would like to find the reverse product for some humans I know - a product which slowly deflates the individual until all their abitrarily displayed sense of self-importance and their love of the exercise of petty power has utterly disapppeared ... I suspect that with some I know there would then be very little left .....

[ This message was edited by: Anddean on 2005-08-16 16:49 ]

DHarvey · 08-16-2005

Andrew's apt commentary:

"I would like to find the reverse product for some humans I know - a product which slowly deflates the individual until all their abitrarily displayed sense of self-importance and their love of the exercise of petty power has utterly disapppeared ... I suspect that with some I know there would then be very little left "

Now then, I would imagine such a gauge would be colored purple and gold for the 'self important' stage and brown like..well ya know ...when they've reached their natural level.
..hmmmmmm?

Toystoretom · 08-16-2005

If your tire pressure goes low and you hit a bump you can unseat the bead and the tire goes instantly flat. I have worked on bikes and cars that hit a pothole or the like... the bead unseated and foreign material went inside the tire and then the bead reseated. I have found rocks, all manner of vegatation, sticks and /or wood, and various animal parts inside of tires that were still sealed when brought into the shop. The complaint on all of these was "vibration". Another thing I find quite often when people complain about vibration is Ultraseal that had flowed to the low spot in the tire when the vehicle was parked and then it set up. Other kinds never set up and the tire can never be balanced.

Tomo