Yesterday late morning I ran over some sort of debris on route 62 in Princeton. I heard a pop and then felt and heard a clunking sound from the rear wheel. It was not safe to inspect the bike and turn around on this section of 62, so I road to Princeton center to stop to check. In the meantime, the rear tire continued to be pressured.
The inspection showed a big head of whatever punctured the tire protruding from the tread pattern. The big head was what was making the clunking sound.
I turned around to head home hoping the tire pressure would hold. It's about a 35 mile ride. The tire continued to hold pressure to the intersection of 140 and 110 in West Boylston. Then it started to slowly lose pressure.
Hoping to make it home, I made the decision to jump on 290 east bound to quicken the trip home. At that point the pressure was down to 37. It probably was the wrong decision. On 290, got up to speed and saw the tire pressure start to fall until it plummeted to zero. I saw it coming and was able to safely pull into the breakdown lane. I was about 2 miles east of the 140 interchange.
Called the State Police to let them know I was there. Then called American Motorcyclist Association MOTOW Service. Schedule a tow with a 90 to 120 minute ETA. The State Police arrived, I told them about the wait time and said there's no need to hang around, which they didn't.
I texted Gary to let him know what happened and he offered to come with his Tire Repair Kit and compressor to help. I told him no need, as a tow was scheduled.
90 plus minutes later there's still no tow and I get a call from the MOTOW service. The provider that they scheduled did not tow motorcycles. What!!! How could MOTOW schedule that! So they scheduled another service with a 90 to 120 minute ETA.
The thought of waiting another 2 hours for help sucked. So I called Gary and asked if he could come to try to patch the tire. It's not a short drive for Gary and I was very thankful that he came. We tried to patch the puncture but the hole was too big to take the repair. Neither Gary's or my patch would work for this repair. Gary kindly stayed and for the tow company.
MOTOW mis-communicated with the towing company on my location. The towing company called me and said they couldn't find me at the 140 interchange. I said, that's not where I am. I told MOTOW I was east of the interchange by at least 2 miles. The towing company finally found us. At least they were within their 90 minute window.
So as expected the tow was a flat bed.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tGL5NTxoA6cjk6nJAWe get it on the flat bed put it on the center stand (mistake) and strap it down consistent with the requirements of this GW model. Gary was a huge help in the process. I'm now in the tow truck with the driver and Gary is following in his Tacoma. The tow truck starts to move and the bike tips over on its ride side. It should have been on the side, not center stand. Thankfully there was no damage. It stopped at the tip over protection points. The tow truck driver was extremely apologetic and was surprised that I didn't lose my sh*t when it tipped over. But there was no damage, so I kept my cool.
We right the bike, put it on the side stand, strap it down again and we're on our way. The tow truck driver took it slow as he was worried about another tip over. 290 east to 495 south to route 9 east to back roads to my house.
We got it safely off the truck. Gary's extra help was greatly appreciated because at the transition point from the ramp to the driveway, my feet can't touch the ground. I needed Gary and the tow truck driver to keep the bike from going over. Gary then helped me move it into the garage on the center stand.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RWAL4ARZXGbUrBiQ8Although MOTOW screwed up the process a bit, there was no charge for the tow. That was the silver lining for this happening.
I ordered a set of tires, because of the the price savings for both a front and rear. I just replaced both last September, so it sucked to lose a low mileage rear tire. Hopefully they'll arrive from CA this coming week. In the meantime, I'll pull the rear tire and have it ready for mounting the week of June 17th.
I'm very glad Sherry was not with me for this. It would have sucked more because I'd be worried about her comfort.
Also I had plans to go to Laconia this week with my brother and maybe Gary if he was available. Oh well. Not gonna happen.
