Steering control with flat tire

[Wildman]

Yesterday afternoon I got a flat rear tire (Avon Cobra) on a 2000 standard.
I first felt the rear end "slide" a little, so I wagged the handlebars a little and came to the conclusion that the rear tire was flat or near flat.
I intended to ride (nurse the bike) home, about 18 miles. in the process of slowing down the bike headed into the on coming lane. It took some force to keep control and I felt that if leaned it over with a totally flat tire I might slide out on the rim. I was lucky (no immedeate danger from on coming cars) the pick up, a couple of hundred yards away, in the on-coming lane was slowing ( and probably wondering who the idiot was coming almost straight at him). At least it was day light and It seamed like the driver of the pick up was going to avoid me.
I made it to a stop, just off the pavement, on the far side of the road.

I have had a few flats in my 40 years of riding.
I have always been able to keep control of the bike, and ride it far enough to get the tire repaired. one rear went 30 miles to get it to the shop, one front went 10 miles to get me home. both of these flat tires were Metzelers on a 1985 Yamaha FJ 1100 (about a 520 Lb bike).

Please let me know if you have had a completely flat tire.
Did you retain control of direction?
What type of tire were you running?
Did this happen on your Valkyrie?

I am repairing the Avon Cobra today.
I will be replacing it with a tire that retains control when flat
Although I believe Avon Cobra to be a very supperior tire when inflated.
I will select a tire that retains control when flat.
Is this the fault of the tire or the rim design?

This my first flat on the Valk in 65,000 miles
Is it the bike weight.

Please comment

I have a 1,000 mile trip coming up Memorial day week end and would like to have the right tire on by then.

Thanks in advance fot your input.

[BigMac (SoCal)]

I had the same problem. Got a flat with only 600 miles on the Cobra. It was due to a nail. It was all I could do to keep control of the bike. I was leading a ride with 13 bikes behind me. They were sure I was going to loose it but I made it safely to the shoulder. I think the reason it was so hard to control was due to the tire breaking the bead. I've had flats before but nothing like this. I have replace mine with a E3 and I don't think I'll ever go to anything else. I still need to replace my front Cobra and will do so before Inzane. Don't want to see what happens it that one goes flat.

Dave,  SoCal VRCC

[Ricky-D]

A lot depends upon what caused the tire to go flat.  Modern m/c tires are tubeless and when punctured by a nail will go down very slowly as long as the nail is retained in the tire.

Chances are you had a puncture without noticing that the tire was becoming low in pressure.

Whatever, Goodyear used to make a tire that grabbed the rim if the tire deflated. That's the only one I know of.

I've had a tube tire go instantly go flat on I-95 and crossed over 5 lanes of traffic before coming to a stop on the median. Trying to control a bike under those conditions is a crap-shoot at best.

You did good to get it stopped and still stay off the pavement. There are some products that you can buy to help prevent flats from punctures but i look upon those as not my cup of tea.

Best advise I can give is what I do just about every time I jump on the bike. Look at the tires for low pressure and carry a small digital pressure gauge.

I can't count the number of low tires I see on motorcycles, all the time. Just as people that own cars, motorcycle riders seem to be ignorant to the need to continuously check their tires for low air pressure. Even though their life could depend on it!

[Wildman]

Thanks BigMac.
My tire also broke the bead. It was very hard to make even a few feet forward with both feet on the ground with the tire like that.
Do you have, or know of anyone, with experience controlling a flat E3?

[Wildman]

Thanks Ricky-D

I do check my tire pressure regularly. Not yesterday, but the day before it was checked.
I run the rear Cobra at 44 to 46 PSI. Last check 46 PSI.
I have the Ultimate seat with the pouch behind the drivers back rest.
The pouch carries a small pressure gauge and a 10 mm wrench for removing the windshield.

Regards

[BigMac NJ]

I had a sudden loss of all air pressure in a fairly new E3 (5,000 Miles on it). Doing 65 MPH on I-5 in Washington State back in Sept. of 07. Tire went POP ! very loud !  Slight wiggle from the rear but I was able to get from the middle lane to the shoulder with no more than a second small wiggle or two. Tire didn't break the bead..
It was something in the road that made a good size hole (not plugable) that caused the  instantaneous loss of air .

[Wildman]

Thanks BigMac NJ

That's the information I was looking for.
I already decided to put a set of E3s on. I'll have them mounted and on the bike by tomorrow.
I have heard that the E3s have a fairly stiff side wall.
I think it's important that the tire didn't de-bead.
I haven't tried the E3s yet. I really liked the Avon Cobras, but even if the Cobras are a better inflated tire it's not worth the dangers involved with loss of directional control during a sudden flat.

[Daniel Meyer]

Blow the rear, and I've had limited control...minor changes of direction etc were okay.

Front tire, the Valk went exactly the direction it was pointed when it blew. I couldn't change a thing.

[bentwrench]

After having a rear tire come off the bead in the middle of a corner,I installed a smart tire monitor system. It's very accurate and warns you of any drop over 7 psi.
bw

[Michvalk]

I had an E3 go flat on the rear of my IS and took a while to even notice. I picked up a HUGE nail in the center tred. The tire had about 5000 miles on it.  Never lost control. or had a real handling problem. made it about 10 miles to a gas station with an air pump. When I checked the pressure it would not register any pressure on my digital guage. I just put air in it and it went flat in a minuet or two.So i think the air went pretty fast. I bought a string patch kit and plugged the hole. aired it up. and rode it. I got another tire right away. but never put it on. Rode the tire with the string plug another 7000 miles until the tire was bald. (NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!!) but had no loss of air or problems. I was real impressed with the rear E3. BUT, hated the front the whole time I had it.

[BigMac NJ]

I had the Smart Tire System on the Tourer when the E3 hit a road hazard and lost air instantly.
All the Smart Tire System did in this case was confirm that it was indeed the rear. The system confirmed
it after the pucker factor came down to reduced levels.
Here's the picture I took while waiting for the flatbed tow(see above picture).This tire hasn't any air in it.
The bike as you can see was loaded and carrying 2 loads..the luggage and me...all 285 lbs. of me..
I'm not saying E3's are the best tire but in this case the stiff sidewalls sure helped me.

BigMac NJ

[Tropic traveler]

Had a rear Avon Venom deflate QUICKLY but not instantly at 65+ mph. We were 50 miles from home on Hwy 40 west of Daytona. Engine started to labor hard to maintain speed & the "wiggle" set in rather quickly too. Luckily the road was straight & almost no traffic. Thank goodness for my LOUD car horns or Kim may have ridden 5 miles ahead before she noticed I was not right behind her!
Anyways, there was some "steer-ability" but I only had to kinda angle off the side of the road then find a good spot to stop. Never touched the brakes until I was well under 15 mph or so, didn't touch the rear brake at all. Turned the bike around in the grass to find a flat spot to work on the bike. Luckily the bead was not broken & the hole was a clean, centered, small hole. Plugged it with a rope plug, fired up my Wallyworld 12V compressor & we were on our way in less than 30 minutes. Don't leave home without a good flat fix kit!!!!


The only other on the road flat I've had was a screw in the BIG 240 Metz on the back of my Rocket 3. Limped it back to work {a car dealership} & fixed it there. The other 2 rear flats I have had were of the "aw crap" variety discovered at home in the garage. All flats were replaced as soon as possible with NEW tires regardless of the miles on the tire!

[Scott from FL, now in Maine]

I ride with an Avon on the front and had the front valve stem blow off. I was doing about 45 when the tire went from full to 0 psi in about a second flat. The bike became stiff to handle, but doable. I traveled about 200 yards thru a 45 degree turn and then to the side in to a parking lot. I was surprised at how well I could control it.
Still ride with that same front tire and now CT on the back. At the time of the blow out both front and back were Avons

[Wildman]

Thanks Scott in FL

Scott, I assume that you are talking about an Avon Venom front tire and not the Cobra.

Tropic Traveler reports some control with a flat Avon Venom rear also.
The Cobra must have a very different, more flexible side wall, construction than the Venom.

[Tundra]

It is important to get a tire rated for the weight of the bike, seen some run sportbike tires only rated at 600lbs.
  I had a front tire (valve stem) go on I-4 in Orlando (Interstate). I was able to cross three lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder, while traveling at 75mph with my wife on the back. Stayed up right, did not break a bead. I can't imagine the outcome if I had broken a bead. Avon Venom. 
  I'm guessing some have stronger sidewalls than others?? On my trip home, AAA Motorcycle Towing, Even with the bike cinched down, the tire did not compress all the way, still didn't look flat. Strong sidewall?

[Scott from FL, now in Maine]

Actually mine are the Avon Cobra's. Tropic has the Venoms which will be my next front tire.  But thats many miles down the road. The Cobra is wearing well