What does a flat feel like?

[mike72903]

I've not experienced a flat in my brief riding history.  I see lots of folks talking about having them and it's a bit scary.  What does a sudden flat feel like at highway speeds?  Does it upset the bike?  I really really really don't want to fall off at 70 mph.  Is it a different experience with the front or rear tire?  Just trying to get a little knowledge here so if it happens I will at least know what to expect and what it's going to feel like and how the bike may respond.  Would a passenger change anything or change how I should react.   Many Thanks, Mike

[98pacecar]

Had my back go down recently.     

Wasn't a blow out but it went down in about 5 miles....   ???

Was riding 2 up, my first sign was the front end feelin,,,,, ''floaty''   

Loose,, squirrelly,,, just not right...

Pulled over n' I would guess I had about 8-10 psi in the tire at that point...

Rode the 1 mile to my house n' plugged it..

I don't understand why but I always feel it,, in the front end,, first.   


Dumbass dat I am,, bout 12 years ago I did a top speed run on my ZX12R.

2:30 AM Sunshine Skyway Bridge, 193 on da GPS.  felt,,,,, ''floaty''   

Pulled into a service station n' had 12 psi in da rear...     

I consider myself lucky,,,,,,,,, to be sitting here writin this post.....   

[The emperor has no clothes]

Had my back go down recently.     

Wasn't a blow out but it went down in about 5 miles....   ???

Was riding 2 up, my first sign was the front end feelin,,,,, ''floaty''   

Loose,, squirrelly,,, just not right...

Pulled over n' I would guess I had about 8-10 psi in the tire at that point...

Rode the 1 mile to my house n' plugged it..

I don't understand why but I always feel it,, in the front end,, first.   


Dumbass dat I am,, bout 12 years ago I did a top speed run on my ZX12R.

2:30 AM Sunshine Skyway Bridge, 193 on da GPS.  felt,,,,, ''floaty''   

Pulled into a service station n' had 12 psi in da rear...     

I consider myself lucky,,,,,,,,, to be sitting here writin this post.....   

193 mph ? You've got bigger huevos than me

I've not experienced a flat in my brief riding history.  I see lots of folks talking about having them and it's a bit scary.  What does a sudden flat feel like at highway speeds?  Does it upset the bike?  I really really really don't want to fall off at 70 mph.  Is it a different experience with the front or rear tire?  Just trying to get a little knowledge here so if it happens I will at least know what to expect and what it's going to feel like and how the bike may respond.  Would a passenger change anything or change how I should react.   Many Thanks, Mike

You will feel it if it goes fast or if it goes slow. If it goes flat slowly you may not realize it's happening but it will feel strange. If it's the front you will definitely know it. Do you have the metal tire valves? (Having a senior moment can't think of the correct name) If not would highly recommend them.

[WamegoRob]

What does a sudden flat feel like at highway speeds?

I've yet to experience a front flat, but I've had two rear flats, both on I-70.
The first was a pretty slow one caused by a cracked rubber valve stem.  It felt as if it were getting more 'squishy' by the second as it was happening and I had time to decide it was going flat, slow down and pull off safely.

The second was caused by running over some object that left a dime sized hole in the tire.  It had the exact same feeling as the valve stem leak but everything happened within 5 seconds or so.  I squeezed the clutch lever, transferred my weight from seat to pegs because it felt as if it gave me more control,applied light front brake and coasted to the shoulder.



I run a Ziex 512 and have wondered how that sharp-object incident blowout would have turned out on a bike tire.

ps: Thanks to Hoser and his trailer for rescuing me on both occasions

[gordonv]

I was rolling on to the highway on my ACE Tourer with my wife on the back. Accelerating up to over 50 mph when there was a large pop noise. I backed off the throttle, looked down at the front tire (because I couldn't see the rear), saw nothing, then a second latter the rear end of the bike started to wag like a dog's rear end from side to side.

Backed right off the throttle, and pulled over to the side of the highway. Maybe all within 100 yards.

The rear tire had worn right through and blew a large hole in it. Lucky me, no personal harm to either of us. I had just finished a 400 mile trip 3 days ago.

[Toledo Mark]

Had my front tire go flat slowly, down to about 15LBS.  What I noticed most was the steering was VERY heavy.  Could barely turn the handlebars.  Ended up I had a bad valve stem.  I would pump it up, drive about 5-10 miles, refill and start over.  Did that for about 60 miles until I got to where I could get the stem changed.  Thanks to a man in southern Ohio who owned a bike shop.  On a Saturday night a 8pm he and I changed it and all he wanted was $20.  I gave him a $50 and was VERY thankful.

[Daniel Meyer]

Rear flats...Valk is reasonably well behaved...let off the gas and you can gently guide her to the shoulder/etc...

Front flats...she will go absolutely the direction she was pointed when the tire went down and nothing you can do will change it significantly...rear brake (as hard as needed to avoid upcoming obstacles) is about all ya can do.

[Jess from VA]

    
What does a flat feel like?

Pretty exciting when we were both 14.

Oh, were we talking tires? 


My one and only (rear) flat on my (tube tire, instant flat) BSA was while crossing a quarter mile grate-floored bridge.. and could not stop.  The back end slalomed back and forth all the way across.  I decided right then to never do this again. 

[rich_kildow]

I had a complete blowout at highway speed on my 750 ACE while I was still in college...it felt like I had a piece of the seat stuck between my cheeks for about a week! 

It sounded like somebody had fired a shotgun 20 yards behind me.  I felt the back end drop and could feel the rim "walk" from side to side on the wider contact patch.  As somebody said before, I transferred my weight forward, pulled the clutch, and managed to get to the side of the highway.  I don't even want to think what would have happened if my wife had been on the back.

[Fla. Jim]

Dispair and disapointment!

[rafster]

I've had several on dirt bikes and both front and rear on a street bike.  I had a rear flat several years ago at 70mph interstate speed while on my Valk.  (Idiot installers at Honda did not re-install the stem retainer clip on my rear wheel at my last tire change.)  The rear end started to feel "mushy" like it wasn't quite absorbing the bumps on the road.  Then it got REALLY squirrely.  It felt like the rear was trying to wobble from side to side.  I had very little control turning as it felt like the rear was going to just slide out from under me.  Still I was able to slowly get off the road to the shoulder.  Well that's how the bike felt.  For me it felt like my butt cheeks were locked up tight and the hair on my neck standing up while the world went by in slow motion. 

[98pacecar]

193 mph ? You've got bigger huevos than me

It was a while ago,,, although I still have, and ride the, 2000 ZX12R.   

At the time I also owned a 1999 Hayabusa n' was tryin to settle the discussion about which was faster.

Turns out, the fix was in,, n' it was a dead heat,, they both topped out at 193 (about 220 on the speedos)

Haven't been over a buck fifty lately....       

[Farther]

Dispair and disapointment!

I think I have been on that road when I was losing about 10 psi per hour.  You can see the curve of the Earth in the horizon (or so it seemed).

[Mitchapalooza]

Funny that you asked this, as I just had my first (and hopefully last but that is wishful thinking).  I'll preface this post by stating IF YOU HAVE NOT CHANGED YOUR VALVE STEMS TO METAL BOLT-ON 90 DEGREE STEMS, DO SO NOW OR AT LEAST YOUR NEXT TIRE CHANGE!!!

I had a show in Fayetteville, Arkansas and decided to ride there instead of taking the tour bus.  Brought tools, extra fuel, patch kit, small pump, etc. and thought I was covered.  I wasn't. 
I had just finished riding the "Pig Trail", a nice windy and steep stretch of scenic awesomeness and got on I40 West headed towards Fort Smith.  I passed a truck and was at about 85mph when all of the sudden, I had no steering.  I tried to lightly push on the bars and they were unresponsive to get back over in the right lane.  It almost felt like the wind was blowing extremely hard in one direction and keeping me from moving.  That's when I noticed something was wrong.  I slowed down to about 65mph and wrestled the bike over to the right-hand shoulder.  All was well until I got down below 40-50mph, at which point the bike started seriously wobbling.  It is basically a race to get slowed down before the bike wobbles beyond control.  Having never had a flat, I still assumed it was the front tire due to the fact that 1. there was a serious loss in steering/control and 2. I've always heard that a rear flat will make your rear end want to fishtail on you.  I used both brakes equally to slow down due to this, although focusing mostly on the rear for a front flat probably would have been even better. Luckily, I got her stopped and proceeded to roll/check/roll/check/etc. for a front puncture and never found one.  Checked the valve stem for grins and there was the culprit.  It had basically ripped at the base 1/2 through and wouldn't take any air.  Dropped to 0 PSI in under 30 seconds on the highway.  No patch kit would have saved me on this one. 
Basically, sat in the sun and drank beer on the side of the road for 2.5 hours making phone calls.  Honda dealership found a tow truck driver that eventually came and had a good laugh due to the fact that he was a Harley rider and could finally talk some trash to his Honda buddies for something.  I asked if that gloating came with a discount and he hooked me up.  Thanks, Scott.  26 miles to a bike shop in Fort Smith, a tow, new steel valve stem, hurt pride and five beers later, I was back on the road again.
I will say that a really nice guy with a pickup stopped and offered help, as he was a Valk rider himself, though we couldn't think of a way to get the 900lb bike in the bed of his truck  ???  Whoever you were, thank you.

Moral of the story is, it wasn't too terribly bad.  You'll notice something is wrong almost instantly and your first inclination should be to get out of traffic and slow the bike to a stop - which is also the worst part.  I can't speak into a blowout and was straight-line as opposed to the twisties I was in only four miles, so that helped.  Keep your tire pressure correct, don't run them too long and switch to steel valve stems - you should be just fine. 

[BobB]

I have no experience with flats on the Valkyrie, refer the Daniel Meyer's post above.  I have had a front and two rear flats many years ago on a H-D.  A BMW dealer in the early 70's informed me that front flats tend to stay up as long you stay at highway speeds.  Not sure I believed him, but that seamed to correspond to my experience with a front flat in 1967.  I noticed it only when I took an exit ramp.  So believe what you want.  

The two rear flats were very scary, one was with the rear end heavily loaded.
The rear end of the bike swung to one side to full lock on the steering, and then swung to the other side to the same extent.  This happened two or three times until the bike slowed down.  I never applied brakes and the only thing I concentrated on was keeping the front end as straight as possible down the road.  Yet I was slowing quite fast.  My riding buddy was behind me on a 1958 H-D 74, and he said he did all he could to brake and not hit me.  But realize that the mechanical drum brakes on those old beasts were not very good.

These are the stories to be told to my grandchildren.

[mike72903]

Well, I was kinda doing okay until the last two Scary posts.  Now, I'm re-thinking my sanity 

[BobB]

Well, I was kinda doing okay until the last two Scary posts.  Now, I'm re-thinking my sanity 

Don't think too hard...  My experience was years ago when all motorcycle tires had tubes.  Today's tires are much more reliable as long as they are properly inflated, you have a good metal valve stem and you replace them when needed.  After all, you only have two wheels, treat them well. 

Technology, has also helped.  I have a Duran TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitor System) on my '98 Tourer that monitors pressure in both tires through sensing units on the valve stem.  These sensing units can be either outside or inside the tire.  I get an alert if pressure drops below 85% of a set point value, and I get an alarm if the pressure is rapidly dropping in either tire.  I hope this can give me a warning of pending handling problems before they really happen.

[mike72903]

Thanks.  I've never been one to think too hard.  I'm going to look into that tire pressure monitor.  I checked and do have metal right angle valve stems.

[HayHauler]

This is what I have on both my bikes, 99 IS and 07 Wing.  No guesswork and they come with angled and straight valve stems.

http://www.doranmfg.com/motorcycle-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems.htm

Hay 
Jimmyt