A Stupid Nail

[idcrewdawg]

So I was headed to go see the Army Air Museum at Fort Rutger in Alabama today. On the way there I picked up a nail. Why do I know it was on the way there and not before? Because I just topped my tire pressure off before leaving the driveway this morning. I got about an hour and a half down the road, and was cruising at a nice 87 mph on the interstate when, while making a lane change, things felt loose. Thinking that maybe I had a loose bolt or maybe some other problem with my steering or tires I pulled off the road. As soon as I put the kickstand down, before I even got off the bike, I knew I had a flat tire. Looking at the front and back tires, I could see roadside assistance would be needed.





A call to the nearest Dealer and I find out they don't have the OEM tire in stock. That ends up being okay as the one they did have in stock is the Michelin. Total miles on the OEM tire before the nail was 8975. I think I could have gotten another 2K miles off it before I had to replace it.

Once at the dealer, and they get the tire off. They bring it out to me, and show me the puncture. It looks like I picked up, and ejected a nail.

 

It certainly could have been worse!

Moral of the story. Even as reliable as these bikes are. It's still worth it to have road side assistance!

[ledany]

Of course. I have also a repair kit AND an Airman (not to mention my center stand I've fixed for this situation too). If the whole stuff works OK  , a flat tire is only a short stop on your way, so you don't have to wait for the assistance in the middle of nowhere, a sunday night, during the holidays  

[Robert]

Wow tire looks pretty good for having that kind of mileage on them. I only got 2k out of mine before I picked up a nail and like Ledany I plugged mine and had a pump so no road side assistance was needed. But it gave me an excuse to change it out to the Michelin a short time later. Mixed blessing actually, you may find a new tire that will hold better and ride better in the long run.

[Kidd]

I am lazy , I guess , I'd call  a tow truck  and let a bike shop fix it .
Not always that easy  to plug and air up   on the highway or anywhere for that matter .
If I were a long way from home , far from civilization , then I'd give it a try  .
I did  fix a flat  on my previous Valk in my garage  and that was a bit of a  challenge , on the side of the road ?? ,  not for me

[bscrive]

That's why I put Ride-on in my tires.  :cool dude:  But, I still hope to never have to try it.   

[dans2014]

 ;DYes, I agree, Rideon is a product I never ride without in any of my bikes

[Shrubbo]

I use a standard repair kit and I have 10 of those little CO2 gas bottles stuffed away on the bike. It got me out of trouble more then once and only takes me 5 minutes to permanently fix a flat now. I couldn't imagine waiting for road side assistance... or having a phone signal where I would need it

The problem with things like ride-on is you may not know there is something really nasty in your tire hacking away at it... like that last bugger of a cut off screw I had a month ago, well that is how I see it anyway as I don't want thinks like that left in there.

I have often considered those things that mount to your valve stem and send a warning to your phone if there is a pressure drop. If I have the money laying around I might invest in those one day.

[dans2014]

  Yes, one of the co2 kits is a really good idea.  I carry them on my Yamaha YXZ side by side and will throw one into the bags on the Valk.

[zackod]

Pick-up a screw in rear tire yesterday, on a lightly traveled road, central Florida orange groves.   s/b no sweat.  I have a Stop-Go plug system.   Completed Mushroom patch/plug, Air'ed her up, off i go, feeling good, thinking patch is gonna hold.   Few miles down the road all air leaks through patch/plug.    POS mushroom system i think to myself as anxiety sets in.   Few minutes later dude rolls up on a Honda ST1300, with an 8 gallon auxillary gas tank sitting into his passengers seat integrated into his gas tank.   'Jackpot' i think to myself.  Mike confirms my "S&G Mushroom is POS" theory, then whips out his "Safety Seal" plug system.     5 minutes later i am patched and ready to go.    Air pressure check an hour after getting home - zero psi loss.   Safety Seal system is on order.

Lesson Learned is to stop reading posts about riders getting flats  :}    

[idcrewdawg]

Safety Seal system is on order.

Lesson Learned is to stop reading posts about riders getting flats  :}    

Thanks for the recommendation. Doing that now.