Can you say 'murphy's law'

 

I have had 2. First back in the early 1980's in the rain at about 1 AM. some good Samaritans who happened to be members of a well known black & white MC here in NC stopped and gave me and my bike a ride home.

Second was a few years ago on my FXST with spoke wheels. We had been to a small rally and I picked up a nail in the parking area. We were more than three hours from home in a very rural area at around 6PM on Saturday when the tire went down. Tried to repair, but no dice. Pushed the bike to a VFD down the road and they let me park it inside. Rode home on the back of my buddy's Ultra (I do NOT like riding on the back by the way). Went back with a trailer to bring it home. The whole ordeal was a lot more of a pain than it sounds. I will never have spoke wheels again. It only takes one time to get the point. A flat in the garage is one thing, but a flat in the middle of Nowhere USA is a whole different deal.

 

I had a rear blowout once, one of my worst butt puckering experiences on a bike, but didn't go down. A piece of road construction rebar ripped out the sidewall, would have killed a tubeless tire, too, but a tubeless might have stayed on the rim; this one didn't. I've had slow leaks on tubeless tires, far preferable to tube blowouts! It's just something that can happen, fortunately not often. I don't like spoke wheels on the road, planning to put a cast wheel on the front of my 1200C because I can't get over feeling uncomfortable about that skinny tire with a tube in it.

If that laced wheel bothers you, might ask the dealer if there's an affordable way to get the bike with cast wheels - and tubeless tires.

 

Rear tire was found flat during a trip .
Bike was parked and it was discovered as i was walking back to the bike after completing a great lunch.
My heart sank and stomach got tight.
This happened about 15+ years ago while riding 2 up on that trip.
Road King Classic with spokes.
I had a roofing nail in it.
I carry a small 12 volt air compressor.
Over aired the tire a few times and made it to a shop riding two-up.
I still remember it cost me $90 to change the tube at a crappy, old school type of shop but i was glad to get back on the road and had zero other options.
I have rescued a few folks with tubed and tubeless tires through the years since i carry the old timers rubber rope strips, tools, along with a bottle of slime and the 12 volt compressor. Rescued bicycle riders in the middle of no place also.
Amazing how just a few tools or items can make a major problem that would waste an entire day into something that gets resolved in an hour or two...
This is the l;ink for the compressor i copied.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcyc...cles/air-pump/

 

Came out of a not so local dealership to find my Super Glide with a half flat tire. The service guy was all "Bring it around and we will fix you right up!" Only thing was they had much, much different ideas than I did about what needed to be done. Tube type tire on a spoke wheel with tiny little screw in the tire. They wanted to put new tire and tube on it and oh my brakes didn't look like they would last much longer either while they were there.
I used their air to get me to Wally World where I could buy a can of Slime and a can of Fix a Flat to get me home. 60 miles and stopped every twenty to air it back up. Local independent shop ended up charging me $50 to change the $40 tube I got from the local dealer. Still it was better than buying a "Harley Davidson" branded Michelin from the dealership and whatever else they decided I "had to" have.

 

You can ride with a flat, have done it many times on my dirtbike (when I was young and used to use crappy tires). It is harder when on a heavy bike. Once you get up to the speed you can manage, the tire will not self-destruct. The hard part is getting it up to 45-50 MPH.

 

Now that's funny right there....

And thanks all other replies. I like the look of the classic, the whole thing, leather bags, laced wheels, all of it. And of course Murphy's Law says look out! Oh, well.

 

Well If you want a classic, you will have to buy a used one. Harley
washed there hands of them, just like they did the Road King Custom.

 

Well almost 50 years up on two wheels. I guess I was due. Have had my share of run-ins with a few deer. Never a flat tire though, ..........until last summer! Beautiful day in the UP, low 60s, sunny, thought I'd save a few bucks on gas and take the bike over to Eagle River, pick up medication for the mutt, and head on over to Northwoods Harley Davidson to pick up the parts for the fork oil change. As I am stashing the parts in the tour pak I look at the rear tire, thinking to myself, "Boy that looks low". "Naw, just checked it the day before!" It's about 75 miles back to the house from Northwoods H-D. Going through Eagle River once again I am thinking to myself "the back end feels kind of wishy-washy, naw, my imagination!" Between Eagle River and Iron River there's not much. A smattering of homes and farms. I turn onto Wisconsin 55/Michigan 73, 13 miles to Iron River and the remotest part of the journey. 7 miles in there's no getting around it somethings not right. I slowed to about 15 miles an hour, give the handlebars a little wiggle, and I am rewarded with a big tail wag. Finally stopping I see the rear tire is damn near flat. No way is this hummer going to go another 6 miles. 50 feet up there's an old guy checking his roadside mailbox. I walk up explain the situation to him and ask if he happens to have an air compressor I would gladly reimburse him for the use of. 15 minutes later I've got as much air as I can get in this thing, about 50 psi, and I head out for Iron River. I managed to get home just as the tire is going flat again. Shove the lift under it, so I've got my work cut out for me tonight! BTW, I tried to give the old boy $10, wouldn't hear of it! There's still some good hearted folks out. One more item, this is a laced wheel so it's got a tube. When I was airing the tire on the road I noted the tire carcass was really hot, replace the tire? I think yes. Unfortunately this is a fairly new tire, not much wear, but still. I pulled the rear wheel and hauled it over to Northwoods HD. Initially they said we'd have to replace the tire/tube. After looking at it he shows me the screw, thru the meatiest part of the tire, just thru enough to pierce the tube. They were willing at that point to just replace the tube. Knowing I had ridden the tire to damn near flat twice, I opted to change out the tire as well.

 

Had 1 flat on my 97 Sporty; a slow-leaker. None on my Dyna or current RKC. I'd love to find a set of HD tubeless spoked rims, but until then I'm good with the OEM wheels. I did pick up some matching hard bags, but I do switch to the leathers once in a great while.

I like the cruise control. Around me I can use it occasionally and it comes in handy. What I really like is the Kury "cramp-buster" on the throttle. That is something I use a lot.

Get a Classic and the tubeless spoked wheels; problem solved!

Good Luck!