First the details: 2001 RK FLHPI, Installed new rear tire Dunlop 402 MT90-16 on 8-11-09 Milg. 34342. Rode bike back and forth to work for a couple months, checked air pressure every couple weeks, it held steady at 38 psi. cold (Max psi is 40 cold).

On 10-31-09 I rode to Meridian Mississippi, one rider on the bike with an over night bag, total weight probably 200 lbs, starting Milg. 35539, psi 38 cold. On the way home I stopped in Lake Village Arkansas for gas and the Milg. was 36118.

After a short break in Lake Village I headed out. As I neared Moscow Arkansas traveling at 75 mph I noticed the bike felt like it was sliding sideways and then it started wobbling violently. I was able to get to the side of the road without going down. I checked the bike out and found my rear tire completely flat. It was around 7:30 pm, dark, heavy traffic, a construction zone and a sloped narrow median. Because of these circumstances it was difficult to examine the tire and see what caused the flat. No problem, one of the guys in my club is a repo man. He rode home and got his wrecker (with motorcycle attachment) and I was home within a couple hours, no charge.

The next day I started working on the bike to find out what happened. The first thing I did was try to air up the tire so I could get the jack underneath the bike. When I checked the valve stem I notice the cap missing, I wasn't sure if it came off on it's own or if someone took it off when we were on the side of the rode working on the bike. I hooked the air hose onto the valve and started airing up the tire. As soon as I removed the air hose I heard the air coming out of the valve stem. When I examined it closely I noticed the schrader valve was missing.

I went to the local parts store and picked up a schrader valve kit, reinstalled the valve and aired the tire up. I put the bike on my lift and rolled the tire all the way around checking for nails, screws, or damage. I used soapy water on the whole tire as well as the valve stem. No leaks or damage any where. The tire now held air.

Here's my questions:

Have any of you had a schrader valve and valve cap blow out while you were riding?
Do you think the schrader valve was defective or not torqued enough?
Do you think the valve stem is bad and should be replaced?

The tire has been holding air for more than twenty-four hours now so I'm pretty sure the only thing wrong with the tire was the schrader valve.

Give me some feedback. Thanks

 

I've had bad schrader valves fail on cars, bicycles, and motorcycles. They all just leaked slowly though, and I have never had one actually blow out of the valve stem. I'd be suspicious that some time in the last week or two, when your bike was parked, maybe somebody removed the valve cap and losened the schrarer valve. Where do you usually park the bike? at work? Anybody pi$$ed at you there? At home, is it always in a locked garage, or could a nutjob neighbor have gotten to it???

 

Never had one blow out but on our last ride my front went down about fifty miles after I aired it up to 38psi. I added a can of fix a flat and rode to a gas station. I aired it up to 38psi again and it's been the same now for about a month. Couldn't find a hole or leak anywhere so the only thing I can think of is the valve stuck open when I aired it up. Makes me think I'll be more cautious when I add air now. Never heard of anyone losing a whole valve. Could someone have messed with the bike without you knowing?

 

I usually park my bike in my garage when I'm home. I had to park my bike in the hotel parking lot the night before I rode home from Meridian. When I first noticed the schrader valve missing I wondered if someone had tampered with it. I wondered if it could be loosened to a point that it would fail without letting the air out but I don't know if it's really possible. If that's what happened it was most likely in the hotel parking lot.

 

I hate to always be suspicious but I can't help but wonder if that's what happened.

 

Nice job bringing it to a safe stop. Doesn't happen all the time.

Suspicious.....if it was just loose, the cap would help to hold it in and the leak would have been slower. If it had blown out on it's own, it likely would have damaged some of the threads that were holding it in. When you put a new one in, you might have noticed bad threads then. If not, you would know if it blew out again when you put air pressure to it.

Sounds like it may have been tampered with, but if I was the one that had to trust it, the cost is pretty cheap for a whole new one compared to the rates in ICU.

 

messing with a bikers tires should be attempted murder.

 

No
No
No

Sounds like someone removed it for you!

 

If the valve was loose to begin with, MAYBE it unscrewed and blew the cap off, but I'd go with RH8234's thoughts.
somebody probably messed with when you stopped at lake village.

 

I appreciate everyone's responses. I seriously doubt the valve blew out on it's own. I posted on here to get opinions and to find out if it ever happened to anyone else. So far it looks suspicious.