Blow out
Stage III
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Katy, Texas
Was following my wife one afternoon as were going through town she experienced a front tire flat. Fortunately we were only traveling about 30 mph. The bike just suddenly started shaking violently. She stayed off the brake and rode it into a nearby parking lot. She had run over a large tack in the road. I would never want to experience that at highway speed.
Supporter
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 13,870
Likes: 4,083
From: Taylortucky, MI
I had a rear blow-out on my Cap't American Torker bikecycle I built last summer,,,,,,BOOM! loud as chit. .
scared the bejezus outta me, and I was only doin' maybe 15mph,
OL ws riding beside me and she ducked like we were shot at, pissed me off cuz it's hard to find a 3"x 24" FATASS WW tire,
the front 3"x 26" BADASS WW was spared.
scared the bejezus outta me, and I was only doin' maybe 15mph,OL ws riding beside me and she ducked like we were shot at, pissed me off cuz it's hard to find a 3"x 24" FATASS WW tire,
the front 3"x 26" BADASS WW was spared.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,846
Likes: 173
From: Simi Valley, CA
I had a front tire blow out about 5 years ago on my Duece. The front tube lierally exploded (see pics). I was on my way to Vegas, traveling north on I-15, just short of Barstow. Anyone who travels that route knows that the average speed of traffic is about 80-85 mph, and that is about the speed I was traveling. Once north of Barstow it's even faster!
A passer-by stopped and let me use her garage to do the repairs. I called AAA and got towed to her place. It was Sunday, late afternoon, and lucky for me she had a friend/neighbor who just happened to have a bike jack and a new tube. There were no motorcycle shops open at the time.
As far as the riding experience goes, it really wasn't as bad as you might imagine. The front got a little squirrelly. Enough that I knew something was wrong, but not scary. At speed, the centrifugal forces on the tire tire kept it in shape and fairly stable. Slowing was the tricky part. The wobble become significant as my speed decreased. Can't remember exactly, but my recollection is that the bike became more and more unstable as I was slowing and was at it's worst around 30-40 mph.
Like others have said, if it happens, ease off the throttle, use the brakes very gingerly, if at all, and ride it out until you come to a stop. No abrupt reactions!
Mine happened while travelling straight and it was really no big deal. I wouldn't want it happening through a corner though.
A passer-by stopped and let me use her garage to do the repairs. I called AAA and got towed to her place. It was Sunday, late afternoon, and lucky for me she had a friend/neighbor who just happened to have a bike jack and a new tube. There were no motorcycle shops open at the time.
As far as the riding experience goes, it really wasn't as bad as you might imagine. The front got a little squirrelly. Enough that I knew something was wrong, but not scary. At speed, the centrifugal forces on the tire tire kept it in shape and fairly stable. Slowing was the tricky part. The wobble become significant as my speed decreased. Can't remember exactly, but my recollection is that the bike became more and more unstable as I was slowing and was at it's worst around 30-40 mph.
Like others have said, if it happens, ease off the throttle, use the brakes very gingerly, if at all, and ride it out until you come to a stop. No abrupt reactions!
Mine happened while travelling straight and it was really no big deal. I wouldn't want it happening through a corner though.
Supporter
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 13,870
Likes: 4,083
From: Taylortucky, MI
that's even more dangerous.. especially if they were the four legged type with huge racks
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
Had a rear tire blow out on my Lo last summer. Didnt even have 800 kms on it. I was doing 120 kph on the highway and heard a loud boom, thought the motor went. Couldnt turn and the bike started shaking. Put my weight forward on the tank and managed to muscle it over to the offramp and called a tow truck. Turned out to be an expensive tire.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,796
Likes: 36
From: Toronto, Ontario
Had a rear tire blow out on my Lo last summer. Didnt even have 800 kms on it. I was doing 120 kph on the highway and heard a loud boom, thought the motor went. Couldnt turn and the bike started shaking. Put my weight forward on the tank and managed to muscle it over to the offramp and called a tow truck. Turned out to be an expensive tire.
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: Kingwood, TX
Another CL350 Blowout!
I'll be darned. I had same thing happen on a CL350 in about 1973 on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. Front tire blew. Pull the clutch in, keep 'er pointed straight, and slowly angle out to shoulder when speed decreases. Feather the brakes when you're slowed way down. That bike was light enough that I pushed it home nearly a mile.
Last edited by jl777; May 22, 2011 at 09:46 AM.
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Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 17
From: SW Mississippi
[QUOTE=2black1s;
"A passer-by stopped and let me use her garage to do the repairs. I called AAA and got towed to her place. It was Sunday, late afternoon, and lucky for me she had a friend/neighbor who just happened to have a bike jack and a new tube. There were no motorcycle shops open at the time."
Man, there are still some good people in this world. It seems like broke-down bikers get more help than cages. I almost hate to stop on the side of the road for a smoke or whatever because someone seems to always stop and check if I need help. They usually ain't that cute though!
"A passer-by stopped and let me use her garage to do the repairs. I called AAA and got towed to her place. It was Sunday, late afternoon, and lucky for me she had a friend/neighbor who just happened to have a bike jack and a new tube. There were no motorcycle shops open at the time."
Man, there are still some good people in this world. It seems like broke-down bikers get more help than cages. I almost hate to stop on the side of the road for a smoke or whatever because someone seems to always stop and check if I need help. They usually ain't that cute though!
Account Closed
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 682
Likes: 1
From: In the World
Me neither ... but ... when I'm on I-75 doing 75 ... I can't say my mind doesn't drift from time to time and I think about it. You have to tell yourself that there are lost of forces keeping you upright at that speed and that its going to be a very rare occasion where you are going to have a catastrophic blow-up where all the air comes off at once. I've had more scares with hydroplaning at 60 than anything else .. we get incredible rain storms in central Florida ... and its not always possible to seek immediate shelter when you are on the interstate and you hit a rain curtain along with all the other traffic. Happened to me on the way home from Ft Myers a couple of years back ... hit a rain storm while all traffic was doing 70+ ... could not avoid or even see a long depression in the road ahead of me ... could not even think of hitting the brakes ... when my tires hit the puddle .. I was up and on the water ... what a hell of a feeling ... no steering and it seemed to take forever for the bike to slow down ... lucky I never hit the brakes ... the bike physically dropped down to the payment somewhere below 60 .. could not look down on the speedo I was concentrating on staying upright on that beast ... I got off that SOB road at the next exit ... the a-holes I was riding with that day ... never looked back ... and never cared about what happened to me .... never even asked ... so .. never road with those f-kers again.