Had an eye opener this afternoon!

Ketchmi

Registered
A friend flew into Elko, Nv. today and I was going to ride over & meet up for dinner. Checked my tire pressures before I left, looked good. I got 44 miles into the trip and the front end started to feel a little funny. I got a vibration-I have never had a front end vibration on this bike so I hit the offramp (had to get slowed down pretty quickly to make it) and coasted to a stop. A 1/8" hole in my front tire from a screw or something that punctured and came out right in the middle of the tread. Avon storms with about 5k miles on them. The slower I got, the worse it got. The tire was completely gone. I had been doing about 90ish just seconds before, it went that fast. Total distance traveled between first feeling the vibration and getting stopped...just over a quarter of a mile. No wheel damage and I just happen to have a set of 016's sitting here waiting.

A couple of hours alongside I80 waiting for a friend with a truck in the beautiful desert sunshine...about a mile from the Morton Salt Factory...had me really wanting a margarita to go along with the unique aroma of rotting brine shrimp wafting over the "Great Salt Lake". I did have a jug of Gatorade and my cell, kept entertained counting all the Walmart trucks headed for the Distrubution center driving right on by without bothering to see if I needed assistance. (27 of them!) There were 6 different folks that did stop and see if I needed anything, there are some good folks left out there! This was out in the west desert with no shade for a mile and that was the Mortons factory.

Had I ignored the vibration, which wasn't that bad when I first noticed it, could have led to a pretty nasty situation another mile down the road. Pay attention out there, you can maintain your bike perfectly and it may not be enough.
 
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SCARRY !! How many times have we all felt something, and just figured we'd check it out when we got where we were going ?



Glad it didn't turn out too bad.
 
There is a product in the UK called Ultraseal which blocks punctures like that and I think from memory up to 10mm as long as its not near the edge of the tyre or sidewall. I have used it on all of my sportsbikes and found it to be a godsend. I even fitted it on my rear tyre on my R1 which had a puncture 30 miles from new and it held for the life of the tyre. Its good up to 150mph but I can tell you it works far beyond that with no ill effect and can accomodate multiple punctures.

It does not effect any wheel balancing either but you do need to ensure there is not a similar product already in the tyre.

Im picking up my Busa shortly and its the first thing Im going to do as soon as its home.

Vindy.
 
very scary and glad you are ok. I don't wanna think about how nasty that could have been, just glad that you felt it and decided on checking it out.:thumbsup:
 
Glad it didn't turn out worse. That's the reason I have these on my bike. It lets me know if I have a tire problem before it gets to the point of being dangerous.

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