Worst freaking moment on a bike - Ever!

[rideon]

Traveling to Ohakune last Sunday, to stay for 2 nights over new years, the ride ( 5 bikes in all ) was going really well - Hamilton-Mangakino-Benydale-Waimiha-Taumaranui-Ohakune. I had been leading most of the way until we hit SH 4 about 25 kms out of Taumaranui. I waved the everyone through & took on TEC duties.
As I was last out onto SH 4 & the next bike in front had a speed limiting device (detector) I wound it on just a lil bit to catch up and was enjoying quite a brisker pace compared to the ride so far.
I passed a cage towards the end of a small straight , pitched the bike into an unmarked RH bend. And thats when the shit hit the fan. The bike stood up instantly and wanted to go straight & my first thought was, #*ck , that was a big gust of wind.:shit: When the bike wouldn't lay over again I figured something else was wrong. :shit:Getting off the gas made it worse , and pushing on the Bars harder made the bike wobble.
Tyres was my next thought and I vivedly remember teIling myself - DON'T TOUCH THE BRAKES and look where I want to go !! I had to roll on a bit of gas to try and unload the front a bit , hang off the seat (which i don't normally do ) and managed to man-handle her round the corner and coast to a very wobbly shaky stop on the side of the road. All of the above happened VERY quickly , but also in slow motion - very weird ???
I hopped off & sure enough my front tyre was as flat as a pancake. I then realised I had just experianced an instant blow out , mid corner , at a briskiish pace & somehow was still upright and in one piece. I do carry a dog turd kit & thought it would be any easy fix but after checking the tyre twice, could not find the offending sharp bit or any wound. I wiggled the valve stem & heard a very liittle "ssssss" . mmmmm I thought, this won't be an easy fix !!
By this stage someone had come back looking for me. He had a tyre panda and as the 2 after hours numbers from the 2 bike shops in Taumaranui were diverting straight to answer phone , we decided it was worth a shot. We got some air into the tyre but most of the goo came straight out of the base of the valve stem, which is where it had failed. In this case - tyre panda, FAIL - too big a gash
I had some cable ties in my box of tricks & then figured I could pull the valve over onto its wound and hopefully it would hold enough air to at least get 19 Kms into town. I pulled the valve over onto its wound & secured the ties to a spoke , chucked in two canisters of CO2 & bingo I was mobile. Managed to cruise along at 60 - 70 Kms/hr and got into town.
Still no luck with 2 bike shops or 2 tyre shops so after 2 hours of trying to get it sorted we decided to jiggle to ties around a bit. I managed to get 30 psi in the tyre & holding air, gassed up & we headed off for Ohakune. The temporary fix worked a treat , cruised in the middle of the pack at about 90 - 100 clicks & got safely all the way to Ohakune, another 80 odd Kms , although the whole way it felt like I was riding a timebomb !!
Next morning - tyre off and into town where the tyre shop was able to install a new valve - $10 all sorted.
Thinking about the fail & I think it may be the cheap 90 deg screw on attachment, that under the centrifugal forces , may have stressed the valve over time, to the point where it failed big time. They are now off the bike & I will stick with the straight ones for the time being. For the record , thats the first flat tyre I had in about 150,000 Kms & hopefully the next is not as instant as this one was !! Me thinks a lotto ticket may be on the shopping list this week.........

[Geeen]

Wow! So not a very laxed out ride then? Glad to hear all ended the best it could

Not sent from an iDevice

[bosslady]

freaky! but good save :clap:

[Madness]

I have one of those right-angle tyre valve adapters, I can't inflate my tyres without it. It lives in the pocket of my bike pants.

[onearmedbandit]

I guess you were lucky it didn't let go on the way to Ohakune.

I'd agree with what you're saying about the damage and how it occurred. If you're going to replace them do it with something like this.

<img src="http://images.motorcycle-superstore.com/ProductImages/OG/0000-K-L-Right-Angle-Valve-Stem---.jpg"/>

[Gremlin]

You wouldn't be the first person I've heard of to have issues with those right angle thingies...

Good save though!

[Kickaha]

Thinking about the fail & I think it may be the cheap 90 deg screw on attachment, that under the centrifugal forces , may have stressed the valve over time, to the point where it failed big time.

They shouldn't be left permanently attached and the valve stem should be changed with every tyre change

[insomnia01]

the luck of the Irish ??!! best get that lotto ticket cause we dont want to have another mishap at the end of the month :weep:

[Corse1]

WOW now thats a save! Lucky you. Thanks for posting the pics so the rest of us can avoid a similar occurance!

[Highlander]

Forget the LOTTO ticket. You have used your portion of luck.

[DEATH_INC.]

Glad you survived it....BUT....that has got to be the worst f*cken idea I have ever seen. Who sells those things??? Do they say to ride it with it attached? How the Hell does anyone think a cheap chinese piece of rubber is gonna hold that weight against the centrifugal force of the wheel rotating at speed???
Imagine if some idiot puts some on a busa and has it let go at 300k....:eek5:

[Crasherfromwayback]

, cruised in the middle of the pack at about 90 - 100 clicks & got safely all the way to Ohakune, .

Buy another lotto ticket.

[Laava]

Surely you don,t need to win lotto to buy a new pair of undies?
Actually, buy two and keep a spare pair under the seat.
Best make em heavy duty!

[sinfull]

Bloody Hondas

[Flip]

Join the AA

Ran over bit of tin that cut a 2" slice through the front tyre, Easter weekend central Otago. Called the AA, 20 min later they called back and said...... The garage in Ranfurly won't help, the Palmerston bike shop will collect the bike and fit a new tyre, the Naseby garage can't collect the bike but said he can patch the tyre and fit a tube if you can get the wheel to him.

As Naseby was by far the closest we took the wheel to Naseby, he stuck a big reinforced patch inside the tyre, fitted a tube and the bike made it back to Wellington no trouble.

The AA were simply brillant IMHO.

[willytheekid]

Bloody Hondas are perfect!....If it needed a right angled tyre valve...it would have a bloody stock one!(Not a cheap over sized chinese one!)

Fixed that for ya ;)


OP...glad to hear you controlled it...aint front blowouts fun! :clap:

[BigAl]

Good save M, doesn't bear thinking about a blowout while pushing it in the corners.:sweatdrop

Reminder to always ask for new valve stems with tyres eh.

[hellokitty]

I have had 2 experiences with tyres blowing while riding - the front one sure is scary!


Join the AA


Yep, AA PLus... I have been towed 3 times with flat tyres, 2 of those tows were about 80km from home, and cost me nothing.
Do check that they have secured your bike properly though... one towed didn't tie mine properly and my bike fell over on the truck :angry2:

[haydes55]

I'm glad my only freaky moment was coming around a tight right hander and feeling my boot scrap the ground for the first time. :cool::crazy::eek5::sweatdrop:cool:

[Fatjim]

Get rid of them. you don't need them, even with those rims. Most garages have the stub connector on them now, and if the don't, just bend the fucker so it fits.

Lucky you where on the 'storm. Fantastic handling bike, even with flat tyres.

[imdying]

Like the others have said, if you want a permanent 90 degree valve, get something like an Ariete. You can find them on the Kurvey Girl site.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Like the others have said, if you want a permanent 90 degree valve, get something like an Ariete. You can find them on the Kurvey Girl site.

Googling Kurvey Girl as we speak. thats not how I normally spell it, so, uh, there's that.

[Road kill]

I read an article on the net once about that "everything is happening fast but time slows down" thing.

Seems it's not our imagination after all.

It's part of the "flight or fight" survival instinct that comes into play to keep us alive when the shit really hits the fan.

People that habitually do dangerous stuff have it well developed and tend to survive when the chips are down.

But people that usually play it safe an don't get to exersize the instinct very often,,,tend to die !

Still,,,very good save that man:niceone:

[bosslady]

Join the AA

I got roadside assistance when I signed up for insurance with kiwi bike that's the equivalent/same thing aint it?

[blackspeed]

That was an awesome save!! Well done and thanks for the heads up on those angle valves etc

[Gremlin]

I got roadside assistance when I signed up for insurance with kiwi bike that's the equivalent/same thing aint it?
Not quite, check the terms and conditions of what they will cover, in what circumstances and to what extent (there is usually a dollar limit per incident).

I've got AA Plus, costs a bit more than the basic plan, but should something happen, I'm transported back home, rather than the nearest service centre. Cheap insurance when I think of the distances I cover, and far from home. It also covers me, not the vehicle, so whatever I'm using...

[rideon]

The 90 deg valves came off the next day, and the rear valve checked thoroughly for any signs of wear. Looked ok. I will be heading back to the bike shop that sold them to me and letting them know about the incident I had as a result. Was told they could stay on permanently & I never thought much about it till now ..... I would say to anyone with cheap screw on elbows , get rid of them today & check the valve stem for any sign of perishing/stress/cracks cos when it fails , it lets go real quick !!

[FJRider]

The 90 deg valves came off the next day, and the rear valve checked thoroughly for any signs of wear. Looked ok. I will be heading back to the bike shop that sold them to me and letting them know about the incident I had as a result. Was told they could stay on permanently & I never thought much about it till now ..... I would say to anyone with cheap screw on elbows , get rid of them today & check the valve stem for any sign of perishing/stress/cracks cos when it fails , it lets go real quick !!

Or ... it could have suffered most of the initial damage by some unknown idiot tyre kicker ... with intent to fuck your day up.

Blame where you KNOW it is due. NOT where you suspect/told is/could be ... due.

[St_Gabriel]

The 90 deg valves came off the next day, and the rear valve checked thoroughly for any signs of wear. Looked ok. I will be heading back to the bike shop that sold them to me and letting them know about the incident I had as a result. Was told they could stay on permanently & I never thought much about it till now .....


I bought one similar to that and was told the same thing (that it was ok to leave on all the time), I didnt leave it on due to a) only getting one, and b) i was concerned about putting the tyre/wheel out of balance. Was going to get a second one to leave on permanently next time i get a tyre changed so it could be balanced with it in place, but now I think i will stick with the single one left sitting in the bikes toolkit.

Much appreciated for the heads up.

[actungbaby]

Dude you did well i had same exp with my little xl100 k2 coming home on moorehouse ave in christruch my tube must got tear in and around the valve like u , i put tire pando in and just poured out the same, shit was nasty to ride iven slowly and that bike was light ,
Seemed to weave i must rideen it home mind you was on in town. that was like 25 years ago

my scarest moment was riding my gsx 450 home when front headlight blew again in pitch dark in the country dam that was stubid whouldint reapate that again.

[insomnia01]

The 90 deg valves came off the next day, and the rear valve checked thoroughly for any signs of wear. Looked ok. I will be heading back to the bike shop that sold them to me and letting them know about the incident I had as a result. Was told they could stay on permanently & I never thought much about it till now ..... I would say to anyone with cheap screw on elbows , get rid of them today & check the valve stem for any sign of perishing/stress/cracks cos when it fails , it lets go real quick !!

Be interested to know where you got your one's from !!!! Got me some but there not the screw onto the valve type that you had,been using them for years :sweatdrop:sweatdrop