I took a tow truck home

[fireball]

Looking out the door and all I want to do is go for a ride, BEAUTIFUL weather out there... But sadly this morning after a ten hour shift, walk to the carpark to find the Grim Reapers rear tyre flat as a pancake....

WTF?? how can a tyre that has no obvious damage or punctures go flat overnight?

Need advice on a decent mid range replacement, have had a look online and there is no real answer to what is the best type of tyre to use....
I have done 31800km on the original tyres that were on it when I purchased it from brand new in 2008 (yes still plenty of tread and of WOF specs)
No idea if they have a tube inside or not, so don't know if I can get away with just a tube replacement.
Don't know if it was a slow leak or puncture, but there is no visable damage and I checked my tyres about 2 weeks ago.
Do I have to change both front and rear at the same time?
Specs for the tyre is 150/80-15 for the rear and 90/90-18 for the front.

Any advice?

[FJRider]

Any advice?

If it took all night to go flat ... although the tyre pressure may have been down a bit from normal when you arrived at work ... a $5 bike pump from the Warehouse could have put enough air into it to get you slowly to a gas station in about 10 minutes.

It may have even let down by some unknown person ... being a smart cunt.

Or a faulty valve (or valve stem if the tyre is a tubeless one)

Slow punctures do happen. OFTEN.

[fireball]

If it took all night to go flat ...

From when I first got on the bike and realized it was flat, to riding it out of the carpark to where I could load it onto the truck the tyre went from being not too bad (possibly limp to the gas station) to flat as, could hardly wheel it... but I've looked and can't see any obvious holes or damage.... There is also no way someone would have touched my bike (it has someone at the carpark exit watching it who is also a biker)

[Katman]

It is a tube type tyre.

If you still have sufficient tread on the tyre just get someone to repair the puncture.

[FJRider]

From when I first got on the bike and realized it was flat, to riding it out of the carpark to where I could load it onto the truck the tyre went from being not too bad (possibly limp to the gas station) to flat as, could hardly wheel it... but I've looked and can't see any obvious holes or damage.... There is also no way someone would have touched my bike (it has someone at the carpark exit watching it who is also a biker)

Slow leaks through a puncture are common. And fit no pattern known to man (or woman). It happens ... and as annoying as it would have been ... it didn't happen at speed in the middle of nowhere ...

And the option of the truck you had ... and took. YOU and the bike in ONE piece.

Coming back to a bike (at ANY time) with a flat tyre is never a nice feeling ...

[Madness]

I have done 31800km on the original tyres that were on it when I purchased it from brand new in 2008 (yes still plenty of tread and of WOF specs)

Wow! That's impressive (I think).

[fireball]

Wow! That's impressive (I think).

If you look at the close up of my rear tyre you can see it has plenty of tread on it!
I am waiting for the "you should have got new tyres as soon as you purchased it" posts telling me how naughty and cheap I am....

[FJRider]

I have done 31800km on the original tyres that were on it when I purchased it from brand new in 2008 (yes still plenty of tread and of WOF specs)

31,800 km's on the original tyres ... ???

[FJRider]

If you look at the close up of my rear tyre you can see it has plenty of tread on it!

On close up ... only at the edge of the tyre. Not in the center where road contact is usually made. And when a puncture is more likely to happen. I doubt if that tyre would pass a WoF ..

[fireball]

31,800 km's on the original tyres ... ???

Yup original tyres, not a bad effort

[FJRider]

Yup original tyres, not a bad effort

Looks like new tyres might be a good idea then.

[george formby]

On close up ... only at the edge of the tyre. Not in the center where road contact is usually made. And when a puncture is more likely to happen. I doubt if that tyre would pass a WoF ..

Yup, lookin a bit thin in the middle. 31800k?

I wish I could get a sixth of that.

Splurge on some new wubber OP, winter is nigh & your contact patch is the most important part of the bike.

[fireball]

What type of tyre would best suit the Intruder for the masses of power it posses, secretly of course....
I've looked at...
Dunlop K555 for $320
Shinko for $163
Bridgestone for $279

But I really have no idea what tyre would perform best as an all rounder for grip, traction, wear etc I'm no hoon and most of the riding I do sadly is the commute to and from work on the motorway

[Madness]

What type of tyre would best suit the Intruder for the masses of power it posses, secretly of course....
I've looked at...
Dunlop K555 for $320
Shinko for $163
Bridgestone for $279

But I really have no idea what tyre would perform best as an all rounder for grip, traction, wear etc I'm no hoon and most of the riding I do sadly is the commute to and from work on the motorway

If you're getting in excess of 30,000 K's from a rear tyre I'd suggest any tyre would suit the purpose well. I'd pick the Bridgestone, because it's a brand that starts with the letter B.

On the subject of tyres, I passed a WOF on Friday only to have to buy a new rear yesterday after noticing the centre was starting to shred & delaminate, probably due to numerous drag racing staging burnouts. The WOF tester was very casual in his inspection and obviously never picked up the tyre degredation. Moral of this story; a WOF inspection is not a basis to rely upon a tyres road-worthiness.

[fireball]

Would it be a sensible thing to replace the front?
It is in far better condition than the rear