Flat Tire Today

Picked up a nail in my rear tire on the way to work today. I have a 55 mile commute, 50 miles of freeway, and 5 miles of city. The rear tire got sloppy about a half mile from work, so I nursed it in. I'll have to get a co-worker with a pickup truck to get it to a bike shop today for a new tube/tire.
I was going to change tires this season, so the timing wasn't too bad.
I think I'm going with Dunlop Qualifiers (RWL), if I can get them installed today.

Man, that stinks. At least it happened close to your work and you wear able to ride it in.

Bummer!

I had a rear-tire flat due to a nail about a month ago, about 5 miles from the office. Had to call AAA towing - glad I have the "recreational" package to cover bikes. Turns out a special motorcycle tower had to be called. The bike got towed in an enclosed trailer, while I got to ride upfront in a super-decked-out Escalade - nice!

Oh well, in the meantime I got to sit in somebody's front yard for an hour watching a training video on my laptop...

By the way, I just replaced the tube and re-used the tire...

Biquetoast wrote:

Bummer!

I had a rear-tire flat due to a nail about a month ago, about 5 miles from the office. Had to call AAA towing - glad I have the "recreational" package to cover bikes. Turns out a special motorcycle tower had to be called. The bike got towed in an enclosed trailer, while I got to ride upfront in a super-decked-out Escalade - nice!

Oh well, in the meantime I got to sit in somebody's front yard for an hour watching a training video on my laptop...

By the way, I just replaced the tube and re-used the tire...

No kidding? I was thinking about looking into the AAA RV package that includes bikes (I guess its the same as what you have) but thought they would just send a flatbed and strap it on there. After seeing how they treated you I'll check it out today. I need the peace of mind.

I have AAA Auto Club. It costs about $100 per year, and they'll tow up to 75 miles. I need that because I work 55 miles from home. Don't know if they'll tow my bike.... I should check on that.

Most towing companies are not setup to to tow bikes. After my accident they dragged my bike up a flatbed. The only damage I had from the wreck was the forks and the trees.When they towed it to my house the tank was smashed, sidecovers were damaged, seat was torn, tailfin was cracked. They had it strapped with a chain and binder.

cudaosix wrote:

No kidding? I was thinking about looking into the AAA RV package that includes bikes (I guess its the same as what you have) but thought they would just send a flatbed and strap it on there. After seeing how they treated you I'll check it out today. I need the peace of mind.

Yeah - great guy running the operation. Mind you, I'm sure it's a rarity. When my buddy got hit on my 400, I had the good ol' boy lift the bike up an a canvas strap thing, the bike swinging in the breeze....

The recent tow guy warned me to be very specific when talking to the AAA person on the phone - make sure you ask specifically for SPECIAL motorcycle towing. :whistle:

And to ltdrider: I made sure to check on that a while ago - only the "Plus RV" package covers motorcycles. :blink:

By the way, I've been meaning to look into it - the AMA offers a cheap motorcycle towing plan.... someday I'll have to get serious about researching that...:huh:

You can ride on a flat tire if emergency dictates. Maybe not the best alternative, but there are times when it may be necessary and safer to actually ride. Once I found myself out at 2AM in a not so respectable part of town 5 miles from home with a flat. I had a few choices. I could start walking, have a 50/50 chance of getting home without being beat and robbed at a minimum, or ride on the flat. I started out slow, maybe 20mph, then 30mph, then decided I could safely ride whatever speed I wanted to, just felt like riding on grooved pavement, takes a little extra care. I ride 5 miles home, the tire is "very" hot, no damage. I don't recommend this in all instances of course, but a flat tire is not the end of the ride if you don't want it to be.

Bummer, I was out a few months ago, started to get that soft feeling, thought it was the front, took off from a light and made a corner, damn near lost it, rear tire, still had a few miles to go, was either push or ride, rode, flet like riding on marbles

Z-MAN wrote:

Most towing companies are not setup to to tow bikes. After my accident they dragged my bike up a flatbed. The only damage I had from the wreck was the forks and the trees.When they towed it to my house the tank was smashed, sidecovers were damaged, seat was torn, tailfin was cracked. They had it strapped with a chain and binder.

Of course they didn't pay for any of the damage either... They could just say it was like that when they got there. That sucks. :S

I have State Farm Insurance on all my vehicles along with their roadside assistance. I'll have to check and see if motorcycles are covered. Probably not with my luck.

I got the flat fixed after work on Friday. Had to put Blaze into a friends pickup, and we found one m/c shop in our area that could do the job. I wanted to fix the tire that day, because I didn't want to leave it over the weekend, and then try to figure out how to get it home again.
Anyway, they had to replace the tire. The nail was near the sidewall, and a plug patch was not recommended. I had them put on another Bridgestone Spitfire. I wanted RWL, but they didn't have one in stock, so my new tire looks just like my old one.

Blaze got alot of looks when she was on the bike lift. These old KZs have just about been forgotten by the m/c community. One guy asked me if that was the 'new kawasaki'. Ha!