Afternoon Update; 58,xxx on Bike, 37,xxx on Build, 7,700 on "refresh"
Not many miles since last post, 'been riding the '05
a little, otherwise trying to beat the heat...
Bike has been running great
all quiet & smooth. We rode to Murphy, NC to view the eclipse, ride the area, and get psyched for the upcoming MVGTG!!
Only issue has been a rear tire blowout (instant deflation) in Murphy, NC
The course of events and the looks of the tire has me scratching my head
The day before the blowout, I checked the tires and each was +- a pound and a half low (digital gauge), which considering the lower ambient temperatures in the mountains (coming from Fla) I felt was good / normal,,,
'Aired up the 5k mile Michelin Commander IIs that had the recommended amount of Ride-On Sealant installed to the 38F, 42R that I usually run... Both tires looked fine, much less cupping than the OE HD Dunlops at comparable mileage...
We (along with our friends on 3 other HDs) had a great day of riding, sometimes "spirited", heeling the HDs near their limits on occasion...
The '09 SERG was flawless in every respect,,, all was well in our world... Even the Dragon (which we don't frequent very much) was easy, not much traffic... (although 2 were life flighted out an hour or so before we rode through
).
Riding a basically counter clockwise loop, Moonshiner 28, Fontana Dam, Deal's Gap, The Dragon, Tellico Plains, Cherohala Skyway, Robbinsville and back toward Murphy, NC... Nearing Murphy on HWY 129 (4 lane) cruising around 65 mph, while changing lanes we both noticed a subtle shake when crossing the centerline, nothing really alarming, then <5 seconds later we both smelled burning rubber, I immediately slowed and pulled over to the side of the road, when at 20 mph or so it was evident that the tire was riding on the rim. It seemed to be an instantaneous loss of pressure, no noises, bumps or anything that would alert us to the instant loss of air pressure... Just moments earlier I had her leaned over hitting bumps in the road at 15-20 over the posted limit, the Bike was faultless...
We were lucky that the flat happened when & where it did, 2-3 miles from the house, good cell coverage, if we were heeled over in the twisties, it could have been another story
...
We found Wheeler's Performance in Robbinsville, NC. Wheeler's specializes in sport bikes and according to their website, stocks hundreds of tires, "we do plenty of Harleys,,, no problem..." Wheeler's was very Friendly, Polite and Professional with very Competitive Pricing,,, A great Indy!! Because of the hi-load rated (80) 18s on the SERG, Wheeler's had to order the tire from the NC Parts Unlimited Warehouse and had us on our way with a mounted and balanced Commander II 42 hours later...
Looking at the tire; a single nail hole (no nail) centrally located in the tread, thought it would be a good candidate for a plug until we discovered some slits about an inch or so long inside the tread grooves, near the outside edges...
Over the years I have had 3-4 nails / screws in rear motorcycle tires,,, all were discovered with the nails still in the tires, barely low on air, plugged the tire and rode out the remaining service life,,, no issues. I never had a nail come out on its own?? As far as the slits,,, I'm thinking that the tire split on its own while riding on the rim with all that load on it?? I don't really know?? 'Never saw one like this before,,, this is my first instant deflate on a street (tubeless) tire, have had two other instant deflates (F&R) shredding tubes in dirt bike tires...On the dirt bikes, the greatest loss of control was when the rear blew...
Surprisingly there was no damage at all to the Rear Wheel.
IDK if the Ride-On Sealant played any part in the way this issue played out??
I do know that the Ride-On was properly installed to the Manufacturer's Specifications, and the MCII suffered a complete deflation while riding
Maybe I'll contact Ride-On and see what they have to say??
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Topic: 113" / 117" Build, Am I headed in the right direction? (Read 99305 times)