Motorcyclists- ever have a tire blow out?

[ramonesfreak]

My 911 has been stuck in the shop for a suspension refresh since the first week of June. I’ve lost most of the driving season and I’ve been sitting in my empty garage bored thinking/obsessing about un-retiring from motorcycling. I’ve already decided I’m ready, have the bike picked out and made a list of mods…. but I guess I’m waiting for my wife’s blessing which won’t be coming anytime soon so…most likely I’ll just end up buying it and dealing with the aftermath.

Thinking back on my riding years, my biggest fear was a catastrophic tire blow out at highway speed. I once noticed a nail in my back tire as I was leaving the driveway on a 500 mile trip. Got it plugged and off I went. I hear people say, mostly when arguing in favor of laced wheels with tubes, that such an occurrence is rare and not worth worrying about. I don’t know, with my car, not a year goes by when I don’t get a nail in a tire at least once. Just a few weeks ago I picked up a nail in the dealers lot while getting an oil change. My second nail of the year. Not that a nail in a tire means a blow out is inevitable….rather it’s just another reminder that tires are very vulnerable

Anyway, if you ride/rode did you ever have a blow out at high speed? What happened, how did it turn out, and what if anything did you learn from the experience?

Btw, my next 2 biggest fears are white tail dear and hitting a pool of standing water after a storm

[Jeff Higgins]

47 years and well over 600,000 miles of motorcycling and never once a catastrophic blowout. Lots of flats, of course, but never a blowout. I'm not even sure such a thing is possible with a motorcycle tire. Even with a very rapid deflation at freeway speeds, I've always been able to control the motorcycle and get it safely slowed down and finally stopped.

Living and riding in Washington state, I'm no stranger to riding in the wet, even in torrential downpours. I've hit my share of awfully deep puddles. While not really all that much fun, I've never lost control of a motorcycle under any of those circumstances. They sure slow down quickly if the puddle is deep enough, but never so quickly as to lose control.

Wildlife is another matter. I know a few guys who have hit deer and, worse, elk. It's never pretty. Most have gotten off unhurt, but always with severely damaged motorcycles. One guy got killed, though. Just one of those things we all need to be aware of. How it affects your riding is your call.

[CarreraDan]

I have personally never had a tire blow out and hope to not ever have that happen. During the MSF course our instructor discussed blow outs and if it is the rear you get off the throttle and coast to a safe stop, it the front goes you are probably going down, hopefully you have proper gear on. I check my tire pressure every few days, I commute to work almost daily on the motorcycle. If anything feels different tire pressure is my first check. If I haven't ridden in a week I check the tires before leaving the garage as it takes less than a minute to do.

I actually enjoy a nice cooling rain shower in the summer. Modern motorcycle tires are excellent at displacing water as long as they are not worn out. Deer scare me too, I see a group almost daily before I get on the interstate on my commute. I do not speed through that area, I know they are there and we all know how unpredictable deer are when spooked.

[Rick Lee]

Out west the highways have these grooves in them, like they ran a giant rake through the wet concrete. In my experience, when I'm riding on such a surface with pretty worn tires, those grooves in the road tend to track my bike and I don't feel like I'm as in control. I would imagine any kind of tire failure on such a surface would be a problem. I've only had to to deal with a flat on a long trip once, got it plugged and made it home from LA to Phoenix, though tire was pretty much done by then, totally corded.

[stevej37]

The reason I quit owning a mtr cycle....deer. Riding at dusk or early morning is a death wish around here.
Never had a tire blow-out.

[ramonesfreak]

Deer are a massive problem here. I hit a pregnant deer on route 90 outside buffalo going 80 at midnight in a pickup truck and it was not something I want to have happen on a bike

A fried of mine hit a dairy cow coming around a corner on his road king. He lived. The bike and cow didn’t.

I came across this guy earlier today….it’s what made me think of this thread. I guess he is lucky and I guess it speaks to modern tires and wheels. For a new rider, he seems well thought out and gives good tips but why he continues wearing a half helmet after his close calls is puzzling. Anyway, couple of good quick tire problem stories here

[Zeke]

Rick, if a car has high performance summer tires, or worse, track tires with some street tread, they jump all over on the freeway. My '71S used to dart all over the place on Khumos. I'd hate to be on a bike.

I had a safe career on bikes but I got done with that early. Some flat track and a little road racing and I knew I was good, but not good or brave enough to be competitive. So no flats.

I saw a few go down on the street and I got to thinking....

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I saw a few go down on the street and I got to thinking....

They say there are 2 types of riders, those that have crashed and those that eventually will….it’s obviously not 100% accurate but it’s something that was always on my mind, usually as I was leaving the house.

[Jeff Higgins]

There is another saying about riders, paraphrasing Chuck Yeager's comments regarding fighter pilots:

"There are old riders (fighter pilots). There are bold riders (fighter pilots). But there are no old, bold riders (fighter pilots)".

My wife and I were out in the Boxster this morning. Got passed by a guy on a new Panigale Twin. We looked at each other and both spontaneously remarked "he ain't long for this world".

Most of this is up to us. How we ride, how we maintain our machines. Luck plays a factor, like everything else in life. We weigh the enjoyment against the risk. I've voted with my throttle hand, but readily admit this isn't for everyone.

[flatbutt]

50+ years never had a blowout. I always buy the high end Z rated tires figuring you only have two beneath you so skimping is a bad bad idea.

[ramonesfreak]

Very true.

About a mile from here a few years back a kid …20 something…did a wheelie on the highway going 100+, fell back and his head came clear off his body and rolled into a ditch still in the helmet. His riding buddies witnessed the entire thing.

There are things we can control and things we can’t

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

50+ years never had a blowout. I always buy the high end Z rated tires figuring you only have two beneath you so skimping is a bad bad idea.

Congrats on the new trike!

[Evans, Marv]

I had my crash on my old bike in 1968 coming from a party at two or three in the morning. I don't plan to have another one - hopefully. A few years ago I had a flat rear tire that had picked up a screw. I didn't know the tire was flat until I started out from the garage. The bike didn't feel right, so I stopped and during my inspection kicked the rear tire and could tell it was flat. The amazing thing was it didn't really collapse under the weight of the bike. I plugged it & got a new tire installed.

[latunabernie]

I had a blowout at 85 mph. on PCH just North of Malibu in a turn.
I felt the bike slide and I thought I had hit some oil.
Then the bike started going sideways. The rear going back and forth. (Tank Slapper)
I imminently gave the bike some throttle to stabilize it and eased up on how I was holding the handlebars while I was trying to steer it and slow down.
It was like riding a dirt bike in the desert in very soft sand.
Luckily, I made it to the right shoulder to slow down.
At about 25 mph it started go into another tank slapper, but I was able to control it and come to a stop.
The bike had a recently installed new tire but never locked up. The tube was shredded and parts of it were out of the tire but it did not get jammed in the swing arm or chain.
My girlfriend at the time got off the bike and started to cry. She thought she was going to die.
Getting the tire fixed and getting the bike home is another story.
The girlfriend is now my wife.

Bernie

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Out west the highways have these grooves in them, like they ran a giant rake through the wet concrete. In my experience, when I'm riding on such a surface with pretty worn tires, those grooves in the road tend to track my bike and I don't feel like I'm as in control. I would imagine any kind of tire failure on such a surface would be a problem. I've only had to to deal with a flat on a long trip once, got it plugged and made it home from LA to Phoenix, though tire was pretty much done by then, totally corded.

Its ok Rick,
Everything in California runs like its on those raked grooves. Nothing is in control here.

[ramonesfreak]

Whoa Bernie you survived my worst fear. The image of that will be stuck in my head

I always used to inspect my tires before talking off

The bike I want, HD heritage, has the tires mostly covered by the fenders and bags. Can see or feel if flat but can’t see damage or run your hand over the entire tire. Gives me anxiety

[gumby]

This cant be said enough, CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE!
you shouldnt just look at them or say that you will be able to feel it
My son in law thought his tires 'felt ok" ...the tires were so low that the outer edges were bald....Jeeze

rant over...thanks

[Chocaholic]

45 years of riding. No blowouts ever. Two low speed flats that were uneventful. With tubeless tires you can plug, pump and go. With a tubed tire…you’ll need a trailer (a PITA). Both of mine were on spoked wheels with tubes…unfortunately.

Inattentive drivers (and riders) and animals are a far greater safety risk.

[asphaltgambler]

I've never had a blowout on any of my bikes, or cars. Been a stickler for 3 things my whole life: have the best tires for the usage, the best battery, well maintained brakes, or better brakes if needed. Why? If the tire(s) fail, at the very least, you're not going anywhere. At the very worst, you'll be going somewhere else depending on your beliefs. Batteries? See the 1st part of my tire answer. Brakes? See the last part of my tire answer.

These 3 items fir certain are wearing items, but replacement over fairly long period of time, so I see those as an investment in my confidence in the machine.

[masraum]

My car has TPMS that shows me the tire pressure at each wheel. I love it.

In past cars that didn't have TPMS, I would often notice low air by the feel of the car.

I have to assume that in a motorcycle, you'd notice low pressure much sooner than in a car. I think blowouts generally occur when you drive on a drastically over or under inflated tire for a long time. Like, your tire is normally 32psi, but you are on the highway for miles at 15psi. Eventually it'll heat up and come apart. I would think you'd feel that sort of differential before you drove on the tire long enough for it to heat up to "blow out" circumstances. Obviously, running over something nasty at freeway speed would be a slightly different circumstance in a car or on a motorcycle.

Didn't Nostatic hit a big rock or cinder block on the freeway on a bike?

I've never had a blowout before, thank goodness and knock on wood.