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RickRussellTX
 Standard Member
157 Posts
Hawthorne, CA
USA
Honda
CN250
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 Posted - 11/01/2009 : 4:16 PM
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I'm not sure what the lesson here is, except that you don't want this to happen. I've been following the board like 2 weeks and I've already got a story! Yeech.
I lost the rear tire last night on I-405 northbound near the Long Beach blvd exit. I felt the rear start to wobble, thought "holy crap this is not happening", and I was faced with the task of getting across a couple lanes of traffic into the median without doing anything stupid, and slowing down from 65mph. Head check, blinker, go right!
I *almost* made it. I remembered MSF training and stayed off the brakes. I got to the median, but the tire came off the bead and the rear end started to jump around *very* badly. I gently put pressure on the front brake to try and slow things down. I went down, probably at about 20 mph. Not sure if the brakes really mattered at that point; the rear was bouncing so badly that it could have dropped me regardless. I don't have any memory of the actual impact; I sort of regained presence of mind about 20 seconds after hitting the ground.
Overall, it was a pretty light accident. My upper body was untouched; my helmet and Firstgear Torrent jacket took all the punishment (the jacket looks untouched). I was wearing heavy work jeans that (thankfully) did their job, and I have minimal scratches to show for it. My feet were unharmed, although I was wearing heavy skate shoes instead of boots. I think I'll wear boots next time anyway! I had no problem getting the bike up and safely into the median space.
I landed pretty hard on my left hip; it was sort of numb for awhile but it really started hurting a few hours later. Now it's just sore but manageable.
The police showed up and had already called a tow truck; an ambulance had already come by and I sent them off because I was basically OK. Towed the bike home and left it in my parking space overnight.
I'm not sure why the tire failed. When I took it off just a short time ago, it looked like a couple of spots had been worn down to the first ply. However, I inspected the tire thoroughly yesterday before the accident and there were no signs of excessive wear. It's unclear whether the exposed ply was wear, or a result of the intense forces during the failure. These tires usually last about 6000 miles, and this one had about 4000 on it.
Plastics on the left side of the scooter are torn up, but I should be able to glue them up until I can get replacements ordered.
Lesson? Well, keep right I guess, and drive a bit slower so there are more options in an accident. I keep a complete spare wheel and tire, so I'm going to mount that and see if it's roadworthy.
RR
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alblancher
Senior Member
481 Posts
slidell, LA
USA
Yamaha
Roadliner
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Posted - 11/01/2009 : 4:52 PM
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Glad you're ok and didn't get hurt to badly.
You didn't mention how many miles you had on the tire, did you mount the rubber to the rim yourself or was it done by a shop? No noticible punctures or cuts in the tire? Doesn't sound like a blow out, and you didn't see any separation of rubber from the ply.
I'd have a shop take a look at the tire and they may be able to give you some insight but I'd be wary getting back on the bike with a similar tire not knowing what caused the blowout.
Al |
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Mikeydude
Advanced Member
577 Posts
[Mentor]
Ft. Worth, Texas
USA
Harley-Davidson
03 FXD Super Glide
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Posted - 11/01/2009 : 5:16 PM
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Glad you're still here to tell us about it.
While you're having the bike looked over, have them check the steering head bearings. If the bike was bouncing around as violently as you suggest, they might have suffered some damage from it all.
*edited for spelling*
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Edited by - Mikeydude on 11/01/2009 8:58 PM |
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RickRussellTX
Standard Member
157 Posts
Hawthorne, CA
USA
Honda
CN250
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Posted - 11/01/2009 : 9:04 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by alblancher
You didn't mention how many miles you had on the tire
About 3000 miles on the rear tire -- it was fairly worn along the centerline, but this particular tire didn't have much tread on the centerline anyway, so it was difficult to see how much it was worn. Common wisdom among Helix drivers is that these tires are good for about 5000 miles. Long story short, I think I'm going to stay away from this tire model.
The Bridgestone tires that I had before (and that I'm replacing it with) have a distinct tread pattern on the centerline that's pretty easy to check for wear. A good argument for sticking with this model of tire!
I mount all my tires myself, but I have a hard time imagining a mounting problem that was rock solid for 3000 miles and then failed catastrophically. I'm coming to the conclusion that the centerline of the tire was a lot more worn than it looked. I'm gonna cut it open as soon as I get some new tires in and see what the heck was wrong with it.
RR
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SkootchNC
Advanced Member
607 Posts
[Mentor]
raleigh, north carolina
USA
Harley-Davidson
road glide
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Posted - 11/02/2009 : 6:40 AM
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Did you check Tire pressure before the ride? or any time in the recent past?
Tread wear is a good indication, on how much tire is left.... as long as the air pressure is within specs.
In your OP you said It's unclear whether the exposed ply was wear, or a result of the intense forces during the failure. These tires usually last about 6000 miles, and this one had about 4000 on it. Improper air pressure can overheat a tire causing premature failure.
Just a thought
Frank |
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jhebert
Junior Member
75 Posts
Nazareth, PA
USA
Yamaha
V-Star 650 Custom
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Posted - 11/05/2009 : 11:22 AM
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My front tire (tube type) suddenly failed at highway speeds once. And I mean suddenly. I had to throw that pair of shorts away.
I had just taken a sweeping curve at 65mph with no handling issues (that I could detect). I'm not entirely sure how I didn't crash as a result. I think I just remained calm, figured out which brake to use, and was super lucky.
The tube failure was caused by a decking screw that I picked up during my ride.
I too noticed that the tire appeared to have excessive wear when I inspected it afterwards. Most of the tread was gone and I know it wasn't like that before it went flat. It only had about 3000 miles on it. I figured, like you, the unusual forces the tire had to endure caused that. |
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RickRussellTX
Standard Member
157 Posts
Hawthorne, CA
USA
Honda
CN250
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Posted - 11/07/2009 : 11:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by SkootchNC
Did you check Tire pressure before the ride? or any time in the recent past?
Yes, I checked the evening prior to the failure, and performed a fairly thorough inspection of the tire itself.
But, as I said, the design of this tire didn't have much tread on the centerline, and the tread near the centerline wore away very quickly, making it difficult to gauge how worn the tire really was. In future I'm going to go with a tire model that has clearer wear markings, even if it costs a little more.
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Tire blowout + freeway = bad