Got a flat on my V11

[Bbennett]

Was riding in downtown Seattle on my 2001 V11. Left a stoplight and heard a very loud "pop" - apparently from my front tire. Proceeded cautiously and inspected the bike at the next stoplight from a sitting position. No change in handling noted, nor anything visible on front or rear tires. Back in my driveway I dismounted and saw what looked to be a metal thumbtack (a hemisphere) sticking in the rear tire just off of center. The tire remained inflated. Tugging on the metal object resulted in the extraction of the 2"" bolt you see in the picture here. The pencil is there for reference. I instantly regretted not just driving to a tire shop when the tire deflated with a whoosh.

 

Fortunately I am a member of the Road America thingy that was originally part of the warranty here in the States. I had kept my membership up to date. I think it is like $25 a year. Anyway, they paid for $100 of the tow and I had $15 out of pocket charges. it was painful to put the bike on a standard two truck but the guy had good straps and I put towels on the bike where the straps hit the bodywork in the rear. Wheels were strapped to the horizontal tow bar.

 

The tire is a Michelin Power Sport - only had about 1000 miles on it. The new one feels very hard at the moment and is obviously not broken in. The tire guy told me it takes about 100 miles and basically is a function of heat.

 

p.s. The tire guy told me he had recently extracted a nail from someone's tire that had gone in backwards.

[Guest ratchethack]

Glad to hear this didn't strand you somewhere back in Bigfoot country, Bob....

 

This brings up a little project I've been thinking about lately that might help in the future.

 

I've had at least a half-dozen of these kind of punctures with the dozen bikes I've owned -- all in the rear tire. I have a riding buddy with a LeMans who recently had a succession of 3 punctures -- all in the rear tire.......

 

So why is it that the front doesn't seem to get anywhere near as many punctures as the rear?

 

My theory is that the distance between the front and rear tires on the road is "just right" under many conditions so that the front tire, when going over a screw, nail, bolt or what-have-you, kicks the object up end-for-end, positioning the offending missle perfectly for the rear tire to hit it on one end as the other end contacts the tarmac.....

 

My idea is to hang a plastic or rubber deflector just in front of the rear tire. The way I've thought about doing this, it wouldn't be very visible. A little cheap insurance.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[Bbennett]

Ratchethack - I believe you are correct and I would not have thought of that. I was puzzled how these odd objects could be "set up" to penetrate the rear tire (I have had several in my career - never a front tire) and this is a valid explanation -thanks.

[antonio carroccio]

I hope you have got mature now you have got the age of 50+

Do not repair the old tyre, but buy a new one. This because the carcass of the tyre.

The carcass have been damaged and only a umbrella in it is not enough to repair the tyre. This tyre shall be destroy because useless now.

.

[Steve G.]

Time to store a tire repair kit under the seat!

Ciao, Steve G.

[mike wilson]

Nail catchers used to be popular optional extras on vehicles in the early part of the last century. Tyres were less robust then and road hazards (horsehoe nails, flints and thorns, generally) much more common.

 

The catcher is just a metal strip, with the contour of the tread, placed close and perpendicular to the circumference of the tyre. The idea is to catch anything that penetrates the tyre before it has a chance to work right through the carcass. It fails, of course, to deal with incidents where the object penetrates fully on the first impact. Even worse, it rips the object out of the trye and leaves one with a much bigger hole for air to escape. Still......

 

mike

[stogieBill]

speaking of tire plug kits, just got off another forum where this was discussed.

 

http://www.my-mc.com/messages/1/69443.html?1148611971

 

Food for thought.

 

[Guest ratchethack]

Well, it's taken me this long to get a ROUND TUIT per post #2 above. . .

 

I put 2K of the 7.5K miles on my last Z6 rear with a plug in it. While I've never hesitated riding on a properly plugged tire as long as it was a "clean" job, after plugging, I always keep the speed down and I'm none too keen on the idea of having a plug in there. For me, wot's even worse than a plugged tire is the nagging thought of being out somewhere on the Back Side o' Beyond -- maybe at night, maybe in the rain -- and picking up a nail -- which of course, can happen at any time, regardless. . . .

 

I replaced a scuffed-up front fender on my big single trailie awhle back. Looking at the old plastic fender, it suddenly became clear that I'd no longer be able to put off my longtime idea to test out a "nail deflector". Of course I'd been threatening to put one on for years, every frickin' time I've pulled a nail, screw, bolt, or wot have you) out of a rear tire (it's always the rear tire that picks up the offending dagger).

 

Cut off and whittled down a little, the old front fender was the correct size, material, and it had just about the perfect curve and angle on it to fasten up to the subframe and crossover hanger with zip-ties -- right under my previously installed Bodge Guard.

 

So, along with a new Z6 and clutch bleed, driveshaft lube, swingarm bearing inspection and rear brake caliper cleaning, my Guzzi's getting this here nail deflector (see below).

 

Do I expect this to ELIMINATE punctures? Well of course not. Do I expect a LOWER PROBABILITY of punctures? Quite possibly. The miles will tell the tale.

 

FWIW, the photo on the right is the Bodge Guard previous to adding the deflector. It's zip-tied up to the swingarm, and it's been doing a fabulous job keeping the trans and shock nice & clean. Fits nicely with the deflector, dunnit?

[Guest Nogbad]

Well, it's taken me this long to get a ROUND TUIT per post #2 above. . .

 

I put 2K of the 7.5K miles on my last Z6 rear with a plug in it. While I've never hesitated riding on a properly plugged tire as long as it was a "clean" job, after plugging, I always keep the speed down and I'm none too keen on the idea of having a plug in there. For me, wot's even worse than a plugged tire is the nagging thought of being out somewhere on the Back Side o' Beyond -- maybe at night, maybe in the rain -- and picking up a nail -- which of course, can happen at any time, regardless. . . .

 

I replaced a scuffed-up front fender on my big single trailie awhle back. Looking at the old plastic fender, it suddenly became clear that I'd no longer be able to put off my longtime idea to test out a "nail deflector". Of course I'd been threatening to put one on for years, every frickin' time I've pulled a nail, screw, bolt, or wot have you) out of a rear tire (it's always a rear).

 

Cut off and whittled down a little, the old front fender was the correct size, material, and it had just about the perfect curve and angle on it to fasten up to the subframe and crossover hanger with zip-ties -- right under my previously installed Bodge Guard.

 

So, along with a new Z6 and clutch bleed, driveshaft lube, swingarm bearing inspection and rear brake caliper cleaning, my Guzzi's getting this here nail deflector (see below).

 

Do I expect this to ELIMINATE punctures? Well of course not. Do I expect a LOWER PROBABILITY of punctures? Quite possibly. The miles will tell the tale.

 

FWIW, the photo on the right is the Bodge Guard previous to adding the deflector. It's zip-tied up to the swingarm, and it's been doing a fabulous job keeping the trans and shock nice & clean. Fits nicely with the deflector, dunnit?

 

Your bike now weighs HOW much????

[dlaing]

Do I expect this to ELIMINATE punctures? Well of course not. Do I expect a LOWER PROBABILITY of punctures? Quite possibly. The miles will tell the tale.

Nice job

I think it will lower the probabillity, but the most threatening debree might have been coming in low below the deflector.

Perhaps if you extended it close to the ground with a brush or broom, and angled it it to deflect to the side rather than bounce towards the tire.

And FWIW I don't think the miles will tell the tale.

I am at 37,000 miles without a puncture, and I ride the same roads as you and your riding buddy.

Maybe you need karma bells

 

Your bike now weighs HOW much????

I think he is trying to turn his silk purse into a sow's ear

But that plastic is down low and does not contribute much to that rearward weight bias.

[Guest ratchethack]

Here's a shot of the nail deflector with the bike on the side stand. Laden, the deflector is a few mm above the floor. The road will shorten it to its longest possible length. It cannot get caught underneath the tire at any point of suspension travel. Though it's flexible, it's still stiff enough to take a heavy wallop and maintain its shape.

 

More cheap insurance, this time based on a little theory and more'n a few decades of observation.

 

With any luck, I won't have anything more to report on this.

[Guest ratchethack]

Perhaps if you extended it close to the ground with a brush or broom, and angled it it to deflect to the side rather than bounce towards the tire.

. . .

But that plastic is down low and does not contribute much to that rearward weight bias.

Well Dave, as a matter of fact, converting my Guzzi into a 2-wheel street sweeper by mounting a brush or a broom on it was my first thought! My second thought was to mount a 5-gallon shop vac on the forks below the headlight, which would improve that rearward weight bias , and run the vacuum hose down to a power brush floor sweeper attachment mounted in front of the rear tire on a swivel for roll allowances up to max lean angles.

 

But converting the AC motors (both vacuum and power brush attachment) to DC current without significant efficiency losses through a converter, or replacing the motors --either one -- would've been a bit of a challenge. And since the typical shop vac and power brush attachment draw a min. of about 12 amps combined, and power floor sweepers probably wouldn't take very kindly to the roads I ride (let alone the speeds ), I decided this idea just couldn't suck enough.

 

But it was a great thought, nonetheless!

[dlaing]

I decided this idea just couldn't suck enough.

By the way, the deflector is lower than I had thought. I think it will actually work.

Might also be good in the snow

[Frenchbob]

Personally, I think that riding on nails and bolts in the snow is taking Guzzi machismo to an extreme. I know we're harder than Harley riders, but do we have to go to extremes to prove it?

[mike wilson]

Here's a shot of the nail deflector with the bike on the side stand. Laden, the deflector is a few mm above the floor. The road will shorten it to its longest possible length. It cannot get caught underneath the tire at any point of suspension travel. Though it's flexible, it's still stiff enough to take a heavy wallop and maintain its shape.

 

You'll have to remember it's there is you ever need to ride up a kerb or something similar. The corner will push it against the tyre. A friend of mine forgot about the mudflaps on his car when backing up over a kerb and ripped holes in the back wings. Got out, cursed and ranted for a while, got back in and carried on and ripped the mudflaps out of the _front_ arches...........