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"It just blew ...
without ANY warning!"
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During 12 years of responding to service calls to various situations, it has become clear that opinions differ greatly when it comes to the definition of "roadworthy." Some motorcyclists spend hours going over every nut and bolt, making sure the bike is in top running condition, while others seem to believe that if it is pretty enough, the rest will take care of itself!
Below are a random sampling of photographs I have taken of bikes I have towed for one reason or another. I will add photos as time allows. i have quite a collection! Please take a moment, right now, to check your bike for safety issues that, if ignored, can and WILL result in a tow, or a crash, or an injury, and in some cases, a loss of life. I am happy to provide towing services to you folks, but as I always say, "I hope you never need my services!"
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Another rider who, thankfully, was able to bring his bike to a stop without dumping it! Once again, I heard those all too familiar words ... "It blew without any warning!"
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This bike was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The owner spent many hours polishing the paint and chrome. The accident caused by the failure of this tire resulted in his wife's injuries, including a broken leg, some cracked ribs, several other serious injuries and more. Oh sure, the bike looked GREAT ... from the top. Regrettably, the owner neglected to get down onto his knees and look UNDER the large saddlebags for things that cannot be seen from a standing position.
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Don't forget about your valves!
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Another often overlooked but DANGEROUS issue is the valve caps!
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I see this a lot. Someone decides that their tiny, boring plastic valve caps need to be "customized!" An accessory shop provides a myriad of caps that will dress up any wheel. There are skulls, 8-balls, dice and even larger ones with batteries that light up! They are made out of various plastics, glass or even aluminum and steel.
There is a REASON those valve caps are so small and lightweight. Read on!
I'm not a rocket scientist, so I asked a very smart friend who could be one to calculate just how much one of these aftermarket valve caps weighs when the wheel is spinning at 65 m.p.h. His answer shocked me!
A small cap such as the one shown in the photo above, that weighs 1/4 ounce at rest, gains weight through centrifugal force as the speed of the wheel increases. Since the heavy cap is trying to fling itself away from the hub, it puts a downward pressure on the rubber valve stem. The stem will support a small bit of weight, but when that weight becomes excessive, the valve will flop over to one side, bending in whichever direction the rubber support is weakest.
There you are, flying down the road at 85 or 90 m.p.h. with your valves bent over at nearly 90 degrees, and you don't even know about it, because when you stop, the valve straightens up again, appearing to be in it's normal position ... only weaker then when you started out. How many times do you think a rubber valve stem can be bent over up to 90 degrees, held there for a while, and then straightened again, before it fails at the base?
In the photo above, the rider's front tire deflated suddenly, and catastrophically. "Without any warning ..." the valve stem failed at the base and allowed the tire to instantly deflate. Fortunately, this rider was able to keep it on two wheels and bring the bike to a safe stop.
So ... back to the 1/4 ounce 'cool' valve cap you purchased. It isn't that much weight, right? Assume it is mounted to a 15" diameter wheel. You are traveling at 65 m.p.h. What, EXACTLY, do you think that valve cap weighs now?
Nearly 3-1/2 POUNDS!
Wheels with STEEL valve stems are not affected by the weight of the valve cap, because they do not bend under stress. Larger diameter wheels have even more centrifugal force, and if they have rubber valve stems, the 65 m.p.h. effective weight is even more.
I had one customer who apparently had access to a machine shop. He drilled out 3/4" stainless steel ball bearings, tapped them, and used them for valve caps! At rest, they each weighed about 1/2 pound. No, he didn't crash. Yes ... I towed him for 'tire valve failure!'
So take Bike Tow's advice. Remove the 'cool' valve cap dice, golf balls and such, and switch back to the small, plastic, boring valve cap. Your life may depend on it.
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This customer's guardian angels were working overtime on the night this happened! An experienced rider, he was headed home from work along I-15 in the HOV lane along the center divider when, without warning, he came upon a very large piece of metal that was too dark to see from a distance. This rider hit the object with BOTH wheels, experiencing sudden deflation of BOTH tires at 80 m.p.h. Instinct took over. He knew he shouldn't hit the brakes, but the bike became a bit resistant to control as he still somehow managed to cross over FIVE lanes of traffic and ride up an exit ramp to the top!
It only takes a moment to travel 100 feet on a motorcycle ( you travel 79 feet per second at 55 m.p.h.) . If you aren't reading the road every moment, you risk coming up on something with only a split second to decide how you will deal with it. Fortunately for this rider, he was able to bring the bike to a safe stop. It took him about 20 minutes to calm down enough to dial 888-BikeTow with his cellular phone, and even when I arrived, I knew he was still running on pure adrenaline. If it wasn't for the very stiff sidewalls of the tires he had, he probably would have lost it on the freeway, and the outcome would have been much worse.
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